1. Stanislaw Lem --  Britannica Online Encyclopedia Britannica online encyclopedia article on Stanislaw Lem Polish author of science fiction that veers between humanism and despair about human limitations. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9384402/Stanislaw-Lem

var britAdCategory = "literature"; Already a member? LOGIN Encyclopædia Britannica - the Online Encyclopedia Home Blog Advocacy Board ... Free Trial Britannica Online Content Related to this Topic This Article's Table of Contents Stanislaw Lem Print this Table of Contents Linked Articles science fiction Socialist Realism Andrey Tarkovsky Shopping New! Britannica Book of the Year The Ultimate Review of 2007. 2007 Britannica Encyclopedia Set (32-Volume Set) Revised, updated, and still unrivaled. New! Britannica 2008 Ultimate DVD/CD-ROM The world's premier software reference source. Stanislaw Lem Page 1 of 1 Stanislaw Lem, 1975. Polish author of science fiction that veers between humanism and despair about human limitations. His books have been translated into more than 35 languages. Lem, Stanislaw... (75 of 863 words) To read the full article, activate your FREE Trial Commonly Asked Questions About Stanislaw Lem Close Enable free complete viewings of Britannica premium articles when linked from your website or blog-post. Now readers of your website, blog-post, or any other web content can enjoy full access to this article on Stanislaw Lem , or any Britannica premium article for free, even those readers without a premium membership. Just copy the HTML code fragment provided below to create the link and then paste it within your web content. For more details about this feature, visit our

2. Stanislaw Lem Stanislaw Lem Born 12Sep-1921 Birthplace Lvov, Poland http//www.lem.pl/. Author of books Czlowiek z Marsa (1946, novel, The Man from Mars) http://www.nndb.com/people/482/000056314/

This is a beta version of NNDB Search: All Names Living people Dead people Band Names Book Titles Movie Titles Full Text for Stanislaw Lem Born: 12-Sep Birthplace: Lvov, Poland Died: 27-Mar Location of death: Krakow, Poland Cause of death: Heart Failure Gender: Male Religion: Atheist Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Author Nationality: Poland Executive summary: Solaris Father: (laryngologist, d. 1954) Wife: Dr. Barbara Lesniak (m. 1953) Son: Tomasz (b. 1968) University: Lwow University, Lwow, Poland (1940) University: Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland (1946) Official Website: http://www.lem.pl/ Author of books: Czlowiek z Marsa , novel, The Man from Mars Szpital przemienienia , novel, Hospital of the Transfiguration) Astronauci , novel, Astronauts. Released as a film in 1960.) Oblok Magellana , novel, The Magellanic Cloud Sezam , stories) Dzienniki gwiazdowe , stories, Star Diaries Dialogi , philosophy, Dialogs Inwazja z Aldebarana , stories, The Invasion from Aldebaran Œledztwo , novel, The Investigation Eden , novel) , anthology, Mortal Engines , novel, Return from the Stars Solaris , novel) , novel, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub , philosophy) , novel, The Invincible Cyberiada , stories, The Cyberiad Glos pana , novel, His Master's Voice Filozofia Przypadku , philosophy) Fantastyka i futurologia , criticism, Fantasy and Futurology (2 vols.)

3. Stanislaw Lem Stanislaw_Lem, 1100 words, this is a fine page about Stanislaw Lem, with content An extensive website devoted to Stanis aw Lem and his sciencefiction. http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/web/arts_culture/literature/fiction/lem/link.shtm

Poland on the Web University at Buffalo State University of New York Annotated links to Poland-related information a service of the Polish Academic Information Center NAVIGATION Poland Literature Prose Stanislaw Lem SITEMAP SEARCH Become an info-poland contributor Links Size Comments Solaris: The Official Stanis³aw Lem site lem.pl 31 links A with pages devoted to: Lem about himself, Life and Works, Pictures, Works, A Gallery of Covers, Lem's Drawings, Daniel Mroz's Gallery, FAQ's , Forum, Publishers, Bibliography, Links. rpi.edu/~sofkam/lem/index.html 4,420 words 97 links A large site featuring a bibliography, links to essays, other Lem sites, etc. Scriptorium - Stanis³aw Lem themodernword.com/scriptorium/lem.html 3,650 words 43 links A fine page discussing Lem and his writings. Also a bibliography. an interview with Stanis³aw Lem geocities.com/CapitolHill/2594/lem.html 2,100 words An interview conducted in Krakow in 1996 with Stanis³aw Lem by Wojciech Orlinski of "Wiadomosci Kulturalne" Vitrifax: Introduction and The Writing of Stanis³aw Lem 2,000 words 130 links The writing of Stanis³aw Lem - Introduction, links, and commentary. The site provides capsule reviews (highly subjective) of nearly all of Lem's work that has been translated into English.

