Lem, Stanislaw
Average customer rating:
- Compelling, cerebral science fiction
- Way better than the movies. But very very strange.
- CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND...
- Good, idea-driven sci-fi
- The translation isn't bad: a sci-fi classic
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Solaris
Stanislaw Lem
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ASIN: 0156027607 |
Book Description
Who's testing whom? When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he is forced to confront a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. Scientists speculate that the Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, its purpose in doing so unknown.
The first of Lem's novels to be published in America and now considered a classic, SOLARIS raises a question: Can we truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?
Customer Reviews:
Compelling, cerebral science fiction .......2007-04-20
Kris Kelvin goes to a space station where strange things have been happening. The planet the station orbits - Solaris - seems to be having a strange influence on the inhabitants of the space station and begins to have an effect of Kelvin.
Solaris explores what it means to be human. This is cerebral sci-fi. Fairly heavy going but worth the effort. The central idea of the novel, which I wont give away here, is awfully compelling and Lem conjures up a wonderful character in Kelvin's lover Rhea.
Solaris has inspired two very different films - Tarkovsky's early 70's effort, which will test your patience, and Soderbergh's recent effort, which is actually very good and retains the spirit of the book.
Way better than the movies. But very very strange........2006-12-10
I tried to watch Solaris twice (old Russian version, new Clooney version) and fell asleep both times because the going was so slow. Yeah, sorry if you think that brands me as an action-movie-dimwit, but I just didn't like them. Anyway, I had read some Lem before ("Return from the Stars", I think), so I figured I'd give Solaris a try in book form.
The good news is that the book is actually pretty short and mostly moves along briskly. More significant is that Lem does such a great job describing contact, or rather the lack thereof, between humans and... whatever the ocean is.
However, Solaris is also very open ended and leaves you to your own interpretations as to its meaning. Nothing is made clear and you have to be prepared to take the book either at its inconclusive face value, or analyze its philosophical meanings in depth. There is no nice elegant plot and conclusion included in the package. If you tend to ask yourself big questions about the meaning of life and the universe, this is by far one of the best SF books to read. If not (like me), this is still a classic, but may leave you a bit frustrated at the end.
The only question I got out of it is how the ocean, supposedly so alien and unaware of us, can animate its mental projections. Does making a perfect simulacra, complete with memories and speech not imply that the ocean understands us pretty well? Or are the simulacra involuntary and autonomous items that it is not aware of having created? Certainly, Kris's wife doesn't understand what she is, though she gradually becomes aware she isn't human. Neither does she seem particularly interested in gathering useful information out of Kris (but what information would be left unknown at that point anyway?). Maybe she is more of a projection by Kris, in which the ocean is only an accidental facilitator, rather than an interested party?
Also, with this edition, what's with translating Lem from Polish to French to English??? Ever heard of Polish to English translators? It's not that the double translation is that bad, but you do occasionally feel its effect in some weird turn of phrases.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND..........2006-11-26
Having seen the film that starred George Clooney and was based upon this book, and having found it wanting, I decided to go to the source. I am glad that I did, as it is certainly better as a book than it is as a film. It is also far more profound than the film, which concentrated on the love story.
This book is much more than that, covering many themes. It is, first and foremost, about contact with an alien entity and communication of a type beyond our comprehension. Is it friend or foe? Who can say, as the source of the communication makes its pitch based upon an individual's memories, some good, and some bad? What it is communicating remains unfathomable. Still, the book provides much food for thought.
Good, idea-driven sci-fi.......2006-09-10
In Stanislaw Lem's classic sci-fi novel, Kris Kelvin, a psychologist, is sent to visit a station positioned over Solaris, a planet with unique attributes which has been explored by generations of scientists in the vague hope of establishing some form of `contact'. Kelvin's mission is to determine whether the entire Solarist project should be abandoned, once and for all. Solaris, as it turns out, is a colossal brain. The planet is almost entirely covered by ocean, though it also entertains a variety of spontaneously arising structures: whether the planet's processes represent intelligent cogitations or primitive, vegetative outputs remains a mystery. After being explored by human scientists Solaris begins to develop its own `investigations' of the crew, performing `psychic vivisections' - while the station's inhabitants sleep the planet is able to scan their memory structures and project physical representations of the most assimilated and stable memory traces. Soon, each of the station's inhabitants begins to receive their own `visitors'. These recreations are accurate to an extraordinary level of detail, their bodies deviating from human ones only at the sub-atomic level. Kris Kelvin's visitor is his late wife, whose suicide has weighed on Kris' conscience for years. Lem's book explores issues surrounding memory, regret and the nature of personhood, but perhaps more fundamentally it is concerned with problems of epistemology. Is our knowledge of the world, of the cosmos and even of our own selves, necessarily limited? In the course of trying to understand Solaris the scientists become guilty of anthropomorphizing - attributing human motives and characteristics to the planet. Are even the most abstract branches of knowledge anthropomorphic, in the sense that there are "correspondences with the human body...in the equations of the theory of relativity, the theorem of magnetic fields and the various unified field theories"? Is `true' understanding (an objective epistemology) impossible? Lem had worked for a time as a reviewer of scientific articles - his familiarity with scientific jargon is obvious in the passages where he describes (and pokes fun, tongue-in-cheek) the intellectual history of Solaris and the elaborate technical nomenclature that was developed to describe it. Parts of the novel offer intriguing insights into the sociology of science.
