Solaris
by Stanislaw Lem, Joanna Kilmartin, Steve Cox
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joanna Kilmartin, Stanislaw Lem, Steve CoxEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-11-20
ISBN: 0156027607
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Solaris
Book Review: A Purported Sci Fi Classic That's Not Aging Gracefully
Summary: 4 Stars
Having read this purported classic sci fi novel again recently, I've discovered that it hasn't aged well. The novel is beginning to reveal its age by the obsolete technical terms Lem has incorporated into his book dating this novel to the pre-computer age. Many of the futuristic sounding images back when he wrote the novel are now ancient. The basic themes of alieness, the emotional separation in the first third of the novel and the climatic emotional scene retain their power and poignancy. This novel is both simple and easy to read (sometimes a sign of good writing) and also includes some of Lem's famous difficult to follow narrative (though not in great amounts), yet his offuscated language is in itself part of its science fiction fascination and charm for some. In some respects the resulting movies have been able to focus on several parts of the novel better than the novel but neither are able to transfer from the book the momentous and unfathomable Solaris itself and the many mysterious activities occurring on the planet itself. Both movies also take a rather different emotional tonal departure at the end from the book. While Solaris was a landmark in some ways, especially the original movie, time has allowed many of the sci fi features to be further enhance and polished by future writers, except for the breakthrough in disoriented displacement, surprise and bewildering science fiction alienness which remains as compelling and memorable as any sci fi media forms created.
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