Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Moskvo, Impeto
Description
Don Rumata has been sent from Earth to the medieval kingdom of Arkanar with instructions to observe and to save what he can. Masquerading as an arrogant nobleman, a dueler, and a brawler, he is never defeated, but yet he can never kill. With his doubt and compassion, and his deep love for a local girl named Kira, Rumata wants to save the kingdom from the machinations of Don Reba, the first minister to the king. But given his orders, what role can he play? This long overdue translation will reintroduce one of the most profound Soviet-era novels to an eager audience.
User reviews
LibraryThing member BayardUS
I, like many people probably, read Roadside Picnic as my first Strugatsky brothers book. Like that work, Hard to Be a God has a great central premise. Members of a highly developed culture (a future Communist utopia) are on an alien world where civilization has only developed to the level of the
Ultimately, what most held the book back for me was that the stance taken by these advanced observers was unsatisfying and stripped away what could have been fun about this premise. Don Rumata and his fellow Communards split the baby in their approach to the planet, not remaining pure observers but not conducting any significant intervention either. Instead they operate in the shadows, an alien illuminati attempting to slowly manipulate things for the better. I don't remember it ever being explained why the observers fully revealing themselves would have been a bad thing- one observer discusses how the modest technological advancements he's introduced have been warped to nefarious ends, but the only reasons we get for why there isn't larger-scale intervention are nebulous explanations about not wanting to be worshipped as gods, not wanting to breed helplessness, and not wanting to usurp the world's development. The usurpation point is belied by the fact that the observers are intervening at all, I never found the helplessness point convincing, and there's no justification for why the observers telling the truth wouldn't be worth a try. The Prime Directive of Star Trek stems from the belief that imposing your own views on less developed civilizations is unjustifiable- here, where Communism is presented and believed by the characters to be the best and inevitable ending state of civilization, such reasoning no longer holds.
Even with the (what I would call) muddled approach that the characters of Hard to Be a God take, the premise still has the possibility for some fun, but the Strugatsky brothers steadfastly deny us the type of enjoyable scenes that the book could have given us- there's no scene where the brutish soldiers tasked with lynching literates attack Don Rumata and find their swords bouncing uselessly off his forcefield, there's no scene where Don Rumata calls down his helicopters to the amazement of the city's populace, there's no scene where Don Rumata blasts holes the walls of the Merry Tower to save his friend from torture. Even when the antagonist reveals that he believes Don Rumata has made a deal with demons for his wealth and fighting prowess, Rumata does nothing fun with it. Instead, the Strugatsky brothers maintain the bleak tone throughout, apparently believing that having any fun with the premise would detract from this book being serious literature. Perhaps they were right, but they do make this a terribly dull read in the process. The Zone's tension and mystery made reading Roadside picnic a pleasure, and Hard to Be a God gives us nothing comparable. If they didn't want to make it pulpier, the Strugatsky brothers had to give us something else, and the observations that even with god-like power it's hard to make people behave how you want them to just doesn't cut it.
Hard to Be a God does not have a premise that can carry a story like The Zone did in Roadside Picnic, and unfortunately the Strugatsky brothers are middling when it comes to prose and ability to craft interesting characters. If the intriguing premise has hooked you, give it a try (it's a quick read), but I'd recommend that you temper your expectations: it's a solid piece of science fiction, but to me it rises no higher than that, I can already tell that soon I'll barely remember it.
