Mother-Machine

by Broken Keys Publishing

"Mother-Machine reminds me of A Rose for Emily or a story by Shirley Jackson. A good old fashion ghost story without being grossly graphic. Michel Weatherall does a masterful job of breathing life into a venerable horror style that you do not often see much nowadays. My only caveat is that you must enjoy fine story telling and allow your imagination to wander. This is a thinking man's story and does not hand you everything. A fine tradition of shadows and whispers."
Papaphilly, Goodreads review

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Ebooks, Fiction

ebook

Published October 29, 2016

About the author

Publisher, Printer, Imagination-weaver.

A native of Ottawa, Michel Weatherall grew up as an army-brat living in Europe and Germany and has since travelled extensively.

Having over 35 years experience in the print/publishing industry, Broken Keys Publishing & Press has now transitioned into full publication and print media.

Currently titles include,

Poisonous Whispers, by Jana Begovic
Little Dragon, by Jana Begovic
Missing the Exit, by Michael Adubato
Sadness of the Siren, by Samantha Underhill

The Symbiot 30th Anniversary, The Nadia Edition, by Michel Weatherall
Necropolis, by Michel Weatherall
The Refuse Chronicles, by Michel Weatherall
Ngaro's Sojourney, by Michel Weatherall
A Dark Corner of My Soul, by Michel Weatherall


Honours and Awards include

Standing Nominee for the CommunityVotes Ottawa 2022 for Best Printer

Winner of the 2020-21 Faces of Ottawa Awards Best Author (Michel Weatherall)

Ottawa's Top 15 Influential Authors (Michel Weatherall)

Winner of the 2020-2022 Faces of Ottawa Awards Best Publisher (Broken Keys Publishing)

CPACT-NCR Best Publisher Award 2021

Faces of Ottawa 2022 Book of the Year Award (Love & Catastrophe Poetre)

Faces of Ottawa 2021 Book of the Year Award (Thin Places: The Ottawan Anthology)

2020-21 Parliamentary Poet Laureate Standing Nominee

2019 Pushcart Prize Standing Nominee (Poetry)

2019 FEBE Awards Nominee for Creative Arts

2019 CPACT Awards Nominee for Entertainment Excellence (Arts)

2019 CPCAT Awards Nominee for Small Business Excellence (Broken Keys Publishing)

2018-19 Faces of Ottawa Awards Finalist for Favourite Author

Reviews

[Supratim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty creepy story about a man's morbid obsession with his departed mother.

I really enjoyed reading it.

[Licha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a very good writing style that had me engaged. But that's probably why I was expecting more. I felt like this was unfinished, not because of how it ended, but because I didn't get an explanation for the MC's motives in unearthing the his mother's corpse--the MC wanting to know that it was just a body in the ground did not seem like a justifiable reason to unearth a body.

I did like the author's view of body vs. soul. Overall, the story had good promise. I just needed a little more meat to the ending.

Thanks to the author for the free story.

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story put me through a whole set of emotions: at first I was irritated and confused by what was going on. At the end I was depressed and thought this was a very sad story. However now, some days later, I recognize a glimmer of hope coming with an acceptable closure. Mother-Machine is a complex story which took some time to feel comfortable around, but now, just like the 'ghoul', I've made my peace with it.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story you want, short story it is!

I had to see her again and realize that what I saw wasn't her, but only a discarded machine, only a hollow shell where she used to inhabit. I was obsessed.

[Sammi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this was an interesting and creepy read.



I would have like more of an understanding of why he felt the way he did about death and why he became obsessed.

I had to see her again and realize that what I saw wasn't her, but only a discarded machine, only a hollow shell where she used to inhabit. I was obsessed.

Pretty sure that after his adventure you would need to shower before going anywhere, apparently not.

[Andrew✌️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book here thanks an invitation by the author.
A short and creepy story, showing that in everyone can be a dark and hidden side. We deny or ignore it, but often it bring us to make inconceivable or unthinkable things.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of MOTHER-MACHINE by Michel Weatherall

In the age-old debate of whether humanity is meat or soul, machine or spirit, the narrator of this short piece weighs in. His view (I assume gender) is: the human individual is a soul, encapsulated in a machine. When his beloved mother dies, he determines to prove this to himself, to his satisfaction.

MOTHER-MACHINE is a poetically imaged short story of a man with an unusual mission, and the determination to carry that mission to its inevitable conclusion.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a weird short story. I was surprised that the main character went straight to work after his little midnight adventure. I'd have thought he'd have needed a shower!

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

[Papaphilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old fashion Gothic horror story. Mother-Machine reminds me of A Rose for Emily or a story by Shirley Jackson. A good old fashion ghost story without being grossly graphic. Michel Weatherall does a masterful job of breathing life into a venerable horror style that you do not often see much nowadays. My only caveat is that you must enjoy fine story telling and allow your imagination to wander. This is a thinking man's story and does not hand you everything. A fine tradition of shadows and whispers.

[Ankit Saxena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got it from the Goodreads' group [For Love of a Book] Read & Review #38, for an honest review..

I never thought of it to be as that bad. Not quite a bit good for a short story. Nothing much to say.

For me its: 0.5/5.0

[Seph Sayers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbingly creepy!

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very effective dark short story. No supernatural elements, just some well-done psychological and body-horror aspects. Haunting and introspective.

[Graziano · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Mother - Machine…

Because of Christmas...

Christmas

It was Christmas. I was walking across the vast plain. The snow was like glass. It was cold. The air was lifeless. No movement, not a sound. The horizon was round. The sky black. The stars dead. The moon carried to its grave yesterday. The sun not risen. I screamed. I could not hear myself. I screamed again. I saw a body lying on the snow. It was the Christ child. Its limbs white and rigid. Its halo a yellow frozen disc. I took the child in my hands. I moved its arms up and down. I opened its lids. It had no eyes. I was hungry. I ate the halo. It tasted like old bread. I bit his head off. Old marzipan. I continued on my way.
(Friedrich Dürrenmatt)

Mother - Machine tells the story of a hungry man.
Do you prefer eating or sleeping by night? They (the ghouls) prefer to eat!

Inside your stomach a nightmarish supper.
So, eat light next time.

Or, your mother, the first machine from which you eat.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a little notification about this story being free, and having read the blurb of one of the author's books I thought I'd take this opportunity to see if this might be something for me.
Despite its very short length, this short story was super creepy and right up my alley. I will definitely be reading more from this author in 2016!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thanks to the author for providing this short story to me for free. It is set in an area I know well. That might be what I liked best about this story. It was written so I felt I was there. "There" is Not where I'd want to be, so I'd say the author did the job he set out to do...to the reader.

[Phoebe Caulfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, concise. Makes me want to know more!

[Phoebe Caulfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

All atmosphere!
I loved it!

[J. Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was provided for free by the author on Goodreads.

The first three pages of this story had me wondering what this rambling main character was talking about. It wasn't until the fourth page that they made it clear. The MC speaks about his deceased mother and the fact that he didn't want to go to the wake because it was disrespectful to the dead. The body is a machine and the soul is the person that you loved. This hit a chord with me. Recently, I was speaking to my cousin and I stated that I didn't know if I'd want to attend such events when my grandmother or parents passed in the future. And many would think me horrible.

Overall, it's an interesting short story. It only takes a few minutes to read, so why not?