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Hard to Be a God

(The Noon Universe #4)

Arkady Strugatsky,

Boris Strugatsky

4.19 · Rating details · 9,368 ratings · 487 reviews

The novel follows Anton, an undercover operative from the future planet Earth, in his mission on an alien planet, that is populated by human beings, whose society has not advanced beyond the Middle Ages. The novel's core idea is that human progress throughout the centuries is often cruel and bloody, and that religion and blind faith can be an effective tool of oppression, ...more

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Hardcover, 219 pages

Published January 1st 1973 by Seabury Press (first published 1964)

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Sep 04, 2012 Evgeny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

Review is completely rewritten on December 28, 2018. Reasons are given below.

A group read with Elena and Sarah.

Strugatsky brothers have cult following on the territory of the former Soviet Union. How big is the cult? Let me just say that you could not call yourself an intelligent person (especially during your college studies) if you were not familiar with their works. Hard to Be a God is their first book among really great ones, of the type that made them an unofficial required reading.

The Review is completely rewritten on December 28, 2018. Reasons are given below.

A group read with Elena and Sarah.

Strugatsky brothers have cult following on the territory of the former Soviet Union. How big is the cult? Let me just say that you could not call yourself an intelligent person (especially during your college studies) if you were not familiar with their works. Hard to Be a God is their first book among really great ones, of the type that made them an unofficial required reading.

The book belongs to so-called Noon Universe. This is an utopian world of the future.
Utopia

However even in utopia there are rebels - people trying to get away from safe routine life. Such people are great candidates for space explorers, and scouts. Anton/Rumata was one of such people. His mission was to spend some time as a mere observer on an undeveloped planet where people still lived during what looked like Earth's middle ages. Everything was fine except for that pesky clause about not meddling in the society affairs (think Prime Directive from Star Trek).

Rumata was so good at being undercover that he made real friends as well as real enemies. What happened when his enemies started killing his friends and drag the society back to dark ages in the process? Nothing. He had god-like powers to stop bad guys, but could not use them. In other words, Rumata was a god compared to the rest of the people of the planet, but he was also the person with the least power to change anything.

At this point an interesting question comes: for how long can you passively observe all the atrocities around you before you would not be able to look at yourself in a mirror without feeling deep shame? Rumata learned the answer. Another interesting observation relates to the famous saying that if you wear a mask all the time the mask becomes you. I was fascinated following Rumata's slow but sure slide into a persona of a medieval playboy with corresponding attitude - the real one.
Mask

The story combines fast-paced action with deep philosophical questions successfully, something very few books manage to pull off. The first version of the review did not address enough of the character study of the book because I wrote it long after I finished reading. The second version explains some of the fundamental points better - I hope. At least the rating is still the same: 5 stars.

P.S. If you do not know Russian get English translation by Olena Bormashenko; the other translation is incomprehensible. ...more

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Oct 07, 2015 Richard Derus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Don Rumata has been sent from Earth to the medieval kingdom of Arkanar with instructions to observe and to save what he can. Masquerading as an arrogant nobleman, a dueler, and a brawler, he is never defeated, but yet he can never kill. With his doubt and compassion, and his deep love for a local girl named Kira, Rumata wants to save the kingdom from the machinations of Don Reba, the first minister to the king. But given his orders, what role can he play? ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, absolute-favourites, my-friends-corrupted-my-soul, br-2018, 2018, evil-russians-recs, russia, strugatsky-bros-ftw

A Smelly Medieval Times Are Smelly Buddy Read with Evgeny and Elena

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

So. Take some undercover operatives/historians from a future Shangri-La-type, advanced civilization. Send them to observe and study a planet that resembles Earth in the Super Fun Middle Ages (SFMA). Strictly forbid them to interfere with the delightfully boorish puny locals’ puny affairs, regardless of how desperate/bad/fished up/morally reprehensible/choose all ~~that apply~~ the situation is. What do you ...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Becky rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fantasy, sci-fi, sociology, & history buffs

Shelves: a-recommended, borrowed-from-library, favorites

This is one of the best books ever! It's such a unique & nuanced look at the past human and social condition, yet so relevant to the present time for both. It tells the story of a human society on another planet that is circa the middle ages in development. A group of earthlings are monitoring this society covertly and it is through the eyes of one of the earth born humans that resides amongst this society that we get a good look into the mirror of the past and into the magnifying glass of This is one of the best books ever! It's such a unique & nuanced look at the past human and social condition, yet so relevant to the present time for both. It tells the story of a human society on another planet that is circa the middle ages in development. A group of earthlings are monitoring this society covertly and it is through the eyes of one of the earth born humans that resides amongst this society that we get a good look into the mirror of the past and into the magnifying glass of the present. What's best is that it has a fantastical feel, yet there is nothing unreal about it - other than the existence of another planet with a human society ;)

The main theme of this book and one aptly identified in the title Hard to Be a God is how the advanced human beings from earth should react to the harsh human conditions that exist within the more primitive race of humans on the planet. Should they intercept with the knowledge and technology they have in order to better their condition?

