Solaris
by Stanisław Lem · first published 1961
69% recommend29% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Sci-fi about a living ocean planet that humans cannot comprehend, working as a thought experiment on the limits of knowledge and alien intelligence; suits readers wanting psychological depth over action.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The cult-classic by Stanislaw Lem that spawned the movie is now available for your Kindle! Until now the only English edition was a 1970 version, which was translated from French and which Lem himself described as a "poor translation." This wonderful new English translation (by Bill Johnston) of Lem's classic Solaris is a must-have for fans of Lem's classic novel. Telling of humanity's encounter with an alien intelligence on the planet Solaris, the 1961 novel is a cult classic, exploring the ultimate futility of attempting to communicate with extra-terrestrial life. When Kris Kelvin arri
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
Fiasco
Stanisław Lem
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 1412 recommend · 14 mention12 recommend · 1412 recommend
2008–2026His Master's Voice
Stanisław Lem
Recommended by 49 · mentioned by 6649 recommend · 66 mention49 recommend · 6649 recommend
2010–2025Grass
Sheri S. Tepper
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 55 recommend · 5 mention5 recommend · 55 recommend
2009–2026Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
Stanisław Lem
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 2815 recommend · 28 mention15 recommend · 2815 recommend
2011–2024Lilith’s Brood
Octavia E. Butler
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 88 recommend · 8 mention8 recommend · 88 recommend
2008–2025More Than Human
Theodore Sturgeon
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 73 recommend · 7 mention3 recommend · 73 recommend
Last and First Idol
Gengen Kusano, Andrew Cunningham, Samuel Pinansky
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2011–2025Cities in Flight
James Blish
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 42 recommend · 4 mention2 recommend · 42 recommend
The being with the fully-cryptic (or almost fully cryptic) consciousness is described in the novel "Solaris" by Stanislav Lem - two movies were made after it, one by Andrei Tarkowski, the other by Steven Soderbergh. It's a great book anyway, regardless of your interest in the issue of consciousness.
on “Cryptic consciousness” ↗…Jose Farmer Dystopian: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin <---highly overlooked, predates 1984 and Brave New World But the Absolute Best would be anything by: Stanislaw Lem (Cyberiad, Futurological Congress, Solaris) Alfred Bester (The STars my Destination, The Demolished Man) or Samuel R. Delany (Babel-17, Dhalgren, Trtion, Nova) oh and Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light and This Immortal are both great. Some of Philip…
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗…densely packed with original ideas. Borges' collected fictions. There probably isn't much that needs to be said about this that hasn't already been said. Borges was a visionary. Proust. Stanislaw Lem's Solaris. Completely changed the way I think about sci-fi. Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence. I think this is still the gold standard of speculative AI books. Sapiens. Like everyone else I loved this one.
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…got a 404, so I did a quick Google search. This seems to be the article in question —> https://onezero.medium.com/the-case-for-stanislaw-lem-one-of... I am excited to read it. I just finished reading Solaris for the first time, and it was mind-changing. I highly recommend it to any of you who haven’t read it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)
on “The Case for Stanislaw Lem” ↗I'm surprised to find no mention of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem among the fiction references. In this novel, a whole planet is somehow a living organism, truly alien to human conception of life.
on “Can a Living Creature Be as Big as a Galaxy?” ↗Solaris by Stanislaw Lem but it's also kinda dramatic so it's not just pure speculative sci-fi about intelligence.
on “Good science fiction books about intelligence, AI, artificial life forms, etc.?” ↗That is the premise of Solaris, from Stanislaw Lem. Great book, and movie too (the original, not the remake).
on “Embodiment is indispensable for AGI” ↗Ok, well since I got downvoted I may as well offer this: If you're looking for something to add to your reading list I strongly recommend Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. The thing that makes that book brilliant is how effectively it captures the futility of any attempt to understand non-human sentience. The two movies don't do justice to that theme,…
on “Google fires engineer who called its AI sentient” ↗Solaris by Stanislaw Lem Permutation City by Greg Egan Ubik by Philip K. Dick
on “Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?” ↗Stanislaw lem.. i agree... Solaris was special.. and most purists seemed to suggest the translation from Polish was bad!... Olaf stapledon's last and first men, starMaker were both stunning... Ursula le guin also come to mind
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗I don't read that much lately, but want to throw in a few names: - Stanislaw Lem (Solaris, The Cyberiad, His Masters Voice, Fiasco) - William Gibson - evrything worth reading) - Bruce Sterling
on “Ask HN: What sci-fi books are you reading?” ↗…positive and suggest a few alternatives which I feel deal more inventively with the themes of first contact, the alien, and colonialism: Gene Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus and Stanislaw Lem's Eden, Solaris, The Invincible, and Fiasco. Wolfe does a fine job of modulating his prose style according to the dictates of his content, and unpacking the workings of the book over repeated readings is a pleasure…
on “The Sparrow” ↗Stanislaw Lem (Solaris, The Cyberiad) is amazing, and some of the English translations are so full of puns and clever turns of phrase it's hard to believe it was originally written in Polish.
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗For the curious: the doodle is for Stanislaw Lem, one of my favorite science fiction authors. For those who haven't read any of his books, I personally recommend Solaris and Fiasco, although most of the other books I've read by him are also great. Edit: Oh yeah, for something a little bit more funny, read Tales of Pirx the Pilot.
on “Google.pl's crazy doodle” ↗I read this story decades ago. I challenge anyone who thinks of aliens in even vaguely anthropomorphic terms to read books like The Black Cloud (https://cmdev.com/isbn/0141196408) or Stanislaw Lem's Solaris (https://cmdev.com/isbn/0156027607).
on “They're Made out of Meat” ↗