The Seventh Voyage

by Stanisław Lem

Journey into space with Polish scifi master Stanislaw Lem. The whimsical time-loops of Ijon Tichy’s cosmic adventure ‘The Seventh Voyage’ are reminiscent of Douglas Adams, while the spectral whispers haunting Pirx the Pilot as he navigates his spaceship to Mars in ‘Terminus’, echo the author’s masterpiece Solaris. Then ‘The Mask’ introduces a perfect robot assassin and asks, can AI fall in love or refuse its programming? What if the target of its affections is also its prey?

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Stanisław Lem (staˈɲiswaf lɛm) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer of Jewish descent. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.

His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.

Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today—like, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.

He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (Głos pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.

He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.

Reviews

[Thalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Seventh Voyage - 3.5/5
Terminus - 2/5
The Mask - 4/5

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new edition - called Penguin Archive which has recently been published. The book contains 3 stories, the seventh voyage, Terminus and the Mask. The idea being to showcase the authors works as well as celebrate the legacy of the Penguin publishing brand.

As such these 3 stories are a perfect showcase and taster for Lem's work - showing hits of his larger (and possibly more famous works). As such the have 3 different styles not all of which I got on well with.

However I will say that Lem is a Polish author and I have to say that some of his approaches jar with me (although to be honest The Mask was probably written in this style to highlight the plight of the protagonist) as such a fascinating book indeed

[Anton Firth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story, The Seventh Voyage, plays on the concept of time loops and has some ok but honestly slightly dated humour and the story becomes incredibly predictable and repetitive fairly quickly. 2/5

The second, Terminus, is the best of the three. The descriptive passages are creepy and atmospheric, with the slightly terrifying robot Terminus malfunctioning like a human with dementia above a formerly dilapidated ship haunted by its ghosts. 4/5

The Mask has highs and lows. The prose can be quite stodgy and turgid, overly complex for no real reason, and it takes a while to get into. However, once the story gets going the prose also appears to lighten and it contains some interesting ideas around free will and consciousness. 3/5

Overall this collection of short stories is fine but not much more than that, I wouldn't actively recommend it but you could certainly do worse.

[Max O'Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i adored this selection
each story had distinct humour and style, with unique perspectives on the human condition
the conclusions were expertly crafted

[Giorgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lem sure takes you on a voyage in these stories - three, distinctly fantastical voyages to be exact! I thought Solaris was going to be difficult to top, but Lem truly gets close here, especially with 'Terminus' and 'The Mask.' The collection starts off a little goofy with a story about a lone traveller in space who keeps falling into a time loop, but little prepared me for the complete tone change in 'Terminus' and 'The Mask,' with the latter two diving deeper into horror territory whilst still retaining so much sympathy and humanity - I love the way that Lem writes androids, I love how his creativity allows him to toy with the limits of human knowledge in so many diverse, surprising ways. I only retract one star because I feel that the stories were at times a little slow to get into, and some of the writing slightly too drawn out for my taste (but maybe the translation just didn't do the prose justice). Anyways, I will now be digging out my copy of 'Invisible Man' and continuing my Lem journey...stay tuned for more...

[Tobio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of three stories, which feel kind of weird to throw together. The first one is excellent, Lem at his prime funny. Absurd time travel shenanigans played out incredibly well. The second story suddenly a lot more reminiscent of the eerie psychological horror found in Solaris. The third one is a bit more whimsical again (but I had already read that one in Mortal Engines, a great collection of short stories). Nice SciFi stories overall, if you're a fan of all of Stanisław Lem's work.

[Zoran Micic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative concept for the time. Execution had its highs and lows.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a newbie to Lem, this was a great little intro collection of three stories, each so different in style and tone that it nicely showcases Lem's range.

The Seventh Voyage: a lone traveller near Betelgeuse realises that a necessary repair to his spacecraft is beyond the reach of one person. Catching glimpses of himself in other times while travelling through gravitational vortices opens the possibility of a solution to his problem, but also confusion, farce and things spinning out of control in a completely madcap way. The tone is a little bit Douglas Adams, or maybe Mickey 17 rather than Moon. Good bit of fun for 20-something pages. Any longer and it would have worn thin. 3.5/5 for me.

Terminus: Apparently, this is from a series of stories about Pirx the Pilot. In Terminus, Pirx is navigator on a decrepit cargo ship to Mars with a mysterious history, to which a maintenance robot - Terminus - may hold the key. Loved this one - atmospheric from the start, then increasingly strange, puzzling and haunting - I could have read a lot more of this. I understand Lem's Solaris is along similar lines, so that's definitely going on my TBR. Easy 5/5 for Terminus.

