Good selection. 'Return from the Stars' is more relevant today than it was when it was written. Its a story about sociocultural evolution and Lem clearly has a deep insight.
(the book has tablet computers and e-paper too).
The Case for Stanislaw Lem
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#22I grew up with Lem's works as a kid, teenager and young adult in West Germany in the 80's. Lem spoke German so he was involved with the translations and there wasn't anything he wrote that didn't get translated to German. Not least because East Germany, together with Poland, was part of the Soviet block. I read 'Eden' when I was in 3rd grade -- my dad left it laying on the table in our living room. It had the world '…
I absolutely love 'Eden', even if Lem himself thought it wasn't among his best work. It's an alien dystopia seen through human eyes.
Are the scenarios the explorers encounter something "normal" in some sense, or something gone terribly, terribly wrong? And how can the humans judge, coming from outside?
The final revelation dispels some of that ambiguity, and what it shows is not pretty. For me, it's among the most unnerving passages in science fiction. Also, it taught me the word "procrustean"...
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#23Lem was a brilliant writer and I’d recommend his books to anyone, not just science fiction fans. The author of this article seems to have an ideological axe to grind though. Lem himself was never so humorless and hamfisted. In fact his books are often very funny.
The Star Diaries are a great example of his funnier (yet still remarkably thoughtful) writing.
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#24I love Stanislaw Lem's work. I particularly enjoyed Futurological Congress. It was so absurd but I loved how it explored how it is never possible to be 100% sure that what you are experience is "real". The trippiness of all of the drugs and absurd situations was hilarious. Highly recommend.
Yes! I also really enjoyed the Futurological Congress. The film rendition, while straying from the short story significantly, is still worth watching I think. https://imdb.com/title/tt1821641
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tarkovskis Solaris is really good.
Lem hated it. He said Tarkovski turned his book into a Dostoyevsky novel. The problem is that it focused almost exclusively on the relationship drama and jettisoned the science fiction.
Lem hated Tarkovski's "Solaris".
Strugatski brothers hated his "Stalker" based on their "The Roadside Picnic".
Tarkovski was always making his own movies based on his own (understanding of) stories. Basing them on other people's work was just a pretext :)
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#26I got a 404, so I did a quick Google search. This seems to be the article in question —> https://onezero.medium.com/the-case-for-stanislaw-lem-one-of... I am excited to read it. I just finished reading Solaris for the first time, and it was mind-changing. I highly recommend it to any of you who haven’t read it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)
> I just finished reading Solaris for the first time, and it was mind-changing. I have heard Solaris refered to as being mind-changing before. What was it about Solaris that impacted you so much? After first hearing about Solaris decades ago, I finally got around to reading it upon learning of his passing. I must have missed something because it didn't strike me as living up to its reputation.
Lem posited a question: what if we encounter an intelligence that is so non-human as to be unknowable?
He explores this in "Eden", "Solaris" and "Invincible". All three are highly recommended.
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#27Lem's Ijon Tichy stories are surprisingly funny. He has a reputation for seriousness (because of "Solaris", I assume), but they're among the funniest sci-fi stories I've ever read.
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#28I grew up with Lem's works as a kid, teenager and young adult in West Germany in the 80's. Lem spoke German so he was involved with the translations and there wasn't anything he wrote that didn't get translated to German. Not least because East Germany, together with Poland, was part of the Soviet block. I read 'Eden' when I was in 3rd grade -- my dad left it laying on the table in our living room. It had the world '…
Absolutely. As for hard sci-fi, Lem's work had a similar impact on me. I would also like to recommend the 'Pilot Pirx' short stories. Reading 'The Accident' (on OMNI) as a teenager is perhaps what got me into sci-fi in the first place.
Speaking of robot-related stories like 'The Accident', you might want to check out this very interesting article 'The Uncanny Robots of Pilot Pirx: Stanisław Lem’s Tales' (PDF) : https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/IL.2016.21.1....
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I just finished reading Solaris for the first time, and it was mind-changing. I have heard Solaris refered to as being mind-changing before. What was it about Solaris that impacted you so much? After first hearing about Solaris decades ago, I finally got around to reading it upon learning of his passing. I must have missed something because it didn't strike me as living up to its reputation.
Solaris is different from most scifi in which aliens are presented in largely anthropomorphic terms. They're either humanoids, monsters from our nightmares, or they take on the form of humans or human communication. What they lack is the quality of being truly alien. The Solaris ocean is utterly alien to the point that the humans are unable to understand and communicate with it, despite it clearly possessing some for…
> The Solaris ocean is utterly alien to the point that the humans are unable to understand and communicate with it
This is the theme of all Lem's novels involving aliens: Planet Eden, Fiasco, Solaris, The Invincible and His Master's Voice. It's the opposite of our Western optimistic idea that we can face any challenge and solve any riddle, either thanks to a universality of scientific reasoning (such as in Greg Egan's novels) or because the aliens are nothing other than Americans or Nazis in rubber costumes (as in most SF blockbusters).
Re: The Case for Stanislaw Lem
#30I grew up with Lem's works as a kid, teenager and young adult in West Germany in the 80's. Lem spoke German so he was involved with the translations and there wasn't anything he wrote that didn't get translated to German. Not least because East Germany, together with Poland, was part of the Soviet block. I read 'Eden' when I was in 3rd grade -- my dad left it laying on the table in our living room. It had the world '…
Reading Lem in early age spoiled Matrix movie for me. I hated movie, it seemed unoriginal and weak, compared to Ijon Tichy story, where one professor created artificial universes in lockers or chests. Later I have learned appreciate Matrix series, but my first impression was negative.
Lem has several really cool stories, "Return from the Stars" is one my favorite.