The Star Diaries

Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy

By: Stanislaw Lem

Narrated by: David Marantz

This collection of short stories centers around one character, space traveller Ijon Tichy. In these stories, Stanislaw Lem's "Candide of the Cosmos" encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space that serve to satirize science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride.

©1976 The Seabury Press, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

🌠stellar humor

A firework of ideas and fictional realities. David Marantz read the diaries of this extraordinary traveler Ion Tichy in a very convincing manner. St. Lem balanced and decorated the many philosophical aspects
with hyper-Cosmic humour. We are lucky that the man of many journeys didn't loose it due to the many severe challenges he had to face!

Great stories of fabular space travel

Many reviewers don't seem to realize this was first published in 1957 and the idea are very prescient. Stanislaw Lem was a polymath with excellent credentials in science and its philosophies. He managed to combine science fiction themes with the humor of folk fables. This is not "Douglas Adams meets anybody". You will find little in the way of snappy dialog. It is the IDEAS that are funny and the matter-of-fact way Ijon Tichy deals with highly unlikely problems in space and time travel. His roots are more in Baron von Munchhausen's wild stories.

I must say the performance was marred by the unfortunate hilarity of the reader pronouncing "ennui" as though he were pronouncing the alphabet letters "N" "U" "E". He also gets stuck in a monotone in some of the longer philosophical passages which is a problem with idea-laden exposition.

not my favorite

some good ideas, buta little "all over the place". not the best from the author.

Moments of absolute ridiculous brilliance

A philosopher and commenter of modern society, Lem weaves tales of distant places that are close to home.

No 24th voyage.

There is no 24th voyage, which IMHO, is the best and the most intimidating of them.