His Master's Voice

De: Stanislaw Lem

Narrado por: Nick Sullivan

Here is a witty and inventive satire of "men of science" and their thinking, as a team of scientists races to decode a mysterious message from space. "I had the feeling that I was standing at the cradle of a new mythology. A last will and testament...we as the posthumous heirs of Them...."©1998 Stanislaw Lem (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Excelent and entertaining

If you could sum up His Master's Voice in three words, what would they be?

Funny, entertaining, and intriguing.

What did you like best about this story?

That it worked so real and was entertaining.

Which scene was your favorite?

None specifically, but the introductions of some of the characters were brilliant

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The deception

Any additional comments?

Cool book.

Refreshing

I think this is a very refreshing piece of scifi. Sure, the story sometimes drags with intense bouts of reasoning but overall it really stand out as unique.

Great exploration of culture and tech interplay

Really interesting ideas! If you like The Expanse or Yuval Harari, you'll see an exploration of similar themes but in different scope and depth. The format (the musings of an academic on a paranoid Cold War American project to decipher a possible SETI signal) means you get a lot of imaginative thinking and intriguing possibilities, and not much plot development or action. If that's your cup of tea, you'll love it. If you're in the mood for a pulse-pounding space opera, this won't scratch that itch.

Thought >>> Plot, in a good way

Definitely more of a thoughtful book, with a tour de force exploration of a wide range of problems in ethics, philosophy, and antropology, and methodology of science.

Still it has enough plot to keep going without turning into a textbook or a series of lecturs on these subjects.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I think the ending could have been a bit stronger.

Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy

Genius is one of those words that is overused. It seems like it just does not take much effort to qualify for such an honorific these days. However, there are those who truly deserve the title and, of these, Stanisław Lem is certainly one. His Master’s Voice is a powerhouse of philosophy, effortlessly weaving atomic age rhetoric together with high concept, hard science. The questions and answers pondered in this work trigger shift after shift of one’s paradigm, to the point that it is quite impossible to see the world the same way after turning the last page. While the lack of hard hitting plot points and extremely dense prose may not appeal to all, this book’s through-line has more utility and applications than a Swiss Army knife. Lem has constructed a true work of genius with His Master’s Voice, a work that could only have been conceived by a true master of the craft.