The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem is a creepy, cinematic hard sci-fi thriller

A mysterious presence on a remote plant destroyed an entire ship and rendered the crew senseless. Now the rescue party has to grapple with a lifeform of a kind never before encountered, with properties even their advanced technology struggles to contain. This is a gripping novel that is imaginitive, cinematic and thrilling. I only took one star off because it could seem a little slow and dry to some readers due to its realism and pacing, but fans of hard sci-fi will love it.