A friend pointed out to me that to truly appreciate the relevance of this story to actual human events, one only has to note the environment in which the authors lived which happened to be communist Russia. For example, parallels can be drawn between the main theme of the story and the Russian Revolution of 1917. At the time of this revolution, Russian people were inert slaves and did not participate in the revolution. The Revolution was performed by a very small group of communist revolutionists comprised of intelligentsia and ethnically oppressed minorities such as Jews, Latvians, and Poles which can lead one to surmise that the Russian Revolution of 1917 was indeed forced on the Russian people by "people from another planet”! So now consider, was interference really the right thing to do? Forced advancement of the social system within Russia (and other places) didn't necessarily succeed, though the temptation of interfering was strong and seemed right. The authors do a good job in accurately portraying this truth.

I highly recommend this book for those who love fantasy, but maybe want to read something a little more scholastic. And I highly recommend it for those in academia who don't delve too much into fantasy, but would like something creative, yet compatible with their sensibilities. The authors throw in a bit of scientific vocabulary here in there; sound philosophical observations; and seem to have a genuine ease in storytelling. Highly recommended!
...more

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Jan 18, 2014 Althea Ann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fascinating and important work. Published in 1964, I feel that it may have been an influence on, or at least a precursor to, many of my favorite books. I saw thematic similarities with some of Iain Banks’ Culture novels, especially Inversions, and Kage Baker’s Company series.
The story deals with a ‘deep’ agent from an advanced civilization, who is supposed to observe and record the feudal society he’s been planted in, without interfering. However, the society he’s working in is on the verge of a Fascinating and important work. Published in 1964, I feel that it may have been an influence on, or at least a precursor to, many of my favorite books. I saw thematic similarities with some of Iain Banks’ Culture novels, especially Inversions, and Kage Baker’s Company series.
The story deals with a ‘deep’ agent from an advanced civilization, who is supposed to observe and record the feudal society he’s been planted in, without interfering. However, the society he’s working in is on the verge of a shift from feudalism to fascism. Purges of intellectuals are increasing, and the agent finds it harder and harder to maintain any kind of objectivity. Meanwhile, he also battles the tendency to lose sight of his identity; he finds himself becoming more and more like the callous, boorish aristocrat he is impersonating. But he also finds himself truly caring for his native lover…
There’s a lot going on in the relatively brief book. Anton, while maintaining his cover identity as Don Rumata, tries to balance his ethics against the demands of his job. His attempts to rescue the scientists and artists that he sees as the lights of hope in a dark and ignorant world make for an exciting story. But it’s also very philosophical, exploring the ramifications of a non-interference policy, the tendency toward abuse of power, and the nature of humanity.
It’s very interesting to see science-fiction themes which I’ve seen explored from American and European perspectives many times from the point of view of Russian authors. Here, the advanced, peaceful and free society which the researchers are from is, of course, one where the ideals of communism have come to full fruition. I wished I could see more of that world – and may have to seek out some of the Strugatsky brothers’ other books to explore further. However, their vision is not all starry-eyed: the world of Arkanar and its Inquisitorial brutalities are very clearly parallel to abuses and purges from Russia’s history.
Highly recommended – both as a great reading experience, and for anyone interested in the various facets of science fiction as a genre.

Copy provided by NetGalley - thanks for bringing this book to my attention! As always, my opinion is purely my own. ...more

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Dec 15, 2013 Vit Babenco rated it it was amazing

Different planet, different epoch, different consciousness, different psychology – how will observers or spies or watchmen from the future Earth succeed in their mission of controlling the alien history even if it resembles so much our own medieval period of dark ages.
“In the depths of the forest, a mile away from the road, beneath an enormous tree that had dried up of old age, stood a lopsided hut made out of enormous logs, surrounded by a blackened picket fence. It had been here since the Different planet, different epoch, different consciousness, different psychology – how will observers or spies or watchmen from the future Earth succeed in their mission of controlling the alien history even if it resembles so much our own medieval period of dark ages.
“In the depths of the forest, a mile away from the road, beneath an enormous tree that had dried up of old age, stood a lopsided hut made out of enormous logs, surrounded by a blackened picket fence. It had been here since the beginning of time, its door was always shut, and there were crooked idols carved from whole tree trunks around its rotting porch. This hut was the most dangerous place in the Hiccup Forest. It was said that this was the very place to which the ancient Pekh would come every twelve years to deliver his offspring, after which he would immediately crawl beneath the hut and expire, so the hut’s entire cellar was filled with black poison. And when the poison seeped out—that’s when the end would come. It was said that on stormy nights, the idols dug themselves out of the ground, came out onto the road, and signaled to passersby. And it was also said that sometimes the windows shone with unnatural light, sounds resounded through the forest, and a column of smoke reached up from the chimney to the sky.
Not long ago, Irma Kukish, a sober simpleton from the farmstead of Plenitude (in common parlance, Stinkfield) foolishly wandered by the hut at night and peered into the windows. He came home completely incoherent, and after he recovered a little, said that the hut was full of bright light and that a man with his feet on the bench sat behind a crude table and guzzled from a barrel held in one hand. The man’s face hung all the way down to his waist and was spotted all over. It was obvious that this was the Holy Míca himself, before his conversion to the faith, a polygamist, drunkard, and blasphemer. To look at him was to be afraid. A sickly sweet smell wafted out the window, and shadows moved across the trees. People gathered from all over to hear the idiot’s story. And it all ended when the storm troopers came, bent his elbows to his shoulder blades, and hustled him off to the city of Arkanar. But people still talked about the hut, and it was now called nothing but the Drunken Lair.”
This fine excerpt excellently conveys the picturesque atmosphere of the novel. And of course this exotic place is a secret base of the earthlings.
“The essence of man,” Budach said, chewing slowly, “lies in his astonishing ability to get used to anything. There’s nothing in nature that man could not learn to live with. Neither horse nor dog nor mouse has this property. Probably God, as he was creating man, guessed the torments he was condemning him to and gave him an enormous reserve of strength and patience. It is difficult to say whether this is good or bad. If man didn’t have such patience and endurance, all good people would have long since perished, and only the wicked and soulless would be left in this world. On the other hand, the habit of enduring and adapting turns people into dumb beasts, who differ from the animals in nothing except anatomy, and who only exceed them in helplessness. And each new day gives rise to a new horror of evil and violence.”
Can historical processes be changed from the outside? Do the outsiders have the moral rights to change them?
These aren’t rhetorical questions – these questions are actual here and now, in our own home world. ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Dangermousie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: perfect, scifi

