Hard To Be A God

Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Stinky Space Russians

Posted 02/07/2023

First finished book of the new year is Hard to Be a God (1964), by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky. It's a short book but pretty thought provoking, following the last several days (weeks?) of a man observing the development of a medieval human civilization on an alien planet. Self-installed as a local noble, Don Rumata works through the aristocracy of a kingdom in the throes of its anticipated transition into the natural final and glorious state all planets have followed in - Space Communism. Unfortunately these throes include a sudden all-out eradication of all virtually all educated citizens, through any means that could lay bare the authors' sentiments towards humanity - the uneducated, stinky masses that'll turn in their grandmother for beer money, armies of zealots, and all the underhandedness of aristocratic dealings. The story is presented to us through the internal and external struggles of Don Rumata and subsequent personal tragedies, and spends lots of time focused on philosophic ping pong on the nature of human behavior and desires.

The major moral of the story put forward is thoroughly on the nose but not heavy-handed -- where apathetes and fence sitters fester, eventually the bill comes due in the form of whichever extreme you tip to. Overall a great read; the last few chapters are the most compelling, which I flew through in the final night of reading. This also has had a couple movie adaptations, most recently in 2013; I'd highly recommend the book and the 2013 film as companion pieces to one another, as the movie is amazingly visual and atmospheric more than anything, but your first watch will absolutely leave you wanting for more explanation; the book naturally gets much deeper into the relationships and actions of its characters with more elucidation of the setting.

Next on the reading list is probably The Cheese and the Worms.