Science Fiction

His Master's Voice

His Master's Voice

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  • Create Date：2021-11-20 09:53:51
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stanisław Lem
  • ISBN：0262538458
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Summary

Scientists attempt to decode what may be a message from intelligent beings in outer space。

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--even whether or not they 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。

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Reviews

Sequoyah ，

This book quite possibly epitomizes hard sci-fi。 It reads like an academic publication on a fictional event （yawn）。I remember when I first found out about Pure Mathematics， I spoke to someone who was in a mathematics graduate program about the subject and he lent me an undergraduate text book on Real Analysis。 It blew my mind that math could be anything more than the application I was used to in high school。 I was very excited to go on the pure mathematics route when I started my math degree， un This book quite possibly epitomizes hard sci-fi。 It reads like an academic publication on a fictional event （yawn）。I remember when I first found out about Pure Mathematics， I spoke to someone who was in a mathematics graduate program about the subject and he lent me an undergraduate text book on Real Analysis。 It blew my mind that math could be anything more than the application I was used to in high school。 I was very excited to go on the pure mathematics route when I started my math degree， until I finally got to my program’s only required pure math class: Introduction to Real Analysis。 This was last fall， so due to COVID， the class was completely online， and the lectures were just recorded videos。 It turned out to be the worst class I have ever taken; the assignments were near impossible to do with the 20 minutes video lectures and no Professor to go to （except waiting 2-3 business days for an email reply）。 I struggled through it， only to understand almost nothing on a fundamental level。 About the only thing I could do proficiently were proving limits of sequences and functions because the proofs were so formulaic。 Finally， I got a B- （the worst grade I have ever gotten） through the help of some friends， yet I came out having understood nothing—a fundamental failure for a university math course—， and I decided that you had to have a special brain to understand and whip out mathematical proofs。 ALAS， I could no longer complete my dream of studying topology！ So I switched my focus to mathematical statistics （an almost equally difficult proof based branch without applications to give you an idea of what the fuck you are doing， but applying linear statistical models to real data sets is a very satisfying thing）。 Now， this book follows a pure mathematician and his job trying to apply his knowledge of math to solving the ultimate riddle of the code。 But my god did this book feel exactly like that Analysis class。 I will never forgive Lem for doing this to me。 How the hell so many readers enjoyed this 200 page academic paper on the metaphysics of a fictional issue I will ever know， but it is not what I like reading。 。。。more

Joshua Glassing ，

The most dense short book I've ever read。 Loved it。 The most dense short book I've ever read。 Loved it。 。。。more

Eliza ，

I enjoyed 5 pages of this

Stacey ，

Dark， cynical， and convincing speculation about contact with aliens under the current political/scientific establishment。 Important parable to share， but also kind of unimaginative/too pessimistic as a result。 I wish some of the characters （real-life physicists with huge personalities） from Janna Levin's Black Hole Blues could get into this world， that would still be illustrative of our bleak chances of opening our minds as a society but provide some hope for individual triumph。 Dark， cynical， and convincing speculation about contact with aliens under the current political/scientific establishment。 Important parable to share， but also kind of unimaginative/too pessimistic as a result。 I wish some of the characters （real-life physicists with huge personalities） from Janna Levin's Black Hole Blues could get into this world， that would still be illustrative of our bleak chances of opening our minds as a society but provide some hope for individual triumph。 。。。more

Bookweevil ，

If you enjoyed Cyberiad and Solaris， then 。。。 I have no idea if you'll like this， but I certainly didn't。 Excruciatingly dull; it's almost difficult to believe all three books are by the same author。 And I didn't find the narrator a terribly convincing applied mathematician， either。 If you enjoyed Cyberiad and Solaris， then 。。。 I have no idea if you'll like this， but I certainly didn't。 Excruciatingly dull; it's almost difficult to believe all three books are by the same author。 And I didn't find the narrator a terribly convincing applied mathematician， either。 。。。more

