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A review by ketreads
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Solaris is a fascinatingly horrifying read which touches on the most thought provoking aspects of humanity and what it is to be human. I both listened to the BBC audio show and then went on to listen to the full audiobook as it struck me so thoroughly. I found myself morbidly absorbed within the plight of the main characters that I was desperate for any small addition of information surrounding this world.
In brief, Solaris is about our main character visiting the research institute on the planet of Solaris. The institute itself has been built upon years of research into a mysterious alien body, an ocean covering the surface of Solaris. This is no normal ocean, but nor is it anything like humanity has ever seen before. Our main character is quickly drawn into the mystery of Solaris and the torment of researchers who have been living on Solaris for months.
I am VERY glad I went into this book almost completely blind and would recommend you do the same if my mini blurb sounds at all interesting.
Lem does a fantastic job of capturing complex and unique takes on both sci-fi and alien concepts. This book truly is like no other sci-fi I've ever read.
My one minor gripe is this book DOES get very tedious in the middle sections. While the characters themselves are fantastically done, the science and mystery surrounding Solaris' ocean is almost TOO well explained. I felt that the BBC program, while being a fraction of the length, was still able to capture most of the magic that makes up Lem's core concept. I did find myself going ''wait, the main character is STILL monologuing?!'' after a good 2 hours audio time.
Other than that, it was fascinating! Despite my low rating.
In brief, Solaris is about our main character visiting the research institute on the planet of Solaris. The institute itself has been built upon years of research into a mysterious alien body, an ocean covering the surface of Solaris. This is no normal ocean, but nor is it anything like humanity has ever seen before. Our main character is quickly drawn into the mystery of Solaris and the torment of researchers who have been living on Solaris for months.
I am VERY glad I went into this book almost completely blind and would recommend you do the same if my mini blurb sounds at all interesting.
Lem does a fantastic job of capturing complex and unique takes on both sci-fi and alien concepts. This book truly is like no other sci-fi I've ever read.
My one minor gripe is this book DOES get very tedious in the middle sections. While the characters themselves are fantastically done, the science and mystery surrounding Solaris' ocean is almost TOO well explained. I felt that the BBC program, while being a fraction of the length, was still able to capture most of the magic that makes up Lem's core concept. I did find myself going ''wait, the main character is STILL monologuing?!'' after a good 2 hours audio time.
Other than that, it was fascinating! Despite my low rating.