{"product_id":"9780156165006","title":"The Chain of Chance","description":"\"The fact that I was using a dead man's shirts and luggage didn't faze me in the slightest, and if it was a little hard going at first, then it was only because these things belonged to a stranger, not because their owner was dead.\"\u003cp\u003eWritten in the style of a detective novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Chain of Chance\u003c\/i\u003e 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 detectives nor a sophisticated computer enlisted for the investigation can crack the case. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn a trial leading from Naples to Rome to Paris, the ex-astronaut barely escapes numerous seemingly random 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA singular mystery novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Chain of Chance\u003c\/i\u003e proposes an original scientific hypothesis in the form of a  story layered with menace and driven at breakneck speed. It is among Lem's most accessible and popular books. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStanislaw Lem is an internationally renowned author of more than twenty works of science fiction, including \u003ci\u003eOne Human Minute, More Tales of Pirx the Pilot\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSolaris\u003c\/i\u003e. His books \u003ci\u003eA Perfect Vacuum\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003eHis Master's Voice\u003c\/i\u003e were published by Northwestern University Press in 1999. He was born in Lvov, Poland, and lives in Krakow. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLouis Iribarne is a widely published translator. His work includes books by Czeslaw Milosz and Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, as well as Lem's \u003ci\u003eTales of Pirx the Pilot\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMore Tales of Pirx the Pilot\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houghton Mifflin Harcourt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47786675110128,"sku":"9780156165006","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780156165006_p0.jpg?v=1763658175","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780156165006","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}