Best Selling Books by Stanislaw Lem

The Franz Kafka Prize-winning author invites you to a doped-up dystopia. " Nobody can really know the future. But few could imagine it better than Lem. " — The Paris Review Bringing his twin gifts of scientific speculation and scathing satire to bear on that hapless planet, Earth, Polish author Stanislaw Lem sends his unlucky cosmonaut, Ijon Tichy, to the Eighth Futurological Congress in Costa Rica to discuss the overpopulation problem. Caught up in local revolution, Tichy is shot and so critically wounded that he is flashfrozen to await a cure. But when he awakens in 2039, he is faced with a future unlike any that the Congress could have ever imagined. Translated by Michael Kandel. "A vision of Earth''s future where the authorities dose the population with ''psychemicals'' to make life in a desperately over-populated world worth living." — The Boston Globe "Lem''s view of the overcrowded future is original and disturbing. A pessimistic, mordantly funny book." — Kirkus Reviews "Lem writes with a humor underlined by his commentary on the way the world is." —SF Site

Ijon Tichy encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space, satirizing science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride. A space explorer travels undercover to a robot world, joining an organization to clean up world history through time travel. The universe may never be the same . . . "Tichy bumbles and stumbles around the cosmos running out of gas between stars, sneaking around in cybernetic drag on a planet of mad robots, trying to duplicate himself (in a tail-chasing time loop near a ''gravitational vortex'') long enough to do a two-man rudder repair job, botching up the course of human events in a history-salvaging operation. Lem veers between joyous slapstick, freewheeling satire, and insanely involuted logical paradoxes—with surprisingly serious excursions into issues of will and faith. Funny, unexpected, tantalizing." — Kirkus Reviews "Part satire, part imaginative play, and part thought experiment, The Star Diaries is a collection of stories—voyages to be precise—telling of the space man Ijon Tichy''s adventures and encounters across the universe and through time. Tongue in cheek throughout, it''s only a question of how much the cheek bulges in each . . . hilarious, witty, and philosophical all at once." — Speculiction "Lem''s Star Diaries have a special place among his story-cycles, since they span most of his career and reflect his changing concerns. Still, they have a common theme: the presumptuousness of the intellect." — Science Fiction Studies "Tichy''s twelve voyages are told as a philosophical satire on technology, theology, intelligence, and human nature." — Inclover Magazine

Robot armies, an arms race in space, and a brain at war with itself add up to "a futuristic version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" ( The Boston Phoenix). Anxious to avoid a war that would destroy the entire planet, the major powers of Earth have come to an ingenious compromise. Each country sends a force of adaptable, self-programming robots to the surface of the moon to play out the conflict there and, hopefully, reach a mutually agreeable stalemate. But when the robots stop responding, it is up to Ijon Tichy to travel to the lunar war zone and discover what went wrong. Tichy finds what he needs to know, but falls victim to an attack that severs the left and right sides of his brain: one of which knows nothing about the status of the moon, the other of which isn''t telling. Now Tichy finds himself at the center of a new sort of war of attrition, with each world power clamoring for his knowledge and each half of his stubborn brain clamoring for control. Wry and action-packed in equal measure, Stanislaw Lem''s absurd, insightful sendup of the Cold War is required reading for any fan of science fiction. Here, "humor and a breathless pace create a delightful and thought-provoking read" ( Publishers Weekly).

An astronaut returns to Earth after a 10-year mission and finds a society that he barely recognizes in science fiction novel by the Solaris author, whose works “make our weary universe seem pale and undistinguished by comparison” (The Washington Post). Stanisław Lem’s Return from the Stars recounts the experiences of Hal Bregg, an astronaut who returns from an exploratory mission that lasted ten years—although because of time dilation, 127 years have passed on Earth. Bregg finds a society that he hardly recognizes, in which danger has been eradicated. Children are “betrizated” to remove all aggression and violence—a process that also removes all impulse to take risks and explore. The people of Earth view Bregg and his crew as “resuscitated Neanderthals,” and pressure them to undergo betrization. Bregg has serious difficulty in navigating the new social mores. While Lem’s depiction of a risk-free society is bleak, he does not portray Bregg and his fellow astronauts as heroes. Indeed, faced with no opposition to his aggression, Bregg behaves abominably. He is faced with a choice: leave Earth again and hope to return to a different society in several hundred years, or stay on Earth and learn to be content. With Return from the Stars, Lem shows the shifting boundaries between utopia and dystopia.

