What do You think about The Invincible (1973)?
Classic sci-fi! Stanislaw Lem takes us back to the sci-fi days of yore with a tale of eerie and epic proportions. While most authors then, and even now, explore alien civilizations and bring us a daunting "bad guy" or alien race to contend with, making it almost cliche, Stanislaw Lem takes a very original track and brings the reader a mysterious tale that will not end as expected - my favorite kind of book.The story surrounds the disappearance of a space ship, more rocket ship since this is the '60s, named Condor on Regis III, and when its sister ship, the eponymous Invincible, arrives on the scene and finds the Condor a lifeless, rusting hulk, the crew is met with a daunting outer space mystery: what actually happened to the ship and its crew? Every investigation of the ship, the surroundings and the planet's surface itself leads the crew toward a darker, deeper mystery until one man, Rohan, steps forward and takes the chances needed to find the answers. All of it leads to the discovery of a unique alien force and a new understanding of life.The Invincible is an old tale told like most other tales of its era, a space epic high on science and description. It's a little slow at first with a bit too much description of the initial landing, but once the space explores get onto the planet's surface and discover the Condor, it picks up, weaving its mystery. There are some interesting character moments, but overall the space farers take a backseat to the overall mystery. They are, however, handled with expertise by Lem as he uses every subtlety to show us their confusion, their frustration and their all-too-human desire to destroy what they do not know, which satisfyingly backfires. Only the curiosity and daring of Rohan, his compassion and his open mind, change the once inevitably human outcome into an unexpected alien success as the mystery of the Condor is solved and the story of the Invincible's gripping expedition to Regis III ends with a very fulfilling conclusion.
—D. Scott Meek
Luckily, I read the book in Serbian translation which was fairly good, so I didn't have to bother about it having been originally translated into German and then into English.Brilliant little book and such a sad story. It aroused so many conflicting emotions in me. At one point, I was infuriated by the crew's insistence on staying on Regis III and meddling with its ecosystem, and yet I was so startled when their plan to use the Cyclops backfired on them. Once again, Lem successfully sets out the idea that any contact between two fundamentally different cultures/entities is highly unlikely to result in any form of meaningful communication and, knowing the nature of human beings, may prove disastrous.A few reviewers complained about the apparent absence of women in the story. Well, we don't know anything about the culture of the period. Perhaps women had chosen to not be involved in interstellar travel for moral or health reasons. Or maybe Lem believed it wouldn't be a good idea to introduce female characters, because persons with reduced mental activity are naturally left alone by the swarms on Regis III, so the book wouldn't be fun to read whatsoever. Ever wondered why women are placed in a separate category whenever it comes to playing chess?What's also amazing about this story is its profound alienness: like in "Solaris", the surroundings, events and creatures on the planet have a genuinely extraterrestrial touch which gives them an atypical authenticity.5/5 stars, it is definitely worth reading even multiple times.
—Aleksandar Trapara
Üks ulme põnevamaid teemasid ja esitada võivaid küsimusi on minu arvates seotud kohtumisega tundmatuga. Võõraste arusaamatute rasside ja olendikooslustega ja selles osas on Lem suurepärane autor. Ka antud teoses on ta loonud pööraselt veidra ja üsnagi negatiivse pildi ühest inimkonna kohtumisest millegagi mida nad ei suuda mõista. Lemi tegelastele (ja üleüldiselt ka inimkonnale) omaselt püütakse kummalist nähtust suruda teadlaste poolt teooriatesse ning alistada seda pommide ning antimateeriaga, kuid soovitud lahendust ei teki. Lõpuks vannuvad alla ka kõige võimsamad tankid ning ka teooriad hakkavad lagunema ja kaheldavaks muutuma.Ka ülesehituselt väga hea jutt, mis algab alguses ulja pääste- ja uurimisretkena ning muutub aegamööda peaaegu õudusjutuks ja seejärel märulirohkeks põnevikuks. Lemi teosed on aegadega omandanud enda stiililt huvitava anakronistliku hard-sf mõõtme. Kiirendustelt, jõududelt jms numbritelt on temapuhul tegemist pedantselt täpsete tekstideg aga samas mõjuvad kõik ta seadmed tehniliste anakronismidena (perfolintidega programeerimised jms). Vähemalt mulle pakub selline vastuolu suurt lõbu ning annab tekstile iseäraliku laheda õhustiku. Tegemist on justkui teise reaalsusega, kus maal ei arenenud kunagi võimast mikroelekrtoonika tööstust ja pigem hakkasid valitsevad diktaatorlikud impeeriumid paiskama õhku üha võimsamaid tuumareaktoreid (paraleelmaailm mis sarnane "Mees kõrges lossis" kirjeldatuga). Igaljuhul väga mõnus teos ja hinne neli on kindlasti tugeva plussiga ja tingitud sissejuhatusest, mis läks natuke liiga pikaks.Vigade parandus: Mõtlesin järgi ja panin viie ära.
—J.j. Metsavana
