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mairispaceship 's review for:
Solaris
by Stanisław Lem
I'm not usually a huge sci-fi reader, but then neither would I actually class this as completely sci-fi. This book is set on a distant planet, light years from Earth in an age where the human race is expanding across the constellations. Besides Solaris, they've found no other life (that the story eludes to anyway) - there's this crippling undercurrent of loneliness to the story. Three scientists, each incredibly isolated on their space station, study the alien planet. The planet contains an enormous ocean that is itself a life form. It defies study, and treats the humans with as much indifference "as an ant on an elephant's back".
One of the best analogies for this book (and actually, the reason I picked it up) is given to us in Adam Curtis's fantastic documentary "Bitter Lake", which describes the US invasion of Afghanistan. Wherein the scientists pour their money, effort, years and their lives into understanding, and trying to change the 'other', they end up the ones irreversibly changed and hurt for the process, coming back with nothing.
What this book does better than any other in the genre I've read, is depict alien life believably. There's no reason to suggest an alien would be humanoid, have eyes, ears and a nose. No, its far more likely that if we ever find life, that life will be as beyond comprehension as written here.
One of the best analogies for this book (and actually, the reason I picked it up) is given to us in Adam Curtis's fantastic documentary "Bitter Lake", which describes the US invasion of Afghanistan. Wherein the scientists pour their money, effort, years and their lives into understanding, and trying to change the 'other', they end up the ones irreversibly changed and hurt for the process, coming back with nothing.
What this book does better than any other in the genre I've read, is depict alien life believably. There's no reason to suggest an alien would be humanoid, have eyes, ears and a nose. No, its far more likely that if we ever find life, that life will be as beyond comprehension as written here.