4. Stanislaw Lem - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - New York Times A biography and related information about Stanislaw Lem. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/217811/Stanislaw-Lem

//for google ads google_hints = "Stanislaw Lem"; //> @import url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/css/section/arts/movies/screen/200705/people.css); Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page ... Times Topics Movies All NYT Sunday, January 27, 2008 Movies World U.S. N.Y. / Region ... Autos Search Movies, People and Showtimes by ZIP Code Top-Rated in Theaters Select a Movie Title The Business of Being Born Nanking Persepolis The Diving Bell and the Bu... 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Da... Juno Starting Out in the Evenin... The Water Horse: Legend of... The Great Debaters Enchanted More Movies... More in Movies » In Theaters Critics' Picks ... Cart Stanislaw Lem Alternate Name: Stanislav Lem About This Person Filmography Box Office Top 5 Cloverfield 27 Dresses The Bucket List Juno ... National Treasure: Book of Secrets TimesPulse The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers. Meet the Spartans There Will Be Blood Rambo 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ... What's This? Screenwriter/Book Author Related Stanislaw Lem Filmography: Has Worked With: Solaris Szpital Przemienienia Test Pilot Pirx Solaris ... Roly-Poly Related Articles ARTS AND LEISURE DESK A Prince Of Pulp, Legit At Last

5. Stanislaw Lem - Celebrity Atheist List Peter Engel, An Interview With Stanislaw Lem The Missouri Review, 7, 2 (1984) 21837. Also see Raymond Federman, An Interview with Stanislaw Lem, http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Stanislaw_Lem

6. All Abot Lviv UA » Blog Archive » Stanislaw Lem Stanislaw Lem author of Solaris Stanislaw Lem - prominent science fiction writers of the 20th century, classic writer of contemporary sci-fi - was born in http://www.about.lviv.ua/english/People/Stanislaw_Lem.shtml

All Abot Lviv UA Home Stanislaw Lem posted on November 2nd, 2007 in People Famous People Stanislaw Lem Stanislaw Lem His works have been translated and reprinted in 40 languages and are popular all around the globe. Stanislaw Tsalyk Lem was born in Lviv on Sept. 12, 1921 to the family of a famous laryngologist. The house at 4 Brayerovsk St. (today Bohdan Lepkiy St.)- in which the Lem family lived on the 3rd floor is still standing today. Lem decided to dedicate himself to technical sciences. Unfortunately, the year in which he was writing his entrance exams was the same year in which Lviv came under Soviet rule and the intelligent student was not accepted. The risk was great, but he felt it his duty to help the war effort in any way he could. In 1944, when Lviv again came under Soviet rule, Lem continued his studies at the medical institute. Four years later, in 1948, Lem graduated from the medical faculty of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and received a diploma for completion of his medical education. Today the 82-year old patriarch of world science fiction lives in Poland, though he has never forgotten the years he spent in Ukraine.

7. Stanislaw-lem: Blogs, Photos, Videos And More On Technorati Stanislaw Lem December 29th, 2007 Stanislaw Lem prominent science fiction writers of the 20th century, classic writer of contemporary sci-fi - was born in http://technorati.com/tag/stanislaw-lem

Now in Politics The latest news, blogs, and banter on campaigns, candidates, and the gov. Join Sign in Help advanced ... Blogger Central 23 posts tagged stanislaw-lem Subscribe Posts Blogs Videos Photos search in entire post tags only of blogs with any authority a little authority some authority a lot of authority in language all languages Arabic (العربية) Chinese (中文) Dutch (Nederlands) English French (Fran§ais) German (Deutsch) Greek (Ελληνικά) Hebrew (עברית) Italian (Italiano) Japanese (日本語) Korean (한국어) Norwegian (Norsk) Persian (فارسی) Polish (Polski) Portuguese (Portuguªs) Russian (Русский) Spanish (Espa±ol) Swedish (Svenska) Turkish (T¼rk§e) Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) Science Fiction Studies: Stanislaw Lem Science Fiction Studies is a journal published three times a year by DePauw University that takes a scholarly look at science fiction, including reviews, interviews and literary analyses. They have posted a lot of interesting material online, so I've decided to start a series of posts on biology-related bits. 1 day ago by PKolm in Biology in Science Fiction Authority: 36 Steven Soderbergh’s stylish psychological thriller, released November 2002 in the United States by 20th Century Fox , eloquently captures the theme of Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 book. Written almost fifty years ago, “Solaris” is an intelligent, introspective drama of great depth and imagination that meditates on man’s place in the universe and the mystery of God.

