Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

[Samyann]

Liked: The fundamental plot, great premise for a SciFi story. The main protagonist, traveling alone, arrives at a research vessel orbiting a distant planet and finds the small crew in serious trouble. They are having visions. He soon has visions of his own. Thus is the thrust.

Didn’t like: The thrust of the story is simply a vehicle for the author to pontificate about life, humanity, relationships, pretty much everything is philosophized about - except the fundamental plot. Way too much blather about nonsensical viewpoints or self analysis that the author wishes to convey. Most have nothing to do with the story and will likely make you yawn.

Excellent translation from Polish by Bill Johnston, nicely narrated by Alessandro Juliani, close to eight hours of listening in unabridged format, released in June of 2011 by Audible.