Such a literary genre as fantasy is attracting more and more fans - after all, where else can a writer embody his most incredible ideas, reflect on the unknown and immerse the reader in a world of magic! Russian writers of this genre are also popular, and we will tell you further which of them are the most famous and what of their works can be read.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
We will start, of course, with the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - these are the most famous Soviet and Russian writers in the science fiction genre. During their lives, they wrote many works in which they presented bold, unusual ideas, atypical for their contemporaries and colleagues in the genre - they created some kind of different world.
The works of the Strugatskys are full of humor, but at the same time they are written in a beautiful, highly artistic language, and in addition to the fantastic surroundings, all their books have philosophical overtones. It can be said without exaggeration that the Strugatsky brothers and their works are already a separate era of Russian fantastic prose.
Famous works by the Strugatsky brothers include “Monday Begins on Saturday”, “Roadside Picnic”, “It’s Hard to Be a God”, “A Billion Years Before the End of the World” and others.
Sergei Lukyanenko
Sergei Lukyanenko writes books in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. He is the most popular Russian science fiction writer of the 21st century, and quite prolific: he publishes one or two books a year, and also writes short stories.
Some of his works were used as the basis for several modern Russian films - these are the books “Night Watch”, “Day Watch” and “Today, Mom!”. He wrote the scripts for the film adaptations himself.
Other popular works by Lukyanenko are “Labyrinth of Reflections”, “Dancing in the Snow”, “Line of Dreams”.
Vasily Golovachev
Among Russian science fiction writers of our time, Vasily Golovachev, laureate and winner of many literary awards, also stands out. He is the author of such books as “The Black Man”, “The Messenger”, “The Break of Evil”, “The Scourge of Times” and others. Golovachev is already considered a classic of Russian science fiction.
Most of the science fiction writer’s works belong to some kind of cycle, of which Golovachev has as many as seventeen, and the total number of books has already exceeded forty. Golovachev’s books are distinguished by ease of storytelling and originality of plots, although fans were not so pleased with the works of the most recent years.
Dmitry Yemets
Interesting Russian science fiction writers can also be found among authors aimed at children's audiences. One of them is Dmitry Yemets, who became widely known thanks to a series of fourteen books for children and teenagers called “Tanya Grotter”, created based on the books by JK Rowling about the well-known boy wizard.
In parallel with this series, Yemets began writing a series of books about the teenage magician Methodius Buslaev, in which there were fewer borrowings from Harry Potter. The cycle consists of eighteen books and is also quite popular among young people. And the last, nineteenth book of the series should be published in May-June 2016.
Kir Bulychev
The Soviet and Russian writer of the 20th century, Kir Bulychev, closes our rating of science fiction writers. Like many Russian writers of the science fiction genre, he was inclined to create entire cycles of works featuring the same characters. His most famous work was a series of stories for children and teenagers about a girl, Alisa Selezneva, who travels through outer space and ends up in different stories. The series is called "Alice's Adventures" and contains more than fifty books.
However, other cycles of Bulychev’s books are also known, aimed at an adult audience, for example, “Doctor Pavlysh” and “The Chronos River”.
Bulychev’s work may be somewhat familiar to our viewers from the previously popular Soviet children’s cartoon “The Secret of the Third Planet” and from the cult five-part film “Guest from the Future.”
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Contrary to the popular opinion that modern Russian literature is in complete decline, Russian books worth reading continue to appear on store shelves. To ensure that the best Russian novels of the 21st century do not go unnoticed by you, pay attention to our review.
In general, I am a big fan of science fiction and science fiction as well. At one time I read a lot, now much less due to the invention of the Internet and lack of time. While preparing my next post, I came across this rating. Well, I think I’ll go for a run now, I probably know everything here! Yeah! No matter how it is. I haven’t read half the books, but that’s okay. I’m hearing some authors almost for the first time! Look what it's like! And they are CULT! How are you doing with this list?
Check...
1. Time machine
A novel by H. G. Wells, his first major work of science fiction. Adapted from the 1888 story "The Argonauts of Time" and published in 1895. “The Time Machine” introduced into science fiction the idea of time travel and the time machine used for this, which were later used by many writers and created the direction of chrono-fiction. Moreover, as noted by Yu. I. Kagarlitsky, both in scientific and in general worldview terms, Wells “... in a certain sense anticipated Einstein,” who formulated the special theory of relativity ten years after the publication of the novel
The book describes the journey of the inventor of a time machine into the future. The basis of the plot is the fascinating adventures of the main character in a world located 800 thousand years later, in describing which the author proceeded from the negative trends in the development of his contemporary capitalist society, which allowed many critics to call the book a warning novel. In addition, the novel describes for the first time many ideas related to time travel, which will not lose their attractiveness for readers and authors of new works for a long time.
