The Cyberiad
The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lemby Stanisław Lem
Shares rank 10 of 13 short story collections by recommenders
Readers call it a lifelong favorite and one of the most fun science books, easy to dip in and out of.
Readers call it a lifelong favorite and one of the most fun science books, easy to dip in and out of.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun science book
“one of the most fun sci-books ever”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Is the absence of affect the real barrier to AGI and alignment?” Lifelong favorite since childhood
“Lem’s Cyberiad was my favorite as a kid and still is!”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People (2016)” Timeless robot stories
“Stanislaw Lem's robots are timeless!”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “AI Is a Harsh Mistress” Easy to dip in and out of
“they are easy to dip in and out of”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Making a 88x31 button book using ImageMagick”
Other short story collections people recommend
The four most recommended other short story collections, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhalationby Ted Chiang | 21 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Stories of Your Life and Othersby Ted Chiang | 15 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Valuable Humans in Transitby qntm | 10 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Ficcionesby Jorge Luis Borges | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| The Cyberiadby Stanisław LemThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they are easy to dip in and out of”
“Stanislaw Lem's robots are timeless!”
“Lem’s Cyberiad was my favorite as a kid and still is!”
“one of the most fun sci-books ever”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.