Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jan 23, 2012

Ceridwen rated it:

There's an episode in “Little House on the Prairie” - the book, not the tv show. Jeez, people, I'm writing here on bookface after all - where Laura finds a book of Tennyson's poems in the house. She realizes that it's to be gift from her folks to her, and shuts up the book and puts it away, but not before reading these tantalizing lines, from “The Lotus Eaters”:

“COURAGE!” he said, and pointed toward the land,
“This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon.”

She obsess More...

5 comments like (20 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2011

Kay rated it:

11/11/11 Update: Reflected on it a bit more, and bumped up the rating to 5 stars. Darn those coercive, psychic ocean mind waves!

**

Despite work, an appalling lack of sleep, work, life, work, copious amounts of laundry, work, and MORE WORK, I finally finished this little gem of a book. I am giving it four stars for now, but depending on how I feel after I absorb more of the book, I may bump up the rating.

Solaris is beautifully written, and the message behin More...

3 comments like (15 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2011

Cindy rated it:

Thanks to a smart GR friend, I recently found out that Solaris was made into a movie long before the 2002 George Clooney/Soderburgh release. And it was in 1972 in the Soviet Union! And it gets great reviews over at IMDB. (What ever did we do without IMDB?) And if World Cat isn't lying to me, it looks like the library one town south of me has a copy! Well, well, well, a project for 2011.

Anyone out there seen it?

(Update! March 7, 2011 - I saw the Tarkovskiy adaptation last More...

33 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2011

K.D. rated it:

Who could have thought? Who could have thought of a planet, almost covered by ocean and that the ocean is in reality an organism enveloping the planet? Where the waves are actually muscle contractions of that organism? And that organism can "communicate" to the mind of human beings and has the ability to probe and analyze people's mind and manipulate it innermost secrets (guilt included)? And this can lead human beings to lunacy and commit suicide?

I am already at the stage More...

16 comments like (14 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2009

Ninja Sock Puppet rated it:

What if, like, there were this planet that seemed intelligent, right? And like, we go visit it and after a few decades still can't talk to it? But one day, all of a sudden, it creates perfect humans out of our subconscious minds, indistinguishable from real humans down to the subatomic level except for the fact that that particular human died years ago? Like, how would we react to that, man?

Duuude.

This book is about aliens and what an alien encounter would truly be lik More...

28 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2010

Troy rated it:

Recently, I read Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers, which was the basis of Tarkovsky's Stalker. I realized that I had never read the classic source for Tarkovsky's other sci-fi movie, Solaris. And like Roadside Picnic, the book is significantly different from the Tarkovsky's movie, and different in wonderful ways.

Some of the greatness of the book is the same as some of the greatness of the movie: i.e., a deeply philosophical examination of existence, human exceptionalism, me More...

7 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2012

terpkristin rated it:

I listened to this book based on Luke Burrage's review on the Science Fiction Book Review Podcast. Overall, I thought it was pretty good, and would recommend it to others. It ended up getting 3 stars from me, instead of 4, because at times it went pretty heavy into the physics--to a point that my mind started wandering (and once I fell asleep, but I'll blame part of that on some medication I took). Normally, I don't like the overuse of science in science fiction, because usually authors get it p More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2010

Becky rated it:

Very, very interesting story. I didn't know what to think of this story at times, so I will describe, as well as I can, the different impressions I had at different times while reading. If this makes no sense, please accept my apologies. I'm gonna try to keep it clean, but be warned, there may be spoilers ahead. :)

Starting the book, it felt like your standard science fiction, pop into a space-suit and into your pod/shuttle/ship/whatever (please SF fans, no throwing stones!) and take More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

D_Davis rated it:

Solaris chronicles humanity's futile attempts at understanding a totally alien entity. Often, in science fiction stories, an author introduces an alien race, has mankind make contact with it, and then by the end of the book there is a general sense of understanding between the two. It is often assumed that the alien races have evolved and developed in a fashion similar to mankind, so that we are able to comprehend their physiological and psychological make-up. This is not so in Lem's More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Erik rated it:

