slow_spines's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
This one took me a while. A series of loosely connected adventures, written over 20 years, most of them readable in around 30 minutes or so. Due to this, it was inevitable that the quality would dip every now and then. For me that came at around the half way mark, where I struggled to stay motivated. Generally I found the shorter voyages more focused and compelling.
The voyages themselves are humorous and inventive but I feel that some of the 60s Polish humour is definitely lost in translation, and that many of the ideas - while still brilliant - have probably lost some of their lustre due to being endlessly retrod since. They are absolutely still worth reading if you enjoy Lem's work or high concept sci-fi generally.
I suspect the editors notes have been pushed to the back of the book so as not to clash with the fictional editor's introductions. Makes sense, but its a shame to only realise in the literal last paragraph of the book that I had been mispronouncing the protagonists name the whole time! Maybe read this first.
Speaking of which, Tichy is a good character. A well-meaning Everyman who commits diplomatic faux pas at every turn, and somehow bumbles his way out of the absurd situations he finds himself in. Although he is intelligent and puts his best foot forward - he almost always chooses his voyage and embarks with a plan - there is the unshakable feeling that he is still a passive agent. What other kind of agency is there in such a bizarre and vast universe? (Its not hard to see how any political points Lem was making could be read into this tension). He is a sympathetic and recognisable character, with a lighthearted curiosity at the profound weirdness his existence. It sounds obvious, but behind all the dazzle and discombobulation he is the secret star of the show.
The voyages themselves are humorous and inventive but I feel that some of the 60s Polish humour is definitely lost in translation, and that many of the ideas - while still brilliant - have probably lost some of their lustre due to being endlessly retrod since. They are absolutely still worth reading if you enjoy Lem's work or high concept sci-fi generally.
I suspect the editors notes have been pushed to the back of the book so as not to clash with the fictional editor's introductions. Makes sense, but its a shame to only realise in the literal last paragraph of the book that I had been mispronouncing the protagonists name the whole time! Maybe read this first.
Speaking of which, Tichy is a good character. A well-meaning Everyman who commits diplomatic faux pas at every turn, and somehow bumbles his way out of the absurd situations he finds himself in. Although he is intelligent and puts his best foot forward - he almost always chooses his voyage and embarks with a plan - there is the unshakable feeling that he is still a passive agent. What other kind of agency is there in such a bizarre and vast universe? (Its not hard to see how any political points Lem was making could be read into this tension). He is a sympathetic and recognisable character, with a lighthearted curiosity at the profound weirdness his existence. It sounds obvious, but behind all the dazzle and discombobulation he is the secret star of the show.
danielle_0300's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
autumnallune's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smalefowles's review against another edition
3.0
This book was fun. It reminded me of the Hitchhiker's Guide series, though replacing "extreme Britishness" with what I assume must be "extreme Polishness" (made up of very pointed satire, philosophical musings, and the recurring idea that if you met yourself from another moment in time, you would of course annoy yourself and end up beating the crap out of yourself.
benholmes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Second best Lem book after Cyberiad
freesien's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. Dabei hat es doch so schön angefangen. Zu Beginn war das Buch sehr unterhaltsam und lustig, doch ungefähr nach der Hälfte habe ich einfach das Interesse verloren.
zachbrumaire's review against another edition
4.0
Parody and theoretical treatise bend towards a mutual zenith in these surrealist philosophical theses set against an endlessly creative space opera backdrop. Lem explores topics as diverse as bureaucracy, academica, prisons, and surveillance; evolution and revolution; zenotheology and chronopolitics; his tactics of interventative insanity, the short circuting of the mundane, explosive fractal expounding of worlds, and moving rendition/self undercutting of the absurd create spaces for explorations which would perhaps be possible without such accompaniment, but certainly not as pleasurable nor as interesting. Like the optesimists encountered in one of the many voyages,, Lem defies categories (high/low bro, comedy/philosophy, science fiction and fantasy, playfulness/dark satire), thereby providing simply one more reason to read him. A vital component of the tradition which encompasses Kafka, Borges, Rushdie, and the Strugatsky brothers, to Lem belongs a place in any cannon of critical irrealism.
tombomp's review against another edition
3.0
I was enjoying the book a lot until about a third of the way through there's a sudden appearance of "Gypsonians" who are nomadic space faring stupid drunken thieves... They only appear for a page but it's enough that it completely soured me on it. I kept reading out of stubbornness and because of my positive experience at the start but afterwards I stopped enjoying the humour even though I could tell it was clever (and very impressively translated). Humour is difficult - you only need one misstep to feel completely disconnected from the person telling the jokes. Other people might easily be able to ignore one instance of racism but just for me it was enough to ruin it.