Stanislaw Lem

Stanislaw Lem was one of the most respected science fiction authors that did not come from an English speaking country. He is best known for the likes of “Solaris” “The Cyberia” and “Tales of Pirx the Pilot.” Offering deep commentaries on the human condition, he was more than just a storyteller as he was deemed a futurist and forward-looking thinker that put forth his thoughts in a satirical tone. His work was very different in content and style from that of his contemporaries in the West as it was shaped by the influence of the place and time he lived in. While Stanislaw disparaged Western science fiction and was expelled from the Science Fiction Writers Association, he remained a popular author all across the globe. He published his most popular novel Solaris in 1961 and the novel went on to command a large readership in the Soviet Union and the US. With his novels so popular, Lem sold more than 27 million copies and his works were translated into more than 41 languages. The novel Solaris was made into a feature film that ran in theaters in both the Soviet Union and the US. As one of the most popular authors of his time, his works explored themes of the impossibility of understanding and mutual communication, despair about humankind’s place in the universe, the nature of intelligence, speculation on technology and despair about human limitations. His wrote most of his works as fiction though some are philosophical novels while others are essays.