2. Stranger in a strange land
A fantastic philosophical novel by Robert Heinlein, awarded the Hugo Award in 1962. It has a “cult” status in the West, being considered the most famous science fiction novel ever written. One of the few works of science fiction included by the Library of Congress in its list of books that shaped America.
The first expedition to Mars disappeared without a trace. The Third World War postponed the second, successful expedition for a long twenty-five years. New researchers established contact with the original Martians and found out that not all of the first expedition perished. And the “Mowgli of the space age” is brought to earth - Michael Valentine Smith, raised by local intelligent creatures. A man by birth and a Martian by upbringing, Michael bursts like a bright star into the familiar everyday life of the Earth. Endowed with the knowledge and skills of an ancient civilization, Smith becomes the messiah, the founder of a new religion and the first martyr for his faith...
3. Lensman Saga
The Lensman saga is the story of a million-year confrontation between two ancient and powerful races: the evil and cruel Eddorians, who are trying to create a giant empire in space, and the inhabitants of Arrisia, the wise patrons of young civilizations emerging in the galaxy. Over time, the Earth with its mighty space fleet and the Galactic Lensman Patrol will also enter this battle.
The novel instantly became incredibly popular among science fiction fans - it was one of the first major works whose authors dared to take the action beyond the Solar System, and since then Smith, along with Edmond Hamilton, has been considered the founder of the “space opera” genre.
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
“2001: A Space Odyssey” is a literary script for the film of the same name (which, in turn, is based on Clark’s early story “The Sentinel”), which has become a classic of science fiction and is dedicated to the contact of mankind with an extraterrestrial civilization.
2001: A Space Odyssey is regularly included in lists of the "greatest films in cinematic history." It and its sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two, won Hugo Awards in 1969 and 1985 for best science fiction films.
The influence of the film and book on modern culture is enormous, as is the number of their fans. And although 2001 has already arrived, A Space Odyssey is unlikely to be forgotten. She continues to be our future.
5. 451 degrees Fahrenheit
The dystopian novel by the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury “Fahrenheit 451” has become, in a sense, an icon and guiding star of the genre. It was created on a typewriter, which the writer rented from a public library, and was first printed in parts in the first issues of Playboy magazine.
The epigraph of the novel states that the ignition temperature of paper is 451 °F. The novel describes a society that relies on mass culture and consumer thinking, in which all books that make you think about life are subject to burning; possession of books is a crime; and people who are capable of critical thinking find themselves outside the law. The novel's protagonist, Guy Montag, works as a "fireman" (which in the book implies burning books), confident that he is doing his job "for the benefit of mankind." But soon he becomes disillusioned with the ideals of the society of which he is a part, becomes an outcast and joins a small underground group of marginalized people, whose supporters memorize the texts of books in order to save them for posterity.
6. “Foundation” (other names - Academy, Foundation, Foundation, Foundation)
A science fiction classic, it tells the story of the collapse of a great galactic empire and its revival through the Seldon Plan.
In his later novels, Asimov connected the world of Foundation with his other series of works about the Empire and about positronic robots. The combined series, which is also called "Foundation", covers the history of mankind for more than 20,000 years and includes 14 novels and several dozen short stories.
According to rumors, Asimov's novel made a huge impression on Osama bin Laden and even influenced his decision to create the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Bin Laden likened himself to Gary Seldon, who controls the future society through pre-planned crises. Moreover, the title of the novel when translated into Arabic sounds like Al Qaida and, thus, could be the reason for the name of bin Laden's organization.
7. Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade (1969)
Autobiographical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about the bombing of Dresden during World War II.
The novel was dedicated to Mary O'Hair (and Dresden taxi driver Gerhard Müller) and was written in a “telegraphic-schizophrenic style,” as Vonnegut himself puts it. The book closely intertwines realism, grotesque, fantasy, elements of madness, cruel satire and bitter irony.
The main character is the American soldier Billy Pilgrim, an absurd, timid, apathetic man. The book describes his adventures in the war and the bombing of Dresden, which left an indelible imprint on Pilgrim’s mental state, which had not been very stable since childhood. Vonnegut introduced a fantastic element into the story: the events of the protagonist's life are viewed through the prism of post-traumatic stress disorder - a syndrome characteristic of war veterans, which crippled the hero's perception of reality. As a result, the comical “story about aliens” grows into some harmonious philosophical system.
Aliens from the planet Tralfamadore take Billy Pilgrim to their planet and tell him that time does not actually “flow”, there is no gradual random transition from one event to another - the world and time are given once and for all, everything that has happened and will happen is known . About the death of someone, the Trafalmadorians simply say: “That’s how it is.” It was impossible to say why or why anything happened - that was the “structure of the moment.”
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The legendary ironic science fiction saga of Douglas Adams.
