The Invincible

I need to stop reading forewords. They only end up coloring my opinion of the ensuing book, and this was my experience with Stanisław Lem’s The Invincible. In the foreword, N. Katherine Hayles makes many assumptions about the book’s meaning. I kept looking for signs of these interpretations and found nothing. What I did find was a book almost devoid of dialogue, and full of five-page paragraphs. In my own writing I have always tried to strike a balance between thick exposition and juicy dialogue. It’s as important to entertain as it is to illuminate. Lem ended up writing a book that describes an inexplicable event and I was left as clueless and worn out as the protagonist Rohan.

I read this book because of Starward Industries’s video game adaptation. I started playing it and, much as with television shows and movies, felt that reading the source material first would result in a better experience. In the case of The Invincible, I’m not sure. I’ll finish playing the game and get back to you.

2023.12.30

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