Solaris

by Stanisław Lem

eBook, 232 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 2012

ISBN:: 978-1-937624-66-8
Goodreads:: 17594652

(8 reviews)

New 2011 English Translation.

The cult-classic by Stanislaw Lem that spawned the movie is now available for your Kindle! Until NOW the only English edition was a 1970 version, which was translated from French and which Lem himself described as a "poor translation." This wonderful new English translation (by Bill Johnston) of Lem's classic Solaris is a must-have for fans of Lem's classic novel.

Telling of humanity's encounter with an alien intelligence on the planet Solaris, the 1961 novel is a cult classic, exploring the ultimate futility of attempting to communicate with extra-terrestrial life.

New 2011 English Translation.

When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. The Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, though its purpose in doing so is unknown, forcing the scientists to shift the focus of their quest and wonder if they can truly understand the universe without first understanding what lies within their hearts.

1 edition

Sean Gursky reviewed Solaris by Stanisław Lem

Review of 'Solaris' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

I appear to be in the minority with this cult classic but the book did not resonate with me and became a chore to finish.

It's disappointing because there were some very enjoyable elements of the book. The haunting and eerie vibe is unmistakable in The Station. The interaction between the scientists is frustratingly vague but slowly you learn more and understand why. The mysteries of Solaris take form and the book embraces a mystery, creepy sci-fi/thriller feel.

And then it's followed by paragraph after paragraph of detailed history, learnings of past explorers. Any momentum and interest I had in the story would come to an immediate halt.

I can appreciate what the story was doing and the creativity that Lem showed by providing such detail and thought into alien life but it ruined the book for me.

As Kelvin pulls encyclopedias, diaries, research papers out and reads them I checked out. I wasn't interested in an anthropological study on aliens, but for those that were into it, this book would be brilliant.

This is a short book but it took a long time (by my standards) to get through it.

The book bordered on DNF territory but with only hours left in my reading time I thought I could tuck in and knock it out...but as the days went on my desire to read decreased so a few hundred page book took a while to finish off.