If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light

Cho-yeop, Kim. If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light. New York : Saga 2019. Print.

First Sentences:

Ludmilla Markov had memories of a place she had never been to. 

Description:

Thus starts the first short story in Kim Cho-yeop's clever, mind-bending science fiction pieces contained in If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light. It's hard to describe the vast scale of these pieces that are so personal, so introspective, so unusual. But I loved them so will try to give you a taste of the thoughtful adventures contained within this slim book:

• An orphan girl draws clear pictures of a world that no one has ever seen. These landscape paintings when exhibited make people stop, stare, and often begin to cry. Added to this is the recent scientific discovery that human babies' babblings can now be translated and are shown to be intellectual conversations. Are these divergent occurrences related?

• When an astronaut crash lands on a distant planet, she discovers that this world contains the first known alien civilization apart from Earth. She lives among these aliens for ten years but doesn't return to her home planet for thirty years. Curiously she won't tell anyone where she has been for the other twenty years. Nor will she reveal where the alien planet is located;

• A woman and her battered personal rocket sits in an isolated space station waiting for a transport to take her to a distant planet where her family lives. She relates her story to a repair man who, hearing her tale, begins to wonder who she really is, why she is sitting there, and how long she has been waiting;

• The narrator is about to set off on the first long-range space mission to the other side of the galaxy. It's the same mission her aunt had attempted years ago, but that woman's rocket had exploded on take-off, killing all three astronauts...or did it?

• Upon dying, people in this future Earth can preserve their essence (Mind) in a public library. Friends and relatives can contact these spirits and talk or interact with the dead person. But the narrator discovers her mother's Mind no longer appears in searches on the library's indexing system, a situation no one knows how it happened or where her mother's Mind went; 

• A new hand-held devise can bring on any essential emotion desired by its owner. Oddly, the most popular emotions selected by the public for their own use are not "Happiness" or "Calm" but "Depression," "Hate," "Fear" and "Rage." Why?

Yes, it's an odd collection. But each story focuses on the people facing these difficult, challenging situations, forcing themselves to try to understand what has caused their seemingly unknowable world and how they can address it themselves personally. It's not Sci-Fi ray-guns and monstrous alien creatures. These stories are about the inner workings of people, their thoughts, fears, dreams, and actions both internal and external.

Rereading this post, I feel I'm not doing justice to these tales. But suffice to say, they have stayed with me long after finishing the book, which is not a common thing, so I wanted to share this collection with you. I hope you give this book a try and see whether the complexities in each story of the worlds and people they portray don't grab you and hold on tightly as they did me.

   

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Roach, Mary. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

The author interviews experts and often personally tries out Mars-travel questions such as going to the bathroom, sex, zero gravity, isolation, radiation, transportation and more. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

The Invincible

Lem, Stanislaw. The Invincible. London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1973. Print.

First Sentences:

The Invincible moved across the outermost quadrant of the Lyre Constellation. the heavy cruiser was propelled through space by photon drive. It was the largest ship at the disposal of the space fleet based in this section of the universe. The ship's complement numbered eighty-three men, presently asleep inside the hibernation tunnel.


Description:

When you combine science fiction with odd mystery, I find it very compelling, especially when the author is Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. And his book from almost 50 years ago, The Invincible, does not disappoint in any way.

The science fiction part? The plot introduces the mission of a huge space cruiser, "The Invincible,' dispatched to the small planet, Regis III, to investigate a mystery. The mystery? The Invincible's sister ship had landed on Regis III two years earlier, but had abruptly stopped communicating with Earth. Of course, curiosity and concern were raised, so The Invincible was sent to this barren planet to unravel the situation.

 

The sister ship is quickly located, but all the crew are dead. Bodies are found both inside and outside the rocket. What is strange is they all seem to be without injury. In fact, they seem to have starved to death despite the ship having ample stores of food and water. The captain's log is of no help as his last message ends in gibberish scrawling.

