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lwb's review against another edition
3.0
Was entertained at the outset, but it quickly became repetitive, almost painfully so.
akmres's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
bantwalkers's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Silly and flat out hilarious. But sometimes a little too technical and made my brain hurt trying to figure out what was happening (it was mostly nonsense, but not always).
Silly and flat out hilarious. But sometimes a little too technical and made my brain hurt trying to figure out what was happening (it was mostly nonsense, but not always).
dyno8426's review against another edition
4.0
For this cocktail of science fictional anthology, you would need to take three parts Douglas Adams, two parts Italo Calvino and a dash of Jorge Luis Borges. While they science fiction by their myriad of robots, galaxies and gadgets, the thing which I always harp about science fiction is starkly true here as well - there is that aether of universal any conscious experience - its flawed desire to shape the world according to its own needs, its fascination with the unknown and the infinite, and its existential angst and random busyness, coupled with its remedy to create something monumental beyond this existence.
I love such a collection of stories which have some connecting accent - in short stories, themes are generally discontinuous and independent. Here, we have the two "constructors" who span across most stories and literally navigate through the vastness of the universe and accomplish inventive feats through their knowledge and creativity - this allure of science is probably the only dominant thematic science fictional aspect here. Leaving that aside, the almost random discourse full of space junk and cyberpunk is almost too noisy and too humorous to look serious. It almost appears non-sensical. That's why, to savour its light-heartedness, I'll recommend you to not read it all at once, the same that I would say about the entire Hitchhiker's series - it was too much at times.
But through the glimpse of unexpected, meandering, purposeless looking discourse are patterns of your classical philosophies peeking through - skepticism for instance stands contrastingly strong in this setting of almost God-like constructors who are pacing so rapidly in the realm of knowledge and mastering the universe that you feel overwhelmed with all what is possible in science. Like the byproducts of evolving robots and hyper-developing civilisations, inventions over inventions lead to a transitory and meaningless delight. The dash of Ficciones like content shines through the overflowing fictional vocabulary of terms, insane conceptions of superhumanly capable machines, and rich narratives of story-within-story-within-story. I've warned you!
I love such a collection of stories which have some connecting accent - in short stories, themes are generally discontinuous and independent. Here, we have the two "constructors" who span across most stories and literally navigate through the vastness of the universe and accomplish inventive feats through their knowledge and creativity - this allure of science is probably the only dominant thematic science fictional aspect here. Leaving that aside, the almost random discourse full of space junk and cyberpunk is almost too noisy and too humorous to look serious. It almost appears non-sensical. That's why, to savour its light-heartedness, I'll recommend you to not read it all at once, the same that I would say about the entire Hitchhiker's series - it was too much at times.
But through the glimpse of unexpected, meandering, purposeless looking discourse are patterns of your classical philosophies peeking through - skepticism for instance stands contrastingly strong in this setting of almost God-like constructors who are pacing so rapidly in the realm of knowledge and mastering the universe that you feel overwhelmed with all what is possible in science. Like the byproducts of evolving robots and hyper-developing civilisations, inventions over inventions lead to a transitory and meaningless delight. The dash of Ficciones like content shines through the overflowing fictional vocabulary of terms, insane conceptions of superhumanly capable machines, and rich narratives of story-within-story-within-story. I've warned you!
yeshi's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 really.
This clever book literally made me laugh out loud -an experience that I had after a long long long time! Brilliant collection of short stories of two "constructors" - robots that build robots.
This clever book literally made me laugh out loud -an experience that I had after a long long long time! Brilliant collection of short stories of two "constructors" - robots that build robots.
noahjmack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rosered_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
snarf137's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Very well done - I can't say I've read anything quite like it. It reminded me of the absurdist existentialism of Douglas Adams but with Lem's characteristic grandeur and mythological storytelling.
misanthrope's review against another edition
Not sure who the audience is for this book. It is work of great imagination, but very little payoff. I’ll look forward to reading more from this author.