New Releases by Stanislaw Lem

Saggi sovrani, furbi contadini, cavalieri coraggiosi, fanciulle in pericolo, draghi minacciosi sono i protagonisti di queste pagine: tutto già sentito, letto, visto mille volte. Se non che qui re, villani, principi, donzelle e persino i mostri non sono in carne e ossa, ma in lamiera e connettori. Ad animare i loro cuori, o meglio i loro circuiti, una magia fatta di algoritmi. Tra le opere più iconiche di Lem, Fiabe per robot (1964) raccoglie una dozzina di racconti dai toni via via surrealisti o visionari, filosofici o comici, sempre venati da un disincantato umorismo. Tra impavidi elettroguerrieri e tiranni impauriti dal potere dei sogni, Lem svela con la sua ottica straniata come la vera insidia sia l''essere umano, facendo riassaporare al lettore tutto il piacere del "c''era una volta" in un''inedita veste cibernetica.

Sono ormai passati «i tempi romantici della cosmonautica»: gli uomini hanno colonizzato il sistema solare, stabilito insediamenti su Marte e sulla Luna, e si stanno avventurando oltre. I viaggi spaziali non sono più un evento eroico, ma una questione di routine, con regolari collegamenti commerciali tra pianeti e spedizioni turistiche tra la Terra e il suo satellite. A renderli possibili, uomini come il pilota Pirx, protagonista dei dieci racconti di questa raccolta. Lo seguiamo da quando è cadetto alla scuola di volo fino a quando diventa capitano di una sua nave: disincantato, solidamente piantato "con i piedi per terra", Pirx affronta epidemie, robot impazziti, crociere di lusso e richieste di soccorso tra le stelle, senza mai perdere la sua baldanza, la sua ironia, e soprattutto quello sguardo curioso verso il mondo, e i mondi, che da sempre spinge la specie umana a esplorare l''ignoto.

L''umanità non è riuscita a sconfiggere il proprio istinto aggressivo, ma ha messo a punto un espediente per sfogarlo senza rischiare di distruggere l''intero pianeta: le maggiori potenze mondiali hanno spostato sulla Luna lo sviluppo e la produzione di armamenti affidandoli a robot autoprogrammati. Ma qualcosa va storto: i robot cessano di comunicare con la Terra. Per scoprire cosa sia successo, viene inviato in missione segreta sulla Luna Ijon Tichy. Questi, tuttavia, una volta giunto, viene casualmente colpito dagli effetti di un''arma ultrasonica che rompe la comunicazione tra i due emisferi del suo cervello: la parte sinistra non sa niente di cosa stia avvenendo sulla Luna, la destra non lo vuole rivelare. E l''astronauta si trova al centro di una duplice lotta: quella tra le potenze mondiali pronte a tutto pur di impadronirsi di ciò che Ijon Tichy sa, e quella tra le due metà della sua mente, ciascuna delle quali cerca di prendere il sopravvento. Pieno d''azione e di sottile ironia, ma anche fondato su una rigorosa base scientifica, Pace in Terra è un ritratto satirico del mondo al tempo della Guerra Fredda e della corsa agli armamenti; un racconto che va oltre i confini della letteratura fantascientifica per regalare al lettore una contemporanea, godibilissima versione della storia di Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde.

In un lontano futuro, tra le rovine di una costruzione sepolta dalla lava, viene ritrovato un manoscritto appartenente al Tardo Neogene. Su questa base un anonimo studioso tenta di ricostruire i caratteri di quella civiltà ormai in crisi, scomparsa improvvisamente in seguito a una misteriosa epidemia che distrusse la carta, cancellando quasi ogni memoria scritta dell''umanità, e riporta alla luce il contenuto dell''unico documento miracolosamente scampato alla catastrofe: le Memorie trovate in una vasca da bagno. L''autore di queste ultime e protagonista del romanzo è un agente segreto dell''era Precaotica, giunto in un luogo ermeticamente chiuso e retto da oscuri rituali, detto l''Edificio, dove gli viene affidata una cruciale missione, il cui oggetto egli cerca invano di conoscere, mentre viene coinvolto in un labirintico meccanismo di ossessioni, doppi giochi, paradossi, codici indecifrabili, macabre rivelazioni. Intrecciando abilmente diversi generi, dalla spy story al racconto gotico-fantastico, fino al romanzo distopico, e riecheggiando illustri precedenti, primi tra tutti Potocki e Kafka, in questa originalissima opera Lem affronta i grandi temi a lui cari: il rapporto tra individuo e potere, l''impenetrabilità del mistero, la necessità e l''inutilità assieme della ricerca di senso. Grazie all''inesauribile invenzione linguistica e a un irresistibile effetto straniante, la farsa della fine dell''era Precaotica messa in scena da Lem diventa lo specchio deformante, ricco di mille possibili interpretazioni, in cui riflettere il caos della nostra epoca e delle nostre anime.

