More Tales of Pirx the Pilot (English and Polish Edition)

Review Five more tales featuring Pirx - a bumbling rookie in the original Tales (1979), now a seasoned and level-headed (but coolly cerebral) space jockey. The first three pieces are short, ironic, and somewhat thin on ideas: Pirx fails to intercept a drifting alien hulk thanks to a shipboard comedy of errors; he searches for a robot that has inexplicably cut loose to go mountain climbing; and he survives a close encounter with a berserk mining robot. The two long yarns, unfortunately, are not so much fiction as rather pedantic reflections on the nature of artificial intelligence: a choppy and overinvolved Turing test, in which Pirx must identify (and foil the murderous plans of) the robot among his crew as they fly through the rings of Saturn; and a talky, motionless analysis of why an intelligent computer aboard an experimental ship went neurotically haywire and crashed on Mars. A ruminative, often discursive bunch, wanting in urgency and drama - without the mature idea-wrestling of last year's Memoirs of a Space Traveler. ( Kirkus Reviews ) Language Notes Text: English, Polish (translation) Commander Pirx, who drives space vehicles for a living in the galaxy of the future, here faces a new series of intriguing adventures in which robots demonstrate some alarmingly human characteristics. On one interplanetary trip, a robot actually shows curiosity and even generosity; on another, a robot is lured to try mountain climbing. The two longest stories are puzzles in which the mysteries of artificial intelligence are explored. Pirx wrestles every step of the way with his mixed feelings about robots, which make him increasingly suspicious and apprehensive. Lem writes of the cold and aloof technology of the future with deep humanity and high lyricism. Commander Pirx, who drives space vehicles for a living in the galaxy of the future, here faces a new series of intriguing adventures in which robots demonstrate some alarmingly human characteristics. Translated by Louis Iribarne, assisted by Magdalena Majcherczyk and Michael Kandel. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book Pirx's tale The accident The hunt The inquest Ananke.