Tales of Pirx the pilot

No cover — Stanisław Lem: Tales of Pirx the pilot (1980, Secker and Warburg)

206 pages

English language

Published May 13, 1980 by Secker and Warburg.

ISBN:: 978-0-436-24422-3

(1 review)

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.

10 editions

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4 stars

I'm always in a bit of a muddle, do I enjoy Pirx stories more than Tichy stories? I'm still not sure.

This is a bit of a weird read and it's a shame that the stories are in the order they're in (though I understand that they're chronologically ordered). The last story (Terminus) feels like it's a fairly large swing away from the stories that I feel make up the bulk of the book (The Conditioned Reflex and On Patrol) that are about Pirx replicating someone else's actions. Terminus is just somewhat depressing.

But Lem always has an enjoyable writing style and Pirx is a bit of an odd character at times, so this is still a great read.