The promise of this great book is far greater than what is delivered. I loved every moment of reading, but I felt it to be entirely under-developed. It is hard to complain because it is such an intriguing premise--and often quite funny!--but with each chapter I was left wanting more, and that feeling was still all too present at the conclusion.

I have read that the concept of Progressors is dealt with in other Strugatsky books, and if so, perhaps this one can be relieved of some of the responsibility to elaborate on this fascinating universe, but until I know this for sure, I must say I'm a bit disappointed while at the same time quite pleased.

Highly recommended, despite what I consider to be its only fault, its briefness. I will definitely be looking into more works by the Strugatsky brothers, if their general unavailability in English does not stop me.

Let us hope the film version in production right now gets at least an English-subtitled DVD! ( )

It's incomprehensible to me that english translations of the work of the Strugatsky brothers remain almost completely out of print. Currently amazon.com has two used copies of this classic available (presumably the DAW paperback), the cheapest one priced at $75.99!

Every serious reader if science fiction should know the work of the brothers Strugatsky. Hard to be a God may well be their best known work (although many seem to think that Roadside Picnic is their best). While this book was published two years before the debut of the original Star Trek television series, it deals directly with the concept of and issues around Roddenberry's "prime directive." Scientists from an elightened future Soviet Union are observers on a planet with a medieval socio-economic society. They are supposed to observe the brutal, amoral society, and gently nudge it towards a more enlightened future. The story follows one of these agents, Don Rumata, as he tries and ultimately fails to maintain a dispassionate, disinterested distance from the locals. ( )

This is a version of "Hard to be a God" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky adapted for beginning learners of Russian. I had high hopes for this book because of the other wonderful graded readers from this publisher, like "Читаем без проблем". I haven't read the original, but I'd like to think that might actually be a good story if written with the entire Russian language. Unfortunately, with access to only 750 words, this adaptation is rather confusing, lapsing into downright incoherence. Definitely go with another of the Златоуст readers if you don't want to have a lot of explaining to do to your students.

(Q) ( )