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485th out of 2,944 books
—
12,411 voters
Fiasco
The planet Quinta is pocked by ugly mounds and covered by a spiderweb-like network. It is a kingdom of phantoms and of a beauty afflicted by madness. In stark contrast, the crew of the spaceship Hermes represents a knowledge-seeking Earth. As they approach Quinta, a dark poetry takes over and leads them into a nightmare of misunderstanding. Translated by Michael Kandel. A...more
Paperback, 322 pages
Published
March 15th 1988
by Mariner Books
(first published 1987)
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i adored the first section of fiasco, in that annoying hold-on-let-me-just read-you-this-one-paragraph way; parvis's solo trek across titan, ruminating on its lifeless beauty, is a perfect example of lem's ability to portray both breathtaking wonder and unforgiving bleakness at the same time. i also liked the introduction of tempe, which was done in an interesting & sympathetic enough way that it avoided coming off like a total sci-fi cliche.
the story started lagging for me when the quintan...more
the story started lagging for me when the quintan...more
Fiasco is a deeply pessimistic science fiction novel. It's about the typical hard sci-fi topic: first contact between humans and aliens. And as in "Rendezvous With Rama," "The Forever War," and "The Mote in God's Eye," much of the fun is the detailed imagining of how interstellar space travel would actually work, complete with relativistic time distortion and keeping humans alive in alien worlds. What separates this book from those others is Lem's belief that true understanding between different...more
It seems that cultural difference between human and alien civilization is one of the major themes of Lem's books, judging by previously read novel The Invincible and Tarkovsky's adaptation of Solaris.
I must admit that this is the very first science fiction work which I found boring. Introduction is unnecessarily too long, as well as the whole book. Going into every single detail, Lem's writing style in Fiasco is closed to be called "tolstoyesque", apart from the fact that he is far from being To...more
I must admit that this is the very first science fiction work which I found boring. Introduction is unnecessarily too long, as well as the whole book. Going into every single detail, Lem's writing style in Fiasco is closed to be called "tolstoyesque", apart from the fact that he is far from being To...more
Themes enter and depart this novel, almost in a ghostly way. Plot elements are built-up and then wind-down at their own pace, few of them connecting with one-another as part of a greater plot. The book is like a tide-pool of science fiction--technologies, philosophy, interaction, contact with the unknown, etc. The first section is about solitude and the romantic, cold, ice-formation-filled emptiness of Titan. The second, one of two pilots (once lost on Titan) can be resurrected--but who's who an...more
This is one of the best, and also one of the most brutal, books I've ever read. It is a hard read. This is not a book for the faint; it explores, as does a lot of communist science fiction, the utter impossibility of rational exchange between crazy-different cultures. Also a lot in here about the failings of man.
Not a book for the faint of heart.
Not a book for the faint of heart.
There may be life on Quinta, and the Hermes has been sent to make first contact. Like other works by Lem, the aliens are truly alien, and the crew struggles to make sense and understand what is going on, though unlike Solaris we end up understanding a bit more, making this more accessible to the non-sci fi reader.
Though there are plenty of long discussions of science (including some technologies that haven't been invented, and others that are symbolic of current technologies) and long philosophi...more
Though there are plenty of long discussions of science (including some technologies that haven't been invented, and others that are symbolic of current technologies) and long philosophi...more
As a teenager, growing up un Poland, I read and loved every book written by Stanislaw Lem. He was the science-fiction writer by whom any other writer was measured. His alegorical, intelligent books touched on philosophy, psychology, sociology, but did not shy from humour and satire. Now, a couple of decades later, I got to read Lem's last, I believe, science-fiction novel, the one I didn't get to read as a student.
Lem's unique language, full of obscure, old-fashioned words triggered some nostalg...more
Lem's unique language, full of obscure, old-fashioned words triggered some nostalg...more
This was an interesting read, but not the best of Stanislaw Lem.
In this book meet many of the core themes that he's well known for: the fascination with technology, morals and philosophy, the human nature, and the ethics of science, but the main theme is the failure to communicate with an alien civilization due to cultural and social differences.
