Nethergrave vs. A Sound of Thunder

You and I live in a world were modernism is reaching new heights every day. One day that touchscreen phone is considered new, and then next week it’s old news. These two stories that I am going to compare are about the role of technology, science and how it affects me and you. Based on how it uses new technology and modern science A Sound of Thunder is a better sci-fiction story.

When it comes to technology, ‘A Sound of Thunder’ uses it better than ‘Nethergrave’. In ‘Nethergrave’ the computer is the technology and it doesn’t seem like a main part in the story until the end. ‘A Sound of Thunder’ uses a time machine. This is an excerpt from the book – “….-1999! 1997! Gone! The Machine roared…” (Bradbury pg. 289). This tells you that the story includes a Time Machine and is sounds like some action is going on with it. However, ‘Nethergrave’ uses a computer as the main part of technology. This is also a part from the story – “Two techno brains would carry in a brand-new computer …-“(Skurzynski pg. 316). The computer feels like a leftover it only shows its importance in the end of the book. This is why I know ‘A Sound of Thunder’ uses the effect of technology is greater.

When it comes to the development of the setting, Bradbury’s ‘A Sound of Thunder’ helps us to get to know location better and its effect on the other elements of the story. Bradbury helps us visualize the setting with giving us the year it setting is on, which is 2055. The story tells us that the building sign says

– “TIME SAFARI. INC. SAFARIS TO ANY YEAR IN THE PAST…-“. This shows that it is set in the future which is commonly where time machines are. In contrast ‘Nethergrave’ lack of setting commitment made the sci-fi story look like it had three different plots. For instance the story showed him being bullied, then his dad being absent, next on to him living a double life, and finally to meeting and disappearing with ‘NetherMagus’. The way ‘Nethergrave’ develops is less effective. In general, ‘A Sound of Thunder’s setting is more fully developed.

When it comes to the main message ‘A Sound of Thunder’ is a lot more effective. The main message I interpreted from it was “be careful what you do, it could affect everyone in the long run”. An example is when the hunter/guide, Travis said “Well, what about the foxes that’ll need those mice to survive? For want of ten mice a fox dies…-’’. He is explaining to the readers that every little and small thing has an effect on though you may not see it immediately. Conversely ‘Nethergrave’ didn’t have a message that you could consider in everyday life. The plot was not flowing with the story and it seemed like three different stories lines/plot. ‘A Sound of Thunder’ have the best main message overall that had a true meaning.

‘A Sound of Thunder’ is better than ‘Nethergrave’ because the use of technology, role of science and the main message. Its role of technology is unique and the role of science is unusual. Its main message was to ‘be careful’ because every little or big thing ‘has an effect on someone, somewhere’. This message is true and can be incorporated in life as well as technology. This is why I know that ‘A Sound of Thunder’ was an overall better choice of sci-fi fiction than ‘Nethergrave’.

Works Cited

* Skurzynski, Gloria. Nethergrave pg.313-324
* Bradbury, Ray. A Sound of Thunder pg. 287-301