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The Futurological Congress
''The Futurological Congress'' ( pl, Kongres futurologiczny) is a 1971 black humour science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem. It details the exploits of the hero of a number of his stories, Ijon Tichy, as he visits the Eighth World Futurological Congress at a Hilton Hotel in Costa Rica.Lem sets the story in a fictional republic of Kostarykana (Costarikana; Costa Rica is called Kostaryka in Polish). In most foreign translations, except the English one by Michael Kandel, the name is rendered as "Costaricana", thus retaining its fictional reference. The book is Lem's take on the science fictional trope of an apparently Utopian future that turns out to be an illusion. Overview The book opens at the eponymous congress. A riot breaks out, and the hero, Ijon Tichy, is hit by various psychoactive drugs that were put into the drinking water supply lines by the government to pacify the riots. Ijon and a few others escape to the safety of a sewer beneath the Hilton where the ...
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Michael Kandel
Michael Kandel (born December 24, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction. Biography Kandel received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University. His most recent position was editor at the Modern Language Association. Prior to that, at Harcourt, he edited (among others) Ursula K. Le Guin's work. Kandel is perhaps best known for his translations of the works of Stanisław Lem from Polish to English. "Trying to Build a Tower That Reaches Heaven: Interview with Translator Michael Kandel"
by Maria Khodorkovsky, July 14, 2015 Recently he has also been translating works of other Polish science fiction authors, such as

The Congress (2013 Film)
''The Congress'' is a 2013 live-action/animated science-fiction drama film written and directed by Ari Folman, based on Stanisław Lem's 1971 Polish science-fiction novel ''The Futurological Congress''. The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2013. Independent film distributor Drafthouse Films announced, along with Films We Like In Toronto, their co-acquisition of the North American rights to the film and a US theatrical and VOD/digital release planned for 2014. Plot Robin Wright plays a fictionalized version of herself as an aging actress with a reputation for being fickle and unreliable, so much so that nobody is willing to offer her roles. Her son, Aaron, suffers from Usher syndrome that is slowly destroying his sight and hearing. With the help of Dr. Barker (Paul Giamatti), Robin is barely able to stave off the worst effects of her son's decline, although his condition is sliding into its terminal stage. Robin's longtime agent Al (Harvey Keitel) takes he ...
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Novels Set In Hotels
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histor ...
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Overpopulation Fiction
Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migration, leading to an overabundant species and other animals in the ecosystem competing for food, space, and resources. The animals in an overpopulated area may then be forced to migrate to areas not typically inhabited, or die off without access to necessary resources. Judgements regarding overpopulation always involve both facts and values. Animals often are judged overpopulated when their numbers cause impacts that people find dangerous, damaging, expensive, or otherwise harmful. Societies may be judged overpopulated when their human numbers cause impacts that degrade ecosystem services, decrease human health and well-being, or crowed other species out of existence. Background In ecology, overpopulation is a concept used primaril ...
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1971 Science Fiction Novels
* The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclipse, February 10, and August 1971 lunar eclipse, August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events January * January 2 – 66 people are killed and over 200 injured 1971 Ibrox disaster, during a crush in Glasgow, Scotland. * January 5 – The first ever One Day International cricket match is played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. * January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September. * January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day. * January 12 – The landmark United ...
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Comic Science Fiction Novels
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. There is no consensus amongst theorists and historians on a definition of comics; some emphasize the combination of images and text, some sequentiality or other image relations, and others historical aspects such as mass reproduction or the use of recurring characters. Cartooning and other forms of illustration are the most common image-making means in comics; ''fumetti'' is a form that uses photographic images. Common forms include comic strips, editorial and gag cartoons, and comic books. Since the late 20th century, bound volumes such as graphic novels, comic albums, and ' have become increasingly common, while online webcomics have proliferated in the 21st century. The his ...
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Novels By Stanisław Lem
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histori ...
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1971 Novels
* The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events January * January 2 – 66 people are killed and over 200 injured during a crush in Glasgow, Scotland. * January 5 – The first ever One Day International cricket match is played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. * January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September. * January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day. * January 12 – The landmark United States television sitcom ''All in the Family'', starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, debuts on CBS. * January 14 – Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are rel ...
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Quarber Merkur
''Quarber Merkur'' is a German language literary magazine of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, etc.). It is published in Austria since 1963 and edited by Franz Rottensteiner. The name of the magazine is derived from , a ravine part of the Piesting river valley in Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt .... In 2004, on the occasion of the hundredth issue, Rottensteiner was awarded a special Kurd Laßwitz Award. (The nomination for special awards stated the occasion of 50 years of the journal. References External links * 1963 establishments in Austria Fantasy fiction magazines German-language magazines Magazines established in 1963 Speculative fiction magazines Science fiction magazines established in the 1960s {{Europe-lit-mag ...
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The Star Diaries
, image = File:TheStarDiaries.jpg , caption = First edition , author = Stanisław Lem , translator = ''English:'' Michael Kandel , illustrator = Stanisław Lem , cover_artist = Marian Stachurski , country = Poland , language = Polish, English, German, Russian , series = , genre = Science fiction, satire, philosophical fiction , publisher = Iskry (1957) , release_date = 1957, 1971 , english_pub_date = 1976 , media_type = Print (paperback) , pages = , isbn = ''The Star Diaries'' is a series of short stories of the adventures of space traveller Ijon Tichy, of satirical nature, by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The first ones were published in a 1954 collection and first published as a separate book in 1957 titled ''Dzienniki gwiazdowe'', expanded in 1971. Closely related to this series is the series ''Ze wspomnień Ijona Tichego'' 'From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy'' Usually these stories, and several others, are considered to be the same cycle of the adventures of ...
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Ari Folman
Ari Folman ( he, ארי פולמן) (born December 17, 1962) is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, animator, and film-score composer. He directed the Oscar-nominated animated documentary film '' Waltz with Bashir'' (2008) and the live-action/animated film '' The Congress''. Biography Ari Folman was born in Haifa to Holocaust survivors. His wife is also a film director. They live in Tel Aviv. In 2006, he was the head writer of the Hot 3 famous drama series '' BeTipul''. Folman's latest project is an animated drama film based on the life of Anne Frank during the Holocaust, named ''Where Is Anne Frank?'' ''Waltz with Bashir'' Ari Folman's memories of the aftermath of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, which took place when he was a 19-year-old soldier, served as the basis for his movie ''Waltz with Bashir''. The film follows his attempt to regain his memories of the war through therapy, as well as conversations with old friends and other Israelis who were pres ...
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