Yes, there are also space travels, big robots, aliens, and amazing space ships, all with a solid scientific foundation.
Lem gives us a glimpse of what o...more
In this book meet many of the core themes that he's well known for: the fascination with technology, morals and philosophy, the human nature, and the ethics of science, but the main theme is the failure to communicate with an alien civilization due to cultural and social differences.
Yes, there are also space travels, big robots, aliens, and amazing space ships, all with a solid scientific foundation.
Lem gives us a glimpse of what o...more
Lem has been one of my favorite science fiction authors for a long time. I almost think of him as anti-science fiction, though, because many of the best of his books are dedicated to undermining the naive dreams of the techno-utopians (i.e. Star Trek writers) and remorselessly showing what happens when humanity's flaws get translated to the stars. As the title shows, this story of first contact doesn't go well, but what makes it so compelling is his trademark way of showing the consequences of o...more
This is a strange, fascinating, and ultimately flawed book. I love the intense seriousness that Lem brings to his science fiction--even if the future's space missions have beer and roast beef and no women (you can almost smell the cabbage on this ship). The science and speculative elements are fascinating, but the whole plot here turns on typically hyper-rational Lem characters making a series of implausibly dumb choices. I guess it's called Fiasco for a reason, but the flat characters don't do...more
Настоящее удовольствие читать качественную научную фантастику.
В данном случае, на мой взгляд, есть баланс между философией и action - в других произведениях Лема он смещен в ту или другую сторону.. впрочем, оптимальность этого баланса у каждого своя, к тому же зависит от этапа жизни..
В данном случае, на мой взгляд, есть баланс между философией и action - в других произведениях Лема он смещен в ту или другую сторону.. впрочем, оптимальность этого баланса у каждого своя, к тому же зависит от этапа жизни..
This is the novel that should have been adapted into a movie.
Pirx the pilot is missing presumed dead on Titan when Parvis, a young navigator, arrives at the wrong spaceport. He sets off to Birnam Wood to rescue the renown pilot, but his vehicle suffers a catastrophic failure, forcing Parvis to utilise the last-resort cryogenic safety system.
A hudred or so years later, the Eurydice launches from Titan with the frozen remnants found in Birnam Woods aboard. One man is resuscitated but with no memor...more
Pirx the pilot is missing presumed dead on Titan when Parvis, a young navigator, arrives at the wrong spaceport. He sets off to Birnam Wood to rescue the renown pilot, but his vehicle suffers a catastrophic failure, forcing Parvis to utilise the last-resort cryogenic safety system.
A hudred or so years later, the Eurydice launches from Titan with the frozen remnants found in Birnam Woods aboard. One man is resuscitated but with no memor...more
This started out brilliantly with descriptions of a journey attempted on Titan - with compressed gases under the surface - and the carbon dioxide in them turning to snow when they've erupted. Beautiful - and it's the reason I've given this book 3 stars. Otherwise the plot structure, for me, is poor, and the science is a bit complicated (for this non-scientist). I was very disappointed as I loved his short stories.
Sorry but this was just really boring. I got about 1/4 into it and just could not go on. The first rule of writing to be published is do something ... anything ... to grab the reader within the first few lines, paragraphs or pages. It would be forgivable if the lead up to the good bits was interesting, but even that was dull. Maybe it is just me, but this is a 1 star book in my opinion.
Последний, как утверждает оборот книжки, роман Станислава Лема начинается с мягкого старта и упругого, плавного разгона, подкупая своей холодной, космической философией и до удивительного детальной и логичной обрисовкой будущего. Читатель постоянно идет вперед за размытым, еле видимым пятном ощущения, что вот-вот произойдет нечто очень важное. Раз за разом, волнами, вместо этого ожидаемого «важного» накатывают плохо читаемые экскурсы в выдуманные научные достижения, превращающие повествование в...more
This is a tough one, even for Lem fans. Stick with it though, the long, dense build up in the beginning pays off.
