“The Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury and “Nethergrave” by Gloria Skurzynski

Ray Bradbury’s “The Sound of Thunder” and Gloria Skurzynski’s “Nethergrave” are both good science fiction stories. These stories are both about scientific technology changing the life of a certain person, although there are a few different themes in these stories. In, “The Sound of Thunder,” Eckells has a rude awakening when he realizes that he will be facing harsh consequences due to the fact that he didn’t obey the few rules that were given at the beginning of his journey. In “Nethergrave,” Jeremy chooses to revolve his life around the virtual world, rather than the real world where he is constantly bullied and usually feeling embarrassed, abandoned and sometimes hurt. However, both of these characters are rather similar, as they are both being selfish in an unselfish way without realizing that they are in fact being selfish. Both of these stories revolve around the effect certain choices have on others’ future and even your own future. I quite enjoyed reading “The Sound of Thunder” a lot more than I did reading, ‘Nethergrave.”

I found that his concept to where the slightest touch of a blade of grass, a spreading of a germ from their very own breath in the past could cause a chain-reaction in the future that could change everything that he once knew. In the story, Eckells uses a company’s invention, being a time machine, and goes back into the Jurassic times, where monstrous beings lived, far before the death of Christ even. While Eckells was there, he made tiny mistake when he was stricken with fear that then, caused a chain-reaction of events that affected the future in 2055. The mistake was beyond something small at the time but ended up having a massive effect on the future of every individual being in the present day world. Gloria Skurzynski’s “Nethergrave” was a good read and very relatable at that; I didn’t find it as appealing or thought inducing as Ray’s short story.

“Nethergrave” is about a boy named Jeremy, who made a decision to stay in a world that he felt most comfortable in in and was promised to never be abandoned, rather than the true outside world that seems so hard to be in as a teenager. In my honest opinion, I think that it is a cliché story about a teenager feeling alone in the world that doesn’t understand him and him finding something that he feels does keep his interest and also makes him feel at peace with being himself. Although, I can relate to Jeremy’s story, it just wasn’t as thought inducing as I wished it could have been. I did enjoy it, just not as much as the other short story. Both of these stories have showed how technology can either be beneficial or can destroy someone’s life. In science fiction plots, the growing technological advance that humankind continues to develop can often result in a negative effect. Although, we have benefitted from our technological advances, I feel that some things would have been better off left without being made!