The Cyberiad (1965)

Constructors Trurl and Klapaucius can build almost anything, making the exact wording of a wish exceptionally hazardous. Lem uses robot fables, engineering rivalries and elaborate verbal play to test whether intelligence guarantees wisdom. Choose Michael Kandel's English translation for the puns as well as the philosophical machinery. These are linked tales, not a continuous adventure; several jokes become sharper when the apparent solution starts producing consequences.