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Far Rainbow / The Second Invasion from Mars

Arkady Strugatsky,

Boris Strugatsky,

Theodore Sturgeon (Introduction),

Gary Kern (Translator)

4.04 · Rating details · 217 ratings · 9 reviews

Two Soviet science fiction novels by the Strugatsky brothers. Introduction by Theodore Sturgeon.

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Paperback, 240 pages

Published October 1980 by Collier/Macmillan Publishing Co. (first published October 1967)

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Jan 29, 2012 Matus rated it it was amazing

5 stars for Far Rainbow; still uncertain where I'd place The Second Invasion from Mars.

Far Rainbow is my favorite kind of Strugatsky: bizarre physics, incredible characters, a rich and surprising plot, and (akin to PKD) an inability to measure or understand the powerful events sweeping the characters along.. (Personal note: my favorite character, Leonid, gave me words I will strive to live by: (paraphrased) "In over a hundred years of life, I've never met an unpleasant person".)

(PKD versus Strug 5 stars for Far Rainbow; still uncertain where I'd place The Second Invasion from Mars.

Far Rainbow is my favorite kind of Strugatsky: bizarre physics, incredible characters, a rich and surprising plot, and (akin to PKD) an inability to measure or understand the powerful events sweeping the characters along.. (Personal note: my favorite character, Leonid, gave me words I will strive to live by: (paraphrased) "In over a hundred years of life, I've never met an unpleasant person".)

(PKD versus Strugatsky note, since these are the only two author teams (well, single author and pair of authors) who can capture that amazing quality of real life, where you never really know anything: at any moment you are working with fairly basic models built from past events; if something really wild turns up, you are just probing in the dark, nothing works, what can you do? Anyway, with PKD, the characters involved in the catastrophe are often either weak-willed and sort of buffeted around, try to wing it; or they are egomaniacs trying to control everything, with extreme recklessness. With strugatsky, though, one also encounters competent, humble characters who, while unable to tame these beasts, are able to restore some local amount of sanity, and act as guideposts to everyone else (and the reader). In Far Rainbow, there were Leonid and Camill. If I want to get really meta, it almost seems that PKD characters are typically very selfish, which is not the case with Strugatsky..? I'm simplifying vastly but the basic feel I get from PKD is "we are screwed in the face of this", whereas from Strugatsky it is "this is amazing, we can try to work with it..".)

The Second Invasion from Mars is the kind of Strugatsky which I have trouble with, where satirizing soviet rule is the focus. Of course, it was still made interesting; it is not clear until the last paragraphs of the book whether Martians are involved, or if (as the narrator discusses) it's just a code name for a group performing a coup, and all other strange occurrences are due to rumors and inebriation (either way, it seems that the 1917 communist takeover was The First Invasion from Mars). The choice of perspective (a very old retired man) brings many things to attention which are rather crucial to the message (an effective takeover immediately placates the masses with basic things like bread & beer). Neat story, although not really my sort of thing.. ...more

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Sep 25, 2011 John Jr. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Charles Dee Mitchell, J. S.

Shelves: sf

In a blurb praising another of their novels on the back cover of this book, Ursula K. Le Guin describes the Strugatsky brothers as combining Gogol and Chekhov. You can find Gogol the satirist and Chekhov the humanist in the two novelettes contained here, and pretty evenly divided too.

In Far Rainbow, a calamity is spreading across the planet Rainbow, caused by a science experiment that’s gotten out of control. The science doesn’t really matter; it's important only insofar as any disruption in hum ...more

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Jan 17, 2021 Apocryphal rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Two novellas in one book, both by the Strugatsky brothers, with an introduction by Theodore Sturgeon. Both very different! And neither quite like any of the other Strugatsky brothers books I've read to date (Hard to be a God, Roadside Picnic, Definitely Maybe, The Dead Mountaineer's Inn, Monday Begins on Saturday)

Far Rainbow is sent on a distant colony planet of the same name. It's a science colony, through there are also some tourists and children's colonies on the planet. When a deadly 'wave' Two novellas in one book, both by the Strugatsky brothers, with an introduction by Theodore Sturgeon. Both very different! And neither quite like any of the other Strugatsky brothers books I've read to date (Hard to be a God, Roadside Picnic, Definitely Maybe, The Dead Mountaineer's Inn, Monday Begins on Saturday)

Far Rainbow is sent on a distant colony planet of the same name. It's a science colony, through there are also some tourists and children's colonies on the planet. When a deadly 'wave' approaches, a startship pilot must make some difficult choices with respect to himself, his co-pilot, the scientists on the planet, their vital research, and their children. This story is about 140 pages and more or less straight SF.

The Second Invasion from Mars is a satire, I suppose - much sillier than Far Rainbow, probably to the level of Monday Starts on Saturday. In this novel, the residents of a Greek town (it's never specified that they live in Greece, but all the personal names (Apollo, Hermione, Artemis, Charon, Pandalus, etc.) evoke ancient Greece, and Milesia and Marathon are the two places where reports of events trickle in.

At first, the second invasion from mars seems like little more than a hoax spread by rumour. The Martians themselves are not seen, and the stories that trickle in seem far fetched - that they have quickly taken over the world and the new currency is stomach juice. Our main character, Apollo, a retired astronomy teacher, doesn't believe the rumours and is more concerned with the state of his pension and collecting stamps. At one point, he figures that if the Martians had taken over, the first they they would do is issue new stamps, so he heads to the post office and the lack of Martian stamps seems to confirm his theory. Things get wilder when strange people (are they androids?) show up in strange cars and an insurrection forms, and someone tries to sell the local barkeep blue beer.

If you're new to the Strugatskys, I'd recommend starting elsewhere. But if you're making a point of exploring their work, as I am, or just happen to see it in a book store and are would like a curio, then by all means pick this one up - it's enjoyable enough. But it's not, in my opinion, up there with their best work. ...more

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May 19, 2018 Maria Kapari rated it it was amazing

The Far Rainbow is a classic Strugatsky book, full of frightening philosophic questions, complicated physics and complex characters. Although nothing could ever outreach their masterpiece “Roadside picknick”, The Far Rainbow is another brilliant example of Strugatsky’s humanism and understanding of our world.

Daruga, a far planet in the Solar system, has been transformed to a playground of extremely unpredictable physical experiments. Science is the most honest attempt of mankind to understand t ...more

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Sep 25, 2019 Dixie rated it liked it

Shelves: habitica-tbr-challenge, scifi-fantasy

3-1/2. Maybe 4; this is one I'm going to have to think about for awhile. ...more

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Dec 24, 2018 John rated it really liked it

Both of these short novels are delightful. The Strugatskys have a real gift for writing thought-provoking stories that are also entertaining.

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Feb 28, 2016 Karen rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

Matus was right, the first story was interesting and the second story was kind of weird. Even now, ruminating on the second story, I'm not quite sure what happened. Far Rainbow was intriguing, and I wish they had said a little more about the experiments, but enough was said that you could suspend disbelief and go with it, I think. ...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Roman rated it it was ok

Rating 3/5 for "The Second Invasion from Mars" ...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Don Gubler rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Far Rainbow is outstanding in its heartbreaking simplicity.

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About Arkady Strugatsky

Arkady Strugatsky

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The brothers Arkady Strugatsky [Russian: Аркадий Стругацкий] and Boris Strugatsky [Russian: Борис Стругацкий] were Soviet-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers.

Arkady Strugatsky was born 25 August 1925 in Batumi; the family later moved to Leningrad. In January 1942, Arkady and his father were evacuated from the Siege of Leningrad, but Arkady was the only s ...more