8. Official Site For The Author Stanislaw Lem The official site for the author stanislaw lem (1921 2006). English Po polsku. http://www.lem.pl/

The official site for the author Stanislaw Lem (1921 -2006) English Po polsku

9. Stanisław Lem - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia Stanis aw lem, whose works were influenced by such masters of Polish literature as Cyprian Norwid and stanislaw Witkiewicz, chose the language of science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Lem

Stanisław Lem From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Stanislaw Lem Jump to: navigation search Stanisław Lem Stanisław Lem in 1966 Born 12 September Lw³w Poland (now Ukraine Died 27 March (aged 84) Krak³w Poland Nationality Polish Writing period Genres science fiction philosophy satire Website http://www.lem.pl Stanisław Lem pronunciation help info IPA [staniswav lɛm] September 12 March 27 ) was a Polish science fiction philosophical and satirical writer. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology , the nature of intelligence , the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction , but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult; Michael Kandel 's translations into English have generally been praised as capturing the spirit of the original. Contents Biography Honors SFWA controversy Themes ... edit Biography Lem was born in 1921 into a Jewish family in Lw³w Poland (now Ukraine ). He was the son of Sabina Woller and Samuel Lem, a wealthy

10. Stanislaw Lem Biographical and bibliographical information on the author. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/slem.htm

Choose another writer in this calendar: by name: A B C D ... Z by birthday from the calendar Credits and feedback TimeSearch for Books and Writers by Bamber Gascoigne Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) Polish satirical and philosophical science fiction writer, whose novel SOLARIS (1961) was filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1971. Lem's books have been translated into over 40 languages and sold about 27 million copies. He was probably the best single sci-fi author of the late 20th century not to write in English. Lem often wrote in comical style, but examined serious moral questions about technological progress, the limits of science, and our place in the universe. "Oh, I read good books, too, but only Earthside. Why that is, I don't really know. Never stopped to analyze it. Good books tell the truth, even when they're about things that never have been and never will be. They're truthful in a different way. When they talk about outer space, they make you feel the silence, so unlike the Earthly kind - and the lifelessness. Whatever the adventures, the message is always the same: humans will never feel at home out there." (from 'Pirx's Tale' in More Tales of Pirx The Pilot In the beginning of his career Lem published lyrical verse, essays on scientific method and realistic novels. His first work was a story CZLOWIEK Z MARSA (1946), which appeared in a magazine. In the 1950s Lem turned seriously into science fiction, publishing ASTRONAUCI (1951), OBLOK MAGELANA (1955), and EDEN (1959), a prophecy in which five ship-wrecked space traveling scientist explore a world where chemical manipulation is a part of the social lassez-faire. He had written in 1948-49 a three-volume autobiographical novel CZAS NIEUTRACONY, but it did not appear until 1957 - due to its first volume which was a problem for the censor.

11. Vitrifax: On Stanislaw Lem - Contents Table of contents Reviews of many works by the great science-fiction author stanislaw lem. http://world.std.com/~mmcirvin/vitrifax.html

Home Matt McIrvin mmcirvin@world.std.com VITRIFAX: The writing of Stanislaw Lem By Matt McIrvin The Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) was one of the most brilliant, versatile, and unapologetically cerebral authors on the planet. Contents Introduction : About Lem's style, his popularity in America, and the problem of translation Series and themes that recur in Lem's work Other Lem resources on the Web About these pages Why you should not believe my ratings Why you should not believe my dates Reviews: Novels The Astronauts The Chain of Chance (also titled The Cold Eden Fiasco The Futurological Congress His Master's Voice ... Solaris Collections of short stories and experimental works The Cyberiad Imaginary Magnitude (includes GOLEM XIV Memoirs of a Space Traveler More Tales of Pirx the Pilot Mortal Engines (includes Fables for Robots and The Mask One Human Minute A Perfect Vacuum The Star Diaries Tales of Pirx the Pilot Nonfiction Highcastle: A Remembrance Microworlds A Stanislaw Lem Reader Embedded essays: On the pleasures of made-up science Stanislaw Lem and cold-war satire Stanislaw Lem and Douglas Adams Solaris ... (2002), the film by Stephen Soderbergh Last modified March 27, 2006 Home Top Matt McIrvin mmcirvin@world.std.com

