Quote:
Author of 'Solaris' Dies at 84
1 hour, 33 minutes ago
Stanislaw Lem, a popular science fiction writer whose novel "Solaris" was filmed twice, died Monday in his native Poland, his secretary said. He was 84.
Lem died in Krakow, Wojciech Zemek told The Associated Press. Zemek did not give other details or the cause of death, citing only Lem's advanced age.
Lem was one of the most popular science fiction authors of recent decades to write in a language other than English, and his works were translated from Polish into more than 40 other languages. His books have sold 27 million copies.
His best-known work, "Solaris," was adapted into films by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and by Steven Soderbergh in 2002. The latter starred George Clooney and Natascha McElhone.
His first important novel, "Hospital of the Transfiguration," was censored by communist authorities for eight years before its release in 1956 amid a thaw following the death of Josef Stalin.
Lem's other works include "The Invincible," "The Cyberiad," "His Master's Voice," "The Star Diaries," "The Futurological Congress" and "Tales of Prix the Pilot."
source:
http://tinyurl.com/zcmsk
If you've never read his books, you are severely missing out on one of the finest science fiction writers. While his books are available in English, they haven't been translated well. Hopefully, his death will spur on some publisher to actually go out and make prints of his books which are translated with the delicate nature they deserve. Solyaris is a masterpiece in my eyes, and if you get the chance to see the Tarkovsky version of it, I highly recommend it. Some call it a Russian 2001.
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