Fiasco
Fiasco by Stanisław Lemby Stanisław Lem
Shares rank 108 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Praised for nailing genre-focused role-playing sessions; one mixed comment says its aliens are too alien.
Praised for nailing genre-focused role-playing sessions; one mixed comment says its aliens are too alien.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nails genre-focused role-playing sessions
“Fiasco or Dread or Powered by the Apocalypse games which really nail genre focused role playing session”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Wizards of the Coast declines to voluntarily recognize Magic Arena union”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Aliens feel too alien
“The aliens are too alien, and the humans do what humans often do.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Fiascoby Stanisław LemThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Fiasco or Dread or Powered by the Apocalypse games which really nail genre focused role playing session”
“The aliens are too alien, and the humans do what humans often do.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.