It's intelligent, and philosophical, and it makes you angry, and it makes you think, and it makes you hope.

It involves a planet which is in a Medieval stage of development, so Earth sends in "on the ground" observers for study purposes, who are trained to blend in. The thing is, what to a researcher on Earth "interesting development, 200 people got killed in a routine feudal coup," to the person on the ground are his friends dying. Yet, they cannot interfere, shortcircuit the curse of history It's intelligent, and philosophical, and it makes you angry, and it makes you think, and it makes you hope.

It involves a planet which is in a Medieval stage of development, so Earth sends in "on the ground" observers for study purposes, who are trained to blend in. The thing is, what to a researcher on Earth "interesting development, 200 people got killed in a routine feudal coup," to the person on the ground are his friends dying. Yet, they cannot interfere, shortcircuit the curse of history and give (e.g.) the more enlightened guys guns, as that would result in more death, more innocent people (only different ones) dying.

But does standing back make you less human? When you start to see people not as individuals but as masses, there's a problem. The main character, Anton, is probably one of my favorite fictional characters ever, and the end? Wow. You see him fall apart more and more during the book, as he witnesses more and more events he knows he should not interfere in, but is morally repulsed to let proceed. He is a good man, whose humanity is outraged more and more daily, and he is teetering on the edge of losing it the whole book, (view spoiler) But there is also no question that if he did not act, he would forfeit a claim to his own humanity, because it would be inhuman not to have a snapping point. And of course his actions do not make it better.

The book really does make a point that people as people, matter. For example, Kira is not even a blip in a history book, she didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But of course, she was the world to Anton, (view spoiler) And every person who died in any of these events historians record, routine palace coups, book burnings, little wars, really mattered to somebody. But, and that's why I love it, interference does not make it better for others. These people are not ready for modernity. Interference allows you to save your own humanity, but no more. I don't know how something so hopeless comes across as so hopeful, but it does.

...more

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Oct 11, 2015 Nikki rated it did not like it

Shelves: speculative-fiction

I was fascinated by the sound of this when I came across it in the library, because I really liked Roadside Picnic, and because the foreword mentions parallels with Star Trek and Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels. However, I found this… pretty much unreadable. There’s a sort of opaqueness I associate with reading Russian novels in translations, but in spades. Supposedly, this translation is much more readable than the old one, which was done via German, but… if that’s the case, I hate to think what ...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Milo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, 10-stars, sci-fi, series-to-continue, well-played-sir, strangers-have-the-best-candy

I have been delaying this review for a while now. I wanted to do the Strugatsky's justice but I just haven't been able to come up with anything intelligent or witty to relate to you in honor of their work. All I can say is read the book, you won't regret it.

The Story

It starts off very symbolically with some kids playing on a one way street; this mirrors evolution and history. All these things flow in one direction and travel along with their own unalterable velocities. Now lets suppose that I have been delaying this review for a while now. I wanted to do the Strugatsky's justice but I just haven't been able to come up with anything intelligent or witty to relate to you in honor of their work. All I can say is read the book, you won't regret it.

The Story

It starts off very symbolically with some kids playing on a one way street; this mirrors evolution and history. All these things flow in one direction and travel along with their own unalterable velocities. Now lets suppose that evolution follows a linear course. Every planet capable of housing life develops similar lifeforms as our Earth with the primates ultimately adapting into primitive versions of the human race. We superior humans, who have attained the pinnacle of perfection, ship some of our own off to these developing planets to observe and indirectly help speed along the progress of the various indigenous peoples.

And so the story begins. Anton is covertly trying to further the medieval age humans with his fellow comrades. They quickly discover that evolution does not come as easily to a people who aren't ready for it. If fact the social evolution of these alien civilizations worked in the opposite direction than they had initially thought. The ignorance and prejudices of the day work against them while the effects of culture shock begin mounting. After several years spent in vain Anton begins seeing the people as little more than savages fit for being abandoned or destroyed. His mental condition gently starts to deteriorate as he spends time in a vastly different environment than he is accustomed to. He yearns for his home planet but must fulfill his responsibility to the people. It truly is hard to be a god, he realizes.

