Story: 3 / 10
Characters: 4
Setting: 7
Prose: 8

In many ways, this book is an anthology of short stories. Since the main character is the same throughout, the collection some cohesion and is a much more enjoyable read. None of the stories are terribly good though. ( )

I was enjoying the book a lot until about a third of the way through there's a sudden appearance of "Gypsonians" who are nomadic space faring stupid drunken thieves... They only appear for a page but it's enough that it completely soured me on it. I kept reading out of stubbornness and because of my positive experience at the start but afterwards I stopped enjoying the humour even though I could tell it was clever (and very impressively translated). Humour is difficult - you only need one misstep to feel completely disconnected from the person telling the jokes. Other people might easily be able to ignore one instance of racism but just for me it was enough to ruin it. ( )

I'm not sure if I prefer Tichy to Pirx. Tichy's tales vary wildly from the absurd to discussions on philosophy or historical parodies. Pirx tends to stay in the puzzle to solve lane pretty much.

Some of these can be a bit of a slog (mostly the later written ones), though they certainly have their moments with laugh out loud jokes and lines that give you pause for thought.

That said I think I prefer the tone and style of the earlier written ones. They're a little bit more goofball but they're just a breeze to read. It's almost like you get your desserts before your vegetables in this book.

But of course I love it. ( )

This is a set of barely-connected short stories about the various adventures of Ijon Tichy, an astronaut that travels throughout the galaxy and time itself. Lem's writing is absurd and a lot of fun, has a strong Douglas Adams vibe to it. Even more amazing when you consider that all of the wordplay and puns were not written in English - the translator (Michael Kendal) has done an amazing job.
Most of the stories are just hilarious and/or amusing, while (thankfully only) a couple of them get into some deep philosophical questions that were just a little TOO dry for me to enjoy.
All in all, a fun book. ( )

Not one but two allegories scathing of communism, yet presumably went past the censors. In the same way a lot of great science fiction goes past literature buffs because it's just science fiction. ( )