12. Scriptorium - Stanislaw Lem If stanislaw lem isn t considered for a Nobel Prize by the end of the century, it will be because someone told the judges that he writes science fiction http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/lem.html

ick By Nathan M. Powers "If [Stanislaw Lem] isn't considered for a Nobel Prize by the end of the century, it will be because someone told the judges that he writes science fiction," predicted a Philadelphia Inquirer critic in 1983. Lem is arguably the greatest living science fiction writer, and even one of the most important European authors of his generation; yet he commands little critical attention, and has failed to reach discerning American science fiction readers who ought, one would think, to be most interested in him. The reasons for this may be sought, paradoxically, in the high demands he makes of his own work: Lem is a true original, but at the price of being marginal. The Time of Cruel Miracles Stanislaw Lem was born in 1921 in Lvov, Poland, to a family of the professional class; both his father and uncle were doctors. As a young man Lem planned to become a doctor himself, enrolling at the Lvov Medical Institute. When the Institute closed due to the war in 1941, he became a mechanic and welder for a German corporation. During the lean war years Lem, who was himself of Jewish ancestry, escaped a number of close calls as Jewish acquaintances disappeared around him. On at least one occasion, he was nearly arrested sneaking out supplies from his workplace for the Polish Resistance. After the war Lem's life changed greatly. He moved with his family to Cracow in 1946, and completed his medical studies there in 1948. He did not, however, take a diploma, because persons with medical degrees were at the time automatically conscripted into the army. Instead in 1947 he accepted a position as a research assistant at Jagellonian University in Cracow, reading articles in a wide range of scientific fields for review in the journal

13. Stanislaw Lem Bibliography. stanislaw lem is a polish science fiction writer known for his satire, humor, and frequently irreverent reflections of society. This page a work in progress http://www.rpi.edu/~sofkam/lem/

Stanislaw Lem. Stanislaw Lem is a polish science fiction writer known for his satire, humor, and frequently irreverent reflections of society. This page a work in progress. Please links to the works, or reviews, of Lem, or any corrections and feedback. I am particularly interested in non-English editions, items not on my list, and information about the original date and place of publication. Note, I have attempted to render the correct spelling of Polish names and titles within the limits of ISO-Latin-1. Mike Sofka Join the Stanislaw Lem mailing list. Discussion of Lem, the Strugatski brothers, Borges, the nature of science fiction and other fiction. Contents Books by Stanislaw Lem. The Fables. Ijon Tichy. Space Opera and Early SF. ... About This Page (and, a request for more information). Books by Stanislaw Lem. The Fables. The Cyberiad (Cyberiada) Tales of Trurl and Klaupaucius, constructor robots in an age where flesh-and-blood are the stuff of legends. How the World Was Saved Trurl's Machine A Good Shellacking The Seven Sallies of Trurl and Klaupaucius The First Sally, or The Trap of Gargantius

14. An Interview With Stanislaw Lem lem I was using humour for various reasons. First, some topics were unsuitable for serious treatment, such as questions of genetics. http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2594/lem.html