吕不理 ，

文学的意义是什么呢 拓宽意识的边界 进行某种极端场景下的人性走向或进行伦理的审判。对疑似外星人的神秘来信可以有千百种解读 就像是前言说世上有多少种哲学观念人就对自己有多少种认识。有人说这比莱姆其他的作品更像小说 我却觉得相反 这本书就是一个思想实验 解读自己 解读世界 解读人类命运不可避免的走向死亡。 要我说莱姆这个人可以讲很尖酸刻薄的话 但依然对人类和宇宙含情脉脉。估计是冷战年代过得苦。 “人类的痛楚、恐惧和苦难会随着个体的死亡而消失，那些起起伏伏、高潮和痛苦，都不会留下任何残余物——这是演化进程留给我们的一份值得称赞的礼物，它使得我们和动物一样。如果每一个不幸之人、每一个受害者的感情都能存留，哪怕只是一丁点儿，如果这感情能够世代相传，即便是微弱的火花，如果能从一个人传给另一个人，这世界将充斥着刺耳的、撕心裂肺的号叫。”存在主义危机时时来袭 要我说还是伊壁鸠鲁能解救当代人吼！

K。H。 ，

A really interesting story about the human arrogance of seeing humanity as superior possible civilization in the universe。 A group of the best scientists of the U。S。A。 fail to decode the meaning of a signal coincidentally received from space， because they cannot think beyond human communication concepts and human moral categories while trying to interpret the possible content of the message。 Between the lines of this story Lem captures the atmosphere of his time: cold war， armament and paranoia A really interesting story about the human arrogance of seeing humanity as superior possible civilization in the universe。 A group of the best scientists of the U。S。A。 fail to decode the meaning of a signal coincidentally received from space， because they cannot think beyond human communication concepts and human moral categories while trying to interpret the possible content of the message。 Between the lines of this story Lem captures the atmosphere of his time: cold war， armament and paranoia caused by the looming threat of escalation。 What the scientists actually discover is that they live in a bleak world where destroying is easier than creating。 This provokes thoughts about if one really believes there could be another civilization in the universe that is stupid enough to wage war。 The fatalistic consolation Lem offers in his story is the mortality of human life as a way out of a world like this and I just think all of this hits really deep。 。。。more

Paweł P ，

Zacytuję moich dwóch kolegów， których opinie zachęciły mnie do sięgnięcia po tę pozycję。Kolega 1， który wyraził swój zachwyt w komentarzu na facebooku: "Głos Pana to książka doje*ana"。 Kolega 2， cytat niedokładny: "Gdy czytam książki， to czasem robię zdjęcia fragmentów， które uważam za wartościowe， warte zachowania na później。 "Głos Pana" zdigitalizowałem"。Od siebie dodam tyle: jestem wielkim fanem "Solaris" od kiedy przeczytałem ją jako 13 latek。 "Solaris" można podzielić na 3 elementy: refleks Zacytuję moich dwóch kolegów， których opinie zachęciły mnie do sięgnięcia po tę pozycję。Kolega 1， który wyraził swój zachwyt w komentarzu na facebooku: "Głos Pana to książka doje*ana"。 Kolega 2， cytat niedokładny: "Gdy czytam książki， to czasem robię zdjęcia fragmentów， które uważam za wartościowe， warte zachowania na później。 "Głos Pana" zdigitalizowałem"。Od siebie dodam tyle: jestem wielkim fanem "Solaris" od kiedy przeczytałem ją jako 13 latek。 "Solaris" można podzielić na 3 elementy: refleksje filozoficzne， intryga， ekspozycja mająca stanowić fundament dla obu。 Proporcje to z grubsza 40/30/30。 "Głos Pana" to refleksje + intryga w proporcjach 85/15。Polecam。 。。。more

Chen Qiangpan ，

在这样恢弘的杰作面前，任何评语都显得有些多余和渺小。就译文本身来说，十分出色，译注细致，是非常流畅的阅读体验。

Yisu Z。 ，

Fantastic meditation on the relationship between human civilization and the cosmos。 Deep， thought-provoking， and utterly satisfying。 I had some trouble parsing all the physics part but overall， cannot recommend enough of this one。