 

One crewman, however, is found in the hibernation chamber of that doomed ship, but The Invincible's medical staff is unable to revive him. Upon further examination they discover that this crewman somehow has had all his memories erased. Odd, to say the least.

 

The Invincible leaders realize that they have the same sensors, defenses, and weapons as the sister ship, all of which seem to have proved useless against whatever killed the other crew. But answers must be found, so The Invincible's crew begins a cautious forays away from the safety of their own ship onto the planet, not knowing what awaits them.

What I love about author Lem is the intricate plotting and reasoning behind every step of the adventure. His books are never about good vs. evil, but instead offer questions about the unknown, of different life forms, strange evolutions, and encounters with worlds completely different from Earth. The outcome of these scenarios and the conclusions drawn are always logical, even if challenging, to everything we understand as reality.

Lem is a highly prolific writer of international fame.  His book, Solaris, (also made into a movie), is a masterpiece of his alternative world and lifestyle plot that is so surprising and completely unpredictable. 

If you enjoy sci-fi, I highly recommend you become familiar with Lem and his challenging worlds. A couple  of my favorites are shown below, and his complete list of writings are found here. A great way to challenge your concept of the universe, of life, and of different philosophies.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

More book recommendations

About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Science Fiction from Stanislaw Lem (Special Post).   

Here are a couple of my favorite Lem collections of tongue-in-cheek tales from astronauts of the future. Ijon Tichy, the seen-it-all astronaut (think, Harrison Ford in "Star Wars") and Pirx, a fresh-out-of-cadet-school pilot, travel throughout the universe full of boundless curiosity, daring, resourcefulness, and audacity en route to the most unusual of adventures. Wonderful, challenging, mind-bending, and always ironically humorous. (previously reviewed here)

 

 

Golden State

Winters, Ben H. Golden State. New York: Little, Brown 2019. Print.

First Sentences:

Somebody's telling lies in here, and it's making it hard to eat. In a perfect world, a man should be able to sit down at a favorite spot and eat his breakfast without the weight of professional obligation coming down on him, ruining his morning, pulling him right into the thick of it before  he can so much as get a good hot sip of coffee.

Description:

 

People in the city of Golden State in the near future believe that it was the lies told by government and other powerful figures that led to the devastating "Calamity" that destroyed much of their world. 

Therefore, in this new city erected from the embers of the old world, they have designated lying as the highest of crimes. The punishment for someone uttering a falsehood? Imprisonment for years or even banishment to the Outside, an unknown territory beyond the city limits from where there is no return. 

 

Laszlo Ratesic is a highly-regarded veteran of the Speculative Service in Golden State. His talent? He has a special sense that alerts him to when people around him are telling lies. Laszio's skill lead's naturally to an job with the Speculative Service whose legal purpose is to root out anyone voicing statements against the "Objectively So." In other words, they identify and arrest anyone caught lying, then determine whether they should be removed from the new society of Golden State.

And that is just the beginning of Ben H. Winters' brilliant, challenging novel, Golden State.

Just to be safe from accidently telling a falsehood, people greet each other with agreed-upon truths like "It's nine o'clock now" or "Twenty is twice ten." And each person records all daily activities in a personal diary which is deposited each evening into the city's permanent Record for preservation and future reference for what actually happened in any historical instance.

Imagine if each person was allowed the luxury of claiming their own truth, building a reality of their own in which they can live. Imagine the danger that would pose, how quickly those lies would metastasize, and the extraordinary threat that would pose to the world.

But when a death occurs to an ordinary roofer who fell from a housetop, there are some unanswered questions, possibly lies, which the thousands of surveillance cameras may not have captured. Enter Ratesic and his tag-along rookie partner, Aysa Paige. In their routine investigation, they notice some small incongruities and "dissonance" that hint at a conspiracy which might entirely change the world of Golden State. 

And then, Ratesic discovers an actual book, a physical copy of a fictional work that is by definition ("fictional" = "not true" = "lie"), an item outlawed by the government. He decides to hide it ... and read it.

