A brilliantly crafted collection of stories from celebrated science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem Trurl and Klaupacius are constructor robots who t...
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Dec 17, 2009
Seth
rated it: 
If you're only going to read one Lem in your life...
...seek medical help. There are several essential Lem books and stories.
And this is one of them. Both of them. Something like that. It's an essential Lem book of essential Lem stories.
The basic outline is simple: two robot inventors (they are robots and they invent robots... whether they invented themselves is indeed an open question) appear, one or the other or both, in some fashion, in a series of stories set in More...
...seek medical help. There are several essential Lem books and stories.
And this is one of them. Both of them. Something like that. It's an essential Lem book of essential Lem stories.
The basic outline is simple: two robot inventors (they are robots and they invent robots... whether they invented themselves is indeed an open question) appear, one or the other or both, in some fashion, in a series of stories set in More...
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Jan 14, 2009
Manny
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One of the most brilliant pieces of translation I've ever come across. You can hardly believe that all these wonderful jokes and word-games weren't originally composed in English. I wish I knew some Polish, so that I could compare with the original.
The most impressive sequences, which have been widely quoted, come from the story where one of the inventors builds a machine that can write a poem to any specification, no matter how bizarre. "A poem about love, treachery, indomitabl More...
The most impressive sequences, which have been widely quoted, come from the story where one of the inventors builds a machine that can write a poem to any specification, no matter how bizarre. "A poem about love, treachery, indomitabl More...
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Oct 06, 2009
Greg
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I first came across Stanislaw Lem by way of an absolutely fantastic book called The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul in which three of his short stories were featured. His stories touched on issues in philosophy, topics having to do with artificial intelligence, consciousness, physics, mathematics programming, and more. Upon reading these my thoughts were something along the lines of, "this is one of the most fabulous authors I've ever come across, how have I never heard
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Sep 15, 2011
Michael
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Originally I was just thrilled to find a SF book by an author actually in Poland. But, after I read the book, I was amazed. Still one of the funniest books I have ever read. Two competing robots (Trurl and Klaupacius) who try to out-invent each other, create some of the most wild constructs that anyone could ever imagine.
One being the machine Trurl creates that can make anthing that starts with the letter 'N'. Things really get wild when Klaupacius tests the machine by asking it More...
One being the machine Trurl creates that can make anthing that starts with the letter 'N'. Things really get wild when Klaupacius tests the machine by asking it More...
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Feb 02, 2011
Emily
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It's hard to believe this book is translated from the Polish, not written originally in English. Stanislaw Lem (and presumably his translator) have an amazing way of creating made-up words whose meanings are immediately clear nonetheless: for example "artifactotum" (a mechanical assistant), "scarechrome" (a robotic scarecrow), and many more. Lem's writing is reminiscent of Lewis Carroll in that fantastical style, but much more inclined to technological topics.
The More...
The More...
Dec 24, 2011
Voss
rated it:
I first ran across The Cyberiad in desperation. It takes me next to no time to read books, so I quickly drained every last inch of our bookshelves by eighth grade, and the library had nothing.
My dear lord. Before I get into the writing itself, let's not forget the briliant translation, and this book would not be easy to translate, between alliterations, rhyming, and the sheerly brilliant nonsense (I use brilliant so much because one simply can't use that word enough when speaking of More...
My dear lord. Before I get into the writing itself, let's not forget the briliant translation, and this book would not be easy to translate, between alliterations, rhyming, and the sheerly brilliant nonsense (I use brilliant so much because one simply can't use that word enough when speaking of More...
Jul 23, 2010
David
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This book has the best first line of any book in world literature ("one day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with the letter n.") It's definitely my favorite Lem, too. By far the funniest. Some of the Pirx the Pilot stories are almost as funny, but never with such consistency.
Probably can't add too much to the other reviews except to say: I actually read this before I read Rabelais, so I didn't realize how much this is a modern More...
Probably can't add too much to the other reviews except to say: I actually read this before I read Rabelais, so I didn't realize how much this is a modern More...
Jul 27, 2011
Hollie
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Beyond the great fun and philosophical thought-problems of the book itself, the translator here must be commended. I don't have the Polish to do an A/B comparison, but I do have the math to be greatly amused by his work on "The First Sally (A), or Turl's Electronic Bard". The poems are masterworks of clever phrasing, rhythm and wordplay- not an easy piece to tackle when moving between languages.
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Jul 25, 2011
Ivo
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The Cyberiad is the lightest book by Lem i've read so far, an un-selfconscious romp through the possibilities of engineering genius. Trurl and Klapaucius' ability to fabricate anything one can imagine out of sufficient quanities of sheet brass, capacitors, vacuum tubes etc makes for unpredictable, fanciful plots that are fun to read. In some cases, the stories also have interesting, farsighted concepts suggesting such modern ideas as swarm robotics and information piracy, but in general the st
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Jan 02, 2011
If you put Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carrol and Einstien in one body, this is the book they'd write.
I've never even imagined such brilliant nonsense. Seriously. It's also an intelligence test (and something of an endurance one as well) because hidden in the apparent gibberish are some of the funniest parts of the text.
