Stanislaw Lem: 1921-2006

Stanislaw Lem, the brilliant Polish science fiction writer, has died.

Once expelled from SFWA (the Science Fiction Writers of America) for speaking the truth, that most science fiction published is poorly thought out action-adventure fiction, he was a critic of the perversion of that literary genre in the Star Trek - Star Wars era away from serious contemplation of societal and technological evolution to space opera shoot-em-ups.

It is ironic that a man from a totalitarian state, as was Poland at the time of his comments, was expelled from an American organization for exercising his free speech. That spoke volumes more than any author has ever penned.

His best known work remains SOLARIS, about a sentient planet with god-like powers, and the crew of a space station that encounters it. It was twice adapted into films, the most recent version by Steven Soderbergh with George Clooney.