You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Feel like it takes 2 reads to understand
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Veiled as a sci-fi psychological thriller, Solaris is truly a masterpiece on living consciousness and the innate human instinct to communicate and contact other beings, human or otherwise, and in some cases, even contact that which could be understood as impossible. Solaris itself, meaning the book and the planet, can be seen as a metaphor for trying to understand something that can’t be fully grasped. As in life, you may think you have the Solaris ocean figured out, but then the ocean throws something at you that you’ve never seen before. This book makes you think, about thinking!
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
We go into the universe looking for a mirror in other intelligent life to make us feel less alone; but if we found it we would probably only recognize the personal, isolated nature of our individual sentience more.
I love Lem for taking the wind out of the sails of one of science fiction's most cherished ideas. He really looks at the implications and consequences of exploration. He is also one of the only sci-fi authors that I know (Bradbury would also be on the list) who can write emotion so that you feel punched in the gut. Parts of Solaris are truly terrifying if you give yourself to his images (the sentient sun producing a massive plasma child mimicking human facial expressions).
The struggle of the characters in Solaris trying to communicate with the sun, and the sun trying to communicate with them, reminded me of the struggle of one person to really relate to anyone else. An all-time favorite.
I love Lem for taking the wind out of the sails of one of science fiction's most cherished ideas. He really looks at the implications and consequences of exploration. He is also one of the only sci-fi authors that I know (Bradbury would also be on the list) who can write emotion so that you feel punched in the gut. Parts of Solaris are truly terrifying if you give yourself to his images (the sentient sun producing a massive plasma child mimicking human facial expressions).
The struggle of the characters in Solaris trying to communicate with the sun, and the sun trying to communicate with them, reminded me of the struggle of one person to really relate to anyone else. An all-time favorite.