The novel tells the story of the adventures of the unlucky Englishman Arthur Dent, who, with his friend Ford Prefect (a native of a small planet somewhere near Betelgeuse, who works in the editorial office of the Hitchhiker's Guide) avoids death when the Earth is destroyed by a race of Vogon bureaucrats. Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's relative and President of the Galaxy, accidentally saves Dent and Ford from death in outer space. Also on board Zaphod's improbability-powered ship, the Heart of Gold, are the depressed robot Marvin, and Trillian, aka Trisha McMillan, whom Arthur once met at a party. She, as Arthur soon realizes, is the only surviving Earthling besides himself. The heroes are looking for the legendary planet Magrathea and trying to find a question that matches the Final Answer.
9. Dune (1965)
Frank Herbert's first novel in the Dune Chronicles saga about the sand planet Arrakis. It was this book that made him famous. Dune won the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels of the 20th century.
This book raises many political, environmental and other important issues. The writer managed to create a full-fledged fantasy world and cross it with a philosophical novel. In this world, the most important substance is spice, which is needed for interstellar travel and on which the existence of civilization depends. This substance is found only on one planet called Arrakis. Arrakis is a desert inhabited by huge sandworms. On this planet live the Fremen tribes, in whose life the main and unconditional value is water.
10. Neuromancer (1984)
A novel by William Gibson, a canonical piece of cyberpunk that won the Nebula Award (1984), the Hugo Award (1985), and the Philip K. K. Prize. This is Gibson's first novel and opens the Cyberspace trilogy. Published in 1984.
This work examines concepts such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, transnational corporations, cyberspace (computer network, matrix) long before these concepts became popular in popular culture.
11. Do androids dream of electric sheep? (1968)
Science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, written in 1968. Tells the story of "bounty hunter" Rick Deckard, who pursues androids - creatures almost indistinguishable from humans that have been outlawed on Earth. The action takes place in a radiation poisoned and partially abandoned future San Francisco.
Along with The Man in the High Castle, this novel is Dick's most famous work. This is one of the classic science fiction works that explores the ethical issues of creating androids - artificial people.
In 1982, based on the novel, Ridley Scott made the film Blade Runner with Harrison Ford in the title role. The script, which was created by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is quite different from the book.
12. Gate (1977)
A science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1977 and received all three major American awards of the genre - Nebula (1977), Hugo (1978) and Locus (1978). The novel opens the Khichi series.
Near Venus, people found an artificial asteroid built by an alien race called the Heechee. Spaceships were discovered on the asteroid. People figured out how to control ships, but they couldn't change their destination. Many volunteers have tested them. Some returned with discoveries that made them rich. But most returned with nothing. And some did not return at all. Flying on a ship was like Russian roulette - you could get lucky, but you could also die.
The main character is a researcher who got lucky. He is tormented by remorse - from the crew that was lucky, he was the only one who returned. And he tries to figure out his life by confessing to a robot psychoanalyst.
13. Ender's Game (1985)
Ender's Game won the Nebula and Hugo Awards for best novel in 1985 and 1986, some of the most prestigious literary awards in science fiction.
The novel takes place in 2135. Humanity has survived two invasions by the alien race of buggers, only miraculously surviving, and is preparing for the next invasion. To search for pilots and military leaders capable of bringing victory to Earth, a military school is created, to which the most talented children are sent from an early age. Among these children is the title character of the book - Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, the future commander of the International Earth Fleet and humanity's only hope for salvation.
14. 1984 (1949)
In 2009, The Times included 1984 in its list of the 60 best books published in the last 60 years, and Newsweek magazine ranked the novel second on its list of the 100 best books of all time.
The title of the novel, its terminology, and even the name of the author subsequently became common nouns and are used to denote a social structure reminiscent of the totalitarian regime described in “1984.” He repeatedly became both a victim of censorship in socialist countries and an object of criticism from left-wing circles in the West.
George Orwell's science fiction novel 1984 tells the story of Winston Smith as he rewrites history to suit partisan interests during the reign of a totalitarian junta. Smith's rebellion leads to dire consequences. As the author predicts, nothing can be more terrible than total lack of freedom...
This work, which was banned in our country until 1991, is called a dystopia of the twentieth century. (hatred, fears, hunger and blood), a warning about totalitarianism. The novel was boycotted in the West due to the similarity between the ruler of the country, Big Brother, and the real heads of state.
15. Brave New World (1932)
One of the most famous dystopian novels. A kind of antipode to Orwell's 1984. No torture chambers - everyone is happy and satisfied. The pages of the novel describe a world of the distant future (the action takes place in London), in which people are grown in special embryonic factories and are divided in advance (by influencing the embryo at various stages of development) into five castes of different mental and physical abilities, which perform different jobs. From “alphas” – strong and beautiful mental workers to “epsilons” – semi-cretins who can only do the simplest physical work. Depending on the caste, babies are raised differently. Thus, with the help of hypnopaedia, each caste develops reverence for the higher caste and contempt for the lower castes. Each caste has a specific color of costume. For example, alphas wear gray, gammas wear green, deltas wear khaki, and epsilons wear black.