The Mask: I struggled with this one to start. The writing seems to be in the voice of an eighteenth-century debutante, so a bit long-winded for me, but there are a few hints as to what's behind the voice and then a brilliant horror scene which contrasts so dramatically with the voice that you have to sit up for the rest of it. 3/5

So a variable collection, but IMHO worth it for Terminus alone, and yes, I want to read some more Lem.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of three very different stories. The first is a combination of sci fi and the absurd, the second is much more straightforward and the third is the most demanding of all - a very wordy verge into horror. It's too slight a volume to hang together. There's some great writing here but overall it misses.

[Simon Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are 3 stories. The first ‘the Seventh Voyage’ is a fun story and only about 20 pages long which is a perfect length otherwise the subject would’ve been exhausted. The second story ‘Terminus’ I found a fairly run of the mill sci-fi tale. The third story however ‘The Mask’ was excellent. You really wanted to know what was happening next and on its own I would’ve given it a much higher rating.

[TopBob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully hysterical short story with Adams-reminiscent space shenanigans.

Famous for his cerebral works, Lem’s story here is more interested in fun, although it nonetheless offers a hilariously intricate depiction of a time-loop.

[albert linnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy damn þetta er lang besta langa smásaga sem ég hef lesið. ÉG ELSKA STANISLAW LEM. Þetta er fyrsta fyndna bókin eftir hann sem ég les. Sagan fjallar um mann sem er einn á geimskipi sem þarf að fremja tveggja manna verk… Hvernig fer hann að því? Með óútreiknanlegu tímaflakki auðvitað.

[Ward Heirwegh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vond ik maar niks. Eerste verhaal gaat over verdubbeling en tijdreizen. Tweede over een ruimteschip met een geschiedenis en een robot aan boord. 3de was zo vermoeiend geschreven dat ik het zelfs heb weg gelegd. Jammer, want dit is m’n eerste Lem.

[skye ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

the translator of the seventh voyage and the mask was sooooo good. The Mask started off slow but it’s really worth pushing through because that was just the most beautiful story. Stanislaw Lem you did it again

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall rating 3

Seventh Voyage - rating 4
Terminus - rating 3.5
The Mask - rating 3

Really enjoyed the first two stories .
Last one didn’t really work for me.

[Jude Gant · Rating 4 out of 5]

First two stories were great, I would give them 5 stars in a heartbeat. However, "the mask" felt more like a spiel of prose than an engaging sci fi short story.

[Lay Len Ching · Rating 3 out of 5]

First story was great

[Pyari Chopra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Seventh Voyage - 3
Terminus - 4
The Mask - 3.5

[Zoe Macdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

These were all pretty good! I like a sci-fi short story and each of these had their own seperate tone but similar themes, tying everything together with some pretty great writing.

[Calum Wight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of Lem's stories, always great to read his witty sci-fi, especially loved the craziness of the Seventh Voyage itself, will have to read the star diaries.

[Alan Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit of a mixed bag I suppose and not a collection that really combines well.

[Lawrence Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit of an odd choice of stories to put together, but all very good in their own way

[metalgearsolid3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shoutout Ben Freedman

[Adelya · Rating 4 out of 5]

the seventh voyage - this was goofy as hell, a time loop comedy of errors set on a spaceship, how could I possibly not adore it? 5/5

terminus - every time I come across a confused and possibly sentient robot I am immediately transported back to the childhood trauma of Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out, 4/5

the mask - average chatgpt interaction, 3/5

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stories from Lem’s catalogue. The first, ‘The Seventh Voyage’, is from The Star Diaries (1954, trans. 1976). I’m generally less on board with this kind of conceptually/linguistically absurdist humour, and felt a bit lukewarm on it.

The second, ‘Terminus’, was originally published in the untranslated Księga Robotów (1961), and later appeared in the compilation volume Tales of Pirx the Pilot (1968, trans. 1979). I really love Lem when he gets serious - this is a chillingly atmospheric ghost story which echoes the generations destroyed in a creaking industrial system.

Finally, we have ‘The Mask’, first published in the Polish literary magazine Kultura in 1974 and translated in the English-only compilation volume Mortal Engines (1977). This is honestly one of the best short stories I’ve ever come across - a nightmarish, schizophrenic and ultimately heartbreaking horror fable which blends a commentary on the violent undertones of desire, the interaction between social constructions of both sex and gender, and the potential subjectivity of an artificial intelligence. Get yourself a copy of this however you can.

(15/5/25)

[brisingr · Rating 2 out of 5]

unfortunately, whilst slightly interesting, just not my type of stories