#soviet scifi

Solaris (1972)

Its a brilliant sci-fi novel about the morality of interacting and attempting to assist with a less advanced planet/culture than ones own (in this case the protagonist is from a space-faring Soviet future while the planet he's on is Feudal European), the level of responsibility that we all have towards each other and the weight of that responsibility when we have to watch others make mistakes, while also discussing the mindset of savior-types who think they can just solve everything for a developing people (while empathizing with why people fall into it), why it fails, and how it can lead to worse problems.

But the world itself has the feeling of a fleshed out fantasy world, with its own inner history and locations that we get glimpses of. All this grounded in a political reality founded in the Strugatsky Brothers own beliefs in communism, scientific socialism, and the power of social forces which makes the whole thing feel that much more real and nuanced.

Ascension is a visual novel following three lost souls as they venture into The Zone - a dangerous and alien area, fenced off by the rest of the world - and at its center is rumoured to be something that can grant any wish, any innermost desire.

But, at a price.

There's no turning back. Once you leave your old life behind to go chasing dreams, you can never return.

Solaris (1972)

Solaris (1972)