My first foray into Lem, Pirx the Pilot, is a good, if subtly flawed work. In it are five adventures of the titular hero, from his first test run as a simple-minded cadet to a tale of a transport ship where Pirx is the grizzled commanding officer. His personal biography between adventures is only briefly mentioned. Thus, the book is five short stories loosely tied together. This has been done before by other authors, and it generally works here. Pirx evolves as a character, never quite the same as he was in the last chapter. He is at once heroic and eminently flawed; initially presented as a simple-minded bumbler, Pirx's achievements are a mixture of perseverance, luck, and sudden inspiration.All great science fiction authors have at least one unique talent, and in Lem's case, it's his outstanding technical world-building. His description of machines, or the nature of a ship's interior is phenomenal, unlike that of any author I've come across. Lem also mentions science and engineering tidbits throughout, another contrast to most genre authors. Being a scientist for a living, I appreciate this. However, that is not to say Lem neglects the human side in his book. The stories are realistic and demonstrate a keen understanding of human nature. In the first two stories, Lem displays a fine sense of humor. Unfortunately, that is also where a weakness of the work becomes evident. The final three stories are almost barren of comedy, and feel less vibrant as a result.Also, there were several points in the book where Lem becomes too absorbed in his descriptions, to the detriment of plot. An example is the second story, which mostly takes place on the Moon. It is the longest of the entire book, over 70 pages, and much of that has to do with exhaustive description of lunar bases, traveling along the moon's surface, and a thousand other details. At first, it's entertaining and builds a mental picture. However, Lem keeps pouring it on, well past the point of interest. Not only is it boring, but virtually none of these descriptions end up being significant to the plot progression. The set-up of each story is similar. Pirx finds himself confronted with a bizarre space mystery, often with his own survival at stake. What he experiences is very peculiar, imaginative, and riveting. Unfortunately, in each case, the explanation was underwhelming. The conclusions are realistic and logical enough, but don't match the excitement or originality of their premises. Thus, even after finishing a good story, there is a tinge of disappointment. Overall, Lem is a talented writer and Pirx the Pilot is a worthwhile science fiction read. I will be checking out more of his work in the future. Unfortunately, it's simply not great.
I couldn't stop reading this book! Lem's sci-fi is funny and quirky, yet still wicked smart. A highly plausible imagining of future space travel, I was completely enthralled by the descriptions of alien landscapes and rocket ships alike. I must admit that I was far from compelled by Pirx upon his introduction, but grew to enjoy his straightforward nature and the development of his competence. My only complaint is that a couple of the stories tend towards the formulaic: Pirx encounters some strange, almost supernatural phenomenon, whereby uses his highly developed imagination and reasoning skills to approach the problem in a novel way to come to some happy conclusion. That being said, I believe Lem captures human emotion on these new frontiers effortlessly, from "the dip" to the boundless horizon of space.I did have one complaint specific to the way in which one story, the final one, was completed. I felt somewhat put out that Pirx had Terminus slated for dismantling, without really investigating its functioning... I mean, shouldn't the robot looking for the cat have been a sign of higher functioning, especially since he couldn't express with the pre-programmed cues what his purpose for doing so was? Further, when Pirx communicated via Morse code, he seemed to illicit and unexpected response; why all this talk about multiple personas during human sleep if he could so casually dismiss the thought of Terminus' sentience! I felt let down, since I believe that Lem was more than capable of a coherent exposition on the theory of artificial intelligence as it applied to the story :( Still, I was haunted by the echoes of disaster, preserved only in Morse, and the decrepitude of the ship was well conveyed, to eerie effect! Pretty brilliant writing all around :D
What do You think about Tales Of Pirx The Pilot (1990)?
Pirx is not the best I have read by Lem, but, for me, these simple tales are very satisfying. The progression is chronological but with large gaps as Lem captures interesting episodes of Prix career from young cadet to full-fledged navigator. Over time, Pirx loses his air of the preening day-dreamer spinning fantasies of glory. While Prix grows into his profession and into adulthood, Lem never let's us forget that space flight is a serious business and that the cost of getting better at it is often gained in the postmortem of events that went tragically awry. Pirx is not the brightest tool in the shed, but he is steady and keeps his head in a scrape. While never achieving the almost elemental status of Conrad's captains who reveal their metal when the storm is raging, Prix muddles his way through and his instincts are good.Lem keeps the tales simple but he knows how to find small seams of gold. Lem just clicks for me and did the very first time I read him. I could never recommend Lem with great confidence to another reader without some understanding of their sensibilities. As for me, I like the quirkiness, the wryness, the balancing on a razor's edge between the real and what lies just on the other side of it. Most of all, Lem never loses sight of the human being(s) at the heart of all good stories.
—Timothy
I remember reading a bunch of Stanislaw Lem quite a while ago. "Tales of Pirx The Pilot" was certainly one of them and it was with some fondness that I picked up another copy while looking for another specific book. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed. This book is a solid "4.0".These stories of Pirx are an odd amalgamation of interesting science and young/juvenile action-adventure, but done in a very readable and convincing way. Without revealing too much, I found that Lem's testing of the cadets to be a rather obvious requirement for any real deep-space or extended isolation mission even though he does it in a highly imaginative and unorthodox way. Great stuff. And the character of Pirx is appealing, too. He's an everyman training to become a leader, with all of the doubts and foibles that ordinary men and women have. Despite the space background these stories are ultimately about the character and his development in each of the tales.Although I probably won't buy any further copies, this slim volume has rekindled my appreciation for the works of Mr. Lem. I'll be re-visiting more of his works in the future. If you've never read any of his works then youo have missed some very good writing. While the stories are short and superficially simple, they are clever and show a deep understanding of human psychology. I strongly recommend them.
—Mike
Excellent bit of grade-A science fiction from the Polish legend Stanisław Lem, author of Solaris. This comes in the form of tales, but is really a cohesive whole. Tales of Pirx the Pilot is a testament to the scientific knowledge of Lem, which he uses to an incredible capacity. Those sci-fi snobs who think only science can define science fiction will not be disappointed (at least I think they won't). It's a pretty funny story too, since Pirx is a bumbler who represents the childish nature by which we explore the cosmos and how that contrasts with the incredibly high standards astronauts and cosmonauts must keep in order to explore space as safely as possible. Though it was written in Soviet times, Tales of Pirx the Pilot is pretty universal as long as people are willing to overlook his using the word cosmodrome for launch sites (which, admittedly, is kind of a cool word anyway). Not sure whether to recommend Pirx the Pilot as a first Lem book to read, but if it is you can't go wrong.
—Felix Purat
