Reviews

Mortal Engines by Stanisław Lem

Only show reviews with written explanations

alethiometers's review against another edition

4.0

About half of this left me cold, but the half they didn’t was so good that I pondered giving the book 5 stars on the strength of that alone. The Mask especially is incredibly original and poignant.

alekss's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

griddleoctopus's review against another edition

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5.0

Some of the best, most original SF I've ever read. Utterly unlike Solaris or his comedy pieces. The final story is a clear masterpiece.

anastasiaadamov's review against another edition

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4.0

Konstrukcija samih priča i predstavljanje likova strašno me podsjećalo na razne narodne bajke koje sam jako voljela čitati kao mala i do sada mi je taj stil pisanja bio totalno nespojiv s pojmom znanstvene fantastike. Motivi i motivacije likova čine se tako poznatima ali mi elementi znanstvene fantastike drže pažnju u konstantno budnom stanju!
S obzirom na sve veći broj motiva vezanih za fiziku i kemiju sve mi se više sviđa ideja da ovu knjigu poklonim nekome! Nazivi silnih likova robota stvaraju dojam čitanja bajki za djecu i uveseljavaju me. Posebno mi je bila simpatična kompozicija o istinama i bajkama. Dosta bajki imalo je izričaj "priča koje opominju" što mi ima smisla s obzirom na biografiju samoga pisca.
Neprestano sam pokušavala isčitati između redova i proniknuti u mudrosti likova i njihovih odabira.
Neke priče imale su naznake horora s upečatljivim krajevima koji tjeraju na razmišljanje.

leander_161's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A

3.25

would read that to children

sullyisreading's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

There are some wonderful stories featured in this anthology that really highlight many of the reasons why I see Stanislaw Lem as an incredible author. He has a variety of styles for writing that always makes his stories seem brand-new and unique.

The only story i really struggled with from this anthology was the last one, The Mask. At first I thought the style of writing was interesting, but it quickly wore on me and turned me off the rest of the story. My explanation of the story is flawed because it struggled to keep my attention throughout. As The Mask is one of the longest stories in the anthology as well, it is not a great read personally. But I wouldn't let this final story tarnish the rest of the book; it is certainly worth the read overall.