One of the problems with the English version of Solaris is that the prose is a bit choppy and at times, difficult to get through. Quite possibly this is because of a shoddy translation - from Polish to French and finally to English. Despite this, the book remains enjoyable to read, mostly for the ideas that it explores and its wonderful imagination. The novel, of course, has been adapted to the screen twice: first by the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and more recently by Steven Soderbergh. Both of these films focused on the love story between Kris Kelvin and his wife, something that Lem insisted was not the book's main point. This book is especially recommended to those who have seen the films without having read the source material.
The translation isn't bad: a sci-fi classic.......2006-05-31
When an incompletion especially over a permanent loss haunts you, it can drive you crazy with illusion and delusion. The classic Solaris is a philiosophical bent on just how bad ungrieved loss and regret can be. But also offers a message of hope on how we can complete with a great love when we do have the chance.
Average customer rating:
- When I'm down, I just re-read this book
- Marvellous
- See review by G. Moses "theonlytruegeo" titled "Dazzled" -- I AGREE!
- More fairy tales for robots
- Brilliant
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The Cyberiad
Stanislaw Lem
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ASIN: 0156027593 |
Book Description
Trurl and Klaupacius are constructor robots who try to out-invent each other. They travel to the far corners of the cosmos to take on freelance problem-solving jobs, with dire consequences for their employers. “The most completely successful of his books... here Lem comes closest to inventing a real universe” (Boston Globe). Illustrations by Daniel Mr—z. Translated by Michael Kandel.
Customer Reviews:
When I'm down, I just re-read this book.......2007-05-04
I first discovered this book as a teenager, more than 30 years ago. Since then I have read it many times. Recently, I finished reading it aloud at bedtime to my two sons, 11 and 8. They were enthralled. I will never tire of this book and was sad to hear of Lem's death in 2006.
Marvellous.......2007-01-09
An excellent travel in space and mind by the most brilliant science fiction author of our days!
See review by G. Moses "theonlytruegeo" titled "Dazzled" -- I AGREE!.......2006-02-22
I hope I'm not violating some Amazon rule, but I would say that you should read the review titled "Dazzled" by Amazon Reviewer G. Moses "theonlytruegeo" . I agree with most everything he wrote. The Cyberiad is definitely funny, at times profound, and certainly entertains with character idiosyncracies. The Tale of the Three Story Telling Machines was my very favorite too. Though, in there, I don't think the Mymosh story was the best part. I liked other parts, but it is also the whole of the nested nest of stories -- and it's ending -- that is wonderful. Anyway, go now to that other reviewer and read that review. Hopefully, this consensus is helping you out; we both characterize the book in the same way.
More fairy tales for robots.......2006-01-15
Like "Mortal Engines", "The Cyberiad" is a collection of comic fairy tales about robots. In this case, the two main characters are constructors who can build pretty much anything, including a simulation of the entire universe, though with somewhat mixed results, as in the initial tale with the giant computer that can't quite add (and gets huffy about it).
Brilliant light reading. Calvino is perhaps the best comparison.
Brilliant.......2005-07-29
The classic Lem combination of bizarre humor and fast pace are more than present in this tome. If you've enjoyed any of Lem's other works, especially the Ijon Tichy works, you'll be pleasantly surprised and most entertained by the Cyberiad.
Average customer rating:
- The lighter side of social collapse
- one of my all time favorites
- Absurd, hilarious, and strange...
- The Matrix on speed
- Short and silly but very entertaining
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The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy
Stanislaw Lem
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ASIN: 0156340402 |
Book Description
Bringing his twin gifts of scientific speculation and scathing satire to bear on that hapless planet, Earth, Lem sends his unlucky cosmonaut, Ijon Tichy, to the Eighth Futurological Congress. Caught up in local revolution, Tichy is shot and so critically wounded that he is flashfrozen to await a future cure. Translated by Michael Kandel.
Customer Reviews:
The lighter side of social collapse.......2007-03-28
This presents Lem at his satirical, surreal best. It starts with our narrator (Tichy) attending a convention of futurologists. The meeting takes place in a 100-storey hotel in Costa Rica. There's a bit of prophetic reality early on, when conference-goers discuss their steps in dealing with metal detectors at airports - the kind that get you pulled aside for metal fillings in your teeth. We're not quite there, but it's grimly familiar.
Lem's cockeyed take on the future becomes quickly apparent. Tichy's conference swag, like everyone else's, include coupons redeemable for intercourse at a local adult entertainment business. Maybe that will offer some comfort after the day's little annoyances, like seeing the attendee next to him gunned down by conference security - terrible mistake, really, but these things happen. Pay no attention. Things get progresively more surreal as bizarre proposals and arguments come forth. Then civil unrest empties the hotel, dumping Tichy and the into streets being flooded with LTN gas. That's "Love Thy Neighbor," leading to outlandish displays of affection between combatants and everyone else. Tichy is injured too badly for treatment, so he is frozen and sent to the future, when medicine will have improved enough that he can be treated.
That's when things get really strange. It's a seemingly normal world, except that every daily action is driven by drugs. Drugs for calm, affection, religious faith, education, and very specific kinds of hallucinations. It turns out that the hallucations have been engineered by the rulers, to hide -- well, find out for yourself.
