HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Prisoners of Power (Best of Soviet SF) by…
Loading...

Prisoners of Power (Best of Soviet SF) (edition 1977)

by Arkady Strugatsky

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1847148,005 (3.94)12
When Maxim Kammerer, a young space explorer from twenty-second-century Earth, crash-lands on an uncharted world, he thinks of himself as a latter-day Robinson Crusoe. Eager to establish first contact with the planet's humanlike inhabitants, he finds himself increasingly entangled in their primitive way of life. After his experiences in their nightmarish military, criminal justice, and mental health systems, Maxim begins to realize that his sojourn on this radioactive and war-scarred world will not be a walk in the park. The Inhabited Island is one of the Strugatsky brothers' most popular and acclaimed novels, yet the only previous English-language edition (Prisoners of Power) was based on a version heavily censored by Soviet authorities. Now, in a sparkling new edition by award-winning translator Andrew Bromfield, this land-mark novel can be newly appreciated by both longtime Strugatsky fans and new explorers of the Russian science fiction masters' astonishingly rich body of work.… (more)
Member:ChrisRiesbeck
Title:Prisoners of Power (Best of Soviet SF)
Authors:Arkady Strugatsky
Info:MacMillan Publishing Company (1977), Paperback, 287 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***1/2
Tags:None

Work Information

Prisoners of Power by Arkady Strugatsky

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 12 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
The set up is an intergalactic explorer crashes on a colonized planet. His ship blows up, destroying his rescue beacon. That background becomes pretty much irrelevant until the very end of the book. What does matter is that for all his youth and naïveté, he has physical talents that will crucial for his survival as he learns about the working of the societies he encounters. There are many secrets about him and this world that are only gradually revealed.

This is primarily a book of ideas, revealed through events. There are a few info dumps, but they are kept under control. The two main characters definitely develop, though characterization is not a key element.

Recommended. ( )
1 vote ChrisRiesbeck | Jul 12, 2021 |
An improbable mix of Non-Stop, Dune and 1984. A favourite of Sturgeon, who provides an insightful introduction, Prisoners of Power works on several levels. At face value it's an action-packed adventure. Alternatively, a dystopia on life in an inhospitable radioactive environment. Or even a political thriller, though apparently heavily censored. Even the censored version (on which current English translations are based) gives a scathing indictment of bureaucracy. As the plot unravels, shattering this casual science fiction reader's preconceptions, a deep humanitarian question emerges. Does the end really justify the means? ( )
  jigarpatel | Oct 1, 2019 |
A história passa-se num planeta onde aterra o Terrano Maxim e descobre um povo constantemente em guerra, totalmente poluído e radiactivo onde existem os Legionários e todos os militares combatentes e uns "degenerados" que querem derrotar a estrutura de poder composta pelos Criadores Todo-Poderosos. Numa alegoria muito bem criada vem-se a descobrir que existe uma segunda intenção para todos os personagens, em especial para umas torres que emitem umas radiações com um intuito muito específico. É uma escrita interessante mas que por vezes se pode tornar um pouco cansativa. Quem conheceu a Rússia e os países do leste europeu poderá compreender melhor as alegorias que o livro apresenta. ( )
  bruc79 | Mar 27, 2016 |
A história passa-se num planeta onde aterra o Terrano Maxim e descobre um povo constantemente em guerra, totalmente poluído e radiactivo onde existem os Legionários e todos os militares combatentes e uns "degenerados" que querem derrotar a estrutura de poder composta pelos Criadores Todo-Poderosos. Numa alegoria muito bem criada vem-se a descobrir que existe uma segunda intenção para todos os personagens, em especial para umas torres que emitem umas radiações com um intuito muito específico. É uma escrita interessante mas que por vezes se pode tornar um pouco cansativa. Quem conheceu a Rússia e os países do leste europeu poderá compreender melhor as alegorias que o livro apresenta. ( )
  bruc79 | Jul 31, 2015 |
A man from an utopian Earth shipwrecked in a dystopian planet where he finds himself at the middle of local politics and the resistance... The Strugatsky brothers' book was banned in the Soviet Union and they had a good reason for that... ( )
  TheCrow2 | Apr 18, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (44 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Arkady Strugatskyprimary authorall editionscalculated
Strugatsky, Borismain authorall editionsconfirmed
Käsper, KalleTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Käsper-Markosjan, GoharTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mändmaa, KristjanCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pietraß, ErikaÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
"Prisoners of Power" is a heavily censored and abridged version of "Inhabited Island"/Обитаемый остров.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

When Maxim Kammerer, a young space explorer from twenty-second-century Earth, crash-lands on an uncharted world, he thinks of himself as a latter-day Robinson Crusoe. Eager to establish first contact with the planet's humanlike inhabitants, he finds himself increasingly entangled in their primitive way of life. After his experiences in their nightmarish military, criminal justice, and mental health systems, Maxim begins to realize that his sojourn on this radioactive and war-scarred world will not be a walk in the park. The Inhabited Island is one of the Strugatsky brothers' most popular and acclaimed novels, yet the only previous English-language edition (Prisoners of Power) was based on a version heavily censored by Soviet authorities. Now, in a sparkling new edition by award-winning translator Andrew Bromfield, this land-mark novel can be newly appreciated by both longtime Strugatsky fans and new explorers of the Russian science fiction masters' astonishingly rich body of work.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.94)
0.5
1
1.5
2 1
2.5
3 7
3.5 3
4 12
4.5 1
5 8

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 204,812,733 books! | Top bar: Always visible