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readonmacduff's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Penguin Modern number nine is another short-story collection, this time by sci-fi author Stanislaw Lem. Each of the stories are set in a fantastical alien world, and each of them are constructed as a fable, generally with some sort of moral underpinning them; fairy-tales in space essentially.
Prior to reading this, I knew next to nothing of Lem, and it is also worth pointing out I don’t read sci-fi very frequently. Unfortunately, this was another Penguin Modern which didn’t do a great deal for me. The stories were serviceable, but I was ultimately fairly indifferent to them. There was a multitude of made-up space and alien jargon, the characters felt very two-dimensional, and none of the were memorable for me.
Sci-fi devotees may have a different experience with the collection, but unfortunately I didn’t get much out of it.
d6y's review
2.0
These particular stories didn’t do it for me, but the language...wow, so beautiful. And then I realised it’s a translation. Much impressed.
grayz_grayz's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
awkwardreader13's review
2.0
It's evident when reading these (very) short stories, that Stanislav Lem has a way with words. His writing is beautiful, and his imagination is amazing. However, as these stories are VERY short, they sorta lack anything to really remember them by. The stories seemed more like interesting concepts that COULD have been really interesting stories, if they had been longer. The last story, imo., stood the best on its own, as a short story, out of all the stories in here.
It's difficult to rate this, as not all stories are equally good/bad, so I'll just give some sort of general rating.
Anyways, as I said, the last story was pretty well build up, and fit pretty well in the short story genre, and it was also my favourite of them all.
I may not have liked these short stories very much, but I am now excited to pick up one of Lem's novels, as I already know his writing and imagination is great.
It's difficult to rate this, as not all stories are equally good/bad, so I'll just give some sort of general rating.
Anyways, as I said, the last story was pretty well build up, and fit pretty well in the short story genre, and it was also my favourite of them all.
I may not have liked these short stories very much, but I am now excited to pick up one of Lem's novels, as I already know his writing and imagination is great.
redheadreading's review
4.0
These felt very like sci fi fairytales in many ways! There were some interesting ideas at play, so I'm very interested to read a longer work by him sometime.
bethaniegarfin's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
3.5
kernowchris's review
4.0
An interesting collection of short stories, The Three Electroknights is not the easiest of reads. The stories introduce a surprising number of new characters, worlds and concepts in a very small space which can make things a little difficult to follow.
Each story has something to say about the philosophy of our world and our way of life which, one might argue, make their simpler enjoyment all the more difficult. For me, it was the third of the stories which particularly struck a chord whereas the final story, although interesting and increasingly trippy, could perhaps have benefited from the same brevity as its three companion pieces.
If you want to try something a bit different, this book will happily take you to another world (or four!) for an hour or so this summer.
Each story has something to say about the philosophy of our world and our way of life which, one might argue, make their simpler enjoyment all the more difficult. For me, it was the third of the stories which particularly struck a chord whereas the final story, although interesting and increasingly trippy, could perhaps have benefited from the same brevity as its three companion pieces.
If you want to try something a bit different, this book will happily take you to another world (or four!) for an hour or so this summer.
levitybooks's review
2.0
I don't know how these stories compare to Solaris, but they do show Lem really likes building stories (4, here) focusing on murderous planets or kings. The problem is that the fable behind them falls flat or is lost in translation. Lem never seems to want to justify the motives for why characters would try challenge murderous scenarios, and takes it on faith that readers will be alright with 'for a challenge' to be the reason every single time. For this reason, these almost read like stories for children, yet we're being bombarded with overly complex and often irrelevant detail about physical sciences. How am I supposed to visualize how environments composed of vanadium and molybdenum would be like to live in? It feels as if Lem was so focused on plugging as much as he could of a Periodic Table onto the page he forgot he was writing a story. But I can't rule this out as bad as it is very unique and distinct and so in a larger story these descriptions might make a great fantasy world. It could also be that I just can't stand scifi that forgets that there are people involved over the details.
I'm yet to read a Polish translation with an easily readable syntax. It is very hard to pay attention to these stories for some reason, to know what is happening and why.
For that reason I think most people will read them and forget them. For he creates intricate settings and does nothing with them, which is a reminder for my true interest in literary fiction which often aspires to do exactly the opposite.
Proper review coming soon, will do one more Penguin Modern, take a break (@10/50) and recap with video reviews. Then get back on it!!
I'm yet to read a Polish translation with an easily readable syntax. It is very hard to pay attention to these stories for some reason, to know what is happening and why.
For that reason I think most people will read them and forget them. For he creates intricate settings and does nothing with them, which is a reminder for my true interest in literary fiction which often aspires to do exactly the opposite.
Proper review coming soon, will do one more Penguin Modern, take a break (@10/50) and recap with video reviews. Then get back on it!!