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Fiasco

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( 4,818 ratings, 444 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem is a thought-provoking science fiction novel that explores the complexities and moral dilemmas of first contact with an alien civilisation. The story follows a team of space explorers attempting to communicate with an enigmatic planet, but facing unexpected challenges and unforeseen consequences. Themes of human ambition, the limits of understanding, and the potentially catastrophic results of misunderstanding are central to this intriguing narrative.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're captivated by thought-provoking science fiction that delves into themes of communication, human error, and the complexity of space exploration. The story unfolds with philosophical depth and tension, exploring the enigmatic challenges of first contact with an alien civilisation. If you're intrigued by narratives that blend scientific speculation with profound existential questions, this book is likely to appeal to you.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'A stunningly inventive fantasy about cosmic travel' - The New York Times

'There were two kinds of landscape characteristic of the inner planets of the Sun- the purposeful and the desolate.'

The planet Quinta is pocked with ugly mounds and covered by a spiderweb-like network draped from spindly poles. It is a kingdom of phantoms and of a beauty afflicted by madness. The Earth spaceship Hermes arrives on Quinta with the best of intentions towards the humans' 'brothers in intelligence'. But something on the planet has gone terribly wrong...

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem is widely regarded as a thought-provoking and intricate science fiction novel. Critics often praise its complex exploration of human flaws and the challenges of communication with alien species. The book is noted for its philosophical insights and detailed depiction of futuristic technology. However, some readers find it dense and challenging due to its heavy themes and technical language.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241334355

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 July 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 246g

Pages: 336

About the Author

Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) was born in Lviv, then part of Poland. He is probably the most original and influential European science-fiction writer since H.G. Wells. Best known in the West for Tarkovsky's film of his novel Solaris, Lem wrote novels and stories that have been published all over the world. He is credited with anticipating in his writing artificial reality, e-books and nano-technology. His most famous works include The Cyberiad, Mortal Engines, The Star Diaries, The Futurological Congress, Tales of Pirx the Pilot and Solaris.

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  • Solaris
    In Solaris, the renowned science fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem, the story unfolds as psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at a space station orbiting the mysterious planet of Solaris. The planet is entirely enveloped by a vast, sentient ocean that defies conventional scientific understanding. As Kelvin begins his investigation, he discovers that the small team of scientists aboard the station are...
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  • The Star Diaries
    A satirical and philosophical set of space adventure stories from one of the best-loved science fiction writers of the twentieth century. The Star Diaries, Stanislaw Lem's set of short stories written over a period of twenty years, all feature the adventures of space traveller Ijon Tichy. These tales recount him spinning in time-warps, spying on robots, encountering bizarre civilisations and...
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  • Tales of Pirx the Pilot
    The adventures of one of Lem's most endearing characters, Pirxβ€”a 'space truck driver' and everyman in Outer Space. Mission: Vertical launch at half booster power. Ascent to ellipsis B68. Correction to stable oriental path, with orbital period of four hours and twenty-six minutes. Proceed to rendezvous with shuttlecraft vehicles of the JO-2 type. There await further instructions. Tales of Pirx...
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  • The Cyberiad
    A charming, mind-bending, and anarchic book of imagined civilizations. 'Most cosmic civilizations long for things, in the depths of their souls, they would never openly admit to...' Trurl and Klapaucius are 'constructors'β€”they travel around the universe creating machines of astonishing inventiveness and power, visiting a bewildering variety of violent, peculiar, and morose civilizations. The Cyberiad is oddly reminiscent of Gulliver's...
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  • Mortal Engines
    A Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age β€” The New York Times "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...
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  • The Cyberiad
    A much-loved classic from a giant of European science fiction. Stanislaw Lem is perhaps the most original and influential European science fiction writer of the twentieth century. His ornate, phantasmagorical writing probes the furthest reaches of the universe while remaining deeply and particularly human. The Cyberiad, one of Lem's most beloved works, follows the exploits of Trurl and Klapauciusβ€”two ingenious...
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  • The Seventh Voyage
    90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books Journey into space with Polish sci-fi master Stanislaw Lem. The whimsical time-loops of Ijon Tichy's cosmic adventure The Seventh Voyage are reminiscent of Douglas Adams. Meanwhile, 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...
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  • A Perfect Vacuum
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  • Summa Technologiae
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