The Chain of Chance
By: Stanisław Lem ; [translated from the Polish by Louis Iribarne].
Contributors: Iribarne, Louis.
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Published: 2000-03-28
Place of publication: Evanston, Ill
Language: eng
Translated from: pol
Translation of: Katar
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 179
ISBN-13: 9780810117303
Description: "Written in the style of a detective novel, The Chain of Chance is classic Lem: a combination of action, hard science, and philosophical investigation. An ex-astronaut is hired to look into the death of a wealthy businessman, one of several men to meet a gruesome end after visiting Naples. The authorities suspect a pattern, but neither the police nor a sophisticated computer enlisted for the investigation can crack the case.".

"On a trail leading from Naples to Rome to Paris, the ex-astronaut barely escapes numerous threats on his life. Having set himself up as a potential victim, he realizes that he may now be the target of a deadly conspiracy - and that the conspiracy is not the work of a criminal mind but a manifestation of the laws of nature. The population has numerically exceeded its critical mass; certain patterns have begun to emerge from the chaotic workings of society.

As the ex-astronaut unravels the puzzle, he begins to see that some of those patterns can be fatal."--BOOK JACKET.