Bradbury’s the Sound of Thunder and Skurzynski’s Nethergrave

English Critical Essay Bradbury’s The Sound of Thunder and Skurzynski’s Nethergrave are both intriguing science fiction stories. Both stories are about technology changing the life of an individual. In the the story Nethergrave, a boy name Jeremy chooses a virtual world over the real world where he feels embarrassed, uncomfortable, and alone. In the story A Sound of Thunder, the main character, Eckels, faces severe consequences due to a mistake that he makes when going back in time. Nevertheless, both characters’ personality is pretty similar in some ways both being somewhat cowardly.

Both are about the effect technology can have on the world. I honestly felt that Bradbury’s story was more interesting than Skurzynski’s story. I found that the slightest thing in the past may change the future massively. In the story, Eckels uses a new invention, a time machine. Then he decided to go back to the time when dinosaurs were alive. While he was there, that triggered terrible consequences. Eckels’ death in the end wasn’t very surprising. The mistake seemed very small at the time, but had a massive effect on the outcome of the present-day world.

Although Skurzynski’s story was very relatable towards others, I still think Bradbury’s story was better. Nethergrave was about a boy named Jeremy, making a decision of staying in a world he wasn’t happy in or to leave and enter a whole new world in which he was promised never to be alone or hurt. The idea of a boy feeling awkward in the real world, then looking into what appears to be a better world just isn’t what I find interesting. I have sometimes felt awkward and embarrassed in this world, though I do not think that I would want to enter a virtual world.

Throughout the story, I never felt as though I liked or related to Jeremy’s character. Both of the stories show how technology can change a person’s life for better or for worse. Technology can be very useful but it can also cause destruction. In science fiction plots, often results in a negative effect. Technology can be both destructive and useful, but in these stories, they both have negative outcomes. As in Skurzynski’s story, Jeremy was introduced to a new virtual world, which resulted in Jeremy ending his life on earth. In Bradbury’s story, the time machine ended up changing the present world.