A review by jamestomasino
Tales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanisław Lem

5.0

Older sci-fi stories are often difficult for me to get into because of their lack of character focus. Authors like Arthur C Clarke tend toward a focus on the science, or the big philosophical idea, rather than establishing a believable cast and seeing them explore these worlds. Lem is not like this. Pirx is alive. He's at times grumpy, excited, fearful, nervous, and bored in real ways that bring you into the story with him.

The format of the book is episodic. Many of the stories at this time were magazine publications brought together into a larger volume. I'm not sure if that's the case here, but it feels like it. In this sense, some stories work better than others. Terminus, the final in the book, is absolutely the strongest. It has so many aspects to explore, so many questions left lingering, and an absolutely devastating ending that will stick with me for a long time to come.

I'm looking forward to reading more Pirx stories soon.