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wow. holy of holies--for some reason, i'd thought him dead since the early 90s or before. i feel like a heel.
but
for the benefit of those unfamiliar with his work
stanislaw lem is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. to call him the "Borges of SF" is to piss on his grave. he was in every way the equal of Borges, and there is no need to literary-ghettoize him. in the short fiction realm, I have read no one other than Borges and Donald Barthelme who equals him.
Although Solaris is a great novel, I would recommend The Space Diaries, The Cyberiad, or the Pirx stories as the essential introductions to Lem. These works (all thematically and character grouped short fictions) are where Lem's mastery is most apparent. All of these pieces unfold with the delightful brilliance of Mozart arranged for a chamber orchestera, with perfectly placed elements of joyous nihilism and existential terror judiciously inserted into the score. |
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