"What to Read?!": Sergei Shikarev named the best science fiction books

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The critic, historian of science fiction, and author of the books "13" and "Coordinates of Science Fiction", Sergei Shikarev, presented his personal top 5 works in the science fiction genre. The selection was announced on 28 August during a meeting of the Literary Club "What to Read?!" at the National Centre RUSSIA.

This time, the event was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky, a Russian writer whose name has become synonymous with classical science fiction. His joint works with his brother Boris made an invaluable contribution to literature and science fiction, opening doors for readers to marvellous worlds of the future, cosmic adventures, and philosophical reflections.

The first book Sergei Shikarev named was Clifford Simak’s novel "City".

"This novel, consisting of several stories, describes the future history of human civilisation, its rise and decline. 'City' tells of the transformation of humanity and of those who will succeed us. It is a very atmospheric and wise work, filled with an elegiac, autumnal mood. Simak’s 'City' can well be compared to Gabriel García Márquez’s 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'," he explained.

The novel "The Iron Dragon’s Daughter" by Michael Swanwick was placed second in his personal ranking. He noted that this was one of the first works in the techno-fantasy genre, where the realities of fairy-tale worlds coexist with the familiar industrial world.

"The iron dragons in the world created by the imagination of this remarkable American writer really do exist. They are assembled on a conveyor belt and produced in considerable numbers. However, the main focus of the novel is not the dragons, but the people and the forces controlling them — the forces usually called fate," continued Sergei Shikarev. "Swanwick is a remarkable author whose work I strongly recommend discovering."

In third place, he put Roger Zelazny’s "Lord of Light": "This is an astonishing mythopoetic story, written with Zelazny’s characteristic mastery and excellently translated. Zelazny uses a gripping plot and draws generously from Indian mythology to invite readers to reflect on the idea of progress, the significance of religion, the role of elites, and on justice and freedom. An experienced science fiction enthusiast will also recall Arthur C. Clarke’s famous third law, which states that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'."

Another book, essential to read in Sergei Shikarev’s view, is Ivan Yefremov’s novel "Andromeda Nebula". The expert called this work a landmark of Soviet science fiction.

"This novel showed that Soviet science fiction could write not only about socially useful inventions and discoveries, but also about interstellar flights and the distant communist future. The world of 'Andromeda Nebula' became an attractive dream, and its author the unquestionable leader of Soviet science fiction. The Strugatsky brothers called Ivan Antonovich their teacher, and in their first novels held a kind of dialogue with him," he emphasised.

Completing the top five is Neal Stephenson’s "Cryptonomicon". During his presentation, Sergei Shikarev called the book "the last great science fiction novel of the 20th century".

"This novel, published in 1999, became a bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries. It intertwines the events of the Second World War, cryptographic puzzles, dot-coms, and Silicon Valley start-ups," he underlined. "Neal Stephenson vividly depicted and even imagined the realities of the emerging information society, and the novel itself is imbued with the spirit of technological entrepreneurship and, in part, that same inventiveness embedded in the 'genetic code' of science fiction. Re-reading 'Cryptonomicon' today, one realises that, thanks to the author’s foresight, the novel has become more historical than science fiction. This transformation makes the book even more valuable and, without doubt, worthy of reading."

More detailed information about upcoming meetings of the Literary Club and other educational projects can be found in the "Events" section on the official website of the National Centre RUSSIA russia.ru.