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Title: Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, Joanna Kilmartin, Steve Cox ISBN: 0-15-602760-7 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: November, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.41 (58 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent Work But Over Hyped
Comment: This is a story of humanity in contact (but only just) with alien intelligence on a scale and of a type unprecdented in history. Lem describes the planet, the station and it's inhabitants very well and gives the reader a sense of the mystery of Solaris.
The characters are very well drawn and Kelvin's reactions to the arrival of a clone of his dead wife drawn from his memories is excellent. However there are problems with the lack of description of the "companions" that are visiting the other two station crew members, we never find out who they are or what part of their backgrounds they come from which I found frustrating. I thought it was an ideal opportunity to delve into the other men's background that Lem bypassed for no good reason. The fact that no one on the station would have contacted the space station orbiting overhead, or Earth, about the mysterious visitors for days and weeks before Kelvin's arrival is pretty hard to believe too, they'd have had a team down checking it all out pronto, not just a single psychologist with no clue as to what had been going on. It's a tribute to Lem's story-telling that the reader can so easily ignore these logical flaws and just suspend disbelief. The writing is excellent and the sense of our inability to comprehend such a different intelligence (and it's struggles to understand and communicate with us) is beautifully done.
The "philosophy" that everyone raves about is nothing special, suggestions of an "imperfect" god and similar towards the end are pretty yawn-inducing--the world Lem has so tellingly described is much more interesting than anything as dumb as that.
It's very good story, but not as great as many seem to think (the hype around it I suspect twists people's perceptions). No way is it worth 5 stars but that's nothing to be ashamed of. It's well worth your time and is better than many other SF works that are also overrated (Dune for example).
Rating: 4
Summary: The ocean of you
Comment: SOLARIS is a fascinating if somewhat cold science fiction novel about the bizarre interaction between a semi-sentient ocean planet and the scientists sent to study it up close. In the novel, volumes of scholarship have been penned and schools of theory advanced about the how and the why of the mysterious entity/planet, but until the current expedition no one has really been privy to the secrets that ebb and flow in the waters of Solaris. The scientists soon discover that the planet has the ability to reach into the darkest recesses of their subconscious and make their most vulnerable thoughts and memories reality.
It's an intriguing premise, but unfortunately Stanislaw Lem intellectualizes his story to the point that the majority of SOLARIS doesn't even read like fiction. For a good chunk of the novel, you feel like you're reading a philosophical tract, or at times a psychology text. It's not uninteresting stuff, but it's not necessarily an easy or fun read, either. The characters are pretty thin, and in spite of the author's obvious passion for his themes, there isn't much emotion in the writing.
SOLARIS is a good book, but maybe not a great novel. It is, however, well worth reading if you like thought-provoking science fiction and know not to expect a pot-boiling page-turner.
As a side note, Steven Soderbergh did a fine job last year with his film version starring George Clooney. The movie, like the book, isn't for everyone, but if you can get into it, it does offer a certain detached poetic beauty.
Rating: 4
Summary: Sometimes Difficult, but Beautiful
Comment: I'm not a science-fiction buff and I don't usually care for the genre, but after seeing the movie (2002 version) I was intrigued enough to purchase the book. It is more of a love story set in a scientific outer-space background than it is a story of outer-space exploration. The emotions of Kris Kelvin towards the woman he loves is incredible. From a woman's point of view, I enjoy seeing the strength and intelligence Kelvin has, but I also love experiencing the emotions and feelings he has towards Rehya--a beautiful creature in her own right. The book is difficult to get "in" to, but once you do, you can't put it down. I also recommend the film--both versions!
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Title: His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem, Michael Kandel ISBN: 0810117312 Publisher: Northwestern University Press Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.37 |
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Title: The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem, Michael Kandel, Daniel Mroz ISBN: 0156027593 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 16 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title:Solaris (Score) ASIN: B00007J8C7 Publisher: Trauma (Red) Pub. Date: 10 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.99 |
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Title:Solaris - Criterion Collection ASIN: B00006L92F Publisher: Criterion Collection Pub. Date: 26 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $39.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $35.96 |
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Title: Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem ISBN: 0156306301 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 15 March, 1988 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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