In this society there is no place for feelings, and it is considered indecent not to have regular sexual intercourse with different partners (the main slogan is “everyone belongs to everyone else”), but pregnancy is considered a terrible shame. People in this “World State” do not age, although the average life expectancy is 60 years. Regularly, in order to always have a good mood, they use the drug “soma”, which has no negative effects (“soma gram – and no dramas”). God in this world is Henry Ford, they call him “Our Lord Ford,” and the chronology starts from the creation of the Ford T car, that is, from 1908 AD. e. (in the novel the action takes place in 632 of the “era of stability”, that is, in 2540 AD).
The writer shows the life of people in this world. The main characters are people who cannot fit into society - Bernard Marx (a representative of the upper class, alpha plus), his friend the successful dissident Helmholtz and the savage John from the Indian reservation, who all his life dreamed of getting into a wonderful world where everyone is happy.
source http://t0p-10.ru
And on the literary topic, let me remind you what I was and what I was like The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -
"2312" by Kim Stanley Robinson
“Kim Stanley Robinson is best known for his trilogy about the colonization and terraforming of Mars, which came out in the mid-1990s. “2312” is his later novel (as you might guess, the book was published in 2012), a very poetic and beautiful fantasy about a future in which humanity has populated the entire solar system down to small asteroids. The main character is something of an artist who is engaged in changing planets and creating ecosystems; “2312” has a detective plot, but it is not the main thing, the main thing is the amazing world of the future, which Robinson describes in detail. People are no longer divided into men and women - there are now a lot of gender variations; biology and ecology are taken literally as art, and people live in a variety of - strange - conditions; Something also happened with politics - in general, the author describes a foreign and very unusual world that I want to understand.”
“In God Mode” by Evgeny Proshkin
“Many books have been written about virtual reality. "In God Mode" stands out because it places its creator at the center of the story. Viktor Sigalov is developing morphoscripts that can replace reality, and Evgeny Proshkin proves that he rightfully bears the title of “Russian Philip K. Dick.” Witty and energetic, with sharp dialogue and a likable hero, the novel is difficult to put down without reading to the end. In fact, we have before us a real page-turner, the fascinating plot of which draws the reader into a multi-layered game with reality in order to come to a completely Hollywood ending - with a plane crash, shootouts and even catharsis.”
"Faith" by John Love
Boris Nevsky
editor of the magazine "World of Fantasy"
“In the distant future, people have mastered many star systems, but civilization is under threat from the actions of a single ship belonging to an unknown race. Humanity calls this flying nightmare “Faith.” Only the starship Charles Manson, whose crew consists of sociopaths, is able to fight Vera and, possibly, win. The author managed to create a vibrant gallery of charismatic anti-heroes, as well as show the incomprehensible alienness of aliens. And all this in very pleasant language and with proper suspense. John Love used Herman Melville's classic novel as the basis for his debut.
Publishing house Fantasy, St. Petersburg, 2014, translation by N. Kudryavtsev
"Water Knife" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Sergey Nemalevich
science journalist
“The near future, southwestern United States: the main value is fresh water, carried through three semi-desert states by the great Colorado River. This is a bright business thriller, unfolding in the world, in the details of which you notice today's reality with unpleasant surprise. Paolo Bacigalupi's previous novel, "Clockwork", was a biotechnological dystopia - in "The Water Knife" the author's skill has grown, and the obsessive tone of environmental alarmism has almost disappeared: the worst thing is that the reality of the next few decades described by Bacigalupi is not an artistic exaggeration, but an inevitability. Colorado River water has almost never reached the ocean for a long time.”
"Pandora's Gifts" by M.R. Carey
Grisha Prorokov:“If you see the cover of the Russian edition of this book, it’s better not to look at it (this generally applies to most fiction published in Russian); inside everything is fine. This is a novel that was made into a recent movie, a story about a zombie girl named Melanie who lives in a strange school with other special children; teachers teach them literature and ancient Greek myths. Melanie also has a particularly warm relationship with a teacher named Miss Justine. The children are looked after by soldiers: sometimes one of them is taken to a mysterious laboratory and killed. The book is slow in a good way: we are gradually revealed what kind of world this is, what is outside the school, why children are zombies, and in the end they carefully lead to difficult thoughts about mercy, understanding and what a person is.”
