Per Aspera ad Astra

10:42 PM

Stanisław Lem, the Polish science fiction writer, author of such books as Solaris, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, Memoirs of a Space Traveler, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, The Invincible and many, many other good books, had died yesterday from heart disease at the age of 84.

Although in his later years, Lem has been more and more critical of science fiction (even of films based on his own works), and had almost completely withdrawn from writing it, it is impossible to disregard his influence on the best traits he helped to cultivate in modern science fiction, during its formational years. His work employed black humour and language games masterfully; it was scathingly-satirical of current and real-world political issues, socially-critical and scientifically-aware. Lem's going is thus another sad link in the chain of great modern writers, such as Hunter Thompson and, more recently, Robert Sheckley, who have crossed over to the other side of being.

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