Stanislaw Lem
Solaris (1961)
Author: Stanislaw Lem
Genre: Science Fiction (Philosophical)
Plot Summary:
After a long journey through space, Kris Kelvin finally arrives at the planet Solaris, where he plans on studying the ocean that spans its surface. He and the other two scientists aboard the space station have one main objective: to make contact with the mysterious ocean, which is widely believed to be a giant center of neural activity. However, immediately upon his arrival, Kelvin encounters bizarre circumstances. He discovers that, although their crew only consists of three men, each crew member is frequented by his own "visitor." These beings appear to be physical manifestations of painful repressed memories, and Kelvin's visitor takes the shape of his deceased wife, Rheya. Her appearance and mannerisms are exactly like what Kelvin remembers, but "Rheya" also remembers other things that his wife could not have known. After he falls in love with his "visitor," Kelvin, along with his fellow scientists, is left to ponder the ocean's motivations for this "psychic vivisection."
Is the ocean conducting its own experiment upon them, or is it blindly ransacking their memories with no purpose at all in mind? One scientist speculates with horror that the ocean knows more about what lies within their minds than they do. If this is so, Solaris asks, then is humanity's great mission to explore the outer limits of the universe, or does the final frontier lie within?
Geographical Setting: a space station near the planet Solaris (aptly named because it orbits two suns) light years away from planet Earth
Time Period: an undisclosed date presumably far in the future
Appeal Characteristics:
Solaris was written during the age of the "Space Race," and, consequently, it tends to address philosophical questions related to the nature and vanity of this mission. The book is, in some ways, more about the human mind than science and may appeal to those who are like to read stories that involve psychology and/or the subconscious mind. The story is philosophically focused, and although the pace is compelling and varies throughout the story, it often moves at the speed of contemplation; those who prefer constant action-packed adventure scenes may grow weary. However, those who enjoy staring into space for a couple minutes at a time while reflecting on the story will likely find the book intriguing. Even this last group of readers should be forewarned to expect a long digression on the history of Solaris research whenever the main character enters the space station's library. The tone echoes the growing disillusion of the narrator as understanding eludes him and communication attempts with the ocean prove to be futile. Readers who prefer aliens like the typical "gray" with its large eyes and enlarged forehead may not find the foreign form of the alien "ocean" in this story appealing. However, its lack of resemblance to any living organism on earth is kind of the point.
Read-alikes: Another novel by Stanislaw Lem, Peace on Earth, may appeal to fans of Lem or those who enjoy reading stories that deal with aspects of the human mind. In this story, Ijon Tichy (also a character of other Lem novels) is on a mission to the moon to discover what has become of the self-breeding weapons developed by the reigning superpowers' arms race when the connection between his right and left brain becomes severed by one of these machines. Each hemisphere of his brain begins to act independently, leading to strange and sometimes humorous behavior. Readers interested in philosophical novels about establishing contact with life on other planets may be interested in Maria Doria Russell's The Sparrow. This book tells the tale of a small group of Jesuit missionaries who lead an expedition to a distant planet. Labyrinth by Dennis Schmidt provides an interesting parallel for readers interested in "living" planets that are able to probe the mind. In this instance, the mysterious planet Labyrinth provides a training program for an elite police force by becoming a very different place for each trainee depending on individual outlook.
Red Flags: Speculation about the nature of God (generally thought of as a concept of the past in this story that takes place far in the future) in the last chapter might offend some readers with traditional notions of God.
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