A perfect story: nothing extra, nothing missing. Conveys the true feeling of being a scientist and making discoveries, and elegantly states the moral dilemma of committment to truth versus committment to one's self, appetites, and family.

Just read this book and liked it a lot. It seemed to explore the theme of why most people never really live up to their potential, or fulfill the dreams of their youth, but instead get sidetracked or sucked down in the concerns of everyday life. Perhaps it's the homeostatic universe at work. "Since then crooked, roundabout, godforsaken paths stretch out before me..." Great stuff!

I like Strugatsky very much. I'm happy I can read them in Russian, but you can find many translationsinto English just as well. Definitely Maybe, or, originally, One Billion Years before the End of the World, is, no doubt, one of their best books, along with Hard to be a God, Roadside Picnic or Snail on the Slope. It's a pity people in the West talk so much about Solzhenitsin and the like and know practically nothing about Strugatsky whose contribution to the world literature is in no way less. One more thought for those who think they hate science fiction. Strugatsky themselves (or Strugatskii, or Strugatski -- you can find any of those spellings on the Internet) once wrote that in fact there's no such genre as science fiction. There's good literature and bad literature. Strugatsky is definitely (without any maybe) a good literature.

This one as well as "Les" is a part of a double novel, so it would be better to read the whole book. What I believe is important to see in "Ugly Swans", as well, as in other Strugatskii books, is not the aliens and another version of future, but people that are all around us and our own world. After all, it's not forseeing the future that the authors were trying to do, but to describe what was going on around them. I also believe that Strugatskii books are universal and go far beyond exploration of any one event in history. Through Science Fiction they make us look into ourselves and open our eyes to some most urgent issues of today. Unfortunately these issues change slowly. The content itself is somewhat dark, but Strugatskii were optimists: in the end the beautiful dream comes true. I think I would really like to live in the kind of future that brothers Strugatskii described in many of thier books.

I was looking for a copy for a friend, since I don't want to loan mine out. I'd never get it back! This is really a wonderful book. I first read it about twenty years ago, and have read it four or five times since. After each read there is more to digest. I can't believe it's out of print.

Out of five stars it deserves at least 10. One of the best books I have ever seen.

If you know where can I buy strugatsky's books in english please send me an e-mail.

I have read all the books written by brothers A&B Strugatskii and would name them among my favourite authors. This particular book is actually a second and probably the most popular part of a trilogy where the main charachter is Maxim Kammerrer. In spite of that it can be easily read separately. The story will keep even the ones who do not like science fiction preoccupied for a few hours. The authors explore our fear of the unknown. What is the real purpose of the alien world and its beings? Are they offering a friendly hand or are they here to destroy us? Or, may be, they are merely passing by... To make matters more complicated, the potential alien does not know that he might be a walking bomb as Earth is the only home he had ever known...

Why would a SuperMan (or X-man) want to stick around on the little Earth, getting the poor humans out of various boring problems?

May be, because he (or she) does not realize his (or her) powers. Or, because, he feels gratefull or has some other emotional attachments.

But this things can not keep him for too long...

This book is somewhere at the top of my list for the best books I have ever read, with the rest of the books by that author. I only wish more were translated and advertised for the English-speaking community. Anyone that likes adventure, new ideas, and awesome descriptions will simply love this book.

This book shows some philosophy, moral problem in modern society. helps people change mind on many well established rocks. You will be in shock after reading it for a couple days.

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's "Far Rainbow" represents that strangest of amalgams -- an eerily beautiful story of a planetary disaster. From a population of millions, only a handful could be saved. Paradoxically, the event brings out the best of the inhabitants, who set about selecting those among their number who represent the best of its people, work, and aspirations. Among the greatest works of all postwar Soviet fiction irrespective of category, the sci-fi books of the Strugatsky brothers deserve to be reprinted and disseminated to a new generation.

I think this is a pretty good book. It's not the best by the Strugatsky Brothers, though. More than sci fi (which is there, but only as a very secondary element) it could be considered a historical fantasy. It obviously presents history in a soviet citizen's view, but it's a forgivable quirk for those who hate commies. What makes me be such a fan of the Strugatsky Brothers is the fact that they were able to put out such quality material aven though they had to deal with the hard soviet censorship.

This book has it all: adventure, excitement, a whole medieval world conjured up by pure genius. It also centers around a dilemma similar to that faced by various Star Trek captains: thou shall not interfere! But how does one not when so much is at stake? How can one be an equivalent of a god, but merely observe, forgetting the very notion of justice? If you like books that make you think, but do not serve up the answers, this is it! Written in a wonderful, crisp language, and one of the better Russo-English translations, this is one is a worthy undertaking!

The most amazing thing about this book is that it's out of print... After all, it is their most famous one. In "Hard To Be A God" the human race has reached higher stages of development and a relative harmony. Now they are dispatching "progressors" to help out the bachward planets. The scary thing is that when you read this book, you seem more familiar with the inhabitants of the poor planet than with the people from the future Earth. Terrans despise the actions and qualities of the planet inhabitants, but are unable to turn away; they have to be gods and gods have to be above emotions like hatred. Strugatskii always offered a unique perspective of our society, by placing it in another time and place. This book should be recomended reading at schools. I cannot emphasise enough the fact that the wonderful books of brothers Strugatskii is ever so much more than your regular SiFi. I only wish American audience was familiar with their work. In my knowledge they changed the worlds of so many people, made them reevaluate themselves, helped them dream and see the ways of changing things.