Solaris

from "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction," May, 1971, $0.60, pages 42-43:"Stanislaw Lem: SOLARIS. After-word by Darko Suvin, Walker, 1970, 216 pp., boards, $4.95" by James Blish:"As reported in my previous column, the five Lem stories included in Prof. Suvin's anthology OTHER WORLDS, OTHER SEAS seemed strangely thin for a writer with so enormous an international reputation. The present book suggests a possible reason: Lem may be much more at home in the novel."This one, which dates back to 1961, is his sixth, and it is strikingly original and rewarding on virtually every level. Its central phenomenon is a planet-wide 'ocean' which is actually a living creature of unguessably (sic) high intelligence; among other things, it has mastered gravitation and uses the knowledge to control the flight of its world around a double star in an orbit which otherwise would be unstable. It also constantly throws up immense temporary structures of various kinds, which though easily classifiable into types, completely defy comprehension. Lem does not just say this, he shows it: his hero describes almost all of the types, clearly and in detail, so that the reader has a vivid picture of exactly what each is like- and is as far as ever from comprehending what possible purpose it could serve. Solaris (the name of the planet) makes most other descriptions of 'alien' worlds you have read seem positively homelike."All human attempts to communicate with this creature have failed, sometimes with great loss of life. The deaths were due to its apparent indifference to human beings, for it is not hostile. Yet, in a way, it is in touch with them, for from the recess of each man's brain it recreates, in solid, living and sentient form, the one person to whom that man had done the most injury. Nobody ever finds out why it does this, either, or even whether it is aware of doing so; but the resulting emotional tensions are what make the novel go. They are handled with such tenderness and depth of insight as to make me wonder if the author of those short stories is some other Lem entirely."A part of the other activities of the 'ocean' is also mimetic; in effect, it mirrors what goes on in its vicinity. In the same way, each man's inner nature is mirrored by his inescapable Phi-creature (not Psi, as the flap copy has it; they are completely real, they bleed and they suffer, though apparently they cannot be killed); and in the elaboration and evolution of Solaristic studies, Lem mirrors society, its institutions, and man's place in the universe. He is completely non-dogmatic about it; if he has anything to preach, it is that knowledge does not dispel mystery, but increases it."Lem knows the sciences intimately; there is not a word of double-talk in the novel, although some kind of faster-than-light drive is assumed in order to be able to reach Solaris at all. The story is slow-moving in spots, but this is not a defect in a philosophical novel; when Lem slows down, he wants the reader to slow down too and 'think.'"Stylistically it also reads well, and my guess- based rather insecurely on its excellences in other departments- is that the style was distinguished in the original. What we have here is a British translation of a French translation from the original Polish. Prof. Suvin, who has more languages than he has fingers, doesn't mention the translation at all in his fine analytical Afterword, which may also indicate that it could have been better, but just as English it is better than most of what passes for the language in out field."Buy the hard-cover book by all means, for you will want a copy that will stand up under many re-readings. This is going to become a classic; it is inherently one already."-James Blish

1) Plot (3 stars) – A scientist is called to an outpost on an alien world to investigate what went wrong with an expedition, only to encounter and grapple with unexplained mysteries of his own. So, the engine that drives this plot is a first contact puzzle – what are these mysterious creatures and, more importantly, how does the human psychology deal with them? There were no big surprise twists, or really any answers. But the micro tensions of watching the main character’s psyche strain and bend was enough to keep me reading.2) Characters (3 stars) – Kelvin is the no-nonsense lead who gradually morphs from scientist to romantic. The other two human inhabitants of the space station are well drawn as analytic minds defending their craziness. The girl interest was fine as the innocent slowly learning the truth. But I probably won’t remember any of these characters in a week.3) Theme (4 stars) – Can we understand something that is truly alien to us? Or will our cultural bias always hamper our abilities to empathize? This is an interesting theme, and the book did a fascinating job of conjuring up what an arc of theories and frustrations could look like if we did encounter such an alien that interacted with the universe using a completely different rule set. It made me think of our own planet, and how little we even understand of what goes on in the heads of our fellow cultures, let alone our fellow terrestrial life forms, and how this poor track record of Earthly success doesn’t bode well for even seeing (let alone understanding) the truly alien.4) Voice (3 stars) – The prose was readable, but sometimes I grew frustrated with the way in which the history of the alien was conveyed. Lem told the history through the main character reading academic paper after academic paper. It seems to me there could have been more ways to convey the back story, and if he leveraged alternatives, those sections would have felt a little less repetitive.5) Setting (4 stars) – The base and the planet were described in interesting detail—the lighting from the twin suns, the strange ocean structures, the emptiness of the station—and I could imagine being there. But what was really impressive was the mood Lem conjured up. The book transported me into the creepy psychological state of these humans all trying to deal with the unexplained phenomena bombarding them.6) Overall (4 stars) – Overall, I’d recommend Solaris. It’s a story with an excellent mood that tackles some grand questions about the limits of the human mind.

This work of science fiction, at 224 pages, borders on being a novella. It is set in the far future, on a planet (Solaris) far, far away. Having seen the 2002 film, starring George Clooney, I was familiar with the story line, though it differs from the book in many respects.I found much of the book to be engaging and thought provoking, while other parts to border on sleep inducing. The setting is a largely abandoned scientific station on the ocean planet Solaris. The three scientists in residence begin to receive “visitors”, whose identity and actions appear to be drawn from the deep recesses of the subject’s psyche.The narrator is visited by his former fiance, whose suicide created a deep guilt within him. It is assumed that these “visitors” have been created by the alien intelligence believed to exist within the planet’s ocean.The author, Stanislaw Lem, is Polish, and I believe this work was written in French. There are instances where the translation is somewhat awkward, but not enough to be an issue. Solaris is widely considered to be a classic of science fiction, bordering on horror, for the psychological and philosophical issues it explores.