Ratesic has his own demons as well, from a marital separation to conflicts with the local police who resent the power of the Speculative Service. Ms. Paige also has mysteries, particularly her unmatched ability to sense lies and suggest solutions to confusing situations. 

But, of course, their investigations poke their noses into dangerous areas, attracting the attention of powerful people who would prefer the matter be settled quietly. 

It is an odd premise for a culture, but one that author Winters describes logically and thoroughly in Golden State. We readers are yanked into this protected world to follow the thoughts and actions of one of its staunchest supporters in Laszlo Ratesic as he purses a case that threatens his life and his world. Surprises abound right to the very end. 

Completely unpredictable, exciting, and challenging in its premise and setting.

But the world has never been accused of being perfect, has it, and so here we are and here is what actually happens -- here is reality.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Mullen, Thomas. The Last Town on Earth.   

During World War I and the 1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak, historically several towns tried to isolate themselves from outside infection. This is the fictionalized story of one such town and the choices of individuals when they face strangers who show up seeking refuge. Highly recommended. (previously reviewed here)

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.   

In the near future, books are banned to such an extent that there is a fire department with men charged to burn any books found. One fireman, Guy Montag, begins to doubt this practice and discovers a secret world of book lovers trying to desperately preserve the contents of the world's literature. Highly recommended. 

Cold People

Smith, Tom Rob. Cold People. New York: Scribner 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Looking up at the night sky Ui saw only unfamiliar stars. 

These weren't the constellations that guided him between the Polynesian islands of his homeland, these were stars from the sky's outer edge, the stars his people had never bothered to name since they were no use to navigate by, dismissed at the "petuu vare" - foolish stars.

Description:

When a huge number of alien spaceships suddenly appear in the morning sky, a strange message plays on every electronic device in the world, plugged in or not: "People have thirty days to reach the continent of Antarctica." Nothing else. No reason why. No consequences revealed. Just that simple ominous message.

So starts the brilliant, challenging Cold People by Tom Rob Smith. The first contact with another species leads to a hurried mass migration of the world's people to the frozen south. Military boats, planes, oil tankers, and anything else that flies or floats is re-outfitted to carry as many passengers as possible, but of course they are insufficient in capacity to transport every person on Earth.

Those who somehow do reach Antarctica must create a completely new world when their old one is destroyed. No nations, no electronics, no internet, no money, everyone equal. These early challenges are only briefly addressed as author Smith quickly takes the story twenty years into the future after the aliens' arrival. And by then things have definitely changed for the people still alive in Antarctica.

By the end of the first year, it was apparent that humankind wouldn't survive unless it unified. Old notions of sovereignty were a luxury it could no longer afford. 

Realizing that humans are frail and completely unsuited to continuing in this bitter cold environment, much less expanding their population, the scientists among them create the "Cold People" project. They begin altering genetic material to produce "ice-adapted" humans who will be able to tolerate and thrive under icy conditions far beyond what current people could ever hope to achieve.

But there are questionable outcomes to this genetic experimentation, both ethical and dangerous, and the fate of the Antarctic  communities and mankind in general rest in the mysterious creations produced in the experimental labs.

This is a story of survival to be sure. But it is also presents thoughtful scenario where families, love, relationships, and ethics all must be reexamined to face and hopefully succeed in a challenging present and highly-uncertain future. I feel the unexpected directions taken by highly unusual characters in unique situations make this a strong narrative that will capture the attention and encourage philosophical and ethical questions in the minds of most readers.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

More book recommendations

About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Stephenson, Neil. Seveneves.   

When the moon explodes on the very first page of this novel, humankind must work together to construct a method to somehow preserve mankind and the knowledge of the ages before Earth eventually is destroyed. Riveting.  (previously reviewed here)

A Sound of Thunder

Bradbury, Ray. A Sound of Thunder & Other Stories. New York: HarperCollins. 1990. Print.