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middle ages. What should they do with their vastly more advanced technology and understanding of both the material world and the human condition? What can they do, even with that power? It's an intriguing situation, still interesting despite having been explored by many sci-fi books and TV shows like Star Trek and its ilk since the book's original publication. Unlike Roadside Picnic, however, the premise of Hard to Be a God does not lead to a great setting and a plot centered on exploring that setting. Instead, Hard to Be a God gives us a setting that is an amalgam of feudal history and fantasy genre tropes that isn't bad, but isn't particularly memorable either. There are still interesting ideas here, explored to a slightly greater depth than most science-fiction goes, but by the end of the book those ideas are being delivered rather bluntly, and the book delivers no revelation or satisfying insight about them.Ultimately, what most held the book back for me was that the stance taken by these advanced observers was unsatisfying and stripped away what could have been fun about this premise. Don Rumata and his fellow Communards split the baby in their approach to the planet, not remaining pure observers but not conducting any significant intervention either. Instead they operate in the shadows, an alien illuminati attempting to slowly manipulate things for the better. I don't remember it ever being explained why the observers fully revealing themselves would have been a bad thing- one observer discusses how the modest technological advancements he's introduced have been warped to nefarious ends, but the only reasons we get for why there isn't larger-scale intervention are nebulous explanations about not wanting to be worshipped as gods, not wanting to breed helplessness, and not wanting to usurp the world's development. The usurpation point is belied by the fact that the observers are intervening at all, I never found the helplessness point convincing, and there's no justification for why the observers telling the truth wouldn't be worth a try. The Prime Directive of Star Trek stems from the belief that imposing your own views on less developed civilizations is unjustifiable- here, where Communism is presented and believed by the characters to be the best and inevitable ending state of civilization, such reasoning no longer holds.
Even with the (what I would call) muddled approach that the characters of Hard to Be a God take, the premise still has the possibility for some fun, but the Strugatsky brothers steadfastly deny us the type of enjoyable scenes that the book could have given us- there's no scene where the brutish soldiers tasked with lynching literates attack Don Rumata and find their swords bouncing uselessly off his forcefield, there's no scene where Don Rumata calls down his helicopters to the amazement of the city's populace, there's no scene where Don Rumata blasts holes the walls of the Merry Tower to save his friend from torture. Even when the antagonist reveals that he believes Don Rumata has made a deal with demons for his wealth and fighting prowess, Rumata does nothing fun with it. Instead, the Strugatsky brothers maintain the bleak tone throughout, apparently believing that having any fun with the premise would detract from this book being serious literature. Perhaps they were right, but they do make this a terribly dull read in the process. The Zone's tension and mystery made reading Roadside picnic a pleasure, and Hard to Be a God gives us nothing comparable. If they didn't want to make it pulpier, the Strugatsky brothers had to give us something else, and the observations that even with god-like power it's hard to make people behave how you want them to just doesn't cut it.
Hard to Be a God does not have a premise that can carry a story like The Zone did in Roadside Picnic, and unfortunately the Strugatsky brothers are middling when it comes to prose and ability to craft interesting characters. If the intriguing premise has hooked you, give it a try (it's a quick read), but I'd recommend that you temper your expectations: it's a solid piece of science fiction, but to me it rises no higher than that, I can already tell that soon I'll barely remember it.
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LibraryThing member RobertDay
'Hard to be a God' by the Strugatsky brothers was first published in 1964, and my previous copy, read many years ago, was an early 1970s translation from Wendayne and Forrest Ackermann, no less. However, that edition was actually a secondary translation from a German (probably East German) edition;
Originally conceived as a somewhat baroque 'Three Musketeers'-style adventure, what we have is a story of human observers on a late-Medieval stage planet. They are placed for long periods in the target society, and their movements are recorded and transmitted back to Earth. We follow Anton, in his assumed persona of Don Rumata, a well-placed nobleman. Although there is no cast-iron Prime Directive in the novel, Don Rumata and his colleagues are aware of their duty. They are there to observe, not to intervene - at least, not in any sort of significant way. Obviously, by just being in the society and living within it, they do affect that society in some way; and when they see the society turning towards a repressive regime, they take surreptitious steps to alleviate the condition of some of the oppressed - people who they have identified as key individuals in the development of society in terms of arts, literature and science, spiriting them away to another country on the same world.
This is what distinguishes this novel from a similar plot line in a Western novel. The Strugstaskys were brought up within the Soviet system and its underlying Marxist philosophy, that societies pass through various stages - feudal, capitalistic and so on - on the way to the perfected end state, socialism. Marxism taught that this progression was inevitable merely through the progress of human development; therefore, by making comparatively minor interventions, Don Rumata and his colleagues are merely maintaining the overall progress of the alien society towards its inevitable conclusion.
That's not to say that this novel is some sort of Communistic tract; far from it. There's a perfectly good adventure story sitting front and centre and the reader is completely caught up in the derring-do, especially as Don Rumata is a fine swordsman - though he was taught all the techniques of swordsmanship known to Earth, and so displays skill that is way beyond his opponents. But this does not make him invulnerable. Neither does he possess secret trappings of super-science; apart from a secret stash of medicines, a stab vest superior to the local chainmail and a hidden transmutation machine so he can create gold coins to pay his way, he is required to survive by his wits. His humanistic traits are dismissed by the locals as merely the acceptable eccentricities of a member of the nobility, and Don Rumata plays them perfectly straight, and is quite capable of playing the feudal lord when it suits him. And there is no mother-ship waiting to yank him out of trouble; we find that plenty of observers have been caught out and killed in the history of alien observation; but the observers know and accept the risks.
Along the way, Anton/Don Rumata has cause to question what he and his colleagues are doing, and why; some of these ruminations are those that were toned down for the original Soviet publication. The overall effect is of a very human character, in a very realistic setting. That setting certainly isn't an identikit MedievalWorld (TM) one; other lives are appropriately nasty, brutish and short.
I have made a brief comparison between this text and the earlier translation. The language in the earlier version is far less polished and quite awkward at times. The newer translation is a far more fluent production, and indeed manages to convey a wry sense of humour at times. Anyone who already possesses a copy of the earlier version should acquire this new edition and find out what they have been missing, as the new text does make the story spring off the page.
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what was more, it was sourced from the published novel, and so had been through the hands of the Soviet censors. This review is based on a more recent translation by Olena Bormashenko, made in 2014 from the original manuscript and published (in the UK) in Gollancz's 'SF Masterworks' series, which deserves major credit for keeping back-list sf in circulation. It has an introduction by Ken Macleod, which gives some perspective as to the political environment that the book was first published in; and an afterword by Boris Strugatsky which recounts in more detail the political events within the Soviet writing community at the time.Originally conceived as a somewhat baroque 'Three Musketeers'-style adventure, what we have is a story of human observers on a late-Medieval stage planet. They are placed for long periods in the target society, and their movements are recorded and transmitted back to Earth. We follow Anton, in his assumed persona of Don Rumata, a well-placed nobleman. Although there is no cast-iron Prime Directive in the novel, Don Rumata and his colleagues are aware of their duty. They are there to observe, not to intervene - at least, not in any sort of significant way. Obviously, by just being in the society and living within it, they do affect that society in some way; and when they see the society turning towards a repressive regime, they take surreptitious steps to alleviate the condition of some of the oppressed - people who they have identified as key individuals in the development of society in terms of arts, literature and science, spiriting them away to another country on the same world.
This is what distinguishes this novel from a similar plot line in a Western novel. The Strugstaskys were brought up within the Soviet system and its underlying Marxist philosophy, that societies pass through various stages - feudal, capitalistic and so on - on the way to the perfected end state, socialism. Marxism taught that this progression was inevitable merely through the progress of human development; therefore, by making comparatively minor interventions, Don Rumata and his colleagues are merely maintaining the overall progress of the alien society towards its inevitable conclusion.
That's not to say that this novel is some sort of Communistic tract; far from it. There's a perfectly good adventure story sitting front and centre and the reader is completely caught up in the derring-do, especially as Don Rumata is a fine swordsman - though he was taught all the techniques of swordsmanship known to Earth, and so displays skill that is way beyond his opponents. But this does not make him invulnerable. Neither does he possess secret trappings of super-science; apart from a secret stash of medicines, a stab vest superior to the local chainmail and a hidden transmutation machine so he can create gold coins to pay his way, he is required to survive by his wits. His humanistic traits are dismissed by the locals as merely the acceptable eccentricities of a member of the nobility, and Don Rumata plays them perfectly straight, and is quite capable of playing the feudal lord when it suits him. And there is no mother-ship waiting to yank him out of trouble; we find that plenty of observers have been caught out and killed in the history of alien observation; but the observers know and accept the risks.
Along the way, Anton/Don Rumata has cause to question what he and his colleagues are doing, and why; some of these ruminations are those that were toned down for the original Soviet publication. The overall effect is of a very human character, in a very realistic setting. That setting certainly isn't an identikit MedievalWorld (TM) one; other lives are appropriately nasty, brutish and short.
I have made a brief comparison between this text and the earlier translation. The language in the earlier version is far less polished and quite awkward at times. The newer translation is a far more fluent production, and indeed manages to convey a wry sense of humour at times. Anyone who already possesses a copy of the earlier version should acquire this new edition and find out what they have been missing, as the new text does make the story spring off the page.
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LibraryThing member questbird
Agents from a future Soviet Union are embedded on a planet with a medieval government as observers. They can produce infinite wealth and have access to high-tech equipment, but they are forbidden to intervene in the affairs of state. They can only watch helplessly as intrigues slide the state into
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barbarism. Show Less
LibraryThing member vonChillan
This is not the edition I read. I read the paperback from DAW, published in 1974.
This book is one of the most amazing stories I have ever read. A rather simple sci-fi adventure tale on the surface, has so many layers it is absolutely mesmerizing. The story is about a planet whose social evolution
But history has a way to surprise even the smartest and wisest (and well intentioned to boot). And how long can you remain an spectator if all your values are being trampled?
In this era of "pushing democracy", I really think our leaders should read a history some human as this.
This book is one of the most amazing stories I have ever read. A rather simple sci-fi adventure tale on the surface, has so many layers it is absolutely mesmerizing. The story is about a planet whose social evolution
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is carefully monitored and guided by people from Earth, that have to keep their real identities secret, so to just gently direct, but not pressure the locals to a more "advanced" stage. But history has a way to surprise even the smartest and wisest (and well intentioned to boot). And how long can you remain an spectator if all your values are being trampled?
In this era of "pushing democracy", I really think our leaders should read a history some human as this.
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LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: Don Rumata has been sent from Earth to the medieval kingdom of Arkanar with instructions to observe and to save what he can. Masquerading as an arrogant nobleman, a dueler, and a brawler, he is never defeated, but yet he can never kill. With his doubt and
My Review: It's hard to review a world-famous classic. I have to think the translation is faithful because it captures a voice that lesser translators more often than not miss entirely. The standard adventure plot is fun. In common with a lot of SF written in that era, we don't get a lot of well-drawn characters; in this case only one, Don Rumata himself.
What makes this a classic, then? It would raise few eyebrows today, if it was a new publication. That it is 52 years old makes all the difference; that it is an excellent example of its niche solidifies the place History has given it.
But anyone not already caught in the tentacles of the SF Cthulhu monster might want to pass by without slowing down too much.
The Publisher Says: Don Rumata has been sent from Earth to the medieval kingdom of Arkanar with instructions to observe and to save what he can. Masquerading as an arrogant nobleman, a dueler, and a brawler, he is never defeated, but yet he can never kill. With his doubt and
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compassion, and his deep love for a local girl named Kira, Rumata wants to save the kingdom from the machinations of Don Reba, the first minister to the king. But given his orders, what role can he play? This long overdue translation will reintroduce one of the most profound Soviet-era novels to an eager audience.My Review: It's hard to review a world-famous classic. I have to think the translation is faithful because it captures a voice that lesser translators more often than not miss entirely. The standard adventure plot is fun. In common with a lot of SF written in that era, we don't get a lot of well-drawn characters; in this case only one, Don Rumata himself.
What makes this a classic, then? It would raise few eyebrows today, if it was a new publication. That it is 52 years old makes all the difference; that it is an excellent example of its niche solidifies the place History has given it.
But anyone not already caught in the tentacles of the SF Cthulhu monster might want to pass by without slowing down too much.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Fascinating and important work. Published in 1964, I feel that it may have been an influence on, or at least a precursor to, many of my favorite books. I saw thematic similarities with some of Iain Banks’ Culture novels, especially Inversions, and Kage Baker’s Company series.
The story deals
There’s a lot going on in the relatively brief book. Anton, while maintaining his cover identity as Don Rumata, tries to balance his ethics against the demands of his job. His attempts to rescue the scientists and artists that he sees as the lights of hope in a dark and ignorant world make for an exciting story. But it’s also very philosophical, exploring the ramifications of a non-interference policy, the tendency toward abuse of power, and the nature of humanity.
It’s very interesting to see science-fiction themes which I’ve seen explored from American and European perspectives many times from the point of view of Russian authors. Here, the advanced, peaceful and free society which the researchers are from is, of course, one where the ideals of communism have come to full fruition. I wished I could see more of that world – and may have to seek out some of the Strugatsky brothers’ other books to explore further. However, their vision is not all starry-eyed: the world of Arkanar and its Inquisitorial brutalities are very clearly parallel to abuses and purges from Russia’s history.