The Writing

One word. Seamless.
The Strugatsky combo of Boris and Arkady is so dynamic and well-meshed that I had no idea when I made the transition from one writers work to then next. I have read many works written by dual authors and it has always been relatively simple to spot the parts where one author passed the pen to the other. Not so with Boris and Arkady! (Maybe it's solely a brother/sister thing) Another thing that I always find pleasing is the structure of the sentences in stories originally written in Russian. There was something distinct added to the story when long flowing sentences were used to depict the thoughts of the author. I find this to generally be the sign of talented Russians writers.

Final Summation: I promise you'll like this book. If you don't it's short so you won't hate me too much.

...more

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Nov 28, 2014 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, russian-literature

I've waited a long time to read this book, due to its rarity and price, but it was thankfully recently republished and I had to get my hands on it, being such a fan of Soviet science-fiction and the Strugatsky brothers in particular (Roadside Picnic... So good).

This novel imagines that Earth achieved perfect Communism, and the Moscow Historical Society sends agents out to other worlds to guide the development of the human condition with a subtle invisible hand. The protagonist, Don Rumata, is ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 [P] rated it really liked it · review of another edition

One of the things that makes alien contact attractive is the possibility of interacting with a species more advanced than our own. Outside of films, whenever we think of aliens we tend to see them as superior beings, with great knowledge to impart, more sophisticated technology, etc. In the Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic the Russian brothers cleverly played on this idea, with the visitors being completely disinterested in human beings, suggesting, you might argue, a kind of haughtiness in their One of the things that makes alien contact attractive is the possibility of interacting with a species more advanced than our own. Outside of films, whenever we think of aliens we tend to see them as superior beings, with great knowledge to impart, more sophisticated technology, etc. In the Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic the Russian brothers cleverly played on this idea, with the visitors being completely disinterested in human beings, suggesting, you might argue, a kind of haughtiness in their attitude towards us. But what if it is not the case? What if contact was made and it turned out that we are actually the more advanced species? Looking around me, that strikes me as really quite a depressing thought.

In any case, this is the situation in Hard to be a God, only the alien planet is not simply primitive, relative to earth, but is essentially earth with the clock turned back thousands of years to the middle ages. Upon discovery of this planet human beings have taken to sending observers to live amongst the natives. The reason for this never seems particularly clear, but it is stressed to these people that their task is limited to observation, that they must not interfere or intervene, and they certainly should not reveal their purpose or real identity. Most of the agents find these rules easy enough to stick to, with the notable exception being Rumata [earth name Anton].

For me, this is one of the great existential novels, with Rumata's emotional and intellectual crisis being as intense, and unrelenting, as any of Dostoevsky’s antiheroes. His role, or part, is as a womanising nobleman and dangerous, expert swordsman. In this he fails, not only because he isn’t allowed to kill anyone, but also because he cannot bear to sleep with any of the native women, who are not prone to bathing. More interestingly, he is a superior, more evolved being, who every day is forced to live amongst, to confront, the barbarous, drunken, and primitive. Moreover, the city is run by the tyrannical Don Reba, who plots and kills, and generally brutalises the locals, paying particular attention to the literate, who are captured and hung. It is in relation to this that one begins to understand the significance of the title.

description

[From Aleksei German’s film adaptation of the book]

Rumata is the God [in fact numerous characters believe him to be divine] who has the power and knowledge to alter what is happening, even put a stop to it altogether. The dilemma that he faces is a theological one, is one that is generally thought to be God’s. Think about how often you hear people cussing God, criticising Him for not doing something to prevent certain tragedies. When bad things happen He is charged with not caring, with abandoning his children. The counter argument is that if you force people to be good, then goodness essentially becomes meaningless, and if you stop all disasters, if only positive things ever happen, you prevent people from learning through adversity. God, it is said, created free will, and created the world, and then left us all to it, come what may, and this is the best thing for us. These are some of the issues Hard to be a God asks you to consider.

Furthermore, Rumata is aware that he cannot make people enlightened. He could remove Don Reba, he could save individual lives [and he does], but this will actually change nothing, or very little, because the people will still be primitive. On this, I was put in mind of certain conflicts, which are deemed humanitarian, whereby the UK and/or US government has invaded countries and sought to remove a tyrannical regime, with Iraq being the most obvious example. I’m not, I ought to point out, calling Iraqis primitive, but there are parallels between that situation and Hard to be a God, as both raise questions about how much of a responsibility do we have to protect other nations, and how worthwhile is it if you cannot guarantee that the people will accept the new conditions and way of living? There is, moreover, something of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness about the Strugatsky’s book, in that there is a certain arrogance in going into another country [or planet, in this instance] and negatively judging it against your own. In fact, Hard to be a God could be interpreted as a comment on colonial arrogance, because it suggests that perhaps ‘uncivilised’ countries ought to be left alone, be allowed to develop and work things out on their own.

“And no matter how much the gray people in power despise knowledge, they can’t do anything about historical objectivity; they can slow it down, but they can’t stop it.”

It ought to be clear by now that this is a weighty, complex book. I have in this review really only tentatively jabbed at all the fascinating themes and ideas contained with in it [I haven’t, for example, discussed the cyclical nature of history]. However, one thing that does demand some attention is the theory that Hard to be a God is political allegory, that the world it describes is really Russia in the 1960’s, the decade in which it was written. This is given weight by the Strugatsky’s themselves, who claimed to have started the book as a kind of Three Musketeers in Space-type historical romp, only to change their minds. They did so, it is said, due to fears that the death of Stalin, and 'the thaw' that followed, had done little to change the climate of the country, that artists and their art were still under attack, would be suppressed etc. Yet while there is clearly some of this in the book – specifically Don Reba’s hatred for writers and the literate – I feel it is reaching somewhat to suggest that this is the real or primary focus.