First Sentences:

Out there in the cold water, far from land, we waited every night for the coming of the fog, and it came, and we oiled the brass machinery and lit the fog light up in the stone tower.

Feeling like two birds in the gray sky, McDunn and I sent the light touching out, red, then white, then red again, to eye the lonely ships..

Description:

After reading any one of the science fiction/fantasy stories in Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder & Other Stories, I had to put the book down and reflect. The plot, the characters, the writing were so strong, so real, so interesting that I couldn't just plunge into the next story right away. I needed time to roll the images and events over and over in my mind. Read a sample sentence for yourself.

The darkness like a velvet shroud hung before her to be stroked by a trembling hand, with the darkness like a black panther breathing there, looking at her with unlit eyes...

With none of the usual ray guns and aliens often found in sci-fi/fantasy literature, A Sound of Thunder gives tales of people facing challenges familiar to all of us: love, uncertainty, obsession, racism, decision, and adventure. Yet each one is told in a unique voice, making the situation and people uniquely fascinating and compelling. Here's what I mean:

• A lighthouse fog horn that calls out to the lonely ocean and a creature millions of years old responds;

• A rocket ship pilot, on leave with his family at his home, simply cannot resist the call of space;

• A baseball game at a resort between the white guests and the black staff;

• A murderer obsessed with erasing every fingerprint he might have left at the crime scene;

• A hunter who time-travels back to confront a T-Rex;

• A young woman who contemplates her impending rocket ride to Mars where she will marry her waiting boyfriend.

These are people with dreams, with pride, morals, passion, and of course greed, bigotry, and ego. Each story is written by a master of words, sucking you into the plot and motivations immediately and hold on through the final paragraph. 

[The foghorn's voice was] like an empty bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the door, and like trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard, cold shore....a sound that's so alone that no one can miss it, that whoever hears it will weep in their souls, and hearths will seem warmer, and being inside will seem better to all who hear it in the distant towns....whoever hears it will know the sadness of eternity and the briefness of life.

And that's just one random paragraph, full of Bradbury's images and imagination. In A Sound of Thunder, you have 300+ pages of equally compelling, breath-taking writing. Simply the best characters, plots and writing there is. 

Happy reading. 


Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles

Chronological science fiction stories about the exploration of Mars by Man, from the first ships to the final days of Earth. Fabulous. (previously reviewed here)

Sleeping Giants

Neuvel, Sylvain. Sleeping Giants. New York: Del Ray. 2016. Print.

First Sentences:

-- How big was the hand? 

-- 6.9 meters, about twenty-three feet; though it seemed much larger for an eleven-year-old. 

Description:

In Sylvain Neuvel's gripping science fiction novel Sleeping Giants, a gigantic hand is discovered buried in the woods by a young girl. She had fallen into a hole that had suddenly opened up around her, finding herself in a deep excavation with smooth walls covered in unreadable hieroglyphics. And at the bottom of this "room" was the colossal hand.

Years later that same girl, now a researcher, leads a team to uncover the mystery of the hand. She realizes it is only one piece of a figure whose parts have been hidden underground - six thousand years ago by someone/something? But for what purpose?

Slowly, methodically, a huge, 20-story robotic figure begins to take shape. The team now must figure out if the figure, once assembled, can actually be made to move and what its capabilities are.

But the huge costs, the efforts to keep this find secret from the rest of the world, and the implications of a gigantic robot left by unknown beings slowly begin to exert pressure on the team and their relationships with the robot and each other. Even if the goals of fully assembling the figure and making it move are accomplished, what use will such advanced technology, probably some form of weapon, be to our embattled world? But the team continues the project because, as Oppenheimer wrote about the atomic bomb project:

If you are a scientist you believe that it is good to find out how the world works; that it is good to find out what the realities are; that it is good to turn over to mankind at large the greatest possible power to control the world and to deal with it according to its lights and its values.

