Aliens, Postapocalypse, Jesus and the Space Smugglers: The Most Interesting Fantastic Books of 2017

In the New Year's Eve month, everyone likes to sum up, recall interesting events, key milestones, and generally nostalgic for the year that has not yet ended. And it is also customary to make all sorts of selections released during the year: the best smartphones / laptops / fitness bracelets / navigators / other gadgets, the best games / backpacks / flashlights / movies / drills - in general, everything that helps us enjoy life, and even brings favor We decided not to violate the good tradition, and collected for you the most interesting, in the opinion of the editors, fantastic books published in Russian this year.

The task of the three bodies

This is the first part of the trilogy of the Chinese (!) Science fiction writer Liu Cixin. Here who of you at least once in life is not something that I read, but at least heard about Chinese fiction? And she is. However, the whole world knows little about science fiction, and the matter is in the notorious language barrier. However, the “Three-Body Problem” broke through this barrier. The work itself is not new, the first novel was published in 2006. A few years later he was translated into English, and the work won the Nebula and Hugo Awards. Last year, an unofficial translation of the book appeared online, and this year the novel was published on paper.

“At a time when China was experiencing the aftermath of a brutal“ cultural revolution, ”signals were sent to outer space during a secret military project to establish contact with the alien mind. One of the signals caught the civilization, which is on the verge of death, and now the aliens are preparing to invade Earth. Upon learning of this, people were divided into those who are ready to put our vicious world under the control of a higher mind, and those who until the last will fight against this invasion. ”

To each his own

If you do not neglect the national fiction, then the name of Sergei Tarmashev may already be familiar to you. The author is very prolific, in 9 years he has written almost 30 books. His latest work is a gloomy and realistic nuclear postapocalypse for “to each his own”. At the same time, pay attention to what is said about science fiction on Wikipedia: “Very little is known about him - an officer in the seventh generation, not married, no children, graduated from the Suvorov School, grew up in garrisons in a military family, mother is a cultural worker, worked with young children . Ss Tarmashev served in the GRU special forces, worked as a hand-to-hand combat instructor. ” This is not Glukhovsky’s fantasies about the world of the metro, Tarmashev’s book is much more realistic.

Village

Do not rush to throw at me broken winchesters with “Old!” Screams. Yes, Kira Bulycheva’s novel “The Village” began to be published 37 years ago. But this is one of the best works of our deserved science fiction, and interesting both for teenagers and adults. The last time the "Village" was reprinted 12 years ago. And ID Meshcheryakova, known for the high quality of his books, was pleased with the new, excellent illustrated edition.

“17 years ago, the Polyus spaceship crashed in the mountains on a still unexplored planet. Forty astronauts, unable to reach home, founded a village in the valley, where life went on as usual - houses were built, food was provided, children who had never seen Earth grew up and brought up. Having practically lost hope of returning, the residents of the village decide to make another expedition to the "Pole", and suddenly notice an object in the sky that can be a reconnaissance module from an earthly ship ... "

Family lord

“An unexpected catastrophe doomed the Earth to a slow but inevitable death. The nations of the world united to implement a grand project - to save humanity by sending its representatives into space. But the unpredictability of human nature, coupled with unforeseen problems, ruin this venture, and only a handful of people remain alive ... Five thousand years later, their descendants are preparing for another journey into an unknown and strange world, completely transformed by cataclysm and the passage of time. They are returning to Earth. ”

Iphonegelia

George Zotov - a kind of writer. Usually his works combine the theme of mystical and religious characters, flavored with rough humor and caustic-cynical observations from modern life. For example, in the story "The Storyteller" describes the difficult working days of Death, which has an office in Moscow. Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse are also funny described there. In “Iphonefeliya” Zotov remained true to himself:

“You go to a bar after work, and Jesus stands at your bar with a glass of wine. That one. Who has no idea why he suddenly appeared in our time. But this is nonsense. You have no idea what will happen next ... "

And then there will still be Stalin, talking with Hitler, and Pushkin with Dantes. In the pub in modern Moscow, yeah.

Chronoliths

“The first chronolite arrived without warning. A 60-meter-high column destroyed everything around it, and it could neither be split nor blown up. She celebrated the victory of an unknown commander in a battle that will happen only after 16 years. The first chronolite came from the future, but it did not become the last. Every year more and more of them appeared, they demolished entire cities, wreaked havoc and overthrew states, proclaiming the power of the ruler, the existence of which no one knew, with the help of technology, the secret of which no scientist in the world could unravel.

Scott Warden, who witnessed the emergence of the first chronolite, besides his will, falls into the very center of this mysterious phenomenon, the epicenter of the battle with the inevitable future. But how to prevent something that has already happened? ”

Islanders

Christopher Priest wrote an unusual science fiction travel guide. Approximately 75% of the land of some fictional planet is the Archipelago of Dreams. Besides him, there are two more continents, the northern and southern, Nordmayer and Zuidmayer. The archipelago declared neutrality, and there are no wars in its territories. But on the continents of the war are constantly. And one way or another, but combat aircraft and ships are on the territory of the Archipelago. The novel is written in the form of stories about life on different islands.

“The Dreams Archipelago is an extensive network of islands. In different countries they are called differently, and even their location seems to be very irregular. Some islands resemble huge musical instruments, others are the birthplace of deadly creatures, and others - a playground for high society. Hot winds sweep through the Archipelago, but the war waged by the inhabitants of two distant continents stops at its borders. The novel "The Islanders" is not only a vivid description of the Archipelago of Dreams, but also a multi-layered, intriguing story about a murder and a suspicious legacy of a pleasant, but definitely unreliable narrator. "

Three-volume "Chaos"

“Created under the editorship of John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howie, the most experienced compilers of the fantastic anthologies, the Triptych of the Apocalypse is a series of three collections of apocalyptic fiction.

"Chaos on the threshold" focuses on the events preceding the mass catastrophe, when only a few anticipated the coming collapse. "The kingdom of chaos" brings powerful blows to humanity, leaving little choice to either countries or individuals. "Chaos: retreat?" depicts the fate of mankind after the Apocalypse. "

Secret Flight

This is a good copy of space adventure fiction, with shootouts and chases. If you liked the series "Firefly", then the "Secret Flight" should be to your liking.

“Smugglers, mercenaries and adventurers, traveling from planet to planet in search of another job, gathered on board the ship" Keiko ". None of the crew members likes to talk about their past, but one day the past catches up with Captain Icaboda Drift. A long-standing secret forces him to go on a Secret Flight to Old Earth. However, while agreeing, the captain does not even suspect what kind of cargo he is to deliver and what terrible consequences this may entail. ”

Slumbering abyss

“3589 year, time of incredible technology and unprecedented flourishing of civilization. But still not everything is subject to the human mind, and an unexpected threat can destroy what has been created with such difficulty over the centuries. In the very heart of the Galaxy extends the Abyss, an independent micro-universe that cannot be reached. It has existed for billions of years, like a black hole, gradually absorbing stars, and even the most ancient race has no idea about its origins. But Inigo, an astrophysicist who studies the Abyss, begins to have dreams about human beings living in this universe. In dreams, Inigo presents a world where thoughts turn into actions, and dreams become reality. This is a real paradise. With the help of the neuroconnection, Inigo shares his dreams with millions of people - this is how a new religion appears, and Inigo calls it a prophet. However, there is a danger that attempts to penetrate into the Abyss will launch a monstrous expansion mechanism and the Galaxy will die before its allotted time limit. And so Inigo disappears ... "

On this round, but, as always, we urge the Collective Mind to complement the selection in the comments.