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charleyroxy's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
"I knew all along he would not understand. If he'd had a grain of sense to begin with, he never would have come here. For what use to a being that lives under the sun are jewels of gas and silver stars of ice?"
Mortal Engines is a collection of short stories by Stanislaw Lem and translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. I loved reading that this collection was assembled by the translator who is well known for his translations of Lem's work. The stories are satirical, fantastical fairy tales and fables of machines, automatons, assassins and electroknights in amazing new worlds. I enjoyed every story but particularly The Three Electroknights, Tale of the Computer That Fought A Dragon, The Advisers of King Hydrops and King Globares and the Sages.
I also listened to the audiobook while reading which increased my enjoyment exponentially. Scott Aiello was the perfect narrator and all his voices made this unforgettable. Listen to these stories, if nothing else, and you won't regret it.
"I wished, in my mythologizing, to reach the limits of improbability, and I believe that I came close. You know this already, therefore what you really wanted to ask was if the Universe is indeed ludicrous. But that question each must answer for himself."
Mortal Engines is a collection of short stories by Stanislaw Lem and translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. I loved reading that this collection was assembled by the translator who is well known for his translations of Lem's work. The stories are satirical, fantastical fairy tales and fables of machines, automatons, assassins and electroknights in amazing new worlds. I enjoyed every story but particularly The Three Electroknights, Tale of the Computer That Fought A Dragon, The Advisers of King Hydrops and King Globares and the Sages.
I also listened to the audiobook while reading which increased my enjoyment exponentially. Scott Aiello was the perfect narrator and all his voices made this unforgettable. Listen to these stories, if nothing else, and you won't regret it.
"I wished, in my mythologizing, to reach the limits of improbability, and I believe that I came close. You know this already, therefore what you really wanted to ask was if the Universe is indeed ludicrous. But that question each must answer for himself."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
In the story Automatthew's Friend there is a tiny "friend" in his ear who tries to get him to kill himself instead of slowly dying on a deserted island.
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