This is not just a wild ride through a faulty future and a gaily grim view of what comes next. It's also a wonderful whirl of wordplay. The English version is filled with Lem's own vocabulary, almost-familiar takeoffs on words you thought you knew. But this is a translation from Lem's original Polish, so it's also a tribute to the scholarship and silliness of Michael Kandel, who did the translation. I recommend it highly.
//wiredweird
one of my all time favorites.......2005-09-15
I have read and reread this book so many times, and it never ceases to make me laugh...then think about how much more relevant this book becomes as the years go by...then i laugh and think some more.
this book is an essential read for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the nature of reality. whether you're 13 or 33 this book will wind your brain up and send it in all directions. So....read it!!!
Absurd, hilarious, and strange..........2005-04-23
Anyone with a quirky sense of humor or enjoyment of the absurd will enjoy this novel. Some political and philosophical symbolism within as well. Fans of Philip K. Dick will certainly like this. It's no suprise that Lem and P.K.D. were friends.
The Matrix on speed.......2005-01-20
This book is great on so many levels - the concept, the ideas, and possibly most of all, the sharp satirical humor. While the main thesis presented in the book - alteration of preceived reality to control humanity - has nowadays been made accessible to the general public through the Matrix movies, at the time this book was written (1970s) the concept was quite fresh. His choice of method (drugs and chemicals) was reasonable for the time, and although some of his views on our future will probably not pan out (he forsaw an ice age, whereas it is now thought the earth will overheat to death), he is certainly heading in the right direction.
Through it out hillarity reigns. It is accentuated by his casual, matter-of-fact description of the most absurd events; I find the narrative voice remeniscent of Swift's "Gulliver's Travels". A few words of appreciation must also be directed at Michael Kandel, who had the hard task of translating Lem's subtle humor - a task masterfully done.
My only regret is that the book seems rushed, which I suppose it has no choice but to be, given the amount of Narrative Lem delivers over only 150 pages. Other than that - a wonderful, thought-provoking and very funny book.
Short and silly but very entertaining.......2004-12-07
Is it science fiction? Fantasy? No, it's Stanislaw Lem's preposterous farce about the future. And it was written over 30 years ago, so we can see if we are getting any closer to it.
In this story, very few real things remain in the world. Almost everything is an illusion, brought about by very specific illusion-causing chemicals.
Maybe the best thing about this farce is the multitude of hilarious words that Lem invents. I've no idea how Michael Kandel managed to translate them so wonderfully from Polish. I liked the mimicretins (computers that play stupid in order, once and for all, to be left in peace). And when Ijon and Aileen get into an argument which she intensifies by taking recriminol. Or when Ijon has some of his illusions removed when he takes up'n'at'm, a powerful vigilanimide.
Anyway, it's unusual and very funny.
Average customer rating:
- Heavy going exploration of ideas
- LEM THE THINKER
- no easy answers
- Worth the Nobel Prize
- A difficult, but rewarding read...quite unlike anything else in science fiction
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His Master's Voice
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
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ASIN: 0810117312 |
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A witty and inventive satire of "men of science" and their thinking, as a team of scientists races to decode a mysterious message from space. "I had the feeling that I was standing at the cradle of a new mythology. A last will and testament...we as the posthumous heirs of Them..."A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Customer Reviews:
Heavy going exploration of ideas.......2007-04-20
His Master's Voice tells the story of a project set up after a "message" is received from outer space. The story is narrated by a somewhat self-satisfied scientist involved in the project.
HMV has little in the way of plot. It is more of an exploration of ideas relating to the source and meaning of the message - and a gentle satire on the machinations of top scientists. It's pretty heavy going and only marginally worth the trip.
If are are thinking of reading this because you enjoyed Solaris (as I did), then you may be disappointed.
LEM THE THINKER .......2006-07-06
Stanislaw Lem's HIS MASTER'S VOICE is a masterful work with issues. The story, simple on its face and straightforward enough, has an alien message sent via neutrino particle waves being intercepted by mid-20th Century humankind at the height of the Cold War. An ever-growing army of scientists from every conceivable discipline are gathered in the desert (think Manhattan Project) to decode the thing. This formidable assemblage quickly begins to resemble nothing so much as the Biblical Tower of Babel. Agendas are on parade, most noticeably that of the American military, always on the lookout for a new mega-weapon (they nearly get their wish). In the end, nothing is resolved and we are left with far more questions than answers. (Beware: some of those questions are themselves quite remarkable, with the power to twist the average mind into an intellectual pretzel overnight.)
What Lem really gets right here is practically all in the Introduction, a stellar piece that had me jotting quotes on bookmarks. The "story," such as it is, doesn't really get going until about the second chapter. Essentially, the depths of human intellectual limitations are mined throughout. Lem's deft use of the desertscape serves to remind us of our hopelessly remote place in the universe and of the sheer vastness of space. Lonesome, indeed.
Where the book goes wrong is in Lem's basic approach. Rendered as a sort of posthumous epistolic diary, there is scant dialogue and very little action. A more dramatic approach would have saved HMV from its utter dryness. My guess is, this time around, Lem only wished a room with enough scale in which to park his ideas, and this he has done to the point where too much of the time the piece resembles more a work of philosophy than fiction. A case of too much telling and not enough showing. Any dependable novelist would recognize the mistake.
