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March 30, 2006
Stanislaw Lem - R.I.P.
Stanislaw Lem, the Polish science fiction author and futurist, died on Monday. Despite the fact that I have only read English translations of his stories, he was my favourite science fiction author. He is best known for his novel, Solaris, which is a mind bending science fiction story with a powerful love story woven through it. It has been made into a movie twice: the most recent one being the Steven Sodeberg movie, starring George Clooney and Natasha McElhone. While it is a very good film, with superb acting, it focuses almost entirely on the love story. The Sea of Solaris didn't make it onto the screen, so it missed the main theme of the book, i.e., what is Solaris? I won't say any more: I couldn't do the book justice, as there are so many thought provoking ideas in it.
All of Lem's stories make you think. All of them have a little philosophical gem buried in them. Some of his stories appeared in The Mind's I, a collection of essays and short stories on the nature of consciousness, that was compiled and annotated by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett. Despite the profound philosophy, Lem's stories are entertaining and not difficult to read.
More information on Stanislaw Lem and his writings can be found on the official website.
Posted by JohnC at 12:22 AM