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smudgenat0r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Really not for me, and the language used has started to show its age.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
steven_lamb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the first 60% of the novel much more than the latter 40%, though I did not dislike any portion of it. Lem expertly ratchets up the tension and mystery so that the first 60% read almost similar to a horror novel to me. I do enjoy the exploration or deeper emotional themes in the latter 40%.
I found the long and dense scientific descriptions in the Solaristics Volumes that the main character reads in the book quite fascinatingly written, if not a little difficult to follow at times. Overall, quite a satisfying read! 4/5
I found the long and dense scientific descriptions in the Solaristics Volumes that the main character reads in the book quite fascinatingly written, if not a little difficult to follow at times. Overall, quite a satisfying read! 4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Racial slurs
heathengray's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I dimly remember the snooze-fest that was Geroge Clooney's attempt to make a movie out of this book. So I had written off Lem as someone I'd never 'get'. After reading some more classic sci-fi however, people started pushing me his way. And I'm glad they did.
The novel is set on a space station established to research the world it orbits - Solaris. It is a barren world with naught but an ocean that should have been drifting into the nearby Red sun in its system. But it wasn't. So centuries later after humans discovered the ocean itself is alive, and can exert the force of will necessary to keep the planet from harm, and have frustratingly discovered little else, our protagonist arrives to discover the remaining crew of two in the midst of collective nervous breakdowns. A third member is recently dead. And then his visitors arrive - Living flesh and blood people from his past, as if they picked up their lives from the moment he lost contact with the in his life.
I can at least confirm it isn't anywhere near as boring as the last attempted movie makes it. But it is boring for the reasons this book's pacing can lag - namely the angst our protagonist goes through to reconcile the feeling he has for these visitors. While we get some very juicy sci-fi histories of the planet and mankind's attempt to understand it, sadly we don't get much of a resolution, and the book ends very much in keeping with the themes it presents - life and memories.
The novel is set on a space station established to research the world it orbits - Solaris. It is a barren world with naught but an ocean that should have been drifting into the nearby Red sun in its system. But it wasn't. So centuries later after humans discovered the ocean itself is alive, and can exert the force of will necessary to keep the planet from harm, and have frustratingly discovered little else, our protagonist arrives to discover the remaining crew of two in the midst of collective nervous breakdowns. A third member is recently dead. And then his visitors arrive - Living flesh and blood people from his past, as if they picked up their lives from the moment he lost contact with the in his life.
I can at least confirm it isn't anywhere near as boring as the last attempted movie makes it. But it is boring for the reasons this book's pacing can lag - namely the angst our protagonist goes through to reconcile the feeling he has for these visitors. While we get some very juicy sci-fi histories of the planet and mankind's attempt to understand it, sadly we don't get much of a resolution, and the book ends very much in keeping with the themes it presents - life and memories.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
Pretty much towards the start the protagonist sees a visitor and describes her as an Negress Amazon or something similar. Put it down to the year it was written in, I guess. But for being set in the far future, I think Lem wanted to shock the reader in the way only a woman (and a black woman, no less) on a serious scientific expedition could.esztertth's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Felt like the Arrival meets Jodie Witthaker's Black Mirror episode, The Entire History of You. Or like Crime and Punishment in space.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
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