Fiasco (novel)

Fiasco
First published edition (Germany)
AuthorStanisław Lem
Original titleFiasko
TranslatorMichael Kandel
LanguageGerman (First published)
GenreScience fiction
PublisherFischer Verlag (Germany)
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (Eng. trans.)
Publication date
1986
Publication placeGermany (first published)
Published in English
May 1987
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages336
ISBN0-15-630630-1
OCLC17896549

Fiasco (Polish: Fiasko) is a science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem, first published in a German translation in 1986. The book, published in Poland the following year and translated into English by Michael Kandel in the same year, is a further elaboration of Lem's skepticism: in Lem's opinion, the difficulty in communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (the main theme of the novel) is more likely cultural disparity rather than spatial distance. It was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

The novel was written on order from publisher S. Fischer Verlag around the time Lem was emigrating from Poland due to the introduction of martial law. Lem stated that this was the only occasion he wrote something upon publisher's request, accepting an advance for a nonexistent novel.[1]

  1. ^ "Fiasco". official Lem Website. lem.pl. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-12-02.