Nw ，

More philosophical treatise than a science fiction novel， interesting nonetheless。 Don’t expect a Solaris read though。

Atreju ，

Un segnale dallo spazio， un fascio neutrinico che non può essere di origine naturale。 Questa è la storia di un gruppo di lavoro costituito da 2-3 mila scienziati， raggruppati nel progetto top secret "La voce del padrone"。 Varie teorie per un fenomeno che non può essere decifrato。 Un'altra civiltà？ L'universo stesso？ Già solo l'ampio spettro di ipotesi è affascinante。 E inquietante。 Un romanzo di non semplice lettura， un po' sulle corde di Golem XIV。 Un segnale dallo spazio， un fascio neutrinico che non può essere di origine naturale。 Questa è la storia di un gruppo di lavoro costituito da 2-3 mila scienziati， raggruppati nel progetto top secret "La voce del padrone"。 Varie teorie per un fenomeno che non può essere decifrato。 Un'altra civiltà？ L'universo stesso？ Già solo l'ampio spettro di ipotesi è affascinante。 E inquietante。 Un romanzo di non semplice lettura， un po' sulle corde di Golem XIV。 。。。more

Julio Bernad ，

Hay libros que al cerrarlos te hacen querer ser escritor， ya sea por su calidad， porque te hacen amar el oficio de la escritura， como por su mediocridad， porque te hacen decir que hasta tú podrías hacerlo mejor; hay libros que al cerrarlos te hacen preguntarte cómo una mente humana， fisiológicamente idéntica a la tuya， puede producir historias tan inteligentes， cómo se pueden plasmar con tanta claridad ideas tan abstractas， cómo pueden surgir conversaciones tan creíbles y diálogos tan brillantes Hay libros que al cerrarlos te hacen querer ser escritor， ya sea por su calidad， porque te hacen amar el oficio de la escritura， como por su mediocridad， porque te hacen decir que hasta tú podrías hacerlo mejor; hay libros que al cerrarlos te hacen preguntarte cómo una mente humana， fisiológicamente idéntica a la tuya， puede producir historias tan inteligentes， cómo se pueden plasmar con tanta claridad ideas tan abstractas， cómo pueden surgir conversaciones tan creíbles y diálogos tan brillantes， cómo se pueden concebir tramas tan enrevesadas y a la vez tan bien estructuradas; y luego hay libros， como aquellos clásicos que nos obligaban a leer de muy pequeños， que te hacen odiar el propio acto de leer -hay que ser muy hijo de puta para obligar a un chiquillo de trece años a leerse Tirant lo Blanch-。 La voz del amo pertenece a esta última categoría。 He leído bastantes novelas de Stanislaw Lem， y todas ellas me han fascinado por su ingenio， por su humor， por sus ideas revolucionarias y por su forma de crear universos solidos y creíbles。 En una reseña de Solaris de hace ya miles de años dije incluso que Lem no sólo es capaz de crear una ciencia nueva y original， sino de hacerla tan verosímil y compleja que pudiera llegar a engañarte， como si no fabulara: como si se limitara a describir。 Estas virtudes siempre estaban inextricablemente ligadas a una historia potente。 En el caso de Solaris， la solarística es un decorado coqueto que hace aun más fascinante el infierno psicológico de Kelvin， el científico enviado a investigar las misteriosas apariciones en la estación espacial。 En cambio， el problema con esta novela， por llamarla de algún modo， es que si eliminas la historia， si dejas únicamente ese continente científico， no hay nada que te anime a seguir leyendo。 La voz del amo no es una novela， es un articulo científico con un toque personal， una discusión bizantina que se prolonga durante 300 páginas， un ladrillo insoportable de conceptos extrañísimos que se te cae de las manos。 Da igual que el tema tratado sea interesante: la aproximación puramente intelectual no es suficiente para involucrar al lector， máxime cuando estamos ante una novela y no un ensayo。 Da igual lo sesuda que sea dicha aproximación， es un gran merito y dice mucho del intelecto del autor， pero， y lo siento， hace imposible sentir el suficiente interés por lo que se nos está contando。 Ha habido fragmentos en los que casi abandono la lectura， si no fuera por mi patológica necesidad de terminar todo lo que empiezo -ya va siendo hora de corregir este habito- hubiera mandado a cagar a la vía a Lem， sus huevos de rana y sus mensajes extraterrestres。 Miedo me da como deben ser sus ensayos de ficción， pero como sean la mitad de áridos se los va a leer Rita la Cantaora。 Me quedo con el Lem narrador， gracias。 。。。more