In the end, HMV is not a display of Lem the Artist, but Lem the Thinker. And what a thinker he was.
no easy answers.......2006-04-09
Lem's bibliography cosnists of a great variety of books. From fairytales (featuring robots) to incredibly difficult quasi-philosophical works. HMV can be placed somewhere in the middle of the scale.
It can be read even if you're not a scholar, at the same time being a very demanding book. The incredible and unique thing about Lem (whose death was a tragedy to me) is that he was able do describe truly ALIEN beings, their actions by definition impossible to comprehend with human minds. Where other accomplished writers give us descriptions like: "it was a kind of a hive" or "it was game hunter" Lem does not. OK, he gives out some hints, but these are not to be treated as any kind of explanation.
If you want to briefly touch a mystery read His Master's Voice or Solaris. Both masterpieces, they will open your mind to the unknown and make other Sci-Fi novels look ridiculous.
Having read the book, over the last 7-8 years I've been sometimes wondering what really happened in HMV. So far, 1:0 for Mr Lem. Rest in peace, my Master.
Worth the Nobel Prize.......2006-02-24
Lem should have got the Nobel Prize for this book. It's highly philosophical and somehow wraps up the history of mankind in 200 pages.
A complex signal is received from space, the brightest heads of the world assembled to decipher it, and in the end it turns out that the message may be nothing less than the "DNA" of the universe, the basic instructions for life.
Lem is a very controversial writer: his "contact novels" are brilliant, the early books are good, too, I didn't like his stories so much, though. He doesn't care about the popular definition of science fiction. His books are actually a lot more about science than fiction.
Also be warned: His Master's Voice is damn hard to read, but it's worth every minute. (Maybe read Solaris first to get into the mood.)
A difficult, but rewarding read...quite unlike anything else in science fiction.......2006-01-21
"His Master's Voice" is written as a brilliant mathematician's account of working on a Manhatten Project-like attempt to decipher a signal from space. The attempt has only succeeded in deciphering a tiny fragment of the message (and that is not well understood). Thus the work fits in with Lem's many writings on the subject of the "alien" and how it may be impossible to understand something which is truly different from us. These other works include "Fiasco", "Eden" and (most famously) "Solaris". "His Master's Voice" is the most realistic and the most philosophical in tone. The tale is set in cold war America, and includes a fairly pedestrian plot line around the possibility the signal contains instructions for a weapon, but the bulk of the book consists of the narrator's fundamental observations on life and the universe. The book in fact starts out quite difficultly with a dense introduction and first chapter full of allusions to modern philosophy before starting to tell the "story". Do not be put off by this initial section...it is certain no adventure thriller, but the book does become more approachable and at the same time remains very thought provoking.
I have always suspected Carl Sagan read this book before he wrote "Contact" as the high concept remains...
Average customer rating:
- What if alien life doesn't want to be contacted?
- SETI gone mad
- Stanislaw Lem: The Moral Conscience of Science Fiction
- A TAle for the Ages
- The best of the best with an excellent translation by Kandel
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Fiasco
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
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ASIN: 0156306301 |
Book Description
The planet Quinta is pocked by ugly mounds and covered by a spiderweb-like network. It is a kingdom of phantoms and of a beauty afflicted by madness. In stark contrast, the crew of the spaceship Hermes represents a knowledge-seeking Earth. As they approach Quinta, a dark poetry takes over and leads them into a nightmare of misunderstanding. Translated by Michael Kandel. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Customer Reviews:
What if alien life doesn't want to be contacted?.......2006-01-15
Almost all of Lem's science fiction centers around one or two variations of one theme. The theme is "What is intelligence?" and the two variations are "What would robotic life be like?" and "What would a truly alien intelligence be like?" "Fiasco" is in the latter category. An expedition from Earth approaches and attempts to contact an alien race that does everything it can to avoid being contacted. The humans use their technological advantage to slowly escalate their efforts with ultimately catastrophic results.
"Fiasco" is a brilliant read on its own, and very approachable, but should really be considered part of Lem's larger set of works on this theme: "Solaris", "Eden" and "His Master's Voice" being the most obvious...with "Fiasco" being the most approachable, "Solaris" the best known and "His Master's Voice" the most challenging.
SETI gone mad.......2005-02-20
Contrary to an impassioned and misplaced review Lem isn't arguing against space-travel, nor is he being morbidly sensitive about the death of traditional cultures. Lem is holding up a mirror of introspection about the human race and our technological future - the aliens the expedition sets out to contact are in many ways us, at least the collectivised Communo-Capitalist version of ourselves. The key to understanding is the "mini-novel" cleverly embedded in the main-story as a bit of VR entertainment for the crew. An expedition into an inhospitable African desert to find the control centre of the kingdom of the termites. And a centre that, in the end, doesn't exist. Lem has frequently pitted massive hulking machinery against techno-biological collectives, and usually the big machines fail. Bottom-up collective action defeats top-down command-decision hierarchies. But the collective doesn't make right either - Quinta's collectives are engaged in apocalyptic Cold-War, countering each other's espionage efforts so violently that the EM spectrum from the planet is full of noise and all space-vehicles are autonomous AIs. The planet is ruined and the populace seemingly enslaved to the war effort. The expedition is attacked by the machines, but instead of retaliation more vocal contact efforts are attempted. When contact is made the Quintans are too distracted to care about the newcomers. All that matters is countering the enemy, or so it seems. That's where the whole thing unravels. SETI and CETI become a fiasco when we don't fit in the mental space of the aliens. Yet Lem is really telling us about the futility of war, hot or cold, and the dangers of the collective, the hive, and technology that enslaves. He's written a book packed with ideas and new ones will stick in your head with each re-read.
