Experience a sci-fi master at his finest in this collection of 12 science fiction short stories from 1956 to 1993-many now presented in English for the very first time!
"A brilliant introduction to Lem's science fiction." -Wall Street Journal
Discover the full range of Stanislaw Lem's intense curiosity about scientific ideas-and his sardonic approach to human nature-in this unforgettable collection of 12 short stories.
In "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 . . .
Of these 12 science fiction short stories, only 3 have previously appeared in English, making this the first "new" book of fiction by Stanislaw Lem since the late 1980s. Featuring scathing humor, artificial intelligences, insane theories of cosmology and evolution, and so much more, The Truth and Other Stories is a multifarious a collection of mad scientists as any science fiction reader could wish for.
Autorentext
Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006), a writer called "worthy of the Nobel Prize" by the New York Times, was an internationally renowned author of novels, short stories, literary criticism, and philosophical essays. His books have been translated into forty-four languages and have sold more than thirty million copies.
Klappentext
Twelve stories by science fiction master Stanislaw Lem, nine of them never before published in English.
Of these twelve short stories by science fiction master Stanislaw 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.
Inhalt
Foreword by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Hunt (Late 1950s)
Rat in the Labyrinth (1956)
Invasion from Aldebaran (1959)
The Friend (1959)
The Invasion (1959)
Darkness and Mildew (1959)
The Hammer (1959)
Lymphater's Formula (1961)
The Journal (1962)
The Truth (1964)
One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Seconds (1976)
An Enigma (1993)