Narrated through interviews conducted by a mysterious man of incredible influence and power, each character reveals his or her role and interpretation on the events as they unfold. This dramatic narration technique give the novel a crispness. The interviewer keeps the subjects on point and relating simply the facts. Occasionally, emotion and personality come through in the file transcripts that reveal possible causes behind several unexpected occurrences. 

Two personal criteria for me in stamping a book as "the best" are that 1) there is an unexpected twist on the very last page, sometimes even the last paragraph; and 2) you are overcome with an unquenchable urge to start re-reading the book as soon as you've finished that last twisty page. Sleeping Giants fulfills both criteria for me.

Neuvel promises Sleeping Giants to be the first in a trilogy, so I'm drooling in anticipation of the next two books to come. Can I wait a year? The robot lay underground for six thousand years, so maybe I could try to make it through the coming twelve months before the next in the trilogy is published. But please, Sylvain, hurry up with the next book!

Happy reading. 


Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Barry, Maxx. Machine Man

After an accident that crushes his leg, an engineer designs a prostethic leg that is superior to the original. Soon he is designing (and wearing) other body parts he designs to improve his original body - but with unexpected psysical and cultural results. (previously reviewed here)

Seveneves

Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves. New York: HarperCollins. 2015. Print.

First Sentences:

The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.

Description:

OK, now that's a gripping first sentence! Is it a joke, a real situation, or just a fantasy in someone's mind? In Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel Seveneves, the moon actually is inexplicably destroyed, leaving only a few large chunks and a scattering of small rocks where our friendly satellite used to be. Then Stephenson sets out to portray a credible scenario of what would happen to Earth and its people without a moon. Who can stop reading after such an opening few pages?

Then Stephenson inserts a kicker. When the world's scientists crunch numbers and patterns, they discover that the orbiting debris of rock from the destroyed moon will start to collide repeatedly with other pieces until Earth's blue sky is made white by the clouds of large and small rock particles. On a mathematically predicted date, these rocks will fall to Earth in a Hard Rain, bringing fire and destruction to the entire planet and people. Earth has two years to prepare for the end of all life.

Stephenson definitely takes this destruction of the moon and the consequences seriously. He follows the thinking and actions of scientists and astronauts on the International Space Station who explore every conceivable aspect of this deadly scenario carefully. The world arrives at the only logical, acceptable conclusion: an international effort must be made to create a spaceship Cloud Ark (small, hastily constructed pods) to preserve physical and DNA representatives of the world's diverse populations. 

How is such spacecraft to be designed? How are the 2,000+ survivors to be chosen? Can it survive the Hard Rain of destruction and the five thousand years before the Earth is habitable again? And can people on board the Cloud Ark actually get along to survive as the last representatives of Earth?

This is an 860-page sci-fi novel, definitely not a frothy light-weight fantasy. Each page is packed with interesting characters and scientific theory that sounds so plausible (to me, at least) that I felt myself deeply entrenched in the uncertainty, logic, and planning of a what seems a real life situation. Predictions, orbits, machinery, robots, living environment, construction in space, conflicting personalities - a hundred problems are faced and addressed, many successfully, some complete failures. 

Stephenson definitely is a writer's writer, with compelling data for every scenario that could possibly occur should our Moon actually blow up. But who cannot be surprised when, as you are deeply absorbed in the characters and plot, you turn the page to reveal the next section titled, "Five Thousand Years Later"? Huh? What happened to those people you had grown to love and the challenges they were facing? 

Major characters die unexpectedly as time marches on and the world's surviving population falls off to numbers in the single digits. Seveneves is chock full of shocking twists, scientific solutions, and ever-increasing challenges facing people asked to hold on and create a new civilization 5,000 years in the future.

A fantastic, detail, plausible, and thoroughly engrossing book.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

____________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Weir, Andy. The Martian

A member of the Mars first astronauts is accidently left behind by his crew. Now he must try to contact the rescue ship and survive for six months by his wits and the few supplies left in their station. Fantastic MacGyver-like hero and seat-of-his-pants solutions to problems. (previously reviewed here)

Redshirts

Scalzi, John. Redshirts. New York: Doherty Assoc, Press. 2012. Print.