Stanislaw Lem: The Moral Conscience of Science Fiction.......2004-01-26
In my opinion, Fiasco is an even more damning statement of the folly and pretense behind space exploration than Solaris is, and thank God for that. I believe Stanislaw Lem is one of the most aware authors in the whole field of science fiction. What some readers seem to perceive as his cynicism is, I believe, nothing more than the deep disappointment of a sensitive and truly optimistic man who is sick to death of the evil that men do to each other through the agency of science. Yes, he appreciates scientific inquiry, but he also understands fully how the emotional coldness of scientific inquiry has had the undesirable consequence of freezing our hearts dead, doorknob-stiff.
Furthermore, I think that what righteously enrages Mr. Lem is his ruthless recognition of the fact that for mankind, the primary benefit of technological advancement has been the acquisition of power, and we sure can't get enough of THAT. The indisputable proof of his sensible, knowledgeable, and historically validated cynicism as regards man's rush to technological godhood is written in the blood-splattered pages of the history of this planet.
Christopher Columbus' expeditions to the New World were followed up by a holocaust that engulfed the North and South American continents in a firestorm of genocidal warfare and deliberately introduced disease, resulting in the near-extinction of the peaceful, innocently welcoming Indians that he `discovered' in 1492. In 1853-54, Commodore Perry on three visits to the Ryukyu and Bonin islands before going to Japan and while waiting for a reply from Japan, arrogantly dismissed the native's desire to be left the hell alone and made a naval demonstration by way of a volley of cannon-fire and landed his Marines twice. Of course, all of this preemptive violence was only to secure facilities for commerce, henceforth known as the "opening of Japan." Hurrah! So much for `free' trade. Makes you think about the attack on Pearl Harbor in a new and interesting light, doesn't it?
In Fiasco, Mr. Lem has the courage to state plainly the true reason why we want to run out to the stars: to conquer them, to steal them, and claim them as our property. Listen, just listen, will you, to the thoughts of Tempe, the main protagonist in Fiasco who, after landing his capsule on the planet Quinta, wanders over a landscape utterly devastated by the cataclysmic assault that was launched from the orbiting mothership, Hermes, to punish the Quintans for not welcoming contact with the Earth-men:
"It was not his belief that communication with the Quintans was senseless, based on false assumptions---it was not that which oppressed him, but the fact that they had entered into a game of contact where violence was the highest suit. This thought he kept to himself, because more than anything he wanted to see the Quintans. How could he, despite all his reservations and doubts, turn his back on such an opportunity? Arago (the priest onboard the mothership) had taken a dim view of their policy even before the phrase "show of strength" came up (and) had called a lie a lie, had repeated that they were entering into a contest of deceit; that they were pushing so forcibly toward communication that they were actually abandoning it; that they were covering themselves with masks and stratagems---safer thereby, perhaps, but more and more removed from any genuine opening up of a view into an Alien Intelligence. They jumped upon Quinta's subterfuges, struck at Quinta's every refusal, and made the goal of the expedition less attainable the more brutal the blows they used in its attainment."
The way I see it, if we ever get as far out into this universe as some of us would like, and if we ever encounter any form of life that could respond in any way to our presence, I hope to God almighty that they are advanced enough, powerful enough, and angry enough at our uninvited intrusion into their space to send us back here with the quickness, with our tails between our rocket exhausts, humbled and ready to look into the mirrors that Stanislaw Lem advises us to look deeply into, before we go slinging our slop all over the cosmos again.
A TAle for the Ages.......2003-12-07
One reviewer said it best when he said the book asked how we could ever hope to communicate with alien beings who have a completely different evolutionary history and psychological makeup. One of the worst aspects of some sci-fi is their justaposition of our value systems, wants and needs onto an entirely (forgive the word) alien culture.
Lem seems to delight in writing about these encounters and all the misplaced hopes, dashed dreams, incorrect assumptions and not so surprising outcomes. His irony is so thick one could spread it on morning toast. In the end, of course, the book is all about us and our nature.
The best of the best with an excellent translation by Kandel.......2002-12-18
The cover art has nothing to do directly with the story. Simply the artistýs idea of what the story was about in a metaphorical way.
What IS the story about? Set in a future when humankind finally acts on the basis of a scientific ideal not personal gain a planet is discovered in a distant solar system that has a high probability of supporting life. An expedition is sent and seemingly noble efforts are made to make contact with the inhabitants. The story illustrates, in my own opinion, that no matter how 'evolved' we think we are, no matter how noble and honorably we think we can be, our pride in ourselves and our accomplishments has a way of causing us to ultimately act in barbaric ways.
