anyway.

Lem continues to be a huge inspiration to me.  I'm sad that he died, but glad that he lived a full life and was so greatly acknowledged in his lifetime.

It is my fondest wish that other artists I admire could die in the same condition.

yrs—
—Ben

P.S.  I hope that someday before I die there will be a good translation of Solaris.

I was pre-surprised when he complained about the 2005 version of Solaris. I thought he was already dead at the time, too.

His "The universe is an incomprehensible mystery" theme is very powerful and weird. A lot like Kafka, I think.

"Franz Kafka, Stanislaw Lem, and Philip K. Dick walk into a bar..."

He was the author who brought back my interest to science-fiction. I cannot forget the day I reluctantly took the book "Tales of Pirx the Pilot", just because it was highly recommended in a fanzine. It was only the beggining of a great discovery for me.

I think his writtings are full of humanity and feeling.

Arturo

I read all the Trurl and Klapaucious stories from the Cyberiad like 10 times each from High School to College.  That's some of my favorite writing, ever.

-Andy

Perhaps some good will come of this if it leads people to pick up his books. His work is beautiful, even in translation. He was like the George MacDonald of science fiction. Goodbye, Mr. Lem. Time to reread.

The first Lem book I read was a copy of A Perfect Vacuum with half the cover torn off that I bought for fifty cents from a second hand store. Goddamn, that man had some sense of humor.