Before finishing I want to briefly touch upon a couple of negatives, one more serious than the other. The first is that Hard to be a God is essentially plotless, and pretty repetitive. You will, I’m sure, have your own tolerance levels where this sort of thing is concerned, but it didn’t particularly bother me. More of an issue was the ending, which felt rushed to me. It was as though the Strugatsky’s had simply taken on too much, too many big questions, and couldn’t figure out how to neatly tie up their narrative, and so it ends at an arbitrary point. Yet while this is a criticism it is, in a way, also a kind of compliment too, because I wanted the book to be longer, I wanted another couple of hundred pages so that we [the reader and the authors] could really, fully ride this engrossing and challenging story out and so achieve a more natural and rewarding conclusion. ...more

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Jun 22, 2014 Stacey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2014-challenge

Written by two Russian brothers in the mid-20th century in response to political pressure on art and artistic works under Khrushchev, Hard to be a God is about one man's struggle with the questions of how far to go to save others and live by his moral code, and if he can observe without interfering.

The main character in this novel, known mostly as Don Rumata, is a 'historian' who has been placed on a more primitive world to live in and observe the feudal culture that exists there. In kind of a Written by two Russian brothers in the mid-20th century in response to political pressure on art and artistic works under Khrushchev, Hard to be a God is about one man's struggle with the questions of how far to go to save others and live by his moral code, and if he can observe without interfering.

The main character in this novel, known mostly as Don Rumata, is a 'historian' who has been placed on a more primitive world to live in and observe the feudal culture that exists there. In kind of a Truman Show way, a camera placed in a gold circlet on his head reports everything he sees, his interactions, the daily life of the people. This culture that he witnesses is a mix of medieval feudalism and 20th century totalitarianism, with secret police and attacks on literate, artistic individuals - writers, poets, artists, musicians, scientists, philosophers, etc.

The story kind of drops its readers in the midst of Don Rumata's work. He's been an undercover historian for some time, and has been made sick to his soul by the atrocities committed under the oppressive regime. His dilemma: ordered to observe and never interfere, he feels compelled to rescue the members of the intelligentsia that he can. His role as don, or noble, is to drink and fool around with other dons and ladies, and he finds the company of the other nobles stultifying and dull. When he's not carousing, he tries to avoid the grey police, the ones who arrest and hang the 'bookworms,' as the intelligentsia are called.

This novel explores several interesting issues, such as political control of art and science and intellect, how totalitarian regimes affect their subjects, what sparks rebellion, when to prevent (or not at all) abuse, and what consequences acting "for the greater good" might have. In general, these issues aren't explored deeply, but the novel does pose the questions, leaving it up to the readers to think about it further. There is a thesis - that stifling art and science and culture ruins individuals' lives, but more importantly it destroys the society as a whole.

As a science fiction novel, I enjoyed Hard to be a God. It's a mix of bleakness and humor, action and silliness. The premise is interesting: sending 'operatives' to other, less-developed worlds, to study the cultures and societies that live there. The world-building is unique and convincing, a mix of Spanish and Russian cultures, medieval society and mid-century communism that have taken on their own characteristics and become a grey, depressing, and dangerous civilization.

I struggled with the only female characters - one, an unscrupulous and promiscuous woman who, it is implied, "deserved what she got," and the weak saint, who is helpless without the main character and so honest and simple and true and everything else. Clearly, we have the Madonna and the whore stereotypes here, and no other female characters to balance them out. The characterizations of women are weak, insubstantial, and decidedly unoriginal.

The other thing I found difficult was how distanced I felt from the story. For whatever reason, I never felt fully engaged or absorbed. Don Rumata's difficulties were thought-provoking, but the immediacy of the action was filtered too heavily by his narration. Additionally, it seemed like a clip had been taken from Don Rumata's life and work as an operative. As readers, we never really learn about how it was for him before the events that take place in the book. The context of his own life is hard to perceive.

Overall, this book gives readers an interesting glimpse into classic science fiction from Russia. If you're looking for a diverse perspective, that would definitely qualify. An adventurous, dark tale that questions the results of totalitarianism, it is not difficult to read. I would recommend this book for fans of classic science fiction and more literary science fiction.

See my post on The Book Adventures for read-alikes. ...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Alex rated it it was amazing

To those who read *that crappy SCI-FI jazz* in quest to run away
From grim reality of life - I must, in truth, to say
This piece is not, my friends, at all your regular fantastic tale
It is much deeper, it was written to unveil
How cruel, ignorant, barbaric we still are - at large, as Human Race
How progress strides its winding roads in slow, painful pace

1. Memorable 5
2. Social Relevance 5
3. Informative 3
4. Originality 5
5. Thought Provoking 5
6. Expressiveness 4
7. Entertaining 5
8. Visualization 2
9. ...more

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Nov 18, 2014 Rick Slane rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: bookworms

Shelves: fantasy, action, russian-literature

Somethings must have been lost in translation. Proper names and places evoked the wrong meanings for me so maybe it's my fault I didn't enjoy it more.