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.

"La Voce del Padrone" è il nome in codice di un progetto di ricerca segreto del governo statunitense. Lo scopo: decifrare il presunto messaggio in arrivo dallo spazio rilevato sulla Terra sotto forma di un''onda neutrinica. Il flusso insolito di particelle è puramente casuale, o è invece una lettera inviata da una civiltà superiore? E in questo caso, cosa ci vuole dire? È amichevole? Tra le menti incaricate di scoprirlo - e di farlo prima dei russi - c''è Hogarth, il narratore di questo romanzo: un matematico celeberrimo e geniale, spinto a indagare anche da motivazioni metafisiche e autoconoscitive. Chiuso assieme a decine di scienziati in una base nascosta nel deserto, Hogarth dovrà districarsi tra poteri politici e corse agli armamenti, ingerenze, depistaggi, narcisismi. Ma dovrà anche misurarsi con i propri limiti e fronteggiare brucianti interrogativi morali. La Voce del Padrone (1968) è un appassionante racconto di fantascienza, ma anche un feroce ritratto di scienziati, militari e politici. E soprattutto è un libro di kafkiana potenza sulle miserie, le grandezze e i dilemmi della condizione umana.

Publicada en 1971, Congreso de futurología pertenece al ciclo de relatos protagonizados por Ijon Tichy. En ella Stanislaw Lem hace un magistral retrato de la aspiración al bienestar del hombre contemporáneo sirviéndose de la ironía y del humor. Tras un período de hibernación, Tichy es reanimado en el año 2039 y encuentra un mundo en el que impera la paz y reina un bienestar general; en esa sociedad controlada por la "psiquímica", se aprende y se ama por medio de productos químicos, los sentimientos son manipulados y toda espontaneidad ha dejado de existir. Bajo una apariencia exterior de abundancia y de confort, Tichy descubre, sin embargo, una realidad sobrecogedora que supera la más fantástica alucinación.

The first English translation of a nonfiction work by Stanisław Lem, which was "conceived under the spell of cybernetics" in 1957 and updated in 1971. In 1957, Stanisław Lem published Dialogues, a book "conceived under the spell of cybernetics," as he wrote in the preface to the second edition. Mimicking the form of Berkeley''s Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, Lem''s original dialogue was an attempt to unravel the then-novel field of cybernetics. It was a testimony, Lem wrote later, to "the almost limitless cognitive optimism" he felt upon his discovery of cybernetics. This is the first English translation of Lem''s Dialogues, including the text of the first edition and the later essays added to the second edition in 1971. For the second edition, Lem chose not to revise the original. Recognizing the naivete of his hopes for cybernetics, he constructed a supplement to the first dialogue, which consists of two critical essays, the first a summary of the evolution of cybernetics, the second a contribution to the cybernetic theory of the "sociopathology of governing," amending the first edition''s discussion of the pathology of social regulation; and two previously published articles on related topics. From the vantage point of 1971, Lem observes that original book, begun as a search for methods "that would increase our understanding of both the human and nonhuman worlds," was in the end "an expression of the cognitive curiosity and anxiety of modern thought."

Cuando Hall Bregg regresa a la Tierra tras una arriesgada expedición de diez años en una galaxia lejana, se encuentra con un planeta en el que, en virtud de la contracción del tiempo einsteiniana, han pasado ciento veintisiete años. Bregg se encuentra, pues, ante el difícil reto de integrarse en una sociedad distinta de la que conoció, en la cual, a lo largo todos esos años, se han producido variaciones sustanciales en la especie humana, así como en las ideas y comportamientos, que lo convierten en un anacronismo viviente.

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.

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 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.

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.

An early realist novel by Stanisław Lem, taking place in a Polish psychiatric hospital during World War II. Taking place within the confines of a psychiatric hospital, Stanisław Lem''s The Hospital of the Transfiguration tells the story of a young doctor working in a Polish asylum during World War II. At first the asylum seems like a bucolic refuge, but a series of sinister encounters and incidents reveal an underlying brutality. The doctor begins to seek relief in the strange conversation of the poet Sekulowski, who is posing as a patient in a bid for safety from the occupying German forces. Meanwhile, Resistance fighters stockpile weapons in the surrounding woods. A very early work by Lem, The Hospital of the Transfiguration is partly autobiographical, drawing on the author''s experiences as a medical student. Written in 1948, it was suppressed by Polish censors and not published until 1955. The censorship of this realist novel is partly what led Lem to focus on science fiction and nonfiction for the rest of his career.

Meet Ijon Tichy—a space age adventurer who encounters faulty time machines, intelligent washing machines, and other puzzling phenomena—in this collection from a sci-fi 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.