The beginning of the story is astonishing and relates the re-animation of a man frozen on Titan a century earlier. The scene painted by Lem of this manýs technique in saving himself, his death, and his eventual return to the living are all astonishingly well-written and full of imagery. Lem is a master at getting the reader to imagine a very realistic and plausible scenario. All of this takes place in the first few chapters. This introductory story also serves to acquaint us with the 'evolved' and noble human of the distant future. The human we all hope our childrenýs children become.
There is also a short description of manýs mastery of gravity and cybernetics. This is related in a short description of an ýsmartý probe vehicle and the probeýs independently deduced attempts to avoid capture by the planetýs inhabitants.
Iýve read other readerýs comments regarding Lemýs use of science as a tool only and that he is not a true science fiction writer. I completely disagree. Perhaps Lem does not display a firm understanding of science to some readers, but it is obvious to me that he not only understands the science behind his ideas he is capable of explaining that understanding in the way he can illustrate the possibilities and limitations of his machines.
Lem's stories are unusual in that there is rarely a happy ending or any ending at all. When the message is delivered the story ends often without a climactic scene. Also, it is rare (except for Ijon Tichy or Kris Kelvin) for Lem to make any of his characters more important than any others in a particular story.
I would love to see this story made into a movie. In fact I think this particular book is much better subject matter than Solaris for movie material. With the recent advances in CGI and special effects I think this could be done very well.
Finally, Lem is a science fiction writer like no other. No one in the west comes close and Michael Kandle's translations are absolutely the best.
Average customer rating:
- Pirx not quite such a nice guy
- Oddly Fascinating Space Adventures
- The Real Deal
- Excellent, thoughtful short stories
- a down to earth collection about space travel
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Tales of Pirx the Pilot
Stanislaw Lem , and Louis Iribarne
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0156881500 |
Book Description
In Pilot Pirx, Lem has created an irresistibly likable character: an astronaut who gives the impression of still navigating by the seat of his pants-a bumbler but an inspired one. By investing Pirx with a range of human foibles, Lem offers a wonderful vision of the audacity, childlike curiosity, and intuition that can give humans the courage to confront outer space. Translated by Louis Iribarne. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Customer Reviews:
Pirx not quite such a nice guy.......2006-08-21
The ending of this sequence of vignettes hit me like a sledgehammer. Pirx strikes me as a typical guy working in the space service. Several years ago I met a former cosmonaut and I had a much deeper understanding of whom I had met upon reading this book this year. The banality of evil is one theme in Lem's 1970's work, in Communist Poland with its official worship of technological progress as the justification for that now defunct regime. The ending of the book (which I won't give away) screamed at me that being dumb and numb is no excuse, even for a space jockey with "the right stuff." A couple decades ago, my Polish language teacher mentioned that in his opinion, Lem was the best writer in contemporary Polish fiction. Lem addresses the dark side of humanity as a constant in society with an ever-increasing level of technological complexity. More technology simply gives us more opportunities to confront who we are along with the responsibility to be prepared to think about what we are doing and what choices we will make.
Oddly Fascinating Space Adventures.......2002-01-22
This collection of stories by Lem is based around a chubby cadet by the name of Pirx. The character is plucky and gets into all sorts of fixes. I found the first short story the most surprising and fun to read. It's most vivid antagonist are two insects, and it's wildly creative. Another very good story is this one about a robot re-living over and over the last few hours before the death of an entire ship (this was before Pirx's time). A very haunting tale. Overall, a great collection!
The Real Deal.......1999-10-18
Lem's Pirx is compelling and cool. The science is barely fictional and always thought provoking. The plots, however, are a little more predictable than the sequel. If you're going to read one of these, I'd recommend "More".
Excellent, thoughtful short stories.......1999-03-18
Tales of Pirx the Pilot, and More Tales of Pirx the pilot are two excellent sci-fi books! What is unique is that there is such a strong psychological edge to them. And the fact that Pirx is such an everyman - kind of unsure of himself, and from the outside, unassuming and apparently not especially competent. But Lem does something amazing with Pirx - with each story, he gains experience, confidence, cynicism, and most importantly, judgement and wisdom. Make sure to read the Pirx books, as well as The Invincible, and Solaris.
a down to earth collection about space travel.......1998-11-08
Lem is a master of making fantastic situations seem ordinary. "Tales of Pirx the Pilot" is no exception. Pirx could very well be any one of us and that is one of the things that makes this collection great. We can all relate to Pirx as he stumbles among the stars.
Average customer rating:
- A favorite for the bedside
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Highcastle: A Remembrance
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
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- Mortal Engines
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ASIN: 0156004720 |
Book Description
A “delightfully seriocomic memoir”(New York Times) from the celebrated science fiction writer that summons up a mischievous boyhood in Poland just before World War II. Translated by Michael Kandel.
Customer Reviews:
A favorite for the bedside.......2000-11-29
Stanislaw Lem's writing is beautiful in this brief work. Fans of his science fiction will surely want to read this to get behind the artifice and learn about the writer. But those who are not familiar with his work will also enjoy this as a meditation on memory, growing up in Poland, and this writer's power to evoke meaning. I read it mostly before falling asleep and it gave me wonderful dreams.
Average customer rating:
- The world isn't scattered around us like a jigsaw puzzle
- Philosophical Mystery Story
- Just the facts, Stan.