Laura ，

densa como remarla en un pantano pero vale la pena， a must re-read《silentium universi》

Alex ，

4。5

paper0r0ss0 ，

Prima di tutto una confessione: non credo ne' di aver compreso del tutto ne' di essere mai entrato in sintonia con questo romanzo。 Un libro SF per modo di dire， stante lo spunto del messaggio dallo spazio non certo originale e dirompente， ma evidentemente si trattava solo di un espediente。 La comunicazione cosmica si rivela un cavallo di troia per instradare il lettore su percorsi ben piu' tortuosi e ardui: epistemologia， dinamiche sociali， rapporti di forza tra individui e nazioni， paranoie e o Prima di tutto una confessione: non credo ne' di aver compreso del tutto ne' di essere mai entrato in sintonia con questo romanzo。 Un libro SF per modo di dire， stante lo spunto del messaggio dallo spazio non certo originale e dirompente， ma evidentemente si trattava solo di un espediente。 La comunicazione cosmica si rivela un cavallo di troia per instradare il lettore su percorsi ben piu' tortuosi e ardui: epistemologia， dinamiche sociali， rapporti di forza tra individui e nazioni， paranoie e ossessioni che mai abbandonano l'umanita' e in fin dei conti la ricerca di un fine， anzi "del" fine ultimo della vita， sia intesa in senso biologico che spirituale。 Tutto bello， tutto ben scritto， ma non sono cosi' convinto che questa idea non potesse essere sviluppata in maniera meno pesante。 。。。more

S Mccarthy ，

I'm a programmer and it felt like I was reading a text book the whole time。 There is literally no story and only theory for the first half of the book。 I'm a programmer and it felt like I was reading a text book the whole time。 There is literally no story and only theory for the first half of the book。 。。。more

Googoogjoob ，

All of Lem's fiction writing exists on a spectrum between the colorful and cartoonish （eg most of the Ijon Tichy stories， the Robot stories） and the dry and brooding （most of the Pirx stories， including Fiasco; Highcastle， most of his pseudepigraphical works， The Mask）; and then also on another spectrum， from the very dense in ideas （certain of the Tichy stories， the pseudepigraphia， Fiasco） to the lighter （the other Pirx stories， the Bajki Robotów stories）， though his work is never devoid of he All of Lem's fiction writing exists on a spectrum between the colorful and cartoonish （eg most of the Ijon Tichy stories， the Robot stories） and the dry and brooding （most of the Pirx stories， including Fiasco; Highcastle， most of his pseudepigraphical works， The Mask）; and then also on another spectrum， from the very dense in ideas （certain of the Tichy stories， the pseudepigraphia， Fiasco） to the lighter （the other Pirx stories， the Bajki Robotów stories）， though his work is never devoid of heavier themes。His Master's Voice is， more than anything but some of the pseudepigraphia （which aren't even narratives）， very firmly lodged in the dry-dense corner of the spectrum formed by these two axes。 This is a novel ostensibly "about" humanity's first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence; but the first fifth or so of the novel is introductory matter， introspection， and digression on the part of the narrator， and the book ends up being about a million other things- bureaucracy and government involvement in science， professional relationships among scientists， good and evil， cosmogony， mathematics， science fiction as a genre- as it is about aliens。 On top of this， the novel is extremely light on dialogue and character （most chapters have no spoken dialogue at all）， and tells you up-front that the scientists ultimately failed to truly decipher the "message" from space。 There's some tension late in the story， hinging on the outcome of a dangerous experiment， but that the story is framed as a memoir sort of lets you know how it'sll come out。 So it's a very daunting prospect as a book， especially if you aren't a Lem initiate; but if you can get into it， it's an extremely intellectually rewarding book。 I think Fiasco is Lem's best treatment of his first contact obsession， and is additionally much better as a novel （that is， in terms of character， plotting， thematic patterning， etc）， but His Master's Voice is absolutely worth reading。 。。。more