Highly recommended – both as a great reading experience, and for anyone interested in the various facets of science fiction as a genre.
Copy provided by NetGalley - thanks for bringing this book to my attention! As always, my opinion is purely my own.
The story deals
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with a ‘deep’ agent from an advanced civilization, who is supposed to observe and record the feudal society he’s been planted in, without interfering. However, the society he’s working in is on the verge of a shift from feudalism to fascism. Purges of intellectuals are increasing, and the agent finds it harder and harder to maintain any kind of objectivity. Meanwhile, he also battles the tendency to lose sight of his identity; he finds himself becoming more and more like the callous, boorish aristocrat he is impersonating. But he also finds himself truly caring for his native lover…There’s a lot going on in the relatively brief book. Anton, while maintaining his cover identity as Don Rumata, tries to balance his ethics against the demands of his job. His attempts to rescue the scientists and artists that he sees as the lights of hope in a dark and ignorant world make for an exciting story. But it’s also very philosophical, exploring the ramifications of a non-interference policy, the tendency toward abuse of power, and the nature of humanity.
It’s very interesting to see science-fiction themes which I’ve seen explored from American and European perspectives many times from the point of view of Russian authors. Here, the advanced, peaceful and free society which the researchers are from is, of course, one where the ideals of communism have come to full fruition. I wished I could see more of that world – and may have to seek out some of the Strugatsky brothers’ other books to explore further. However, their vision is not all starry-eyed: the world of Arkanar and its Inquisitorial brutalities are very clearly parallel to abuses and purges from Russia’s history.
Highly recommended – both as a great reading experience, and for anyone interested in the various facets of science fiction as a genre.
Copy provided by NetGalley - thanks for bringing this book to my attention! As always, my opinion is purely my own.
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LibraryThing member Bridgey
My second book by the Strugatsky brothers, and while I didn't really love Roadside Picnic I felt it was good enough to try another before I decided whether to avoid them in future or not. I can safely say this will be my last.
Hard to be a God has a storyline that I really thought would interest me.
Firstly the positives, I fully appreciate this was a book written under an Iron soviet rule and the plot is a veiled representation of the regime people had to live under. Therefore they were restricted in what they could write to get past the censors and also needed to make the criticisms fairly identifiable but without being too obvious. The plot idea was original for the time written and surely would have created an interest as the world starts to look to the skies and the unknown of space etc.
For some reason, and I fully appreciate I am in the minority as there are many reviews shouting the praises of Hard to be a God, I just hated it. I found the plot irregular, far too many characters and pages and pages of babble. This was one of the rare occasions when I could actually read a full page and be none the wiser about what I had just read. It literally bored me to tears. Confession time, I read around 2 thirds and then cast it aside, so maybe there was some sort of epiphany moment in the last 80 pages, but I will never find out, and if I am honest I pretty much doubt it.
Hard to be a God has a storyline that I really thought would interest me.
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An agent from an Earth set in the future travels back through time to another world to see how they are developing. He is not allowed to intervene (think Star Trek Prime Directive) no matter how much he may disagree or dislike what he sees around him. Can he continue to keep his origins a secret and not pollute the timeline?Firstly the positives, I fully appreciate this was a book written under an Iron soviet rule and the plot is a veiled representation of the regime people had to live under. Therefore they were restricted in what they could write to get past the censors and also needed to make the criticisms fairly identifiable but without being too obvious. The plot idea was original for the time written and surely would have created an interest as the world starts to look to the skies and the unknown of space etc.
For some reason, and I fully appreciate I am in the minority as there are many reviews shouting the praises of Hard to be a God, I just hated it. I found the plot irregular, far too many characters and pages and pages of babble. This was one of the rare occasions when I could actually read a full page and be none the wiser about what I had just read. It literally bored me to tears. Confession time, I read around 2 thirds and then cast it aside, so maybe there was some sort of epiphany moment in the last 80 pages, but I will never find out, and if I am honest I pretty much doubt it.
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LibraryThing member A.Godhelm
The outline of the story is pretty much a TNG episode; advanced human civilization observing life on another colony stuck at an earlier stage of development. On a deeper level, it's directly attacking Beria (almost by name, as the afterword suggests) and the faults of the soviet union, which while
Roadside Picnic remains their best so far.
