{"product_id":"tales-of-pirx-the-pilot-by-stanislaw-lem-9780241400227","title":"Tales of Pirx the Pilot","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe adventures of one of Lem's most endearing characters, Pirx—a 'space truck driver' and everyman in Outer Space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMission:\u003c\/em\u003e Vertical launch at half booster power. Ascent to ellipsis B68. Correction to stable oriental path, with orbital period of four hours and twenty-six minutes. Proceed to rendezvous with shuttlecraft vehicles of the JO-2 type. There await further instructions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTales of Pirx the Pilot\u003c\/em\u003e imagines a world in which space travel has become routine and boring—an unremarkable aspect of the human condition. Pirx graduates through a series of stories from cadet to captain. He is regaled with anecdotes of the glory days, when space travel was dangerous and thrilling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd yet, even as he sits at the controls cursing that his little puzzle toy won't work in zero-gravity conditions or as he makes himself comfy on the luxury space cruise ship \u003cem\u003eIntergalactic\u003c\/em\u003e, things keep going terribly wrong. As the cyberneticist Professor Taurov sighs, \"We have no choice but to trust to our technology. Without it, we would never have set foot on the Moon. But... sometimes we have to pay a high price for that trust.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46251299799276,"sku":"9780241400227","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241400227.jpg?v=1741594990","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/products\/tales-of-pirx-the-pilot-by-stanislaw-lem-9780241400227","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}