History Creator / STANISLAWLEM

* ''Literature/TalesOfPirxThePilot'' and ''More Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' (Opowieści o pilocie Pirxie, 1968; trans. 1979 and 1982.)

* ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'' and ''Memoirs of a Space Traveler'' (Dzienniki gwiazdowe, 1957, expanded 1971; trans. шт Утпдшыр 1976 and 1982)

* ''Literature/TheCyberiad'' (Cyberiada, 1967; trans. by Michael Kandel 1974)

* ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'' and ''Memoirs of a Space Traveler'' (Dzienniki gwiazdowe, 1957, expanded 1971; trans. 1976 and 1982)

* ''Peace on Earth'' (Pokój na Ziemi, 1987; transl. 1994)

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "[[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kurwa#Polish Awruk!]]" is probably the most famous instance, [[GoneHorriblyRight which especially tends to be]] LostInTranslation. Also of [[BigBrotherIsWatching political]] [[ExecutiveMeddling variety]].

* ''Summa Technologiae'' (1964/67)

* ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'' and ''Memoirs of a Space Traveler'' (Dzienniki gwiazdowe, 1976/1982)

* ''Memoirs Found in a Bathtub'' (Pamiętnik znaleziony w wannie, 1971)

* ''The Futurological Congress'' (Kongres futurologiczny, 1971)

* ''Eden'' (1959)

* ''Golem XIV'' (1981)

* ''Literature/TalesOfPirxThePilot'' and ''More Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' (Opowieści o pilocie Pirxie, 1973; trans. 1979 and 1982.)

* ''Literature/HisMastersVoice'' (Głos Pana, 1968, trans. 1983)

* ''Literature/TalesOfPirxThePilot'' and ''More Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' (Opowieści o pilocie Pirxie, 1973)

* ''Literature/{{Fiasco}}'' (Fiasko, 1986, trans. 1987)

* ''Literature/{{The Invincible}}'' (Niezwyciężony, 1964)

* ''Literature/{{Solaris}}'' (1961)

* EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion. In the short story "Invasion from Aldebaran" (''Inwazja z Aldebarana'', 1959), two {{Starfish Alien}}s from Aldebaran scouting for planets to conquer for their galactic empire land on Earth, at a random spot which turns out to be in rural Poland. Although the Aldebarans are technologically highly advanced and command an arsenal of sophisticated bioengineered devices, their attempt to reconnoitre the nearby village is impeded by the poor state of the local roads. Before they have reached the town, they meet their doom by getting into a brawl with a late-night drunkard who clobbers them to death in a drunken stupor, [[ItMakesSenseInContext mistaking them for someone else]]. Unfortunate to them, their bioengineered weapon system is disabled by the man's alcoholic breath, as alcohol is apparently poison to all organisms from Aldebaran.

** Golem XIV--despite expressing itself in human language--experiences a rarified world of pure intellect, so far above and beyond human concerns, it has become a StarfishAlien in every sense except the physical. One wonders the extent to which the almost painfully-rigorous Lem felt similarly alienated from his fellow human beings (and, therefore, was an ideal writer to depict what a DeusEstMachina might think about).

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->''"These days no one ever reads anything. If they read, they don't understand. If they read and understand -- they forget immediately."''
-->-- Attributed to Lem in an interview

* ''The Invincible'' (Niezwyciężony, 1964)

Lem had [[SturgeonsLaw a low opinion of most of science fiction]], and thought that the existence of the SciFiGhetto was justified, not because the genre is inherently worthless, but because the authors haven't used the possibilities in it. The only contemporary author he considered worthwhile was Creator/PhilipKDick; Dick did not return his respect, and considered Lem's attacks on American science fiction to be unjustified and insulting. At the same time, he also became a target of Dick's increasing paranoia.[[note]]It stemmed from a series of publishings of foreign science-fiction in communist Poland, signatured by Lem - Dick received payment, but in Polish złotys, which he couldn't exchange to dollars. He was already super paranoid, so it added fuel to the fire.[[/note]] Despite Lem's views, he was defended by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin in his conflict with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

* AltumVidetur: More frequently in his non-fictional works. Arguably, that was less a personal trait of Lem than it was common for the educated Poles as a whole. Due the immense influence the [[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Catholic Church]] and its liturgical language, Latin, had in Polish culture and history, literary Polish itself became heavily Latinized, and it shows.
** He studied medicine in Lwów, although he did not finish the studies because he did not want to succumb to the party-mandated doctrine of Lysenkoism. The fact that medicine is the most prominent (if not only) field in which Latin is actually used, probably had its influence too.

* CelibateHero: Most of Lem's protagonists are solitary males who also show no interest in romance over the course of the story.

* GeniusLoci: The eponymous planet in ''Literature/{{Solaris}}''.

* MicrobotSwarm: The spontaneously created population of microautomata destroying all intelligence in ''The Invincible''.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: ''The Chain of Chance''

* GreyGoo: The spontaneously created population of microautomata destroying all intelligence in ''The Invincible''.