Although A Sound of Thunder and Nethergrave are both strong works of science fiction, I feel that A Sound of Thunder is a more thought-provoking, meaningful read. Both stories involve traveling into another dimension or world, but A Sound of Thunder explores the implications and effects of this on life far more on a deeper level than Nethergrave, which does. This is demonstrated through the way elements of science fiction are expressed, the development or the characters, and the expression of central themes.
Different elements in each of the stories qualify them as science fiction, and these elements help to reveal the focus of each story. In A Sound of Thunder there are several. First and foremost, technological developments are a prominent feature of science fiction, and they play a large role in A Sound of Thunder (the time machine and anti-gravity path are vital components of the plot). Another science-fiction quality present in A Sound of Thunder is the fact that it takes place in a
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In A Sound of Thunder, the characters (particularly the main character Eckels) were characterized through their actions, reactions to plot events, and dialogue. There are several examples of this. Readers learn that Eckels was a bit of a big shot (I don’t know how else to describe him) through his conversations with other characters—when Travis warns him that he may not come back alive, his immediate reaction is to say defensively, “Trying to scare me?” We also learn this through his actions; Eckels signs up for the Time Safari thinking he was capable of shooting a dinosaur but froze with fear as soon as he actually faced it. In Nethergrave, the writing mostly reflects Jeremy’s thoughts; thus, the characterization happens mostly through Jeremy’s mental reactions to plot events. This may make the story seem more one-sided, so the reader may have a harder time seeing the story from a broader