''What use to a being that lives beneath a sun are jewels of gas and silver stars of ice?'' From a giant of twentieth-century science fiction, these four miniature space epics feature crazy inventors, surreal worlds, robot kings and madcap machines. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Kultovní příběh o meziplanetárním kontaktu z pera mistra sci-fi Když raketa se šesti astronauty havaruje na dosud neprobádané planetě, jako zázrakem všichni přežijí. Během několika průzkumných výprav nacházejí známky civilizace, ovšem takové, která rajský Eden nepřipomíná ani zdaleka. Před astronauty tak stojí zásadní otázka – mají zasáhnout ve prospěch utlačovaných, nebo se raději vyhnout otevřenému konfliktu a hledat cestu domů? Všichni členové posádky teď vědí, že mají v rukou osud celé jedné planety...

„I po padesáti šesti letech, které uplynuly od doby, kdy Stanisław Lem napsal první povídku s Pirxem, je pro nás jeho hrdina vzorem, jak se chovat k automatům a robotům, jež právě začínají pronikat do našich životů. Pirxovy příběhy tak paradoxně teprve po půl století od vzniku nabývají toho pravého významu a jejich hrdina je pro nás čím dál tím směrodatnějším rádcem.“ Ve vesmírném pilotu Pirxovi stvořil světoznámý spisovatel Stanisław Lem, autor kultovních románů jako Solaris, Marťan nebo Nepřemožitelný, jednu ze svých nejzajímavějších postav: snílka toužícího po kosmických objevech, který si díky svému nekonvenčnímu myšlení dokáže poradit v konfrontacích se stroji i lidmi. V devíti povídkách se tak Pirx musí vypořádat například s vesmírnou lodí, jejíž havárie by způsobila katastrofu nesmírných rozměrů, nebo s robotem, který se změnil v nelítostného zabijáka. Vždy jej přitom charakterizuje bytostně lidský náhled na svět, pochopení a víra v člověka i ve stroje. Příběhy pilota Pirxe zahajují řadu nově vydávaných Lemových děl v nakladatelství Plus.

''On one side of the ducats was stamped the radiant profile of Archithorius, on the other - an image of his six hundred arms'' Mortal Engines is a selection of the best of Stanislaw Lem''s extraordinary miniature space epics, chosen by his heroic translator Michael Kandel, who has somehow battled through Lem''s jokes, parodies, fabricated technological terms and unreliable robots and brilliantly converted them from Polish into English. Encompassing his Fables for Robots and stories from his protagonists Ijon Tichy (from The Star Diaries) and Pirx the Pilot, this is a highly entertaining but also deeply alarming view of the glories and absurdities of Outer Space.

Lem reflexiona sobre la relación entre los humanos y la tecnología, la búsqueda aparentemente infinita de conocimiento y control, y los motivos que se ocultan detrás de estos intereses. Astronautas, jamás editada antes en castellano, es la primera novela que el maestro de la ciencia ficción, Stanisław Lem, publicó en forma de libro. Tras haber pasado por múltiples contiendas y luchas sangrientas, en el siglo XXI la humanidad ha dejado atrás toda forma de capitalismo y ha logrado un equilibrio sostenible en el planeta. Colosales trabajos de ingeniería, como la irrigación del Sáhara o el control del clima con soles artificiales, dan cuenta del progreso de la especie. Durante uno de estos proyectos, en la siberiana Tunguska se halla un objeto que es identificado como un archivo extraterrestre. Tras lograr descifrar alguno de los datos que recoge, se descubren ciertos detalles alarmantes del viaje de una nave que debió de estrellarse en la zona. El Gobierno de la Tierra decide enviar la recién construida nave Cosmocrátor al planeta Venus, donde sus tripulantes localizarán los restos de una civilización infinitamente más avanzada que la nuestra.

Ein spannender Kriminalroman und ein brillantes philosophisches Verwirrspiel über Zufall und Wahrscheinlichkeit. Ausgezeichnet mit dem Grand prix de littérature policière 1979. Eines von 12 bisher vergriffenen Meisterwerken aus der ZEIT Bibliothek der verschwundenen Bücher.

"Nach einer zehnjährigen Weltraumexpedition kehrt Hal Bregg auf die Erde zurück. Zehn Bordjahre aber bedeuten 123 Erdenjahre. Die Gesellschaft, der er sich nun anpassen muss, hat sich bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verändert. Aber nicht nur der technische Fortschritt hat eine völlig neue, verwirrende Welt geschaffen. Mittels einer Droge wurde eine der folgenreichsten menschlichen Eigenschaften in den Griff bekommen: die Aggressivität. Hal Bregg wehrt sich gegen die ""weiche"" Gesellschaft, bis er sich eines Tages in eines dieser sanften Wesen verliebt ..."