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Mortal Engines

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( 4,618 ratings, 429 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
The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem, often mistaken for Mortal Engines, tells the story of two competing robotic constructors, Trurl and Klapaucius. They embark on various adventures, creating inventive machines that explore philosophical and ethical dilemmas in a fantastical universe. This collection of tales is packed with wit and imaginative science fiction concepts.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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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?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy thought-provoking science fiction that delves into complex themes. The author offers a collection of stories combining science, philosophy, and imagination, often with a satirical twist. Fans of speculative fiction with a touch of humour and deep reflection might find this work particularly engaging.

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Mortal Engines

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 Jorge Luis Borges for the Space AgeThe 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 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.

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?

Mortal Engines by Stanislaw Lem is widely praised for its imaginative themes and intellectual depth. According to The Guardian, Lem is regarded as a major figure in 20th-century science fiction, while John Clute from The Independent highlights Lem's status as Poland's leading intellectual in the realm of imaginative writing for half a century.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241269077

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 October 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 131.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 181g

Pages: 240

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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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