For example here's some of my poor rewrite: "Paul Anka won't drive his Tonka truck on the Forgotten Highway to Marshall Fields! Kia is a bookworm running away from Arkansas to Iraq," Red Skelton bellowed, as he passed the Ramada Inn.

"Don Imus never takes a bath and corporations are people too,"cursed Holy Moses. Welcome Wagon's people apologized to ...more

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Apr 07, 2009 Manday rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-scifi, seasonal-challenge-2009-spring, top-100, 2009

It is unfortunate this book is so hard to get a hold of, as I found it an excellent (albeit confusing) read. It tackles huge, universal themes - the nature of man kind, the course of history, the role of man in society, and many other things. I think it should be considered a classic.

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Apr 23, 2015 Rob rated it really liked it · review of another edition

....The Strugatsky brothers approach science fiction in a very different way than western authors would and that alone makes it a shame that many of their books are out of print. They make a case for more attention to translations if my opinion. There are many more ways to look at science fiction that what the English-speaking world has to offer. Hard To Be a God is, a book that hides a lot under the fast paced surface of the story. Roadside Picnic remains their best known work but I don't think ...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Ogostos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Reread it recently, after some fifteen years, and my verdict is this book is truly a masterpiece

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Oct 12, 2019 Bryan Alexander rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, sf, utopia, russia, dystopia

What would it be like to live in a world far back on the historical track, when you have access to an advanced civilization's powers?

This is a classic science fiction question. It might be most famous from Star Trek's Prime Directive. Iain Banks explored it in at least one novel. It's present in many time travel narratives, when people explore the past.

In Hard to Be a God the Strugatsky brothers offer their take, and the result is a powerful novel.

It takes place on an Earthlike world peopled by ...more

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Jul 01, 2016 Lubinka Dimitrova rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, russia-n, modern-classics, thought-provoking, male-author, history-will-teach-us-nothing, the-movie-or-the-book, philosophy-religion, audio

3,5 stars.

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Jan 21, 2020 Bryan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-and-have-read, paperbacks, books-i-read-in-2020

Probably closer to 3.5

I know the Strugatski's have a large following--this is the first opportunity I've had to read their work. Although I enjoyed it, I think I expected a bit more complexity. Earth scientist/historians are embedded in a feudal-type society on another planet to test their hypothesis about historical laws. While they have specific advantages with their advanced technology, they are not allowed to interfere in any major way with events they may be caught up in--even when they are Probably closer to 3.5

I know the Strugatski's have a large following--this is the first opportunity I've had to read their work. Although I enjoyed it, I think I expected a bit more complexity. Earth scientist/historians are embedded in a feudal-type society on another planet to test their hypothesis about historical laws. While they have specific advantages with their advanced technology, they are not allowed to interfere in any major way with events they may be caught up in--even when they are forced to witness the most inhuman barbarism.

The main character, Don Rumata/Anton, finds it hard to stay above the fray, musing on the nature of humanity, and what it will take for a society raised in ignorance to eventually pull itself up by its bootstraps and become fully human.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the novel to me was trying to determine if the Strugatski's were critiquing the Soviet system; also how these 'future' soviets were trying to reconcile their historical laws with what they were observing. In this particular society, we are plunked down into a war against intellectuals (bookworms) by the ignorant 'Gray Militias', and I couldn't help thinking of other periods in history when Marxist thinkers have also fought against the intelligentsia (specifically I thought of the Chinese Cultural Revolution).

Anyway...the Strugatski's were able to get their work published in the Soviet Union, so if they were critiquing their own society, they were subtle about it. It may be less a specific critique than it is meant to make one think, which it did, so hats off for that.

What made me finally pull this down and read it was the fairly recent film adaptation, which I saw not long ago. The film played up every disgusting aspect one can think of when thinking of what it might have been like to actually live in the Middle Ages, and then seems to want to dial the disgustingness up to 11. I was barely able to watch it, and I was curious if the image I had in my mind of the Strugatskis had been completely wrong. What I found was that the book certainly alluded to unpleasant aspects of feudal life, but maintained a level of decorum that the film seemed to throw out the window (with its chamber pot, I guess).

So, if anyone had been interested in the book, but was turned off by the film, I would say that they would find less filth (in the literal sense) in the book, and less confusion as well. ...more

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Jul 20, 2018 wanderer (Para) rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-english, sci-fi, historical, literary, good-prose, 2-stars

This book started well enough. The prose was quite good, with nice descriptions of scenery, the issues raised were interesting. We follow Rumata, an observer from future utopian Earth, sent to a medieval world with a couple others under a strict rule of non-interference (no killing, etc), but secretly trying to help speed up their development.

It’s fairly kitchen sink, some sci-fi tech, some medieval swashbuckling, bit of everything. The conflict arises when regime in Arkanar start killing ...more

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Oct 23, 2013 Philipp rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, russia, fiction, sf, soviet-union

This was great - Don Rumata is a noble who lives in the upper strata of a medieval, knowledge hating society that tortures and murders its 'bookworms', mud is everywhere a

"What's this?" Rumata said in surprise. "You want us all to become monks?"
Father Kin clasped his hands and leaned forward. "Allow me to explan, noble don" he said fervently, licking his lips. "It's not about that at all! It's about the basic tenets of the new state. The tenets are simple, and there are only three of them: blind

This was great - Don Rumata is a noble who lives in the upper strata of a medieval, knowledge hating society that tortures and murders its 'bookworms', mud is everywhere a

"What's this?" Rumata said in surprise. "You want us all to become monks?"
Father Kin clasped his hands and leaned forward. "Allow me to explan, noble don" he said fervently, licking his lips. "It's not about that at all! It's about the basic tenets of the new state. The tenets are simple, and there are only three of them: blind faith in the infallibility of the laws, unquestioning obedience to these laws, and also everyone vigilantly watching everyone else."
"Hmm," said Rumata. "But why?"

