Solaris author Lem dead at 84

Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem has died at the age of 84. He was arguably the most famous non-English writer of science ficition at the time of his death. The only one I can think of who was more famous is Jules Verne.

Lem is best known for his book Solaris which was twice adapted as a motion picture. He's written a ton of other books and I can say that I've never read a Lem story that I didn't enjoy. What I liked best about him was his critical disdain for the entire genre. That sort of criticism was something that was always needed to keep the genre's practitioners from becoming too complacent.