Like many of Lem's other works, this book documents the complete lack of cultural reference points, and thus any basis for communication whatsoever, between human and alien intelligence. In this case, repeated mis-communication leads to the worst of all possible outcomes. A fiasco indeed.
The book contains some very interesting musings concerning human conceptions of alien life and th...more
Like many of Lem's other works, this book documents the complete lack of cultural reference points, and thus any basis for communication whatsoever, between human and alien intelligence. In this case, repeated mis-communication leads to the worst of all possible outcomes. A fiasco indeed.
The book contains some very interesting musings concerning human conceptions of alien life and th...more
I had a hard time reading this book. Not because it's not interesting--I think it deals with some of the most interesting themes in the world--but because Lem makes it really hard to read. It's provocative and fascinating as hell, but damn, it's not very fun to read.
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As a first contact book this one is pretty much different from any other one I have read. Lots of interesting ideas and a very different situation. Although the book was a bit long in setting up the situation and becomes a much different story a bit farther in.
There's a really good story in here struggling to free itself from a detailed treatise on alien first contact. It succeeded just well enough to keep me reading, but it was a close run thing.
El millor de l'autor polac Stanislaw Lem, juntament amb Solaris. Es tracta d'una novel·la de ciència ficció sobre el primer contacte d'un grup de científics amb vida alienígena intel·ligent.
I consider this Lem's masterpiece. A brilliant story showing a step by step undermining of ideals in the face of foreign thinking, incomplete infornation, suspicion, and prejudices.
This suffers from the same problems as Solaris in that it has way too much scientific theory and exposition in proportion to plot and characters.
I like Lem's sardonic, anti-climactic style. The translator did a great job - all the terminology, real and imagined, sounds just right.
Just re-read this after a 25 year interval.
Lem's themes of absurdity, human fallibility and limitation, and his critique of game theory are brilliantly realised in this superb novel.
The book describes an alien encounter which is of course the Fiasco of the title. The humans, who have reached a technological level almost allowing them to transcend beyond the galactic contact stage, attempt to contact an alien civilisation who's otherness makes the project immensely difficult.
Succumbing to very hu...more
Lem's themes of absurdity, human fallibility and limitation, and his critique of game theory are brilliantly realised in this superb novel.
The book describes an alien encounter which is of course the Fiasco of the title. The humans, who have reached a technological level almost allowing them to transcend beyond the galactic contact stage, attempt to contact an alien civilisation who's otherness makes the project immensely difficult.
Succumbing to very hu...more
The handicap of humanity, is that we can't help but anthropomorphize. When confronting anything truly alien, our ways of thinking will fail us. As for how this plays out in this book, I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. There is something truly horrifying about accepting the existential dread of humanity's shortcomings, though it is also darkly funny how we think we're the be all, end all. By far ones of the most interesting science fiction books I've ever read. The alien, the techno-babble, e...more
Fiasco follows one of Stanislaw Lem's common themes - alien intelligences are so far removed from humanity that is futile to attempt contact, and any attempt at understanding leads eventually to complete failure.
One an unrelated note, this novel was written almost 25 years ago - and it shows. There are no women in this book, not even the shadow of a hint of one.
It's almost as if mankind in the future has finally managed to get rid of the weaker sex, and not bothered to get around to mentioning...more
One an unrelated note, this novel was written almost 25 years ago - and it shows. There are no women in this book, not even the shadow of a hint of one.
It's almost as if mankind in the future has finally managed to get rid of the weaker sex, and not bothered to get around to mentioning...more
Любопытно, довольно масштабно, но излишне многословно и тяжеловато. Впрочем, все это вполне в стиле Лема.
One of the most depressing books ever, in terms of its analysis of human nature :(
Hardcore Science-Fiction. Great Ideas, very cold, awesomely challenging to read!
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Stanisław Lem (staˈɲiswaf lɛm) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.
His works exp...more
More about Stanisław Lem...
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Feb 17, 2013 11:25am