#soviet scifi

[vibe-stash]

Solaris (1972)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Cinematography: Vadim Yusov Production Design: Mikhail Romadin

[marchember86th]

[horror-aesthete]

Solaris (Солярис), 1972, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

[a-tatterdemalion-in-glass]

I'm about halfway through the Strugatsky Brothers Hard To Be A God and I'm kicking myself for having had it on my shelf this whole time and never reading it, because this book is great.

Its a brilliant sci-fi novel about the morality of interacting and attempting to assist with a less advanced planet/culture than ones own (in this case the protagonist is from a space-faring Soviet future while the planet he's on is Feudal European), the level of responsibility that we all have towards each other and the weight of that responsibility when we have to watch others make mistakes, while also discussing the mindset of savior-types who think they can just solve everything for a developing people (while empathizing with why people fall into it), why it fails, and how it can lead to worse problems.

But the world itself has the feeling of a fleshed out fantasy world, with its own inner history and locations that we get glimpses of. All this grounded in a political reality founded in the Strugatsky Brothers own beliefs in communism, scientific socialism, and the power of social forces which makes the whole thing feel that much more real and nuanced.

I'll probably talk about it more after finishing it, but I just wanted to bring up that it is incredibly good and I recommend it to all sci fi fans who either haven't heard of it, or were on the fence about it.

[corvidfeathers]

hey do you like stories about being queer and trans and in love?  stories inspired by soviet sci-fi?  stories about desperate bids for a better world and the lengths people will go for a dream?  stories about wonder and love and pain and shifting, unknowable worlds?  you should check out Ascension, a fantastic recently-released visual novel by sulmatul. (link leads to a link to the game, in the hopes that tumblr will let this into the tags lol)

Ascension is a visual novel following three lost souls as they venture into The Zone - a dangerous and alien area, fenced off by the rest of the world - and at its center is rumoured to be something that can grant any wish, any innermost desire.

But, at a price.

There's no turning back. Once you leave your old life behind to go chasing dreams, you can never return.

I literally cannot recommend this game enough- the first time I played it, I literally cried with happiness.  I have a hard time putting to words just how gorgeously it portrays trans experiences- it felt like it reached straight into my chest, and none of these words are doing it justice.  So check if any of this intrigues you, please check it out for yourself!

[vintagegeekculture]

“Planeta Burr” ( Планета Бурь, 1962).

[vibe-stash]

Solaris (1972)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Cinematography: Vadim Yusov Production Design: Mikhail Romadin

[vibe-stash]

Solaris (1972)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Cinematography: Vadim Yusov Production Design: Mikhail Romadin