“Icarus Iron” by Anna Starobinets
Sergey Shikarev:“The seemingly familiar reality is transformed - so that through the cracks in the destroyed universe a cold existential breeze blows on the reader. A children's toy is capable of creating information illusions, subjugating families to its will. After surgery to remove the “icaris gland,” the behavior of men irreversibly changes. And all of humanity faces the threat (or possibility) of rebirth into a different biological species. Metamorphosis is the central theme of the author's collection by Anna Starobinets, and it takes place in that twilight zone where horror meets science fiction and where genetic experiments and transhumanism have a place. This is a very accurate look at the dark corners of the future that awaits us."
"The Story of Your Life" and Other Stories by Ted Chiang
Sergey Nemalevich:“There is a special reason to remember this year about Ted Chan - in fact, already an established star and winner of several important awards, including the Nebula and Hugo: it was based on his story “The Story of Your Life” that the film was made. Chan, a technical writer by profession, writes short fictional parables that are witty but geeky and dry; rather Bradbury than Sheckley, and somewhere even Borges’s “Fictional Stories”. It’s worth reading Chan if only to understand the logic of the alien guests, securely hidden by Villeneuve under sentimentality.”
Publishing house AST, Moscow, 2014, translation by M. Vershkovsky, V. Grishechkin, A. Komarinets, M. Levin, A. Novikov, L. Shchekotova
"The Quantum Thief" by Hannu Ryaniemi
Sergey Nemalevich:“The trilogy of a certified mathematical physicist from Finland (!) is a dizzying puzzle that revolves around the “quantum thief” - a charming and all-powerful rogue, a hero in the spirit of Roger Zelazny. Perhaps the most daring attempt to imagine where the natural progress of quantum technologies and artificial intelligence can take us, when the concept of time and place of action reaches the point of absurdity, and history happens not with bodies, but with minds. Sometimes it’s hard to feel like you’re at Comic-Con and in the third volume of Landau and Lifshitz’s Course of General Physics at the same time, but the complex world built by Ryaniemi does not cloud the exciting central story, and intellectual suffering is more than rewarded.
Publishing house Fiction, Moscow, 2013, translation by I. Savelyeva
"Men in Red" by John Scalzi
Boris Nevsky:“John Scalzi is one of the most commercially successful American science fiction writers of the last decade. But Men in Red differs from Scalzi's usual swashbuckling action films. The main character, midshipman Dahl, once on the starfleet flagship Fearless, undergoes a lot of adventures and gradually learns the terrible secret of the ship. This is a very witty, at times mocking space opera, parodying many genre cliches. The book not only won the Hugo and Locus Awards, but also rebooted the career of Scalzi, who is no longer perceived as a purely entertainment author."
"Nexus" by Ramez Naam
Grisha Prorokov:“A cyberpunk novel about an amazing drug called nexus, which literally helps connect people's minds; you feel everything that the other person feels, you read his thoughts and so on. It is not necessary to use it together, there are also group sessions. A group of young hackers is modifying the nexus so that you can also download something like programs into it: for example, with the help of the nexus you can instantly master some kind of martial arts or become a wonderful lover. Of course, the special services begin to hunt for this modification - and a spy-detective story begins. Naam’s book, however, is notable for the fact that the matter is not limited to a noir plot: in the end, everything turns into practically Buddhist reflections on the unity of all things.”
"Patience" by Daniel Clowes
Max Acute
photographer
“The story is about the attempts of a simple guy, Jack Barlow, to save his beloved with the help of a time machine. Drawn in a strange mixture of psychedelia and brutalism, populated by not very pleasant, gruff characters, Close's new comic demonstrates the power and simplicity of love - a force that can subjugate both circumstances and time. Fantastic motifs here are not a metaphor or an end in themselves, but a way to emphasize the value of every second of life. "Patience is a poignant and very purposeful story that clearly knows what it wants to convey to the reader."
Publishing house Bumbook, Moscow, 2016, translation by A. Zolnikova
"Peripherals" by William Gibson
Max Acute:“Before us is the usual Gibson - a chain of short chapters, gradually intertwined into one big story. Unlike the “Blue Ant Trilogy,” the action of “Devices” is moved to a more distant future - and the impression of the described world makes about the same impression as, probably, “Neuromancer” in 1984. There are semi-clandestine 3D printing factories here; here reality mimics video games; A garbage patch has formed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and, in turn, gave birth to a microcivilization - this is a strange world of high technology and low living standards. Descriptions of such an archeology of the future - woven from the fragments of things that have not yet been made, the sprouts of cultural and social phenomena that have barely broken through in our time, the evolved network argot - Gibson's strong point, the area in which he has no equal."
“Personal Detective” by Vladimir Pokrovsky
Sergey Shikarev:“Vladimir Pokrovsky is one of the leaders of the “fourth wave” of Russian science fiction - a wave that declared itself back in the eighties of the last century. And “Personal Detective” is old-fashioned in a good way. Unlike many modern SF novels that offer the reader honest entertainment in the world of the future, Pokrovsky’s new novel recalls the famous maxim of the Strugatsky brothers, according to which “thinking is not entertainment, but a duty.” Donizetti Walchow's adventures on the planet Paris 100 begin as a cunning confrontation between a trickster and the artificial intelligence that controls the planet, but soon turns into a detailed and very revealing exploration of the nature of power, computer or human.
