Solaris

The Definitive Edition

By: Stanislaw Lem, Bill Johnston - translator

Narrated by: Alessandro Juliani

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

At last, one of the world’s greatest works of science fiction is available - just as author Stanislaw Lem intended it.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of Solaris, Audible, in cooperation with the Lem Estate, has commissioned a brand-new translation - complete for the first time, and the first ever directly from the original Polish to English. Beautifully narrated by Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica), Lem’s provocative novel comes alive for a new generation.

In Solaris, Kris Kelvin arrives on an orbiting research station to study the remarkable ocean that covers the planet’s surface. But his fellow scientists appear to be losing their grip on reality, plagued by physical manifestations of their repressed memories. When Kelvin’s long-dead wife suddenly reappears, he is forced to confront the pain of his past - while living a future that never was. Can Kelvin unlock the mystery of Solaris? Does he even want to?

©1961 Stanislaw Lem. Translation © 2011 by Barbara and Tomasz Lem (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Few are [Lem's] peers in poetic expression, in word play, and in imaginative and sophisticated sympathy." (Kurt Vonnegut)

"[Lem was] a giant of mid-20th-century science fiction, in a league with Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick." ( The New York Times)
"Juliani transmits Kelvin’s awe at Solaris’s red and blue dawns and makes his confusion palpable when he awakens one morning to find his long-dead wife seated across the room. Juliani’s performance is top-notch." ( AudioFile)

Great concept, lacked focus

The idea of what is (or even better, what may be) Solaris is great, and, as far as I can tell, unique. This planet, this... thing, that is called Solaris makes characters struggle with an unprecedented event. Something that literature, religion nor even good sense has prepared any human being to deal with. The moral struggle through which the few characters have to deal with is something that could have inspired the author dozens, maybe hundreds of pages. And he narrates some of that. There are some mysteries, some inner fights, a good ammount of reflection and wondering of how to deal with such happennings. The problem is when the narration wanders off to planetology and the biology of what constitutes Solaris. It is curious in the beginning and even make you wonder if someday human kind will face such structure, such organism that is Solaris. But when that narration takes dozens of pages it begins to become boring. Too boring to keep listening for long.

Luckily the narrator is good and does deliver a nice mix of different voices and the subtleties in their speeches.

fannnnntastic!

my Favorite book by far! A hard read and a hard understand But once you realize what it's Really saying it all comes full circle

Fantastic listen!

Where does Solaris rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favorites

What about Alessandro Juliani’s performance did you like?

Excellent narrator! Voices for the characters were different enough to distinguish, and not at all distracting or annoying.

good but depressing

it's a good book! but be warned: it is really depressing. don't read while going through major life changes

Desperately in need of an editor

Brilliantly narrated, this story of a psychologist sent to investigate the apparent suicide of his mentor on the strange, living ocean of Solaris is punctuated by long, rambling sections that desperately need to be cut. Great for die hard Lem fans, awful for everyone else.

A chore

Any additional comments?

Narrator is fine, but far too much of the book is just documenting the history of what has happened on the planet. There were hints of a decent mystery plot developing, but only a couple short moments.

If there was some deeper meaning to all this, I guess I missed it.

Outstanding Hard Science Fiction Novel

This the best hard science fiction novel I’ve ever read. The author’s meticulous attention to detail, realistic dialogue, and superb writing draws you into the hyper-realism of this story. I can’t believe it took so long for me to discover this book.

classic sci-fi, great story

old school love story but with some serious twists. interesting ideas about other types of life and consciousness.

Interesting, kinda slow.

It's a cool story about a new world that I think would be crazy to see. Nothing really happens though.

Superior Translation, Narration Deserves Awards

I read the first English translation years ago, and thought Solaris was "good", but wasn't blown away by it per se. However, upon realizing there was an allegedly far superior translation made more recently than the one I had read, I jumped onto this version to see what I'd potentially missed.

The biggest change from one translation to the next is almost entirely made of the subtle differences in mood and atmosphere. The book reads much differently as a result, and has an at times vague and oppressive anxiety that is being lived by the main character. While these were not always comfortable feelings, this gave the story MUCH more depth and "texture" to the story, as well as the general vibe of the entire book.

As for the execution of audio version.. all I can say is that this narration deserves awards and is probably one of the most expertly narrated audio books I've ever heard. If I rated "Overall" and "Story" as 5/5 stars, I'd give "Narration" a 6/5 stars if I could.

Do not skip this one, it is Eastern Bloc sci-fi at its absolute finest, and one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time.