This is a very creepy book, with philosophical content that is both substantive and well done artistically. In a lot of ways, it's about a breakdown between the scientific project and the natural world it is supposed to study: the biggest scientific debate of the day is over the alleged sentience of a large, planet sized ocean on a world called Solaris. Hopefully, you put the book down unsure of whether you think the ocean is actually alive or not. (And then proceed to feel skeptical of the n More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2012

John rated it:

While I’ve read the old Polish-to-French-to-English translation, I knew it wasn’t reliable. This review is primarily about the Audible release that was allegedly the first direct translation from the original Polish to English. In either edition, though, I have no confidence that Lem’s prose style has necessarily been preserved.

The concern exists in minor and major cases: this translator deliberately points out things we could infer, like that the books we know the names of are alph More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 13, 2007

John rated it:

It is unfortunate that Lem is labeled as an author of "science fiction", but really only because of what the american traditions for that genre have imprinted on our culture. Solaris is a deeply philosophical look at the notion of "otherness", a meditation on the hard limits at the edges of human cognition, and science's inability to look outside of problems that science can describe.

Read this book instead of watching either of the films derived from it. Tarkovsk More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Nov 28, 2008

Sabrina1984 rated it:

"Noch hatte ich mich zu nichts augerafft, zu keiner Entscheidung, kein Beschluss war gefasst. Ich stand reglos, vertieft in den nachdunkelnden Himmel, in die Sterne, die nur der schemenhafte Schatten irdischer Sterne waren. Und in der Öde, die den Gedankentrubel von vorhin abgelöst hatte, erwuchs ohne Worte die tote, gleichgültige Gewissheit, dass dort, wohin ich nicht reichen konnte, meine Wahl schon getroffen war. Und während ich vorgab, dass nichts geschehen sei, hatte ich nicht einmal K More...

0 comments like

Nov 28, 2011

Lucian rated it:

One of the best science fiction novels I have ever read. A classic in every sense of the word.

"Du versuchst dich in einer unmenschlichen Situation wie ein Mensch zu benehmen." 175

"Mir geht es um einen Gott, dessen Unvollkommenheit nicht aus der Schlichtheit seiner menschlichen Schöpfer folgt, sondern seinen wesentlichsten innenwohnenden Zug darstellt. Das soll ein Gott sein, der begrenzt ist in seiner Allwissenheit und Allmacht, fehlbar beim Voraussehen der More...

0 comments like

Sep 01, 2011

Nick rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Apr 25, 2011

Anabel rated it:

¿Ciencia ficción o filosofía? O quizá una fábula sobre lo que significa ser humano.

Desde una estación espacial, Solaris es observado, analizado y vigilado. El enorme océano que cubre el planeta ha resultado estar vivo, son sus variaciones en la distribución de su masa lo que le permite estabilizar la ruta de un planeta que, al orbitar en torno a dos soles, debiera ser inestable.
¿Qué ocurre cuando este océano con el que se trata de comunicar responde, pero somos incapaces de comp More...

0 comments like

Mar 25, 2011

Julio rated it:

Una fantástica historia. Una fábula sobre lo que es ser humano. Solaris es un planeta extraño. Situado en un sistema binario, su trayectoria debiera ser inestable, mas no lo es. Enteramente cubierto por un mar, variaciones en la distribución de su masa le permiten estabilizar finamente su ruta. El enorme mar cambia activamente para modificarse a si mismo y permanecer estable. De hecho, el mar gigante parece ser un organismo vivo, quizá inteligente. Una estación con un puñado de humanos lo observ More...

0 comments like

Jan 13, 2011

Juushika rated it:

Psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface and finds the space station in decay. He and the rest of the small crew are haunted by inexplicably real figures from their past, disrupting their work and lives and calling into question everything they think they know about the planet. Solaris is plagued by clunky delivery—and while this isn't the most important aspect of the book, it's often its most visible. Exposition comes in isolated and unre More...