Lem uses his Cosmic knowledge and a great, cybernetic sense of humor to poke pun at, well, just about everything. But pay attention--or you just might miss it. (maybe brush up More...
I've never even imagined such brilliant nonsense. Seriously. It's also an intelligence test (and something of an endurance one as well) because hidden in the apparent gibberish are some of the funniest parts of the text.
Lem uses his Cosmic knowledge and a great, cybernetic sense of humor to poke pun at, well, just about everything. But pay attention--or you just might miss it. (maybe brush up More...
Jan 17, 2011
Toma
rated it:
Read this at least 5 times. Probably the best book (at least in its genre) I've read. Extremely funny and witty. With all the made up words and rhyming poems etc. must have been a nightmare to translators (I read the Finnish translation). I only wish I knew Polish so that I could read this in the original language.
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Jan 26, 2009
Jennifer
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Let me just start out by saying that I far prefer Lem's novels to his short stories. That said, I loved the higher math & quantum mechanics, probability humor throughout these stories. You probably wouldn't have to be a crazy quantum geek like me to appreciate it, but it would certainly help. ;)
Anyway, these are tales of a pair of constructor robots in a universe of robots and their exploits. They create the perfect generator of poetry, massive computers who can't do math, the perfec More...
Anyway, these are tales of a pair of constructor robots in a universe of robots and their exploits. They create the perfect generator of poetry, massive computers who can't do math, the perfec More...
Sep 15, 2010
Samee
rated it:
Polish scifi author Lem is known for Borges-esque narratives and fanciful conceits; this collection delivers lots of just that. A series of "robot fables" built around the (mostly) friendly rivalry of two notable robot engineers/interstellar swashbucklers, these tales are, like any fables, focused almost exclusively on exploring a particular theme or concept. As a result, the stories seem a bit repetitive after a while, but they are a lot of fun. Lem also slowly lifts the curtain on Tr
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Apr 05, 2011
Nate
rated it:
Cybernetic fables, simultaneously very old and very new. At his best, Lem is playful and wise in the manner of certain Calvino. At his worst, he tales off into long strings of silly words and technobabble puns. As such, I had to take a few breaks, but ended up being well rewarded for my time: the later stories-within-stories-within-stories (a nested Arabian Nights, or rather a Sarragossa Manuscript) seem to really be making an attempt to interrogate the universe, and its observations are sad and
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Nov 13, 2011
Rob
rated it:
3 & 1/2 stars.
I don't typically go for dry humor. It's not that I hate it, but restrained (read: affected) propriety wears my patience. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with this group of short stories, which features two "constructors" who invent machines that can pretty much do anything, but always have some peculiar bent that makes for amusing developments. The stories are largely curt and very wildly imagintive. I guess I enjoyed these because of the inventiveness o More...
I don't typically go for dry humor. It's not that I hate it, but restrained (read: affected) propriety wears my patience. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with this group of short stories, which features two "constructors" who invent machines that can pretty much do anything, but always have some peculiar bent that makes for amusing developments. The stories are largely curt and very wildly imagintive. I guess I enjoyed these because of the inventiveness o More...
Feb 13, 2011
Giacomo
rated it:
L'unico altro libro di Lem che abbia letto è Solaris e posso dirvi tranquillamente che non sembrano frutto della stessa persona: Solaris è un romanzo profondo, complesso e pieno di interrogativi circa la natura dell'uomo per i quali l'autore non fornisce risposta alcuna. Diversamente, Cyberiade è un'antologia di racconti che narrano, principalmente, le incredibili avventure dei due inventori Trurl e Klapaucius, sottoforma di storie che rasentano, talora, lo stile fiabesco.
Il contenuto More...
Il contenuto More...
Oct 30, 2009
Ren the Unclean
rated it: 
This book is pretty weird. It is basically a bunch of short stories where a couple of robots who can construct anything solve various problems by constructing things. The first couple were interesting, but I just got sick of them by the end.
This premise is good, which is why I read the book, but Lem doesn't really do much with it or explore very many interesting themes. Every story basically comes down to, literally, Deus Ex Machina. The first couple of times it is interesting, More...
This premise is good, which is why I read the book, but Lem doesn't really do much with it or explore very many interesting themes. Every story basically comes down to, literally, Deus Ex Machina. The first couple of times it is interesting, More...
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Aug 08, 2009
Ryan
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As a set of fairy tails for the cyber-age, The Cyberiad almost feels like something Hans Christian Andersen could have wrote if he was a math geek. Or The seemingly unrelated chapters (or Sallies) in a way make me think that I’m reading a futuristic 1001 knights. Stanislaw Lem's joke in the original Polish are supposed to be knee-slapping hilarious. It’s disappointing that once they are translated into English they are almost as funny as a piece of poultry trying to ford a highway. I don’t want
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Jan 15, 2011
Maurizio
rated it:
Questo libro di racconti di Stanislaw Lem racconta le imprese di due "costruttori", Trurl e Klapaucius, che si scopre essere essi stessi delle macchine (senzienti) solo dopo avere letto qualche storia. Memorabile l'incipit del primo racconto: "Un giorno Trurl il costruttore montò una macchina in grado di creare tutto quello che cominciava per N".