an interview with Stanislaw Lem by Wojciech Orlinski of "Wiadomosci Kulturalne" Q: Your books display not only your outstanding knowledge and imagination, but also a great sense of humour. It's amazing, how rarely they are analyzed from this point of view... Lem: I was using humour for various reasons. First, some topics were unsuitable for serious treatment, such as questions of genetics. All those sketches of weird skeletons I drew in the "Star Diaries" were intended to make this subject less horrible. When I was writing that, there were no punks, nobody had a Mohawk haircut, young men did not paint their faces. Nevertheless I had such a feeling, that when mankind will attain control over human genetics, wild things of that kind will happen. Human irresponsibility will lead us to crazy situations. In order to present those crazy situations, I had to create a pattern of levity. On the other hand, most of my works were written under communism and I had to acknowledge the existence of censorship. For example, when I wrote a story of the first frozen person in "Edukacja Cyfrania" - about an orchestra, whose members are being eaten alive one by one by a cruel Goryllium, but everybody pretends not to notice anything - I had to cover it in a disguise of inseriousness, and add a story of the second frozen person, which had no political hidden meanings. That made it easier to publish the story. I had to use such tricks many times. There are thus two kinds of my humour: the first is a camouflage painting, the second are some microrevenges, that the author can take on the surrounding reality. I have to add something which I cannot understand. Here you can see a bookshelf with my Japanese translations. The Japanese could never understand my humour. Nothing is funny in my books for them. The "Star Diaries" were published in Japan, but without such a success, as the books written absolutely seriously. This is a culture completely alien to us.

15. Stanislaw Lem Writer Solaris. stanislaw lem was born on September 12, 1921, in Lvov, Poland. His father Visit IMDb for Photos, Filmography, Discussions, Bio, News, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0501015/

Now Playing Movie/TV News My Movies DVD New Releases ... search All Titles TV Episodes My Movies Names Companies Keywords Characters Quotes Bios Plots more tips SHOP STANISLAW... DVD VHS CD IMDb Stanislaw Lem Quicklinks categorized by type by year by ratings by votes by TV series titles for sale by genre by keyword power search credited with tv schedule biography publicity contact news articles message board miscellaneous Top Links biography by votes awards news articles ... message board Filmographies categorized by type by year by ratings ... tv schedule Biographical biography other works publicity contact ... message board External Links official sites miscellaneous photographs sound clips ... video clips Stanislaw Lem advertisement photos board add contact details Photos Add photo(s) and resume with IMDb Resume Services Overview Date of Birth: 12 September Lwów, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine] more Date of Death: 27 March , Krakow, Poland (heart disease) more Mini Biography: Stanislaw Lem was born on September 12, 1921, in Lvov, Poland. His father... more Trivia: Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series... more Filmography Jump to filmography as: Writer Self Writer: In Production post-production (novel) Der futurologische Kongress TV episode Relativistische Effekte TV episode Planet der Reserven TV episode Kosmische Kollegen TV episode Solaris (2002) (novel) Marianengraben (1994) (story) Victim of the Brain (1988) (story) Professor Tarantoga und sein seltsamer Gast (1979) (TV) (writer) Szpital przemienienia (1979) (novel) ... aka Hospital of the Transfiguration Test pilota Pirxa (1978) (story)

16. Study Guide For Stanislaw Lem: Solaris (1961) A discussion of Solaris, lem s most famous book, chapter by chapter. http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/solaris.html

Study Guide for Stanislaw Lem: Solaris Using this Guide List of other study guides Doing Science Fiction research? Check out the Science Fiction Research Bibliography. More information about Lem Nathan M. Powers' fine Scriptorium ... page on Lem. Introduction During the Soviet era, Polish writer Stanislaw Lem was the most celebrated SF author in the Communist world. Although he read Western SF when he was young, he soon found it shallow and turned for inspiration to the long tradition of Eastern European philosophical fantasy. Western readers not familiar with this tradition often misread his works, expecting more action-oriented, technophilic fiction. Solaris comes closer to being a traditional SF novel than most of his works, but its main thrust is still philosophical. There is a deep strain of irony which runs through this work, for all its occasionally grim moments. The great Russian experimental director Andrei Tarkovsky made an important film based on the novel which is considerably more confusing that the book. (For more information about Tarkovsky and his film, see http://odin.he.net/~solaris/tarkovsky/

17. Stanislaw Lem - Comment - Times Online AS ENGLISH translations of the work of stanislaw lem began to be available, from 1970 onwards, it became evident that science fiction, always a somewhat http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2106311,00.html