The 'twist' is that (view spoiler). Now if you're into Popper you may have heard of The Poverty of Historicism, which makes this book more fun since Rumata and his colleagues are staunch believers in historicism, yet they often hit their limits in this society ("I haven't noticed such deviations from theory..."). The murder of 'bookworms' is a clear allegory to the anti-intellectualism that was sometimes en vogue with Communist leadership - there's also a coup which is modeled after the Night Of The Long Knives (with explicit allusion by Rumata).

What makes this book different from the 3 hour long depressing black & white movie from 2013 is that the book is sometimes actually funny! Ruma's clashes with society, the drunken fights his friends get into, between all the darkness and torture there are flashes of jokes. I really like this new translation, so far I've only read the older Roadside Picnic from the Strugatsky brothers and that struck me as very dry, but it looks like the same translator of this edition also released a Roadside Picnic translation just a few years ago - I'll have to read that!

P.S.: bonus quotes:

He emerged out of some musty basement of the palace bureaucracy three years ago, a petty, insignificant functionary, obsequious and pallid, with an almost bluish tint to his skin. Soon the then-First Minister was suddenly arrested and executed, a number of horror-stricken and bewildered officials died during torture, and this tenacious, ruthless genius of mediocrity grew like a pale fungus on their corpses. He's no one. He's from nowhere. This is not a powerful mind underneath a weak monarch, which has been known by history; not a great and terrible man who gives his life to the idea of unifying the country in the name of autocracy. This is no money-grubbing lackey, thinking only of gold and of women, killing right and left for the sake of power, and staying in power in order to kill.

or this one:

Without arts and general culture, the country loses its capacity for self-criticism, begins to encourage faulty tendencies, starts to constantly spawn hypocrites and scum, develops consumerism and conceit in its citizens, and eventually again becomes a victim of its more sensible neighbors. Persecute bookworms all you like, prohibit science, and destroy art, but sooner or later you'll be forced to think better of it, and with much gnashing of teeth open the way for everything that is so hated by the power-hungry dullards and blockheads.

...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Alberto rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, ussr, russia

The Strugatsky brothers produced a well written novel.
I've enjoyed what the main character feels and how he struggles to find a way to help the people around him but without trying to change the course of events in a world in which he's an alien, coming from a more socially and technologically advanced world.
It's indeed hard to be a god, in a world where most of the people enjoy drinking a lot and inflicting pain on others whose only fault is to be living in a kingdom that suppresses being ...more

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Sep 23, 2014 Simon Hollway rated it did not like it

Shelves: it-s-not-you-it-s-me

Oh dear. Roadside Picnic is an astonishing novel - Hard to be a God is a shocking misfire. Maybe it was the new translation only just released - 2014 Bormashenko translation published by Chicago Review Press. As soon as I smacked up against the word 'ballyhooed', I knew I was in for a rocky ride. Actually, come to think of it, even the newly commissioned 'Foreword' to the book by Hari Kunzru read like a C-grade student essay...and I quote, 'this is no reactionary celebration of aristocratic ...more

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Jun 19, 2016 Yzabel Ginsberg rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, classics, group-reads, good-ideas-but

I read this one for a book club discussion. I didn't like it much.

- Too full of pondering instead of being in the action, and as a result, the main character didn't appear so much like a "god who doesn't know whether he should intervene or not", than like a passive observer.

- The political commentary laid it a bit too tick to my tastes. It called for something more subtle.

- The female characters. Only two, and basically one is a wallflower who's obviously only here to get kidnapped or whatever, ...more

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Aug 10, 2019 Andras Szalai rated it liked it

Anton is an Earth scientist (a historian) sent to a distant planet inhabited by humans that are still stuck in the Middle Ages (an _extremely_ dark version of the Middle Ages). His method is participant observation: posing as playboy nobleman Rumata, he involves himself in the political intrigue of the kingdom of Arkanar.

Anton-Rumata follows a watered down version of the Prime Directive: do not kill, do not interfere in the course of history.
(Well, not too much.) The latter rule comes directly ...more

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Nov 17, 2014 Nemo rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, russia, fantasy, philosophical-fiction

"Hard to Be a Good" of the Strugatsky brothers is a very interesting book and quite unusual to the reader who is used to the American-British science fiction.
This is due to the style in which it is written, the philosophical discussions, the irony and sophisticated sociopolitical criticism expounded in the book.
More surprising is the fact that this book was published in 1964 in the USSR.

This is first book of the Strugatsky brothers that I read.
A couple of years ago I read an English ...more

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Jun 21, 2015 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it really liked it

Shelves: late-20th-century-sf

In an unspecified future, Earth has begun placing human observers on planets whose evolutionary and social development is much like its own. The observers find a place in the society and operate under the directive to kill no one and not to attempt to alter the course of the planet’s history. They wear a headband that broadcasts a continuous visual signal back to earth. They are also able to make an unlimited amount of gold tender and they keep on hand medicines that treat everything from fevers In an unspecified future, Earth has begun placing human observers on planets whose evolutionary and social development is much like its own. The observers find a place in the society and operate under the directive to kill no one and not to attempt to alter the course of the planet’s history. They wear a headband that broadcasts a continuous visual signal back to earth. They are also able to make an unlimited amount of gold tender and they keep on hand medicines that treat everything from fevers to hangovers.

