tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post446953904711101866..comments2024-03-26T17:54:54.592+01:00Comments on Speculiction...: Review of Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris StrugatskyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-38257083235796811422013-09-27T10:28:36.426+02:002013-09-27T10:28:36.426+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-76079354313877276882013-09-21T12:19:52.910+02:002013-09-21T12:19:52.910+02:00If the definition of "esoteric" were eve...If the definition of "esoteric" were ever in doubt, I think "Soviet era sci-fi" would right the ship, no? :) <br /><br />So yeah, I've never heard of Voinovich. What's his story? Is he using the power of sf to subvert and deconstruct the Soviet juggernaut, or does he have other pretensions?Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-75781106324967344982013-09-20T19:02:58.317+02:002013-09-20T19:02:58.317+02:00I'e recently ordered, from Amazon, the 1986 So...I'e recently ordered, from Amazon, the 1986 Soviet novel <i>Moscow 2042</i> by Vladimir Voinovich, of literary fame from <i>The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin</i> (1969-1975), which I have not read, and <i>The Ivankiad</i> (1976), which was as humorous as it was poignant. One of my hobbies is reading Soviet-era travel literature, so an offshoot has been to read Soviet-era SF literature. It's hard to come by!2theDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458136942599361822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-53005363536365191372013-09-15T07:34:04.658+02:002013-09-15T07:34:04.658+02:00I have seen Stalker and think that for as subtle a...I have seen <i>Stalker</i> and think that for as subtle as it is compared to the book, is equally successful. The Strugatskys working with Tarkovsky, the film is simply three men going into the Zone on a scavenging hunt. Interestingly, there is not one ounce of the supernatural. Everything implied, dialogue and cinematography carry the film, and in the end is such a different creation than the novel, each can be appreciated in their own right.<br /><br />Regarding the translation, I read the SF Masterworks version which does indeed feature Bouis' work. I note, however, a new translation came available in 2012 (a Rediscovered Classic by Chicago Review Press) and includes an intro by Le Guin. I would be interested in, and perhaps yourself also, checking it out.<br /><br />And lastly, thanks for the indirect recommendation on <i>World Soul</i>. I've not heard of the authors, but there is indeed some element of Slavic sci-fi that draws me in, also. Getting hold of a book from 1978, well, that will be a challenge in itself. :)Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-67779167913008236772013-09-15T01:48:34.891+02:002013-09-15T01:48:34.891+02:00Roadside Picnic is on my must-read list, just as T...<i>Roadside Picnic</i> is on my must-read list, just as Tarkovsky's film version, <i>Stalker,</i> is on my must-see list. I've read the Bouis translation of Emtsev and Parnov's 1964 novel, <i>World Soul</i> (Macmillan <i>Best of Soviet SF</i> series, 1978), and it left me with a taste for more Eastern SF. Something about Lem, et al., clicks with me. Perhaps because I'm the first-generation American son of Polish emigres, and a bit of Slavic culture is in my blood, or rather, feels familiar because of my upbringing.Tom Heringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12350251957104818496noreply@blogger.com