@import "http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/css/thirdparty_masthead.css"; NI_AD('Leaderboard'); NI_LEADER_FOOT('$lookup'); Navigation - link to other main sections from here Skip Navigation COMMENT Leading articles Letters to the Editor ... Faith Obituaries The Times March 28, 2006 Stanislaw Lem September 12, 1921 - March 27, 2006 Author who used science to express philosophical truth Lem: the communist authorities did not detect his satire (AP) AS ENGLISH translations of the work of Stanislaw Lem began to be available, from 1970 onwards, it became evident that science fiction, always a somewhat disputed genre in literary terms, had a true master. Previously, with the exception of H. G. Wells, Olaf Stapledon and a few others, the form had produced plots of high ingenuity and great interest, but remarkably little really profound writing, and not a great deal of convincing characterisation. It was a specialist subject and most of its critics were either downmarket, or simply popularisers. Solaris (1961, translated under that title in 1970) onwards, it became clear that the vexed genre was not, after all, necessarily a literary egg-bound fowl. For Lem, besides being in possession of all the required ingenuity, was also a writer of genius, and one with a highly developed sense of humour. NI_MPU('middle');

18. BBC NEWS | Europe | Solaris Author Stanislaw Lem Dies Polish author stanislaw lem, most famous for his science fiction works including Solaris, dies aged 84. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4851496.stm

@import "/css/screen/shared/styles.css"; @import '/css/screen/shared/toolbar_ukfs.css'; @import '/css/screen/shared/toolbar_ifs.css'; @import "/css/screen/nol/styles.css"; @import "/css/screen/nol/furniture.css"; @import "/css/screen/nol/promo.css"; @import "/css/screen/nol/programmes.css"; @import "/css/screen/nol/ifs.css"; Home News Sport Radio ... Accessibility help One-Minute World News News services Your news when you want it News Front Page Africa Americas Asia-Pacific ... Special Reports RELATED BBC SITES SPORT WEATHER ON THIS DAY EDITORS' BLOG LANGUAGES Russian Polish Serbian Turkish ... More Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 01:33 GMT 02:33 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Solaris author Stanislaw Lem dies Lem's works sold more than 27 million copies Polish author Stanislaw Lem, most famous for science fiction works including Solaris, has died aged 84, after suffering from heart disease. He sold more than 27 million copies of his works, translated into about 40 languages, and a number were filmed. His 1961 novel Solaris was made into a movie by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1971 and again by American Steven Soderbergh in 2002.

19. Stanislaw Lem (1943-2005) - SFWA News Polish science fiction author stanislaw lem died in his home city of Krakow on Monday, March 27, 2006. http://www.sfwa.org/news/2006/slem.htm

Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) Polish science fiction author Stanislaw Lem died in his home city of Krakow on Monday, March 27, 2006. He was 84. Lem was one of the worlds most famous SF writers, with stories published in over 40 languages and nearly 30,000,000 copies. After Jules Verne, his work is probably the best known science fiction translated to English. His novel Solaris was turned into motion pictures in 1972 and 2002. Other well known works include The Invincible The Star Diaries The Futurological Congress and Memoirs of a Space Traveler Hospital of the Transfiguration was censored by communist authorities for eight years before being released in 1956. Lem was an honorary member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America until his work was published in the United States and he was eligible for regular membership. He was disappointed with the loss of honorary membership and felt it was due to the controversial nature of some of his work. Although a SFWA member offered to pay for this Active Membership, Lem declined the offer. Posted March 27, 2006

20. Communication Breakdown: The Novels Of Stanislaw Lem The ideas implied in stanislaw lem s science fiction. http://mars.superlink.net/neptune/Lem.html

Communication Breakdown: The Novels of Stanislaw Lem His novels are novels of ideas. That alone is a good reason to read him. Still, ideas come in many flavors. Even authors who focus on them, have varying degrees of skill at dealing with them. They can hide as well as reveal much about the writer's philosophy and sense of life. These questions are a skeleton his tales give flesh to. The other side of this equation is how the reader reacts to Lem's work. As a stylist and storyteller is he easy to read and humbly poetic? Or tedious and over-cerebral? Or mysterious? Or does he ramble on incoherently? Are the places, technology, people, and aliens he creates scientifically believable, since most science fiction places a high value on this quality? To show how the two sets of questions interact and can be separated, think of an author's works whom you ideologically disagree with, yet are still entertained by and on a certain level find real. Since Lem is a science fiction writer, let's use another example from science fiction: Bruce Sterling's Heavy Weather . This is a story about storm chasers in the near future, after society basically collapses and the weather has gone wild. This is a novel which I found believable and captivating, yet I did not buy into Sterling's environmental message or his dark commentary on free markets. This did not stop me from seeing his characters as real people or his world as basically true to form. Somehow, his story telling ability and his skill at painting seemingly real gadgets plus melding the two was not sunk by other things in this novel.

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