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MOSCOW, November 19 (RIA Novosti) – Boris Strugatsky, the last remaining member of the legendary Russian science fiction duo best known internationally for providing the story behind Arseny Tarkovsky’s classic film Stalker, died on Monday. He was 79.
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Strugatsky was famous for authoring, together with his brother Arkady, dozens of deeply philosophical science-fiction novels critical of Soviet authorities.
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Boris Strugatsky was also moderately active as an opposition activist, accusing President Vladimir Putin of authoritarianism, opposing the jailing of Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and supporting the oppositional Yabloko party.
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Though rooted in classic Western science fiction of Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, the Strugatskys developed a unique literary style, offering crisp, laconic and literate prose imbued with societal optimism inspired by Communism, which, however, dissipated in their later writings, created as the Soviet Union staggered toward collapse.

The duo published 27 novels and novellas between 1958 and 1988, though many were edited for censorship purposes. Their works are available in 42 languages, including English, where translated titles include Far Rainbow (translated in 1979), Hard to Be God (1973) and Roadside Picnic (1977).

Did You watched Stalker?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYEfJhkPK7o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUHBgqx8YP8

Did You read something of them?


--->The brothers Arkady (Russian: Арка́дий; August 28, 1925 – October 12, 1991) and Boris (Russian: Бори́с; born April 14, 1933) Strugatsky (Russian: Струга́цкий; alternate spellings: Strugatskiy, Strugatski, Strugatskii) are Soviet-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated on their fiction.


[#img] http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqpdt ... o1_500.jpg[/img]

“Here,” he said. “From a grateful humanity.”
“I spit on your humanity. How much is there?”
— Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

I'm a big Isaac Asimov fan. But I've seen a few sci fi books and movies from Russia that are pretty good though I can't remember what they were.

I saw this the other day and didn't have time to read around more. I love Stalker (well, all of Tarkovsky). I keep intending to teach a sci fi course at some point and plan to pack it full of Soviets and other eastern europeans. I might start with Karel Čapek and build the whole course around robots of various kinds (ending with the Uncanny Valley?).

Something to do before I retire.

Blixa wrote:I love Stalker (well, all of Tarkovsky).

Sometimes I am angry at movie-makers (of all kind) because they distort/rewrite the original stories.
Tarkovsky is an exception. In the Stalker, and in the Solaris (from another eastern, Lem, who is comparable to Asimow, someway similar as...) he changes the story, while saves the spirit of the original.
by the way the Solaris ver 2002 is forgettable.

Blixa wrote:I keep intending to teach a sci fi course at some point and plan to pack it full of Soviets and other eastern europeans.

Don't left out Hungarians.
My (patriotic) hints :
Szathmáry Sándor: Kazohinia (Gulliver story, with predated Brave New World)
Karinthy Frigyes: Capillaria + Faremido (another Gulliver)
Books of Zsoldos Péter Unfortunately he - as far as I know - wasn't translated yet, You know, Hungarian is our Martian language.

Blixa wrote:I might start with Karel Čapek

... and his salamanders?

Blixa wrote:Something to do before I retire.

May I be shameless? Send me Your written material (if there will be one) about that course!

ludwigm wrote:by the way the Solaris ver 2002 is forgettable.

No Kidding. I confess I did not watch the whole movie. The original is one of best films ever.

I also love Lem.

ludwigm wrote:Don't left out Hungarians.
My (patriotic) hints :
Szathmáry Sándor: Kazohinia (Gulliver story, with predated Brave New World)
Karinthy Frigyes: Capillaria + Faremido (another Gulliver)
Books of Zsoldos Péter Unfortunately he - as far as I know - wasn't translated yet, You know, Hungarian is our Martian language.

I was hoping you would make some suggestions.

ludwigm wrote:

Blixa wrote:I might start with Karel Čapek

... and his salamanders?

LOL. Of course I was thinking of RUR.

ludwigm wrote:May I be shameless? Send me Your written material (if there will be one) about that course!

Of course! But, I have no idea when such a thing might come about. I've been collecting bits for years. I decided to go with "robots" as an organizing concept because the most interesting questions, IMHO, that science fiction can raise are about the relation of the human to his/her society (I would extend that to all of art, but in science fiction maybe these things can be arrived at more quickly and starkly). Also, I teach psychoanalysis and literature and get a lot of mileage out of Freud's essay on The Uncanny; this is a fascinating bit of work that centers on a reading of E. T. A. Hoffman's "The Sandman," which features an artificial (clockwork) woman. It is just a short hop from that to all kinds of fun things!

ETA: Also robot/golem. That is a fun connection.