fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
A for Anything

A for Anything

by Damon Knight

1961FictionFiction in EnglishScience FictionFiction, science fiction, general
0.0
Open Library
Open Library

About this book

What would happen if someone invented a machine that could create an exact duplicate of anything? That is the simple but remarkable premise of Damon Knight's classic 1959 novel, A for Anything. "The Gismo," as the machine is known, seems like it will end poverty and need forever. But of course, things are not that simple. Like any truly great work of science fiction, Knight's novel boldly pursues the ramifications of his premise. What will people do if there is no longer any need to work for anything? What happens if this device is spread carelessly throughout the world (it can even duplicate itself!). Finally, there is the supreme and most chilling of questions: what happens if you try to duplicate a human being?A for Anything is a classic work of science fiction, but it considers questions that are as relevant and compelling today as they were fifty years ago, perhaps more so. Like most of us, Knight watches the mind-boggling technological advancements of our time with a mixture of awe and alarm, and wonders whether we are really in control of the things we are creating. Knight has put his finger on the pulse of our modern sensibility and, mixed with his truly remarkable imagination, created a novel that is gripping, thought-provoking and impossible to put down.

Themes & subjects

FictionFiction in EnglishScience FictionFiction, science fiction, general
First published 1961

About the author

Damon Knight
Damon Knight

19 September 1922 – 15 April 2002

Damon Knight was born in Baker City, Oregon. He graduated from the WPA Art Center in Salem, Oregon, then moved to New York City. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. In 1943 he went into publishing, first with Popular Publications, then editing Beyond in 1950-51 and If in 1959-60. He became a science fiction critic in 1945, but gave that up in 1954. In 1956 he co-founded the Milford Science Fiction Writers' Conference. Also in 1956, he received the Hugo Award for science fiction criticism. In 1965, he founded and became the first president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He published his last book, Will the Real Hieronymus Bosch Please Stand Up? on the int…

Author

Damon Knight

First published

1961

Pages

160

Read time

≈ 4h

Editions

5

Language

English

Publisher

Tor Books

ISBN

9780812543100

Where to buy

TR
Amazon Bookshop

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Similar books

Moll Flanders

Fiction · Social life and customs

Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe

1722

Mansfield Park

Love stories, English · Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency

Mansfield Park

Jane Austen

1814

The Railway Children

Brothers and sisters · Children's stories

The Railway Children

Edith Nesbit

1900

Brave New World

Utopias · Brainwashing

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

1932

The Yellow Wallpaper

Literature · Special collections

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

1892

Riders of the Purple Sage

Fiction · Mormon women

Riders of the Purple Sage

Zane Grey

1912

Decamerone

Fiction, historical, general · Europe, fiction

Decamerone

Giovanni Boccaccio

1516

The Mayor of Casterbridge

British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author) · Wessex (england), fiction

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

1800

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass

adventure and adventurers · adventure and adventurers, fiction

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass

Lewis Carroll

1889

She

Fiction in English · Adventure and adventurers

She

H. Rider Haggard

1886

Howards End

Fiction · Inheritance and succession

Howards End

E. M. Forster

1910

Идиот

Notebooks, sketchbooks · Fiction, general

Идиот

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1874

The Woodlanders

Fiction · Forests and forestry

The Woodlanders

Thomas Hardy

1800

The Rainbow Trail

Frontier and pioneer life · Open Library Staff Picks

The Rainbow Trail

Zane Grey

1915

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice (fictitious character : carroll), fiction · British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

1865

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein (Fictitious character) · Frankenstein's monster (Fictitious character)

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Mary Shelley

1818

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Witches · Spanish language materials

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum

1899

Dracula

English literature · Fiction

Dracula

Bram Stoker

1897

Similar across media

Same mood, other forms — books, series, anime, games and beyond.

Series
X-Men '97

The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

4.3

X-Men '97

2024

Film
The Wild Robot

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

4.2

The Wild Robot

2024

Game
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure

4.7

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2003

Anime
Steins;Gate

Self-proclaimed mad scientist Okabe Rintarou lives in a small room in Akihabara, where he invents "future gadgets" with fellow lab members Shiina Mayuri, his air-headed childhood friend, and Hashida Itaru, an otaku hacker. The three pass the time by tinkering with their latest creation, a "Phone Microwave" that can be controlled through text messages. The lab members soon face a string of mysterious incidents that lead to a game-changing discovery: the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past and thus alter history. Adapted from the critically acclaimed visual novel by 5pb. and Nitroplus, Steins;Gate takes Okabe to the depths of scientific theory and human despair as he faces the dire consequences of changing the past.

Drama · Psychological

4.5

Steins;Gate

2011 · 24 eps

Manga
20th Century Boys

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all. (Source: VIZ Media)

Drama · Mystery

4.4

20th Century Boys

Naoki Urasawa

1999 · 249 ch

Series
The Owl House

Luz, a self-assured teenage human girl, accidentally stumbles upon a portal to a magical new world where she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and an adorably tiny warrior, King.

4.3

The Owl House

2020

Film
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

4.1

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

1997

Game
Metroid Prime

Shooter · Platform

4.8

Metroid Prime

2002

Anime
Gintama Season 2 Part 2

While Gintoki Sakata was away, the Yorozuya found themselves a new leader: Kintoki, Gintoki's golden-haired doppelganger. In order to regain his former position, Gintoki will need the help of those around him, a troubling feat when no one can remember him! Between Kintoki and Gintoki, who will claim the throne as the main character? In addition, Yorozuya make a trip back down to red-light district of Yoshiwara to aid an elderly courtesan in her search for her long-lost lover. Although the district is no longer in chains beneath the earth's surface, the trio soon learn of the tragic backstories of Yoshiwara's inhabitants that still haunt them. With flashback after flashback, this quest has Yorozuya witnessing everlasting love and protecting it as best they can with their hearts and souls. Gintama': Enchousen includes moments of action-packed intensity along with their usual lighthearted, slapstick humor for Gintoki and his friends. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

Action · Comedy

4.5

Gintama Season 2 Part 2

2012 · 13 eps

Manga
Gin Tama

The samurai didn't stand a chance. First, the aliens invaded Japan. Next, they took all the jobs. And then they confiscated everyone's swords. So what does a hotheaded former samurai like Sakata "Gin" Gintoki do to make ends meet? Take any odd job that comes his way, even if it means losing his dignity. (Source: VIZ Media) Included Bonus Chapters: Volume 1: Dandelion (One-shot). Volume 2: Shirokuro (One-shot). Volume 24: 13 (One-shot). Volume 38: Bankara-san Ga Tooru (One-shot). Volume 41: Special Lesson.

Action · Comedy

4.3

Gin Tama

Hideaki Sorachi

2003 · 709 ch

Series
Solo Leveling

They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Sung Jinwoo. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jinwoo came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them.

4.3

Solo Leveling

2024

Film
The Matrix

Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

4.1

The Matrix

1999