- Highly original mystery will intrigue the curious
- I think that last reviewer is talking about a different book
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The Investigation
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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- One Human Minute
- Fiasco
- Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences Of Ijon Tichy
- The Chain of Chance
- Mortal Engines
ASIN: 0156451581 |
Book Description
A young officer at Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a puzzling and eerie case of missing-and apparently resurrected-bodies. To unravel the mystery, Lt. Gregory consults scientific, philosophical, and theological experts, who supply him with a host of theories and clues.
Customer Reviews:
The world isn't scattered around us like a jigsaw puzzle.......2004-04-12
This is a wonderful thriller; at times surreal, at times resolvable and at times resolved. But there is a great sense of the unknowable in the face of the 'randomness' of events around us. 'What if life is like a soup with all kinds of things floating in it, and from time to time some of them get stuck together by chance to make some kind of whole?' Yes, this is my experience of life and it comforts me that there are unexplainable things - things that I cannot explain and in a real sense can never be explained. The principal character in this novel carries my own name - Gregory - and that bonded me a bit. But it is the statistician, Sciss, who says 'I don't have any illusions. That's pretty awful you know ....' I identify most of all with that statement, if not Sciss himself.
Recommended other reading:
'Limiting Factor' by Clifford D Simak (this is a short story)
'Under Western Eyes' by Joseph Conrad (he comments on illusions too)
Philosophical Mystery Story.......2002-08-05
A mystery story involving, of course, dead bodies.
The spirit of the novel is best contained in the statistician's remarks on gravity. The word "Gravity" doesn't really explain anything, rather it gives a name to the tendency of objects to fall toward the center of the earth. If something like that happens every day, we give it a name of some sort and accept it as normal. If something like that seldom happens, then it's exceptional and warrants investigation.
Although I was dissatisfied with the ending, the reasoning employed along the way there is pretty engrossing. The story is also strange enough in places to be bleakly humorous. Maybe an extra half-star, for being different.
Just the facts, Stan........2001-03-07
As every detective and scientist should know, objectively there are facts and relationships between facts. Sometimes there are causal relationships between facts, and the facts are correlated; sometimes there are no causal connections between facts, and the facts may or may not show some statistical correlation. The situation where the facts display at least chance correlations but may not be linked causally provides the leitmotiv for Stanislaw Lem's "The Investigation" (and his "Chain of Chance" for that matter).
Correlated facts are suggestive, but when the number of facts does not amount to a meaningful statistical sample the correlation may be an artifact, and then sound inductive reasoning often gives way to wild speculation. In "The Investigation", lieutenant Gregory of Scotland Yard desperately tries to puzzle out a consistent explanation for a bizarre series of disappearing corpses while receiving input from a scientist, a doctor, and fellow detectives --- each with his own ideas. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be enough solid evidence to decide whether the facts of the case have causal structure or whether they simply form "fortuitous patterns". Hmmm.
The category of "science fiction" is usually reserved for whimsical flights of fancy, but here we have a book that breathes fictional life into part of the intellectual apparatus that is at the very heart of science --- the empirical, or scientific, method. No pedantic statement is made about the empirical method, it's darker corners simply serve as a compelling thematic backdrop for a detective story. "The Investigation" is not a detective novel in the traditional sense though, and the ending will throw Agatha Christie enthusiasts for a disconcerting loop...but, an enjoyable one.
The narrative style is pleasingly "cinematic" in that, with few exceptions, only things that can be seen and heard are described --- it reads something like a well-written screenplay. This narrative approach is nothing new, though, and its lack of originality kept me from getting too excited; but, my fetish for stylistic originality is probably not shared by most readers. The book is also intellectually provocative without being didactic in that the story conjures up a small whirlwind of intriguing questions, not a parade of dubious and facile answers. Most importantly, it's a fun and engaging story. I really liked this one.
Highly original mystery will intrigue the curious.......2000-04-18
For years I'd heard a lot about Stanislaw Lem as a great Polish science fiction writer, maybe one of the world's greats in that field, but I hadn't ever read him. Therefore, when I saw a book of his at a yard sale, I bought it. The price was certainly right. But, I must report that I still haven't read any of his science-fiction because THE INVESTIGATION turns out to be one of his few works in other genres. But what genre is this ? You might say it's a detective novel, but "metaphysical detective fiction" would describe it better. How many other books fit into the same field ? Good question. Here we find bodies removed from graveyards and mortuaries; sometimes they turn up elsewhere, sometimes not. Gregory, a suspicious policeman, is assigned to catch the perpetrator. But is there a perpetrator ? Discussions of statistics and probability, as well as mysterious speculations, pepper this novel, which takes place in cold, foggy, rainy or snowy conditions in England, a country that does not emerge very realistically from the background. I was constantly reminded of Ismail Kadare's novel "Doruntine" by the similar philosophical nature of the writing which marks both books, by the rain and cold, and even by the names of characters-Stres in the Albanian book, and Sciss (the statistician) in Lem's. I can't say that this is a characteristic Lem novel because it's the first I ever read. But a detective novel that asks "what if everything that exists is fragmentary, incomplete, aborted, events with ends but no beginnings, events that only have middles, things that have fronts or rears, but not both, with us constantly making categories..... ?" cannot be considered average. Lem's novel may not be to everyone's taste---especially if you are looking for sex, violence, or lots of action---but it is unusual and well-written.