An ex-astronaut investigates a string of potential murders in this novel by the Kafka Prize–winning author of Solaris. Vacation is supposed to be relaxing. But while traveling in Naples, several American tourists die in a most macabre and unusual way: committing suicide in a fit of madness. The cases are too similar to be coincidental, and the prevailing theory soon assumes that a serial poisoner is on the loose. Called in to investigate, and stem the rash of death before it becomes an epidemic, is a former astronaut from the States. As he follows the path of the last victim, he is confronted with a mystery that proves the truth is always stranger than fiction—and that we are all casualties of fortune in the end. Called "a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory," Stanislaw Lem now tackles the suspense genre with his famed intensity and intelligence, weaving a taut and enigmatic tale as only a great novelist can ( The New York Times Book Review).

A space cruiser encounters beings descended from self-replicating machines in this sci-fi classic with echoes of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne! “A giant of mid-20th-century science fiction, in a league with Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Philip K. Dick.” —The New York Times Stanisław Lem’s The Invincible tells the story of a space cruiser sent to an obscure planet to determine the fate of a sister spaceship whose communication with Earth has abruptly ceased. Landing on the planet Regis III, navigator Rohan and his crew discover a form of life that has apparently evolved from autonomous, self-replicating machines—perhaps the survivors of a “robot war.” Rohan and his men are forced to confront the classic quandary: what course of action can humanity take once it has reached the limits of its knowledge? Lem has his characters confront the inexplicable and the bizarre: the problem that lies just beyond analytical reach.

The absurdly brilliant far-future satire from "the Borges of scientific culture" ( Time). The year is 3149, and a vast paper destroying blight—papyralysis—has obliterated much of the planet''s written history. Fortunately, these rare memoirs, preserved for centuries in a volcanic rock, record the strange life of a man trapped in a hermetically sealed underground community . . . From the Kafka Prize–winning author of Solaris, this is an entertaining and thought-provoking blend of politics, philosophy, humor, and science fiction. Translated by Michael Kandel and Christine Rose

Twelve stories by science fiction master Stanisław Lem, nine of them never before published in English. Of these twelve short stories by science fiction master Stanisław Lem, only three have previously appeared in English, making this the first "new" book of fiction by Lem since the late 1980s. The stories display the full range of Lem''s intense curiosity about scientific ideas as well as his sardonic approach to human nature, presenting as multifarious a collection of mad scientists as any reader could wish for. Many of these stories feature artificial intelligences or artificial life forms, long a Lem preoccupation; some feature quite insane theories of cosmology or evolution. All are thought provoking and scathingly funny. Written from 1956 to 1993, the stories are arranged in chronological order. In the title story, "The Truth," a scientist in an insane asylum theorizes that the sun is alive; "The Journal" appears to be an account by an omnipotent being describing the creation of infinite universes--until, in a classic Lem twist, it turns out to be no such thing; in "An Enigma," beings debate whether offspring can be created without advanced degrees and design templates. Other stories feature a computer that can predict the future by 137 seconds, matter-destroying spores, a hunt in which the prey is a robot, and an electronic brain eager to go on the lam. These stories are peak Lem, exploring ideas and themes that resonate throughout his writing.

Essays by the author of Solaris: "Lem''s delightful sense of humor accentuates his essential seriousness about humanity''s possible fate" ( Publishers Weekly). In One Human Minute, Stanislaw Lem takes a hard look at our world and technology—what it means now and what dire implications it could have for the future—in satirical, wise, and biting prose. With this collection of three essays, Lem targets some of the most pressing issues humanity faces, from our unsettling origins to the cybernetic future of our weaponry. "The Upside-Down Evolution" chronicles the Earth''s military evolution from nuclear stockpiles to deadly, robotic microweapons. "The World as Cataclysm" examines how humankind''s dominance on Earth is the result of the extermination of another species just as qualified to rule the world. And the title essay presents a disturbing and fascinating snapshot of every single thing happening on the planet in a sixty-second span. Effortlessly blurring the lines between fiction and nonfiction, scientific essay and fantastical short story, cynical reproach and wry humor, Lem''s One Human Minute combines the best elements of the renowned science fiction author and Kafka Prize winner''s writing into one irreverent and intellectually stimulating package.

Scientists must decode a message from intelligent beings in outer space in this classic science fiction tale by the legendary author of Solaris. “The universe is still struggling to catch up with the vast creative force that was Stanisław Lem.” —Washington Post 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—including whether or not they even 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.

