jakej 's review for:

Solaris by Stanisław Lem
4.0
challenging mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is my canonical choice for 1) classic hard science fiction 2) alien contact.

Lem realizes what so many others miss: aliens are alien. There is little plot or personal characterization in Solaris: it rests solely on the execution of the alien contact story. The pacing is slow and the writing can be clunky at points, but it succeeds in its goal.

"If a lion could speak, we could not understand him" - Ludwig Wittgenstein