Publishing house Krot, Lipetsk, 2013
"The Rose and the Worm" by Robert Ibatullin
Boris Nevsky:“A large-scale drama about humanity surviving an alien attack, which, having overcome difficulties, managed to create a developed civilization. But the competition between the people of the Moon, Venus and Mars led the descendants of earthlings to the danger of self-destruction. The novel is written in the tradition of modern science fiction, reminiscent of the works of Alastair Reynolds and Peter Watts. Despite a number of shortcomings, the book compares favorably with the usual domestic SF of an entertaining nature. And it’s not without reason that the novel received several genre awards, becoming a kind of first sign of the revival of serious science fiction in Russia.”
"Servants of Justice" by Anne Leckie
Grisha Prorokov:“Anne Leckie is perhaps the main debutant in science fiction in recent years. Actually, she tried to write about ten years ago, but she didn’t have much success; she ended up becoming a housewife, starting a family, and when the children grew up, she got bored and came up with Servants of Justice. This is a story about the distant future, in which space is ruled by the powerful Radch Empire. They fly on ships controlled by officers, and the rest of the crew are literally the devastated bodies of captured criminals, into which collective artificial intelligence is loaded (yes, it sounds very strange, but the book is just that - strange). The main character is a girl obsessed with a thirst for revenge named Brek, who was part (literally) of the ship Toren's Justice. One of the most unusual science fiction books of recent times - of course, it has already turned into a whole trilogy."
"Glass Jack" by Adam Roberts
Sergey Shikarev:“Glass Jack is the greatest criminal in the solar system and its environs. Everyone knows about his crimes, but no one knows his face. The novel plays on classic plots: an escape from a prison (located, by the way, inside an asteroid), a murder with a limited circle of suspects, and a murder in a closed room. But the usual whodunit theme is not the main thing here. Adam Roberts, a British professor of 19th-century literature, uses crime stories to take a poignant look at the future of human society, exposing its shortcomings and proposing a solution to almost every problem. Traditionally for science fiction, this is the technology of travel faster than the speed of light."
"Echopraxia" by Peter Watts
Sergey Shikarev:“The continuation of the famous “False Blindness,” which caused a lot of hype among science fiction fans and those who usually don’t read it. If in the first book the writer addressed issues of free will, the nature of consciousness, and the evolution of Homo sapiens, this time Watts upped the ante: “Echopraxia” is dedicated to the search for God. The sequel follows the outline of the first part, and the main character, in a very strange company, again goes to meet with an alien ship. However, the plot twists and turns quickly recede into the background before the clash of scientific and religious worldviews. As usual, Watts constructs grandiose and compelling intellectual structures and, as usual, concludes the book with an appendix describing modern scientific hypotheses that support his point of view.
"Luna: New Moon" by Ian MacDonald
Sergey Nemalevich:“The sophisticated space saga of the colonization of the Moon by five oligarchic dynasties is less an ode to progress than an attempt to imagine what a near-future society might look like, literally encased in a glass sphere in a vacuum. Ian MacDonald’s 2015 novel has already been called “cosmic,” and this is a fair comparison, given the author’s love for multi-layered political intrigue and mass murder of the main characters. However, it is even more logical to remember Frank Herbert’s Dune. The main disadvantage of “Moon”: while you remember the names of several dozen main characters and the details of their complex relationships, half the novel passes, and everything ends in the most interesting place. The second part is due out in March 2017.”
"The Last Days of New Paris" by China Miéville
Max Acute:“A book that doesn’t sound very decent in its retelling: the year is 1950, Paris is under a fascist blockade, the streets of the city are filled with images from the paintings of surrealist artists that have come to life as a result of the C-explosion, and they are accompanied by demons from hell. However, the elegance and liveliness of Mieville's style allows this panopticon to seem not in bad taste, but as an inspired and sincere embodiment of surrealist manifestos. Miéville was already adding (literally) a new dimension to detective noir and rewriting the cultural topography of different cities - now he turns to the adventurous front-line novel, immersing it in the strangest, most unexpected settings - and this gives the story an amazing vividness.
"The Sandman: Overture" by Neil Gaiman and J. G. Williams III
Max Acute:“The backstory of the Sandman comic book series is perhaps not the brightest work of the storyteller, but it is an absolutely incredible work of the artist. The latter is trying not so much to reinvent the comic as to overload it, to bring this art form to its maximum speed. Each page here is a phenomenon of seemingly impossible composition, impossible layout, impossible colors. Not a book, but a portal to other dimensions, a unique, changeable and unconscious cast of the world of dreams, dreams and imagination.”