A playful, witty, reflective memoir of childhood by the science fiction master Stanisław Lem. With Highcastle, Stanisław Lem offers a memoir of his childhood and youth in prewar Lvov. Reflective, artful, witty, playful—“I was a monster,” he observes ruefully—this lively and charming book describes a youth spent reading voraciously (he was especially interested in medical texts and French novels), smashing toys, eating pastries, and being terrorized by insects. Often lonely, the young Lem believed that he could communicate with household objects—perhaps anticipating the sentient machines in the adult Lem''s novels. Lem reveals his younger self to be a dreamer, driven by an unbridled imagination and boundless curiosity. In the course of his reminiscing, Lem also ponders the nature of memory, innocence, and the imagination. Highcastle (the title refers to a nearby ruin) offers the portrait of a writer in his formative years.

Journey into space with Polish scifi master Stanislaw Lem. The whimsical time-loops of Ijon Tichy''s cosmic adventure ''The Seventh Voyage'' are reminiscent of Douglas Adams, while the spectral whispers haunting Pirx the Pilot as he navigates his spaceship to Mars in ''Terminus'', echo the author''s masterpiece Solaris. Then ''The Mask'' introduces a perfect robot assassin and asks, can AI fall in love or refuse its programming? What if the target of its affections is also its prey?

An eerie and offbeat mystery by a Kafka Prize–winning author. The case confronting Lieutenant Gregory is not one that a man of Scotland Yard would expect. In fact, it is not one any sane man would care to entertain. Bodies are disappearing. The initial assumption is that a grave robber is roaming London and defiling local morgues. But upon further examination, it seems the deceased are, in fact, resurrecting. As Gregory stumbles his way through the tangled clues, seeking advice from scientific, philosophical, and theological experts alike, he finds himself tossed into a baffling metaphysical puzzle of incomprehensible truths and unbelievable realities. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as "closer to Kafka than the police precinct house," Lem''s intelligent and puzzling foray into the mystery genre offers an appealing combination of disturbance and delight.

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.

"A stunningly inventive fantasy about cosmic travel" from the Kafka Prize–winning author of Solaris ( The New York Times). The Hermes explorer ship represents the epitome of Earth''s excellence: a peaceful mission sent forth to make first contact with an alien civilization, and to use the expansive space technology developed by humanity to seek new worlds, friendships, and alliances. But what its crew discovers on the planet Quinta is nothing like they had hoped. Locked in a seemingly endless cold war among themselves, the Quintans are uncommunicative and violent, refusing any discourse—except for the firing of deadly weapons. The crew of the Hermes is determined to accomplish what they had set out to do. But the cost of learning the secrets hidden on the silent surface of Quinta may be grave. Stark, startling, and insightful, Fiasco has been praised by Publishers Weekly as "one of Lem''s best novels." It is classic, thought-provoking hard science fiction, as prescient today as when it was first written.

Meet Ijon Tichy—a space age adventurer who encounters faulty time machines, intelligent washing machines, and other puzzling phenomena—in this collection from a science fiction legend. Memoirs of a Space Traveler follows the adventures of Ijon Tichy, a Gulliver of the space age, who leads readers through strange experiments involving, among other puzzling phenomena, faulty time machines, intelligent washing machines, and suicidal potatoes. The scientists Tichy encounters make plans that are grandiose, and strike bargains that are Faustian. They pursue humanity’s greatest and most ancient obsessions: immortality, artificial intelligence, and top-of-the-line consumer items. By turns satirical, philosophical, and absurd, these stories express the most starkly original and prescient notions of a master of speculative fiction.

Brilliant stories of a bumbling astronaut, and the human desire to discover the unknown, by the much-loved author of Solaris. Set in the not-too-distant future, when space flight has evolved to the point where humanity is ready to colonize the solar system, Tales of Pirx the Pilot follows one somewhat-hapless explorer as he struggles though his training as a cadet, his career as a pilot, and his tenure as captain of a merchant ship. In these collected stories, Pirx stumbles his way through various exploits: traveling to the moon; battling mechanical malfunctions; encountering robots; and confronting questions of ambition, evolution, exploration, experimentation, and the nature of humanity itself. And in classic Pirx fashion, he faces down each dilemma with charm, curiosity, courage, and intuition. These early works by revered speculative fiction author Stanislaw Lem are filled with both the sharp insight for which he is known and a childlike innocence, making them an entertaining and thought-provoking read for science fiction fans of all ages.

The first of Lem''s novels to be published in americanca and still the best known. A scientist examining the ocean that covers the surface of the planet Solaris is forced to confront the incarnation of a painful, hitherto unconscious memory, inexplicably created by the ocean. An undisputed SF classic. Translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox.