His Master's Voice
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3.8 • 6 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Scientists must decode a message from intelligent beings in outer space in this classic science fiction tale by the legendary author of Solaris.
“The universe is still struggling to catch up with the vast creative force that was Stanisław Lem.” —Washington Post
By pure chance, scientists detect a signal from space that may be communication from rational beings. How can people of Earth understand this message, knowing nothing about the senders—including whether or not they even exist?
Written as the memoir of a mathematician who participates in the government project (code name: His Master’s Voice) attempting to decode what seems to be a message from outer space, this classic novel shows scientists grappling with fundamental questions about the nature of reality, the confines of knowledge, the limitations of the human mind, and the ethics of military-sponsored scientific research.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This deeply philosophical first contact tale, originally published in 1967, showcases the brilliant, often prescient mind of the late Lem (1921 2006). Humanity's struggle to interpret what may or may not be a message from extraterrestrial intelligence is recounted in the manuscripts of professor Peter Hogarth, "discovered" by Lem after Hogarth's death. Hogarth introduces himself in a disarmingly self-deprecating preface as a scientist whose fundamental character traits are "cowardice, malice, and pride," easing readers into the cerebral tale of a series of chance events which lead a group of scientists to detect a message embedded in recordings of neutrino emissions from "certain selected patches of the sky." Though little action animates the story, the complexities of the subsequent debate around how best to understand the alien communication which may be billions of years old are thought-provoking and entirely plausible. This thorough, intellectual take on a classic hard sci-fi trope is Lem at his best.
Customer Reviews
Dense and boring
Two words…dense and boring. I’ve read a bit of Lem and have really liked his work…until now. There is no plot, no character development, and nothing interesting if a one character monologue that goes back and forth across multiple philosophical topics is not your thing. I abandoned the book 2/3rd through once I realized that no, he wasn’t lying when he said the project never cracked the riddle.