Rob Caldarera
asked:
For the one's that have read Solaris as well Stanislaw Lem's works, which in your own opinion would be the best read?
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Thomas Dachsel
Not at all an easy question, because Lem wrote in very different subgenres of Science Fiction; some of his more theoretical works are not Science Fiction at all (although they are still published under that label). My all-time favorites are the Ijon Tichy books as they are sufficiently "light" and quite humorous, and prepare the reader for the tougher rides of his other books. "The Star Diaries" is a breath-taking joyride through a number of SF tropes, but the most captivating is "The Futurological Congress" (and it is not too long). This would be a great starting point.
"The Invincible" and "His Master's Voice" are great works, but I think his more "short-story-oriented" works are more easily accessible. Lem tends to meander in purely theoretical realms for whole chapters in a lot of his books, and this can become rather tiresome for a number of readers. "Solaris" is no exception to this, e.g. the chapter on the history of the research on Solaris, and the whole library of books written about it.
"The Invincible" and "His Master's Voice" are great works, but I think his more "short-story-oriented" works are more easily accessible. Lem tends to meander in purely theoretical realms for whole chapters in a lot of his books, and this can become rather tiresome for a number of readers. "Solaris" is no exception to this, e.g. the chapter on the history of the research on Solaris, and the whole library of books written about it.
Krzysztof Klosin
The Invincible is a nice one. Also The Fiasco is a good choice if you like to read about yet another attempt of humanity to "connect" with an unknown civilization.
Jonathan
The Investigation.
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