Reviews

Едем by Stanisław Lem

leesmyth's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked it both as a time capsule of ideas of space travel and technology, and as an exploration of encounters with the truly alien Other. Don't know that I'd read it again though.

knockingonheavansbookstore's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

3.5

gavgav's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

davidet's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

shane_tiernan's review against another edition

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3.0

Kind of funny that I read this only a couple months after reading [b:The Invincible|251633|The Invincible|Stanisław Lem|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441700738l/251633._SY75_.jpg|983629], since they're almost the same book. Humans come to unexplored planet and then wonder what the hell is going on exactly.

I found it interesting that he decided to use the character's titles instead of names, so you had "the Captain", "the Doctor" etc... Only once (as far as I remember) did he use a name (one of the guys was named "Henry") and that was only because another character was calling out for him and it would have sounded funny if he was yelling, "Chemist, are you there?" It did help to keep things straight, but removing that extra, "Which one is Henry?" type thing that happens when reading other books with 5 or 6 main characters. Especially since Lem's forte is definitely not characterization.

I'm really hoping the next Lem book I read is totally crazy, because that's what got me reading his stuff in the first place. Though this wasn't bad at all.

tomasz99's review against another edition

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4.0

Czytałem ją po Solaris, które bardziej mi się podobało.
Na plus:
➕ 6 bohaterów, ich działania, współpraca
➕ trochę archaiczna-nowoczesna technologia i taki sam język
➕ ogólne przesłanie powieści
➕ brak antropocentryzmu
➕ jak zauważyłem po przeczytaniu posłowia - zaradni naukowcy nie radzą sobie z Kontaktem
➕ zakończenie ❤️
Na minus:
➖ rozwlekłość. Nie zrozumcie mnie źle - w Solaris też były długie opisy, ale tutaj wynudziłem się niemiara. I nawet liczne nowe obiekty odkrywane przez podróżników nie zachęcały do zbytniego wyobrażania ich sobie
➖ obcy i trochę "geocentryzm"(?) - po wspaniałym Obcym w Solaris (i stacji kosmicznej, układzie dwóch gwiazd) miałem nadzieję na kontynuację tego w Edenie. Jak się okazuje Eden zupełnie przypadkowo jest Ziemią. To znaczy jest tam tlen, więc bohaterowie radośnie (jak w "Prometeuszu") paradują bez ograniczeń, wodę czerpią z jakichś źródełek, w drugiej połowie autor przyznaje, że dzień jest krótszy niż na Ziemi. Mimo to bohaterowie używają normalnie zegarków i normalnie 24-godzinnego czasu (co w sumie można jakoś racjonalnie wyjaśnić, ale przez pierwszą połowę raziło).
➖ film w aparacie - jak pisałem wyżej, zaliczyłbym to do plusów, ale jednak trochę rzuca się w oczy ;)
➖ nudny środek - jak ktoś pisał wcześniej - wystarczyłby sam początek i wspaniały koniec.
Podsumowując - warto się "przemęczyć" przez środek choćby po to, by poznać zakończenie :) No i jednak to jest Lem!

angie_t's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

manolitagafotas's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

teal_axolotl's review against another edition

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1.0

This book is what I imagine wacky old movies about space exploration to be like. A bunch of guys fly their private spaceship to a planet without any real mission, just to see what's there. Having done virtually no prior recon, they crash/land without hesitation, and find themselves utterly unprepared for the situation. Having nothing better to do, they immediately go to fist-fight some aliens to establish contact.

Eden was somewhat like that. But the premise was alright, and the profession-labeled nameless characters (Doctor, Engineer) didn't bother me either, they were secondary to the bigger picture the book was trying to paint. Except this painting gave the impression that Lem isn't good with words. Everything was a description, written in not the most creative or engaging way. Plain boring to read.

The writing felt very amateurish, which is unsurprising, considering that Eden was one of his earliest works. Although the story has some solid backbone, and it could've been a much better book, had Lem been a more experienced writer at that time.

vtlsnkv's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.5