Return from the Stars

By: Stanislaw Lem, Barbara Marszal - translator, Frank Simpson - translator

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Hal Bregg is an astronaut who returns from a space mission in which only 10 biological years have passed for him, while 127 years have elapsed on Earth. He finds that the Earth has changed beyond recognition, filled with human beings who have been medically neutralized. How does an astronaut join a civilization that shuns risk?

©1967 Stanislaw Lem; English translation © 1980 by Stanislaw Lem (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

magnificent

Truly one of the best sci-fi novels ever written. The reader is good too. This is one of Lem's finest works, and that's saying a lot because the bar is high.

A slow one from Lem

As a Lem fan, getting a story that meanders around to make various points is something of a norm. This is not his best work in that regard.

As usual, there's something interesting going on in the background, but that seems less well handled in this case than other books.

Lem is also not known for the women he writes. This book is particularly painful in that regard, and it was frequently tempting to put down for that reason.

As someone that loves Lem, I'm very glad this isn't the first book of his I experienced.

Starts slow, then it gets intense

I'm a huge Lem fan and I always left this book aside. I decided to finally give it a chance only now.
The book starts slowly and sets you up for some less serious / goofy adventure in a not so distant future. By the time you start understanding more of the background of the characters and the world you realize that the story is so much deeper and intense. Lots of high quality sci-fi content worthy of the good ol' Stan. Totally recommend.

definitely recommend

fascinating, interesting, well written/translated and overall great book.

the story of a man, who returns to earth after 10 years on a faster-than-light space expedition. Over a century has gone by on earth, and everything has changed. He has a hard time adapting to the new society. Great narration, including accents! Female voices could be better.

guilt for dreams

After a long space voyage the hero and his surviving explorers return to earth to find a great change has over taken humanity.