A science fiction writer worthy of a Nobel Prize -New York TimesFollow Pilot Pirx-a bumbling and irresistibly likeable astronaut-through five adventures set in a time when space travel has become routine. Pirx is charged with investigating strange space accidents, perhaps because his superiors appreciate his flair, or perhaps because they consider him expendable. The tales build to a towering climax when in the final installment, Pirx must decipher a spaceship's sinister past with the help of a robot's retentive memory. At once audacious, childlike, and intuitive, the character of Pirx offers a wonderful vision of the very qualities that may, in the future, give us the courage to confront the vastness and uncertainty of outer space."Lem is not only a marvelous spinner of tales of the fantastic but also a challenging philosopher of the meanings and ramifications of technology." -Chicago TribuneStanislaw Lem is the most widely translated and best known science fiction author writing outside of the English language. Winner of the Kafka Prize, he is a contributor to many magazines, including the New Yorker, and he is the author of numerous works, including Solaris.