The 1960s and 1970s were the era of one writer. Lem set the boundaries of the genre; Lem defined the genre; all young writers reflected Lem and competed with Lem. How could one author so completely dominate an entire literary category? It’s simple: he was quite simply a genius, with a mind that could fully display its powers precisely within the domain of science fiction.

First of all, he was very accomplished in the literary sense: he was able to tell stories, to build tension, to fascinate readers through narrative, suspense, and surprising denouements. Examples of this classical form are the Tales of Pirx the Pilot, or the novels Eden and The Invincible. These are good, hard science fiction, including space travel, contact with alien beings, and dangers brought by future technologies. Lem was equally capable of building other moods and atmospheres, for instance, terror (The Investigation) and romance (Return from the Stars).

Second, Lem had a magnificent command of language. He was able to describe both dynamic action and extraordinary cosmic landscapes (a masterly description of the march of a mecha across the icy wastes of Titan in Fiasco). But he also played with words, transforming them, writing absurd cyber fairy tales and rhymes (The Cyberiad), and ranging through various linguistic conventions (science and technology, myth and poetry, colloquial language).

Third, Lem was comprehensively educated. He grasped the achievements of contemporary science, from cosmology, through medicine and cybernetics, to philosophy. This erudition is apparent in the background setting of his works, but it also constitutes the basis of Lem’s analytical and futurological reflections concerning the development of civilization, the progress of technology, and social changes.