Hard to be a God Review

 

Book:
Hard to be a God
Author: Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Pages: 231
Hard Core Scale: 4/4
Normal Scale: 10/10
Publish Date: 2014 (1964)
About: Don Rumata  is an observer sent  from Earth to Arkanar, where amongst the primitive, medieval  humans, there he tries to stop the scholarly and the knowledgeable from grim fate. On top of this he tries to investigate the cause of this political disruption without blowing his cover. For it is hard to be a god.


Review:

Oh the humanity, chocked full with depth and philosophy. So much to think on. Another masterpiece. Super likeable human character. Again expressing humanity in a less than optimal setting for the human sphere. It is again interesting the political backdrop of when this was written and the change of the authors' opinions of their “communist” home at the same time. Where “Roadside Picnic” contains the intense resentment 8 years later, this book still have very eager hopes in a communist future for mankind. Not that the work does not have its critique, it is just well disguised under its backdrop, it does not take a genius to see the antagonist Reba is named after Soviet chief of censorship Rebia. Arkady and Boris got lucky in that concern and had some balls. A lot easier pill to digest than Roadside, it also is far more positive. The struggle for being a “good” person is one very reflected. An interesting one in its culture between ideal self in media in a eastern and western state during the Cold War era. When an author can make his killing and not killing have as much meaning it is a sign of great depth and skill as a writer. Not the best translation as there are weird small grammatical mistakes, an editor deserves some whakkity smakkitys.

 

Note I hate this cover: Again screw this cover, a shot from the movie. A bit hypocritical of the work itself.

Hard to Be a God 2012 Cover, Chicago Review Press, Film Screen Shot.

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