This was very interesting book.

Subject is the one we come across in every SF exploration story - if we are capable to land on remote planets does it mean we are supposed to establish the colony on those planets? Do we, as human species need to conquer everything we gaze at or are we prudent enough to identify situations where some things are better left as is and then move to more friendly territories?

After contact with the first colony ship (Condor) is lost, second colony ship (Invincible) lands on the remote planet that seems to be devoid of life. Only things that are present on the planet surface are strange metallic constructions whose signature seems to be all over the place, including the remains of the first colony ship. Seas harbor some of the life forms but also remains of above-mentioned metallic structures.

Rest is something that we had opportunity to see in the many SF movies like Aliens, Forbidden planet etc. Humanity encounters alien creatures that seem to outmatch everything humanity can throw at them. Fight for the very survival begins.

I wont go into more details in order not to spoil anything. Story is very fast, with lots of action and very reasonable moves by the human expedition - people are armed, are walking under the protection, drones are used to reconnoiter and attack, armed groups covering the others, huge machines, semi-and-fully-autonomous and heavily armed provide support, nobody walks alone through tunnels after first incidents are recorded. Entire process is very realistic and alive. Science is clear and understandable, sometimes gets into the more specialized terms and discussions (but again nothing that cannot be corrected by Internet or encyclopedias) but in general it remains in domain of popular science. Lots of things to be learned.

Presentation of automata life forms and the application of evolutionary process to non-alive/non-biological organisms is truly magnificent (especially with the description of possible origin of artificial organisms and how they developed further when their masters were gone). Aside from the ecstatic comments like awww nanobots, ain't it cool etc, I think people should ask themselves what does creation of artificial life (artificial as in non evolved on its own, but created) brings with the very act of creation? Something that would very much find other life forms as possible opposition. And when you provide such highly adaptable organisms into any eco system, disaster will definitely happen.

All in all I enjoyed the book .... except the ending. Ending was for me a little bit letdown. Barely escaping alive, Rohan manages to get to the Invincible and then he is saved.It is visible from his internal monologue that he is fascinated with the world and that he thinks it should be kept unspoiled, but there is no closure here. We are just given last few scenes where Rohan is loaded into Invincible after being carried by rescue team through the perimeter and that is it. As I said, for me ...... a letdown.

All in all interesting book, with some very interesting forecasts especially in terms of drones, satellite control and reconnaissance, use of energy weapons and of course discourse on advantages of swarm organisms.

Recommended to all fans of SF adventure. ( )

Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7
Prose: 7

Interesting parallels to Solaris, but ultimately only a mediocre read. ( )

My personal introduction to science-fiction and I loved. The mistery behind the story is fascinating and you can really see how Lem calls himself a philosopher not a science-fiction author by trade. The story itself is good but the message behind it - what to we actually consider a living organism, what do we consider a threat and how do we cope with phenomenons that we have never experienced before - is well framed by the story. ( )

This is the 9th novel I've read from Mr. Lem and it was definitely a departure from his usual insane, insanely enjoyable, ramblings. There was much more action, and it was much more "standard sci-fi". Not mind blowing but definitely interesting and just the right length for this kind of thing at about 180 pages.

By today's standards, the lack of 200-300 pages of character development may prevent it from becoming a retro, come-back, success story, but it would definitely make a cool movie. Would definitely need to add at least 1 female, a couple deeper characters, but I'm ready to watch it. ( )

La trama inicia con el arribo de una poderosa nave de guerra, El Invencible, al planeta recientemente descubierto Regis III. La tripulación del Invencible tiene como misión investigar la desaparición de la nave, Cóndor, gemela del Invencible.