Works by Lem, Categorized

Mind you, how much I like them doesn't descend much … for me, Lem is one of the masters, one who can consistently produce good art without becoming stale. Pretty much everything down to Return from the Stars is very good stuff.

These first two were originally published (in Polish) as a single work, Cyberiada.

The Cyberiad
Mortal Engines

I don't even remember any more how I was introduced to Lem's work, but my best guess is that I picked up a copy of The Cyberiad at a used book store.

There are several stories about Ijon Tichy,

The Star Diaries
Memoirs of a Space Traveler
The Futurological Congress

and several others about Pirx.

Tales of Pirx the Pilot
More Tales of Pirx the Pilot

The following four novels deal with space exploration and with what encounters with other forms of life might be like. Pirx, above, also plays a role in Fiasco.

The Invincible
Solaris
Fiasco
Eden

These next two can also be classified as science fiction, but take place on Earth itself.

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
Return from the Stars

Lem wrote three novels that could be said to be about probability, strange though that may sound. Although the ideas are interesting, as stories these didn't really grab me.

The Investigation
The Chain of Chance
His Master's Voice

The same applies to the other works listed below. Most of these fall into the specialized genre of reviews of nonexistent books.

Imaginary Magnitude
Microworlds
One Human Minute
A Perfect Vacuum
Hospital of the Transfiguration

Many of the books above were translated by Michael Kandel. Click on the link to see which ones! Here I'd like to pass along something from Hofstadter (How Jolly the Lot of an Oligoglot).

My study of Polish had encouraged me to obtain a couple of books by the famous Polish science-fiction writer Stanisław Lem in their original language. I knew that Lem was fond of linguistic games and wordplay, and had seen some of his books in English but not read any. I had also been told that the English translations by Michael Kandel were brilliant beyond description.

I'm not in a position to judge the translations, but I've certainly enjoyed reading them. In fact, of the many things by Lem that I've quoted, all of them were translated by Kandel.