First Sentences:

From the top of the large boulder he sat on, Ensign Tom Davis looked across the expanse of the cave toward Captain Lucius Abernathy, Science Officer Q'eeng and Chief Engineer Paul West perched on a second, larger boulder, and thought, Well, this sucks. 

"Borgovian Land Worms!" Captain Abernathy said, and smacked his boulder with an open palm. " I should have known."

You should have known? How the hell could you not have known?  thought Engisn Davis, and looked at the vast dirt floor of the cave, its powdery surface moving here and there with the shadowy humps that marked the movement of the massive, carnivorous worms.

Description:

John Scalzi's Redshirts is a delightful, challenging, and very odd sci-fi novel that seems vaguely familiar in plot, characters, and actions. After a few pages I realized the book portrayed life aboard a futuristic rocket ship similar to the starship Enterprise from the old Star Trek television shows. See what you think.

Ensign Andrew Dahl and his fellow crewmates have been recently assigned to the Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union star fleet, a plum job they are excited and honored to accept. But almost immediately Dahl notices certain oddities happening around them. One of particular interest to them: the crew, especially ensigns, are dying at an alarming rate. 

Each time there is an Away Mission where a landing team is selected to leave the starship and visit some alien planet, an ensign (or several) ends up dead. Even more alarming is that they are always killed by some unusual means such as Borgovian Land Worms, ice sharks, killer robots with harpoons, and humans with exploding heads.The captain, first officer, engineer, and other senior officer in the landing team always return from these missions unharmed or else recover quickly from any injuries, plagues, infections, or battle scars. But the ensigns are dead, to be replaced by new crew members like Dahl.

He also notices that crew members hide whenever a senior officer strolls down the ship's corridors seeking available crew members to join another landing team. To insure self-preservation, ensigns have created a secret tracking system for these officers so they can be forewarned of the officers' presence and hopefully avoid being assigned an Away Mission team.

What exactly is going on? Ensign Dahl and other new ensigns (who wear uniforms with red shirts) realize they have to understand the situation and deal with it before they, too, are assigned to a mission and probably "accidentally" killed. 

Author Scalzi's tongue-in-cheek writing style keeps the action going with ironic, funny situations. Without spoiling the fun, let me just say the solution to Dahl's peril involves:

• Time travel
• Black holes
• Mind manipulation
• An unseen crewman hidden on board the Intrepid
• A box that looks and acts like a microwave, but used to solve all complex problems

Don't ask, just read and enjoy. A thoroughly delightful, confusing, and ironic plot full of memorable (and disposable) characters. I loved it and hope others jump on the John Scalzi bandwagon. He is a witty, complex,and always entertaining writer.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

____________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Scalzi, John. Lock In

A pandemic influenza outbreaks affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Some recover with no ill effects, but others are permanently paralyzed, "locked in" to their bodies. They adapts by mentally controlling robots and other humans, including one who may have forced his human host to commit murder.  (previously reviewed here)

Lem, Stanislaw. Tales of Pirx, the Pilot

Another off-beat sci-fi story of the novice rocket pilot, Pirx, and his odd and humorous adventures throughout the galaxy with other life forms and his own species (previously reviewed here)

Science Fiction from Stanislaw Lem

Lem Stanislaw. The Star Diaries. New York: Harcourt. 1976. Print
                                  
          and also:  Tales of Pirx the Pilot. New York: Harcourt. 1979. Print

First Sentences:

It was on a Monday, April second -- I was cruising in the vicinity of Betelgeuse--when a meteor no larger than a lima bean pierced the hull, shattered the drive regulator and part of the rudder, as a result of which the rocket lost all maneuverability.

I put on my spacesuit, went outside and tried to fix the mechanism, but found I couldn't possibly attach the spare rudder -- which I'd had the foresight to bring along -- without the help of another man.