Tortlino ，

One of the best philosophical science fiction books。 Had multiple existential crises while reading。

Goran ，

MIT Press。A fairly dense read， but like most Lems， well worth breaking your head over。 Feels pretty cynical and unfortunately all too timely。 This packed so many things into it， I almost feel like a re-read will have to be essential to give them all some proper thought。。。

Ninjakicalka ，

Zaczynając „Głos Pana” nie spodziewałam się takiej męczarni。Ta książka to tak naprawdę traktat filozoficzny z jakimiś 2% dialogów。 I chciałabym coś więcej o tym napisać， ale po prostu nie dam rady。 Przez kilka dni nie wiedziałam， o czym czytam。Książka ma mi dawać radość， rozrywkę， wiedzę， skłaniać do przemyśleń czy kwestionowania różnych spraw， a tutaj to była po prostu droga przez mękę i nic więcej。

William ，

"With sufficient imagination a man could write a whole series of versions of his life; it would form a union of sets in which the facts would be the only elements in common。"The idea of the individual as a microcosm of society or even the universe as a whole is a very old one。 It is an idea that Stanislaw Lem regularly explored in his fiction， insofar as his writing exhibits a fairly radical Socratic ignorance concerning our ability to understand the nature of the self （as seen in the above quot "With sufficient imagination a man could write a whole series of versions of his life; it would form a union of sets in which the facts would be the only elements in common。"The idea of the individual as a microcosm of society or even the universe as a whole is a very old one。 It is an idea that Stanislaw Lem regularly explored in his fiction， insofar as his writing exhibits a fairly radical Socratic ignorance concerning our ability to understand the nature of the self （as seen in the above quote from the preface to this book）， alien intellects， and nature。 His Master's Voice is probably the ultimate expression of Lem's skepticism。 The novel is about Cold War-era scientists attempting to make sense of what appears to indisputably be an interstellar message from alien beings。 Numerous plausible interpretations of the message and the senders' intent are put forward， most of them plausible， but none even remotely definitive。 Indeed， the only thing that would appear to be certain is an utter disregard or at best despairing acceptance by these scientists of the use to which the knowledge derived from the message might be put。 With the United States and USSR already locked in a standoff with the nuclear weapons developed using 20th Century science's previous revolutions， the greatest priority in decoding the alien senders' message is in its military applications。 It's depressing， but also more realistic than the vast majority of science fiction which treats the misuse of science as an aberration of a morally pure （or at least morally neutral） pursuit， rather than as an enterprise which has historically been centered on aiding the powerful in their conquests。 His Master's Voice is， additionally， a deeply philosophical book， but also a more nakedly human novel than any of the other works I've read by Lem， and as such， it probably deserves to stand as his masterpiece even above the likes of Solaris。 It has become an instant favorite of mine， and I suspect I will repeatedly return to it in the future。 。。。more

T ，

Mostly boring。 Some interesting stuff。 Only finished it because I never leave a book unfinished。 Reads more like a memoir than a science fiction novel。 The MC doesn't do things， but merely talks about doing them in the past。 Not the most exciting thing。Profound in some ways， I guess。 Mostly boring。 Some interesting stuff。 Only finished it because I never leave a book unfinished。 Reads more like a memoir than a science fiction novel。 The MC doesn't do things， but merely talks about doing them in the past。 Not the most exciting thing。Profound in some ways， I guess。 。。。more