C'è chi potrebbe lamentarsi dell'uniformità delle storie; io personalmente le ho trovate gustosissime, sempre a mezzo tra il filo de More...
C'è chi potrebbe lamentarsi dell'uniformità delle storie; io personalmente le ho trovate gustosissime, sempre a mezzo tra il filo de More...
Aug 22, 2008
John
rated it:
Here's another series of short tales by Lem. They concern two "Constructors" - supremely powerful robot engineers (and by robot engineers, I mean they are engineers that are robots) - and the adventures they have in a wild universe peopled primarily by persons of a mechanical nature. The tales almost always have a humorous bent, but typically belie some deeper point that Lem is trying to make. There's a lot to digest here. There's a problem though. Lem tends to use made-up-word puns (I
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Oct 06, 2010
Morgan
rated it:
I have to give this book an award for Best Chapter Title:
"The Fourth Sally, or How Trurl Built a Femfatalatron to Save Prince Pantagoon from the Pangs of Love, and How Later He Resorted to a Cannonade of Babies."
While the chapter on dragons is by far my favorite sally, mostly for the beginning theoretical explanations of how dragons cannot exist, except by bizarre partial probability equations. Ingenious.
As for Sally 1A, isn't it a bit bizarre that More...
"The Fourth Sally, or How Trurl Built a Femfatalatron to Save Prince Pantagoon from the Pangs of Love, and How Later He Resorted to a Cannonade of Babies."
While the chapter on dragons is by far my favorite sally, mostly for the beginning theoretical explanations of how dragons cannot exist, except by bizarre partial probability equations. Ingenious.
As for Sally 1A, isn't it a bit bizarre that More...
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Jan 03, 2012
Jason
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There's a blurb on the back of the book comparing Lem to Borges, which is about right: there is a long section towards the end which is stories nested in stories nested in stories, one of which is a story about someone trapped in a labyrinth of dreams nested in dreams nested in dreams, and there's a story that is sort of a sillier, sci-fi version of Borges' story "The Immortals". What a comparison like that misses is just how silly and playful these stories are.
Apr 05, 2009
Robin
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This is one of those books driven by a wonderful touch with whimsy, which is a trickier and more serious business than a person would think while reading it. It is also actively looking to pick fights with logic itself, and the result is delightful. Reminiscent of Calvino, and unmistakably similar in tone and setting to Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker books. Which, it must be said, the Cyberiad predates by a good margin.
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Jun 20, 2011
Michael
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I have mixed feelings about this one. I bought it after reading some of the fantastic reviews by people who really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. Are there some great, funny, and genius sections in the book? Yes, there are. But these get overshadowed by the stories that go nowhere and the seemingly endless sections of description that have no bearing on the stories being told. The first half of the book is four or five stars and it goes way down hill after that.
Aug 10, 2011
Elphaba
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This was a collection of stories, many of which were thought provoking, many were humorous, several were repetitive and somewhat shallow but all were translation masterpieces, IMO. I'm not giving this a great rating because the pleasure of reading was diminished by my reading through it too quickly. This is one where you should read the stories at a leisurely pace, perhaps separating your reading times with other books. All together was a bit much. But I can't stress enough how magnificent
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Feb 16, 2011
Ringthebells
rated it:
I read this as part of a "science fiction" book club, but I'd describe this book more as a collection of fairy tales with robots. The writing was very playful and funny and clever, and considering how much wordplay there was I'm thinking the translator's hand must have been just as visible as the author's (although, having no idea of how the original reads, I can't separate the two).
Sep 04, 2010
Alan
rated it:
A very lighthearted allegory about the foibles of enlightened human reason as represented by two peripatetic robots, Trurl and Klapaucius. Lem is at his best with the pseudoscientific wordplay. The translator (Michael Kandel) deserves high praise for unobtrusively maintaining the playful mix of references (scientific, philosophical, cultural, sexual, etc) in this English version.
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Jun 18, 2010
Gabriel
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Everything is better when you're a robot! A funny set of tales that are as much folklore as science fiction. Cleverly written with intertwining narratives that work between tales and recognizable heroes that change your perception. At each turn they explore the hills and valleys of a future full of questions as trickster philosopher machine making geniuses. Well done!
Jan 10, 2011
Will
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Polish sci-fi author Stanislaw Lem is like Philip K. Dick, but double the IQ, marinated in devious wit for 30 minutes longer, and garnished with calculus. Lem's The Cyberiad is a series of interconnected stories about a couple of weird, sentient, metal gods, cruising the universe and breaking things. Very touching at times.
Jan 18, 2009
Paul
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These are a bunch of fairy-tale like stories about two inventors, Trurl and Klaupacious. Lem seems to write in a few different tones - his scientific/analytic tone makes me gush, and his post-modern fairytales are equally elegant. I haven't developed a taste for his satire yet, but I don;t think it's too late.