I think that last reviewer is talking about a different book.......2000-03-17
Lem also has a book called _The Invincible_ that is sci-fi. This book, _The Investigation_ is not sci-fi at all, it's a mystery. But true to Lem's style it is like no other mystery. You're never sure if the missing corpses are actually getting up and walking away or if the whole thing is just some epic scheme. I loved it but I have to admit it's not for everyone and not an easy read.
Average customer rating:
- Kafka on Prozac
- a perfect work of art
- Enter the labyrinth...
- not a good book by Lem (who is a great writer)
- Maddening, Labrynthian, Perfection
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Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
Stanislaw Lem , Christine Rose , and Adele Kandel
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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- His Master's Voice
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ASIN: 0156585855 |
Book Description
The year is 3149, and a vast paper destroying blight-papyralysis-has obliterated much of the planet's written history. However, these rare memoirs, preserved for centuries in a volcanic rock, record the strange life of a man trapped in a hermetically sealed underground community. Translated by Michael Kandel and Christine Rose.
Customer Reviews:
Kafka on Prozac.......2007-04-14
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub by Stanslaw Lem follows the adventures of an agent-in-training as he wanders in search of a mission through the vast bureaucracy of a purposeless intelligence agency.
The agent is anonymous. But we can call him K - because the story, the style, and the absurdist message are drawn directly from Kafka (esp. The castle]. K is an everyman, and his agency is an allegory for society. Ostensibly, the agency is the post-apocalyptic remnant of America, but it feels entirely European.
The theme of the Memoirs is that one's search for individual identity (i.e. the mission) is distracted by reflections of the self in other people. Social interaction discloses layer upon layer of identity (like the numberless floors of the agency's building) but no essential purpose. Such a search wraps the individual tighter and tighter in a web of conformity.
In the end, K can no longer imagine leaving the building. He becomes incapable of even attempting a mission, should he ever find one. Even his human rebelliousness turns into tragically reflexive conformity.
Lem's narrative style conveys serious ideas using a simple narrative prose and pervasive, but understated humor. In this respect, Lem writes like Kafka on Prozac - with clearer ideas, faster pace, and more fun. For me, this is the best aspect of the book.
The worst aspect of the book is the introduction. I advise the reader to skip it; with the intro included, my recommendation drops by at least one star. It places the Memoirs in a sophomoric (and entirely unnecessary) SciFi context and draws the connection with America. I speculate that the introduction was added to satisfy censors in 1961 Poland.
a perfect work of art.......2005-03-16
Hilarious bureaucratic master-work reduces every paranoid cliche to the realm of the absurd. After a brief prologue (explaining the current state of the world), the memoirs take over the book and create an environment both instantly insane and memorabley accurate. Lem was always the funniest of the sci fi writers- he makes you think, the same time he causes you to laugh out loud. (it's like Kafka mixed with the Marx Brothers.) The un-named narrator will have you rooting for him from the first sentence. Even the final stark scene is somehow uncomfortabley amusing.
Enter the labyrinth..........2003-12-23
These memoirs are presented in the foreword as the last remnant of a dead civilization, and its twisted hierarchical organization and jargon justify the archaeologist of the future in thinking that this is the artifact of a bizarre religion. As such, it is a religion that radically cut itself from transcendence: its Temple is a shadowy museum of illusions and deceptions, with no hope whatsoever of receiving the light of order; pseudo-heresies are created by their unknowing priests, revelations are elaborated at will only to be contradicted soon after. This is the world that the book's nameless hero must brave - he experiences several 'signification crisises', going back-and-forth between allegory as a universal rule and a complete negation of sense. The Building in which all the events take place is a sort of fiction-generating machine (like Lem's book itself), perpetually spinning tales, intrigues and conflicts. What makes the book powerful is that Lem equates his reader with the main character, both sharing an elusive mission; the work starts smoothly, until reader and agent are completely immersed in this world of mirrors, crypted informations and thwarted enigmas. The desire to understand remains, but there is nothing to understand as the personal quest (the agent's and the reader's) becomes more and more convoluted and drowned into a complex string of half-truths. A maze of a novel.
not a good book by Lem (who is a great writer).......2002-11-19
I'm a big fan of Lem but I have to admidt he has churned out some bad books. I have read all but two all of Lem's books and this is among his worst (along with Chain of Chance, Eden, the Investigation). Its boring, short, and no way worth [that much money] Instead start out with one of his 5-star books: His Master's Voice, Star Diaries, Fiasco, or Pirx the Pilot.
Maddening, Labrynthian, Perfection.......2002-04-03
this book drove me completely insane while reading it, as there seemed to be no real concrete...anything. And I think that was the point. A wonderfully funny, often maddening read from Stanislaw Lem, whos other books are no less good than this one. I would even hazard a guess that this would make a great movie, in the right hands.
Average customer rating:
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The Invincible
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:
- Fiasco
- The Investigation
- Solaris
ASIN: B000B5KW52 |
Authors:
- Michèle Lemieux
- Lemieux, Michèle
- Lenard, Alexander
- L'Engle, Madeleine
- Lennox, Charlotte
- Leonard, Elmore
- Leopardi, Giacomo
- Michail Lermontov
- Leroux, Gaston
- Lessing, Doris
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