Dominik Golob ，

613

Rahul ，

After Solaris， I had very high hopes from His Master's Voice。 And Lem does not disappoint here either。 One of the most interesting， thought-provoking science fiction books I've read。 After Solaris， I had very high hopes from His Master's Voice。 And Lem does not disappoint here either。 One of the most interesting， thought-provoking science fiction books I've read。 。。。more

Lukáš Hamara ，

Hlavný hrdina v úvode knihy spomína na to， ako mu v detstve umierala mama na rakovinu - a ako sa na jej bolesti， vrámci akéhosi ťažko vysvetliteľného psychického obranného mechanizmu， začal hurónsky smiať。 Pretože inak sa brániť nevedel。 Podobne pôsobí i Lem - ako inteligentný a krehký "chalan" ktorému priam úzkostne nejde vyrovnávanie sa s veľkými， nezodpovedanými existenciálnymi otázkami， ktorých odpovede， ako sci-fi autor， hľadá v šírom kozme。 Kozme， ktorý podobne ako v Solarise， zúfalo neodp Hlavný hrdina v úvode knihy spomína na to， ako mu v detstve umierala mama na rakovinu - a ako sa na jej bolesti， vrámci akéhosi ťažko vysvetliteľného psychického obranného mechanizmu， začal hurónsky smiať。 Pretože inak sa brániť nevedel。 Podobne pôsobí i Lem - ako inteligentný a krehký "chalan" ktorému priam úzkostne nejde vyrovnávanie sa s veľkými， nezodpovedanými existenciálnymi otázkami， ktorých odpovede， ako sci-fi autor， hľadá v šírom kozme。 Kozme， ktorý podobne ako v Solarise， zúfalo neodpovedá na naše prosby a nedovoľuje nám aby sme ho spoznali， v širšom zmysle nám však pomáha spoznať nás samých - aj so všetkými našimi potlačovanými démonmi。 Pánov hlas je narozdiel od Solarisu menej priamy， je výrazne ťažkopádnejší a príbeh v ňom prakticky absentuje。 Skôr tu ide o akúsi autorskú， dvestostranovú filozofickú úvahu nad hranicami súčasnej vedy， akosi symbolizujúcimi ľudskú malosť。 Hlas "zhora" z vesmíru k nám prehovoril， to len my nie sme dostatočne vyzretí， aby sme mu rozumeli。 Ťažko preniknuteľné， no niekde pod tými vrstvami sa skrýva schúlený， nahý autor。 。。。more

Donald S ，

Very dense reading， and very fun。 Only 200 pages， but reads like 500。 More ideas per page than 99。9% of the books I have read。 One of the very few books that has sent me scurrying to Google to understand his references， in science， math， mythology， and the arts。 A truly remarkable work。 The plot， on the other hand， is far from satisfying -- it is genuine， worldly， imperfect， and allows no room for escapism。

Peter Grenholm ，

The preface promises an alien that remains an unintelligible mystery， but in the end this turns out to be quite standard and dated SF sense of wonder （the alien is super powerful， super old， super advanced）。 If that's your thing， so be it， but it disappointed me after having read Solaris and Imaginary Magnitudes。 And when the writing's this dense （mainly researchers discussing theories） you expect the science to be correct。 It isn't， in fact most of it is just smart-sounding nonsense。 The preface promises an alien that remains an unintelligible mystery， but in the end this turns out to be quite standard and dated SF sense of wonder （the alien is super powerful， super old， super advanced）。 If that's your thing， so be it， but it disappointed me after having read Solaris and Imaginary Magnitudes。 And when the writing's this dense （mainly researchers discussing theories） you expect the science to be correct。 It isn't， in fact most of it is just smart-sounding nonsense。 。。。more

Dorota ，

Lem， jak zawsze， daje do myślenia。

Kaju Janowski ，

Read the first chapter and two last ones， save yourself some mind-boggling pseudo-scientific monologue。Second to last should be actually a separate essay。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=His Master's Voice

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=His Master's Voice&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,His Master's Voice&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0