2.5, I suppose. Characters were rather over-the-top caricatures, but that lent itself to some humor and witty lines. Fairly strong female character, given when it was written. And the close mapping of the tickler to the Blackberry (& its successors) gives the story "prediction points."

Suggested in conjunction with [b:Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge|5364103|Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge|Mike Resnick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378819133s/5364103.jpg|5431609] ( )

Thought this was going to be about some slimy monstrosity crawling its way out of the depths of a murky lake, going by the title. Was surprised to find that it was sci-fi! (I knew nothing of this story before I read it; it was recommended to me as something I might like).

Bit of a rambling beginning, but I'm glad I stuck with it. A dystopian story of people walking around with glazed eyes, wholly dependent on a device to tell them how to live their daily lives and losing the ability to think for themselves... hmmm! With eventual horrifying consequences... As probably one of the last remaining members of humanity that doesn't own a smartphone, does not engage with social media and lives a life of relative isolation compared to the rest of Western society (not to mention being a writer myself! And I quite like the idea of 'Insanity Fiction'!), this was a tale with which I could ironically relate.

But the thing I liked most about this story was the surprisingly positive ending. In this modern world where cynical, relentlessly tragic stories seem to be the main fad, I found it satisfactory and refreshing, and kind of a relief.

This is the first story I have read from Fritz Leiber. I liked it. ( )

Review from Badelynge
I used to read a lot of Fritz Leiber's work when I was younger. This one's a sharp little novella with the somewhat prescient speculative warning of the dangers of allowing machines to think for us and organize our lives. What is so clever about that, you might say, as you fiddle with your gadget of the week, or take that fifth call of the hour on your mobile/blackberry/pager. Very clever indeed if you consider this was first published in a pre-internet 1962. Leiber doesn't just throw up an idea and leave it hanging though. He makes the reader ask questions and wonder if some ideas change the world too much. Reading the story today is a much different experience than reading it decades ago because human invention has so radically changed the way we exist from day to day already. Back then the story was a mildly disturbing speculative piece, with ideas and gimmickry evolving like a virus or a new form of life. Today, in some respects, we are on the brink of doing just what the story warns against. ( )