29 “The Time Of Cruel Miracles Was Not Past” 32LEM, Stanislaw. Solaris. New York, 1970. Octavo, original white cloth, dust jacket. $3500 First English-language and first U.S. edition of a philosophical classic of science fiction. Set on a space station orbiting a mysterious planet, Lem’s story of alien contact focuses on human identity and the limits of human understanding. The author’s position “at the crossroads of major European cultures and ethics, joined to an intense internalization of problems from cybernetics and information theory, his fusion of dilemmas from ultramodern science and the oldest cosmogonic heresies, his dazzling formal virtuosity—all mark him as one of the most significant sf writers of our century, and a distinctive voice in world literature” (Clute & Nicholls, 711). First published in Polish in 1961. Basis for several adaptations including the 1972 film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the 2002 Steven Soderbergh film starring George Clooney. White cloth showing minor soiling; spine of price-clipped dust jacket slightly toned. A very good copy. “Arguably The Most Influential Science Fiction Novel Of The 1980s” 33GIBSON, William. Neuromancer. London, 1984. Octavo, original blue paper boards, original dust jacket, custom clamshell box. $12,000 First English and first hardcover edition of William Gibson’s landmark first novel, inscribed, “Wm. Gibson to Robert Ashworth, London/L.A. ‘88.” While Gibson did not invent cyberpunk, his Neuromancer—winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards—remains one of its most definitive expressions. “In a highly urbanized future dominated by cybernetics and bioengineering, anti-hero Case is rescued from wretchedness and given back the ability to send his persona into the cyberspace of the world’s computer networks… [Neuromancer is] arguably the most influential science fiction novel of the 1980s” (Anatomy of Wonder II-439). First published in paperback in July 1984; this first English edition, the first hardcover edition, followed in October. Book and dust jacket clean and bright; very slight toning to board edges, a few minor scratches to jacket. A nearfine signed copy in an eye-catching custom box.
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