Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece of world literature
Review: "The Cyberiad" is not "science fiction" any more than is "Gulliver's Travels" - with which it should be justly compared. These "simple" little fables discourse wittily upon Love, Art, Death - all of the grandest themes of literature - with a subtlety and wisdom that never fail to move me, no matter how many times I read it.Lem's book has the surest mark of a masterpiece: it is a work that deepens in meaning as the reader returns to it at advancing ages.
Rating:
Summary: Please don't call it science fiction ...
Review: ... it's much, much too good for that. Lem transcends SF the way Douglas Adams does -- he parodies it, toys with it, and vastly surpasses it. I picked this book up over twenty years ago while browsing in a bookstore, and I wouldn't even hazard a guess as to how many times I've reread it since. As a storyteller, Lem has few equals. He's been compared to Swift, but he's a Swift for the modern age, touching on topics like artificial life, robotics, artificial intelligence, statistics, and evolution. These fables usually have a moral, they're always thought provoking, often hilarious. Highest possible recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so much science-fiction as science-satire...
Review: ...and not so much a novel as a collection of
short stories, but most concerning the same two
characters: rival inventors/scientists Trurl and
Klapaucius. As such, it's a pretty scattershot
collection; some stories being totally compelling,
others leaving me bored and confused. Lem is a master of satirizing science (and scientific dogma)
in its many forms. He also seems to revel in his
own cleverness sometimes, which can be a bit over-
bearing, but since he really IS clever most of the
time, it's almost justified. Would I re-read it?
Yes, but now I know the parts I'd prefer to skip over. Would I recommend it to others? Yes, but others would probably enjoy it more than I did (not that
I didn't enjoy it). A special tip of the hat to
translator Michael Kandel, he did a great job.
Rating:
Summary: The best stories by the best SF author ever
Review:
More than anyone else, Stanislaw Lem
understands the unique potential of the Science Fiction
genre. His
depictions of non-human intelligences, whether alien or
artificial, are consistently compelling. His insight into
humanity and our role in the Cosmos is unmatched (at least
among SF authors). As far as I can tell, Lem has never
written a bad book, and his reservoir of fresh ideas is
limitless.
However, this is a review of a book, not an author :-),
so...
I have read and enjoyed most of Lem's work, but I still go
back and re-read The Cyberiad every year or so. I always
hope to find something new, and I am never disappointed. It
amazes me to see how many of the deepest ideas from Lem's
other books are echoed somewhere in these stories. And
their style is Lem's best: The futuristic "fable", mixing
intellectual slapstick, brilliant wordplay, and deep
philosophy as only Lem can.
I guarantee The Cyberiad will make you laugh hard and think
harder. What more could you want from your reading?
Rating:
Summary: Great in Polish and English.
Review: I have head the great opportunity to read this novel in both English and Polish - Lem's native tongue. It contains great word play, clever ideas, and the ability to make you wonder about the limitless value of the world. Greatly written prose in both languages - the translator into English deserves much credit. When you read it, you will taste every word and find it synonymous with fresh rasberries with whipped cream and chunks of pistachio nuts (or whatever floats your boat). The Cyberiad is a mixture of humor parallel to one exhibited in the creations of Julio Cortazar and Douglas Adams. To ponder the existence of things as well as the presence of the most common objects is Lem's domain. Although I do not usually like to provide quotations for take out of context, they do not mean much, this one provides a great example of Lem's clever style: "Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact wholly unconcerned with what does exist. Indeed, the banality of existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely different way ... " In addition, if you as a reader know anything about the social attitudes of the late 70's in Poland, you will find this book to be a weird and exciting commentary on the Polish people of that particular period. The Cyberiad is worth a read for many reasons, and it must be re-read on a regular basis. I highly recommend this collection of short stories for long reads, short reads, one-pagers, reading backwards, making codes by skipping every other word, and reading with your eyes closed. Once you have this book in your hands, you cannot go wrong from there.
Rating:
Summary: The best stories by the best SF author ever
Review: More than anyone else, Stanislaw Lemunderstands the unique potential of the Science Fiction genre. His depictions of non-human intelligences, whether alien or artificial, are consistently compelling. His insight into humanity and our role in the Cosmos is unmatched (at least among SF authors). As far as I can tell, Lem has never written a bad book, and his reservoir of fresh ideas is limitless. However, this is a review of a book, not an author :-), so... I have read and enjoyed most of Lem's work, but I still go back and re-read The Cyberiad every year or so. I always hope to find something new, and I am never disappointed. It amazes me to see how many of the deepest ideas from Lem's other books are echoed somewhere in these stories. And their style is Lem's best: The futuristic "fable", mixing intellectual slapstick, brilliant wordplay, and deep philosophy as only Lem can. I guarantee The Cyberiad will make you laugh hard and think harder. What more could you want from your reading?
Rating:
Summary: Lem Should Get Nobel for Literature (but won't)
Review: First, the Cyberiad is an absolute hoot. It works on the highest literary levels with humor and insight. My only complaint is that Lem didn't write more of these cyber fables (I've got almost everything he's written that's been translated over the years and he's written quite a lot in this vein and IT IS NOT ENOUGH - I WANT MORE! ). He's probably most famous for his book Solaris which I found an intriguing bore (personal taste only and could be a bad translation since I don't read in his native Polish). People who read Solaris as their first Lem book will find little in common with the Cyberiad. I avoided Lem for years because I pegged him as the author of Solaris and didn't realize what a virtuoso author he was. He will never win the Nobel because he's been stamped as a "Science Fiction" writer, sort of like Vonnegut, Le Guin, and Philip K. Dick are/were. He's different from all of them ... Read Solaris, The Invincible, and the Cyberiad and you'll see the range of his skills (good and bad). An aside: I was astounded when my 9 year old picked up the Cyberiad and read it (obviously not getting a lot of the finer points) and then asked if he could find more books about Trurl and friends. He thought it was one of the funniest things he's read (and he likes the Harry Potter books also). Now, I wouldn't recommend Lem to most 9 year olds ...
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book ...
Review: Get this book and give a copy to all of your friends. Period. It's that good. At times it leaves you breathlessly enlightened. Lem should be granted immortality (supposing that's a good thing.) Michael Kandel's translation is magical. Email me if you want to discuss the book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read...
Review: I absolutely LOVED this book! I came across chapter seven in The Mind's Eye. That was my favorite chapter in the whole book, so I looked up where the story came from and bought the book, not knowing what to expect. I love his style of writing very much, and plan to read the rest of Stanislaw Lem's books as soon as I can get my hands on them!
Rating: 
Summary: Be careful what you expect
Review: I agree with Shadowfire below about many things. Those who come to this from Solaris, expect something different. These are cybernetic pseudo-scientific fairy tales... amazing translation job, but I can't help thinking that the stories are a bit too dull.
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