          Ijon Tichy - The Star Diaries 

"Cadet Pirx!" 

Bullpen's voice snapped him out of his daydreaming. He had just had visions of a two-crown piece lying tucked away in the fob pocket of his old civvies, the ones stashed at the bottom of his locker.

           Pirx - Tales of Pirx the Pilot 

Description:

Not sure how many people today know the works of science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem, and that is a shame. Lem was a Polish writer mostly during 1960 -1990 and is best known for his futuristic novel Solaris which was made into two films. 

His work is unlike most American science fiction, a genre he despised for its authors' choices of simplistic stories, dull dialogue, and goal of making money. Lem felt science fiction should explore more important themes such as the emptiness of space, the difficulty of communication between different (and the same) species, the unknown factors of robots, and the folly of man trying to put his mark on the vastness of the universe.

Here are two of Lem's short story collections to get you started. Each follows the space adventures of one rocket pilot as he grapples with the oddities of the universe and the beings and machines that he finds.

The Star Diaries  (a sample from the stories)

• Long-time, seen-it-all pilot Ijon Tichy (picture Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars) finds that, needing an additional person to make a vital repair to his rocket, decides to enter a series of vortexes where time is muddled. He meets a man who resembles himself who has advice on how to fix the problem, but Tichy feels it is simply a dream. Only later does he realize it was actually himself visiting him from the next day. Unfortunately, by that time it is the next day and he becomes that figure, trying to warn his sleeping yesterday self while dealing with his image from the next day. And the confusion gets worse and worse as the days unfold and new Tichy's from the future appear to those from the past.

• In another story, Tichy is the representative from Earth seeking membership in the United Planets. Rather than the ceremony being a formality, he finds he has to defend all of Mankind's wars against men and their limited advances in science. The surprise conclusion results when the actual origins of man are discovered.

• Tichy also is sent to a world populated only by robots who have revolted against humans. They have taught themselves the basics of human society, including language based on the only books they found: Chaucerian English. 

Tales of Pirx the Pilot (a sample from the stories)

Pirx is a young, brash pilot just learning the ropes from Cadet School to his early patrol voyages. A very likable character who seems to draw trouble due to his inexperience, laziness, or shortcuts.

• The opening story shows his life in Cadet School and his final test flight to a moon orbit. Unfortunately everything goes wrong, from pesky flies to a loose electrical circuit panel, and emergency controls that are locked. Of course, he has forgotten to bring the legendary crib sheet secretly used by all cadets for every emergency.

• Pirx, later sent to explore the disappearance of two qualified pilots while on routine patrol, notices on his screen an illusive light with incredible speed and maneuverability.  He gives chase, hesitates, retreats, and chases again while the light stays just out of reach. What is it and what does it want? Pirx must reason out the answer before his fate is sealed like the other two pilots.

Both Tichy and Pirx are interestingly human in their desires, reasoning, and avoidance of work when possible. Both pilots face the emptiness and vastness of space, yet find it a universe populated by unusual beings and challenges. Whether trying to communicate with other humans or species, working with malfunctioning robots, or delving into worlds of unusual populations, Tichy and Pirx gamely take on adventure after adventure of peculiarities and illogic. 

They must slowly piece together each situation and figure out answers to complex questions that are right in front of them. The problems are both complex and simple, but always enthralling and exciting. Of course, there is always technology that is good, bad, and indifferent.

On the one hand, we have no choice but to trust in our technology. With it we would never have set foot on the Moon. But ... sometimes we have to pay a high price for that trust.

For those new to Stanislaw Lem, I hope you give him a try. His is a completely different world of sci-fi, one that challenges as it makes you laugh. Highly recommended.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

____________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles

Chronological history in short stories of man's exploration and colonization of Mars, with all the richness and tragedy of life on an ancient world. (previously reviewed here)

Weir, Andy. The Martian

An astronaut, inadvertantly left on the the surface of Mars, must figure out a way to survive alone until a rescue ship can arrive months in the future.  (previously reviewed here)