"The Three-Body Problem" by Liu Cixin
Boris Nevsky:“The novel was published in China ten years ago - but who in the world has even heard of Chinese science fiction? That’s why the book exploded, becoming an international bestseller, only after it was translated into English in 2014. This is a very clever, intricate and fascinating thriller, which centers on contact with alien intelligence. Moreover, Liu introduced into the book many references to both Western science fiction and Chinese history, philosophy and culture. After the novel sensationally won the Hugo Award, the main award for American (!) science fiction, its upcoming film adaptation became inevitable. The film by Chinese director Zhang Fanfan has been announced for July 2017.”
Release year: 2001.
Genre: fantasy.
What is the book about?: A phlegmatic big man named Shadow is released from prison and immediately finds himself in the midst of supernatural events. Pagan gods from all over the world gather in the United States under the guise of ordinary people to decide their future fate. They are weakening, their age is coming to an end under the onslaught of new technologies. But the ancient deities are not at all willing to give in. A storm is coming, and the Shadow has an important role to play.
In 2017, the long-awaited television adaptation of American Gods will premiere on the Starz channel.
Release year: 2003.
Genre: fantasy.
What is the book about?: "Paladin of Souls" continues the story of Queen Ista, a minor heroine of the novel "The Curse of Chalion." Therefore, it is advisable to read the sequel after reading the first book.
The action takes place in a fictional world similar to ours in the Middle Ages, but with magic and fantastic creatures. Having experienced all the cruelty of the local people and gods, Ista goes on a pilgrimage to heal her spiritual wounds. But this path will not be easy.
Release year: 2004.
Genre: fantasy.
What is the book about?: Alternative England, XIX century. For many years, magic has been considered exhausted, wizards have become parodies of their former selves. But everything changes with the appearance of two practicing magicians.
Meanwhile, England finds itself on the verge of war, and the return of magic to the country attracts dark forces. And instead of solving problems together, sorcerers have different attitudes towards magic and see each other only as rivals.
In 2015, BBC One released a film of the same name, based on the plot of the novel.
Release year: 2005.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: A mysterious sphere appeared around the Earth, which separated the planet from space. Moreover, time under this shell, nicknamed spin, began to run much slower than outside its boundaries.
The sun shines differently, satellites fall, and stars disappear somewhere from the night skies. This phenomenon completely changes people’s lives, as the main character of the book, doctor Tyler Dupre, talks about in detail.
Release year: 2006.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: In the near future, the line between reality and becomes almost invisible. Information networks permeate all spheres of human life, which creates new opportunities and at the same time carries unprecedented risks. Thus, a serious vulnerability in technology threatens the free will of all humanity. All hope lies with the technophobic poet Robert Gu, who, after years of oblivion, recovered from Alzheimer's disease.
Release year: 2007.
Genre: alternative history.
What is the book about?: According to the plot, Israel was destroyed by war in the middle of the last century, and Jews settled in temporary autonomy in the northern United States. At the beginning of the novel, the lease on American lands expires, forcing the citizens of the settlement to look for new places.
Against the backdrop of these events, a detective story is rapidly developing: Jewish policeman Meir Landsman is investigating a mysterious murder. Over time, things take a very unexpected turn.
Release year: 2008.
Genre: fantasy.
What is the book about?: Another magical one about the boy who lived. Only instead of Hogwarts, after the murder of his family, the young hero ends up in a cemetery. Here, among vampires, werewolves, ghosts and other otherworldly creatures, the guy finds guardians, friends and mentors. Only by experiencing the kingdom of the dead can he return to the world of the living.
Release year: 2009.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: A brutal murder occurs in the fictional Eastern European city of Bescel. The case is assigned to local detective Tjador Borl. It leads the inspector to Ul Qoma, a nearby progressive city that surreally merges in space with Beshel. The politics and culture of settlements have long been at odds with each other, which is why a seemingly trivial investigation threatens to turn into a nightmare.
Release year: 2009.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: A global catastrophe has changed living conditions on Earth: part of the land is flooded by the ocean, traditional energy resources are depleted, technology runs on mainsprings.
At the same time, they are developing rapidly. People are genetically modifying their bodies, and cynical bio-corporations are fighting for market shares. The main events take place in futuristic Thailand, where the interests of several very different people intersect.
Release year: 2012.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: Young xenobiologist Andrew Dahl always wanted to serve on the Intrepid, the elite ship of the Universal Union. His dream came true. But on board the honorary spaceship, the guy realizes that something is wrong here. In each mission, minor crew members die, and the officers miraculously get away with it. Having solved the riddle of the ship, Andrew and his colleagues decide to take risks in order to get out alive.
Release year: 2013.