0 comments like

Oct 04, 2010

Josh rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Apr 27, 2010

Noah rated it:

A very odd book, and one that I both enjoyed but disliked. As a story, it was pretty good. The characters were compelling, generally, and although the writing wasn't very good (too many stilted sentences) and the author spent a little too much time with unnecessarily complicated scientific descriptions, I never felt like putting the book down. One particularly nice bit was in the creation of "Solirian scholarship," which was interesting for me (though perhaps this is only because I More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 30, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Solaris is a planet covered in a genius sludge that sends its visiting earthling scientists an exact recreation of someone from a shameful or regretful memory. The protagonist, Kelvin, states it better saying, "A planet dominated by a huge devil, who satisfies the demands of his satanic humour by sending succubi to haunt the members of a scientific expedition...?" Really, what more could one ask for in a book?
Well, for Kelvin to fall in love with his succubus at the moment that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Dustin rated it:

Very unique and interesting. Sometimes sci-fi is just about lasers and spaceships or whatever but sometimes sci-fi can be great at opening up some human characteristic or philosophical idea by placing them in unfamiliar territory or submitting them to unnatural situations. The characters are painted lightly but I feel like that made the experience more inclusive. It's not really about how the character reacts to the specific situation, it's more about how we in general react, or would react. For More...

0 comments like

Dec 19, 2011

Jerry rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2010

Sonja rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 12, 2009

Kandice rated it:

I always look forward to reading vintage science fiction. Especially when it's new to me, and this was. I haven't seen the movie, either, so had no idea what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised. I tend to gravitate toward Star Wars/Star Trek sci-fi, where there is a galaxy full of inhabitable planets, and we somehow all manage to communicate with each other. Not so with Solaris. Lem takes a much more realistic approach to the Universe.

In Lem's world, we have found what w More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2007

Lucie rated it:

I think i enjoyed this book overall. I quite liked the philosophical discussion going on here, but... Being no fan of sci-fi, i found this book quite boring in places. There are several chapters that are so tedious I had to struggle very hard not to skip (the ones describing the physical parameters of the planet etc.... well you know which ones) . And having finished the book and looking back, I might have quite easily done it without ruining the experience.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2011

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Ho conosciuto questo autore con il suo ultimo romanzo "La città dei ladri", che ho apprezzato ancora di più di questa opera prima, poi ho letto la venticinquesima ora. Ho trovato questa storia molto bella e molto intensa e al più presto recupererò anche il film di Spike Lee considerato da tutti un capolavoro. Rispetto al suo secondo libro ho trovato questa storia un po' più "densa" e dunque a scorrimento lento, ma con delle chicche di bellezza che esaltano tutti i personaggi More...

0 comments like

May 20, 2011

Jesse rated it:

This book started out really good. It jumped right into the bizzare, literally within the first 10 pages. I would have to say that Lem definitely has the talant to hook the reader from the get go...However, for me, it really started to slow down about a third of the way through the book (and this book is only 200 pages, so it came quickly).

This book was recomended to me by a friend who love sci-fi, and he said that this is one of his all-time favorites, but he warned me that it g More...

0 comments like

May 02, 2011

La Stamberga dei Lettori added it

Solaris è indubbiamente un capolavoro della sci-fi non statunitense, estremamente visionario ed irrazionale. Innanzitutto, spontaneo ed immediato è sorto nella mia testa il paragone con il capolavoro di Kubrick e Clarke: entrambi i lavori sono visionari, confusi, filosofici, in entrambi i lavori l'uomo proietta nello spazio profondo angosce e domande su se stesso; entrambi, soprattutto, riescono ad unire sapientemente un linguaggio tecnico, scientificamente rigoroso, con una trama ed una narrazi More...

0 comments like