Customer Reviews

Solaris

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Solaris was a planet, but it also was a mystery. For hundreds of years mankind has been trying to understand if the ocean was a intelligence or just organic soup. Kris Kelvin, a researcher from Earth, must try to understand WHAT is happening, because the planet has done something. Something wonderful, amazing and very, very scary.

The book forces us to think about what we define as intelligence, what we define as human and, even, what we define as God. Wonderful, truly a classic. A must read!

Having seen the film that starred George Clooney and was based upon this book, and having found it wanting, I decided to go to the source. I am glad that I did, as it is certainly better as a book than it is as a film. It is also far more profound than the film, which concentrated on the love story.

This book is much more than that, covering many themes. It is, first and foremost, about contact with an alien entity and communication of a type beyond our comprehension. Is it friend or foe? Who can say, as the source of the communication makes its pitch based upon an individual's memories, some good, and some bad? What it is communicating remains unfathomable. Still, the book provides much food for thought.