Don Rumata has been on the planet Arkanar for years. He’s taken the identity of a deceased member of a very distinguished family from a distant province. His social position allows him to pass with impunity through most levels of society. The squalid medieval conditions of Arkanar are trying for a human. Rumata has succeeded in making handkerchiefs a modish fashion statement, but he has not done so well with the wearing of underwear or the regular washing of bed linens.

But something is going wrong on Arkanar. They should be entering their renaissance, but forces have taken over who are systematically killing off the “bookworms” and any other progressive element. Power is coalescing around the figure of Don Reba.

He emerged out of some musty basement of the palace bureaucracy three years ago, a petty, insignificant functionary, obsequious and pallid, with an almost bluish tint to his skin. Soon the then-First Minister was suddenly arrested and executed, a number of horror-stricken and bewildered officials died during torture, and this tenacious, ruthless genius of mediocrity grew like a pale fungus on their corpses.

The humans are baffled by this deviation from the historical norms they expect, and the book has pages of discussion and interior monologues about human nature and the forces that shape civilization. That might sound off-putting, but if you have read the Strugatsky brothers’ other novels, you know that they are very good at this sort of thing. And the court intrigues and reactionary violence that takes over the narrative are absorbing.

This is a profoundly pessimistic novel, with human behavior degenerating to its vilest level. The vilest and the most servile. Don Rumata sees the potential in the vast numbers of workers and commoners that will survive this reign of terror, but he also knows to expect nothing from them.

Two hundred thousand men and women. Two hundred thousand blacksmiths, gunsmiths, butchers, haberdashers, jewelers, housewives, prostitutes, monks, money changers, soldiers, tramps and surviving bookworms were currently tossing in their bedbug-ridden, stuffy beds; sleeping, making love, recalculating profits in their heads, crying, grinding their teeth in anger or resentment, Two hundred thousand of them...They were passionate, greedy, and incredibly, fantastically selfish. Almost all of them had the psychology of slaves -- slaves of religions, slaves of their own kind, slaves of their pathetic passions, slaves of avarice. And if fate decreed for one of them to be born a master, he wouldn't know what to do with his freedom. He would again hurry to become a slave...The vast majority of them were not guilty of anything. They were too passive and too ignorant. Their slavery was the result of passivity and ignorance, and passivity and ignorance again and again breeds slavery.

It is almost miraculous that after such dark reflections, Don Rumata finds reason to hope. ...more

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Jun 14, 2018 Daniel Polansky added it

Shelves: fiction

A far-future communist functionary goes undercover on an alien planet closely resembling medieval Europe/your classic fantasy setting, taking the role of a Robin Hood/Cyrano type, with the caveat being he and his cohort can’t kill anyone or take any active role in advancing their new country from feudal barbarism into enlightenment. The Brothers had a real talent for writing legitimately entertaining genre stories which still manage to grapple with more substantial political and historical ...more

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Nov 10, 2015 Kiwi Begs2Differ ✎ rated it did not like it

Shelves: sci-fi, abandoned-not-for-me

As much as I loved Roadside picnic, I can’t get into this novel. I know it’s short but so is life, I decided to put this book aside. DNF at 30%.

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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 ...more

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The Noon Universe (10 books)

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Quotes from Hard to Be a God

“И всегда будут короли, более или менее жестокие, бароны, более или менее дикие, и всегда будет невежественный народ, питающий восхищение к своим угнетателям и ненависть к своему освободителю. И все потому, что раб гораздо лучше понимает своего господина, пусть даже самого жестокого, чем своего освободителя, ибо каждый раб отлично представляет себя на месте господина, но мало кто представляет себя на месте бескорыстного освободителя.” — 17 likes

“And no matter how much the gray people in power despise knowledge, they can’t do anything about historical objectivity; they can slow it down, but they can’t stop it. Despising and fearing knowledge, they will nonetheless inevitably decide to promote it in order to survive. Sooner or later they will be forced to allow universities and scientific societies, to create research centers, observatories, and laboratories, and thus to create a cadre of people of thought and knowledge: people who are completely beyond their control, people with a completely different psychology and with completely different needs. And these people cannot exist and certainly cannot function in the former atmosphere of low self-interest, banal preoccupations, dull self-satisfaction, and purely carnal needs. They need a new atmosphere— an atmosphere of comprehensive and inclusive learning, permeated with creative tension; they need writers, artists, composers— and the gray people in power are forced to make this concession too. The obstinate ones will be swept aside by their more cunning opponents in the struggle for power, but those who make this concession are, inevitably and paradoxically, digging their own graves against their will. For fatal to the ignorant egoists and fanatics is the growth of a full range of culture in the people— from research in the natural sciences to the ability to marvel at great music. And then comes the associated process of the broad intellectualization of society: an era in which grayness fights its last battles with a brutality that takes humanity back to the middle ages, loses these battles, and forever disappears as an actual force.” — 15 likes

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