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interesting from a nonfictional context doesn't make that good a story in itself. You can follow how they've tried to walk a line with what they can say without running afoul of censors, so as polemic it's also hamstrung. Roadside Picnic remains their best so far.
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LibraryThing member Zare
I picked this up in bookstore because I was intrigued by the cover. And I have to admit this was very interesting SF story that reads like blend of Time Patrol and Foundation. We follow agents from very advanced humanity civilization from planet Earth (years in the future from now) as they try to
Authors excellently portray the dilemma these agents have on how to properly direct this society when one has access to advanced technology and knowledge (they are gods in this society for all the means and purposes) but needs to remain in shadows and must not use full powers overtly. All the agents are very emphatic and first and foremost they are humans, meaning they cannot live outside their surroundings and they get touched by all the violence and hard-living conditions of the locals. When they see how society slowly starts to degrade and spiral into reminiscent of Earth's [very] dark age (all caused by unknown variable that popped up unexpectedly - person very similar to Mule from Foundation series) they have to chose whether to continue their undercover guidance from the shadows, trying to save as many people with skills and knowledge as possible, or take active role. And they know that taking active role in leading the society (organizing peasants, fighting wars and revolutions) while that same society can be easily influenced, swayed and forced on the wrong path is something that will only bring more conflict and wont solve anything in the long run.
While they try to guard the civilization they are aware that single-mindedness, superstition and complete social inflexibility cannot be so easily overcome. How does one communicate with non-compromising people that are used to violence and living under the iron ruthless rule of aristocracy. How can people that are kept under very bad conditions of life, constantly on the lookout for ruler's spies and snitches, chased because of knowledge or because of thinking that contradicts the established dogma .... how can one expect people to approach the life from different perspective. Once tyranny puts people into the ground it takes generations to create free thinking society back again.
In all honesty I did not expect the book to be so contemporary. But again considering that authors come from Russia they are more than aware how society can be easily degraded and how difficult it is to recover.
Excellent novel, translation was so good it was pure joy to read the story.
Highly recommended to all fans of SF and especially SF readers that enjoy social aspects of the story.
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subtly guide the humans living on distant planet (this seems to be a colony that is completely cutoff from Earth and is not aware of its very existence). Goal is to direct that society from existing medieval-like state towards the advancements in science and society in general so they can prosper and develop into enlightened society that can (re)establish links with Earth. Authors excellently portray the dilemma these agents have on how to properly direct this society when one has access to advanced technology and knowledge (they are gods in this society for all the means and purposes) but needs to remain in shadows and must not use full powers overtly. All the agents are very emphatic and first and foremost they are humans, meaning they cannot live outside their surroundings and they get touched by all the violence and hard-living conditions of the locals. When they see how society slowly starts to degrade and spiral into reminiscent of Earth's [very] dark age (all caused by unknown variable that popped up unexpectedly - person very similar to Mule from Foundation series) they have to chose whether to continue their undercover guidance from the shadows, trying to save as many people with skills and knowledge as possible, or take active role. And they know that taking active role in leading the society (organizing peasants, fighting wars and revolutions) while that same society can be easily influenced, swayed and forced on the wrong path is something that will only bring more conflict and wont solve anything in the long run.
While they try to guard the civilization they are aware that single-mindedness, superstition and complete social inflexibility cannot be so easily overcome. How does one communicate with non-compromising people that are used to violence and living under the iron ruthless rule of aristocracy. How can people that are kept under very bad conditions of life, constantly on the lookout for ruler's spies and snitches, chased because of knowledge or because of thinking that contradicts the established dogma .... how can one expect people to approach the life from different perspective. Once tyranny puts people into the ground it takes generations to create free thinking society back again.
In all honesty I did not expect the book to be so contemporary. But again considering that authors come from Russia they are more than aware how society can be easily degraded and how difficult it is to recover.
Excellent novel, translation was so good it was pure joy to read the story.
Highly recommended to all fans of SF and especially SF readers that enjoy social aspects of the story.
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Awards
Original publication date
1964 (original edition)
1973 (English translation)
ISBN
5-7312-0019-X / 9785731200196