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hemminger's review
The title story is also the only Lem that I'd read before going into this, so I was curious how representative it'd be of the dozen stories in the collection. The answer is "only loosely," and from my understanding the collection itself is only loosely representative of the scope of Lem's writing. I enjoyed it on the whole, but its strengths are the same things that kept me at arm's lengths in places. The density of ideas is impressive, especially in stories like "The Friend" with its digression into an expanded consciousness, or "Lymphater's Formula," which encompasses information theory, machine learning, and the nature of time in its somewhat dry narrative. But that same density means most of the stories have very little narrative momentum; they're often quite discursive or needlessly coy about developments most readers will likely have already guessed.
The one exception is "The Hunt," which is almost the inverse of the other stories, focussing so completely on action and movement—it's proof that Lem can do a solid chase scene when he wants to. But more often, his interests seem more academic, and in particular more focussed on the idea of the alien and the other, and how expansive those terms can get if we move beyond little green men into more imaginative terrain.
The one exception is "The Hunt," which is almost the inverse of the other stories, focussing so completely on action and movement—it's proof that Lem can do a solid chase scene when he wants to. But more often, his interests seem more academic, and in particular more focussed on the idea of the alien and the other, and how expansive those terms can get if we move beyond little green men into more imaginative terrain.
firstwords's review against another edition
4.0
A mixed bag (as the writer of the foreword notes), this is as much a reference document for Eastern European sci-fi as it is a story collection. Some are wonderful, some are confusing, and some seem like half-finished thoughts. As I noted in a review of another of his works, this may frustrate some American readers. But if you like Dostoyevsky or Kafka, and want to see them write Sci-Fi, then pick it up :).
beththeawkward's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jim_farrand's review
2.0
Abandoned halfway through (something I rarely do), but it just didn't catch me.
First story about the robot hunt was very good, but others didn't grab me. Don't know if it is translation or culture difference or the dates nature of the stories or what. He's got unique ideas but I just can't quite visualize all the images and some stories take a long time to get to where they are going.
First story about the robot hunt was very good, but others didn't grab me. Don't know if it is translation or culture difference or the dates nature of the stories or what. He's got unique ideas but I just can't quite visualize all the images and some stories take a long time to get to where they are going.
scotthlines's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was exceptional. The stories are a glimpse into how a futurist envisioned we would travel.
noachoc's review
3.0
Not really sure about this one. I definitely didn't like it as much as I wanted to, but the last few stories were really interesting.
jmercy's review
4.0
Completed in 3 days, this was immensely better than r. A. Lafferty's short story collection and at times very theologically and philosophically moving in surprising ways.
In other times it was entertaining. I'm glad to have read it.
In other times it was entertaining. I'm glad to have read it.
competencefantasy's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
breadandmushrooms's review
adventurous
medium-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
3.25
morgangoose's review against another edition
3.0
I rated this as an average of the stories in that they're mostly good, with some clunkers and some great ones. Being a collection of new translations, I feel it might not be the best representation of his work, but what was available to be translated for an English audience. I recommend it to fans of Lem or of Golden Age SciFi.