Genre: Science fiction.
What is the book about?: Once upon a time, the body of a woman, now called Brack, along with other bodies, was connected to a sentient spaceship of the Radcha Empire. Together they formed a complex hive mind.
But due to betrayal, the ship was destroyed, and Brack became the only part of the system that managed to escape. Now she is looking for the culprits to take revenge.
My personal perception:
- Strugatskys - read everything, start with “Monday begins on Saturday”, “Roadside Picnic”, “It’s Hard to Be a God”
- Harrison - the series “Steel Rat”, “World of Death” and the novel “Fantastic Saga”. If you like this, then you can read the rest. And God forbid you start with the series “Bill - Hero of the Galaxy”. Yes, it has practically nothing to do with “science” fiction.
- Bradbury is a pseudo-philosophy greatly inflated by PR. All books are a complete lack of logic and common sense. In addition, the books were very outdated “technically”, and even in the “new” form they were unreadable for techies due to the presence of a huge number of technical mistakes. For those who have not read, Fahrenheit 451 is the most interesting for a first acquaintance. Dystopia, blunders are not so visible, well, it’s already a shame not to read the classics of science fiction. The scientific content of the books is zero, social - yes, scientific - no.
- Asimov - science fiction, undoubtedly scientific, but very outdated. Moreover, it is outdated not because we can do what is described in books, but because it has been proven and explored that it is impossible to do this, or it is unprofitable, or there is no need for it. If you ignore the “technical” details and absurdities, then you can read it, but at the moment it’s not so interesting. It’s worth starting with cycles about robots; there are still interesting stories there. "Foundation" - only for fans of Asimov
- Arthur Clarke is a very strong writer. A true SF, a classic of the genre. It’s still worth starting not with the Odyssey, but with the novels “The Sands of Mars” and “Moon Dust”
- John Wyndham. Day of the Triffids. - an excellent disaster novel. What is written about an “older” time does not interfere at all. To follow up, I can recommend John Christopher’s Death of Grass.
- Frank Herbert. Dune. - This, of course, is a whole era. But it has nothing to do with SF. I would call it Fantasy in a SF setting. The book is interesting, but very much for everyone. Either you like it or you don’t.
- Flowers for Algernon. Daniel Keyes - Yes, a must read. It's more of a social issue, but it also belongs to the SF.
- Belyaev should be read in full. SF without a doubt. It is a little outdated, but even now it is very relevant, and the ideas are very interesting. Classic
- Lukyanenko and Bushkov are very interesting books, but not SF at all. If Lukyanenko is still somewhere somehow, then Bushkov is a complete failure in this regard. Action films and space adventurers (sometimes virtual adventurers). Lukyanenko’s most successful are the cycles “Deeptown” and “Lord from Planet Earth”, as well as the novel “No Time for Dragons” co-authored with Perumov
- Heinlein - yes. Cool. It can be classified as SF with a big stretch, but still. It’s worth starting with “Stepsons of the Universe”, “Double Star”, “The Moon is Rigidly Falling”, “Door to Summer” (a must!), “Star Beast”, “I have a spacesuit - I’m ready to travel”, “Space Rangers” (exactly in this translation), "Martian Podkein". It should be added that all the film adaptations of his books are very crap and only confuse science fiction fans and anger Heinlein fans
- Stanislav Lem. - an excellent writer. More like philosophy, but SF still exists. Solaris is definitely worth reading. I can add to the reading list: "Tales of the Pilot Pirx" (technically outdated, otherwise not), "Eden", "Invincible". If you like this, feel free to read everything from Lem - you won’t regret it
- Martin is a very average writer, nevertheless very popular. It has a very distant relationship with SF. "Desert Kings" is one of his most powerful works.
- Simak is a very strong author, but again, not SF at all. Although he is considered the founding father of American SF. But you need to read everything.
- Dan Simmons - very powerful, exciting, but not for everyone.
Not in the review of excellent Soviet SF authors:
- Obruchev - "Plutonia, Sannikov Land"
- Kazantsev - cycles Georgy Sedov, "Polar Confrontation", "Planet of Storms"
- Snegov - cycle “People are like gods”
- Pavlov - cycle “Moon Rainbow”
- Nemtsov is a short-range fantasy, much has already been accomplished, but nevertheless
- Georgy Martynov - “Starfarers”, “Guest from the Abyss”, “Callisto”, “Time Spiral”
- Adamov - “Winners of the Subsoil”, “The Secret of Two Oceans”
- Evgeny Voiskunsky, Isai Lukodyanov (“Ur, son of Sham” is one of my favorite books)
- and many others.
And from imported ones:
- Where is Jules Verne?
- Larry Niven "Ringworld"
- Paul Anderson. I can’t say that it’s strongly SF, but it’s much closer to many of those presented.
- etc.
