Thread: Russian Science Fiction - Recommended books?

Originally Posted by it-ogo

For me the most prominent person in old American SF is Ursula Le Guin. Not much sexim I believe - she was a feminist. Though even feminism in those times was different.

I LOVED the Earthsea saga as a kid. Particularly the one about the girl who was a priestess over a labyrinth. Probably read that about 5 times.
But I've only read one adult book by her. Christmas gift, I think it was called "Playing human" or something like that. Didn't really get into it. Based on your approval that will definitely change!

Originally Posted by Hanna

I LOVED the Earthsea saga as a kid. Particularly the one about the girl who was a priestess over a labyrinth. Probably read that about 5 times.
But I've only read one adult book by her. Christmas gift, I think it was called "Playing human" or something like that. Didn't really get into it. Based on your approval that will definitely change!

There is a general opinion that her best work is "The Left Hand of Darkness". On me personally the strongest influence had "City of illusions". Her books are very poetic and in the same time they discuss some problems that are or can become actual - that's what makes her books classic SF.

In the google list - yes, there are some Polish translations and few duplicates.

In the list:
Strugatsky - the best of Soviet SF. Good literary quality though I don't remember women among their central heroes.
Lukyanenko - the most popular post-soviet SF.
Dyachenko (actualy married co-authors) - reputation of intellectual writing but I find them pretentious rather than meaningful.
Bulychov - Soviet times. I found him not enough serious mostly.
"METRO" series - Postapocalipsis. I didn't read.

Small offtopic. For me the best SF writer forever and ever is Polish Stanislaw Lem. He's not only the brilliant writer but also a futurologist. His main work in futurology Summa Technologiae issued in 1964 was a Bible of Soviet technichal intelligentsia and I believe it is not obsolete in a single letter even now. In 2013 it finally got the first English edition:

• Lem, Stanisław (2013). Summa technologiae. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816675767.