Category: Science Fiction
Language: English
Comment: Also a communist society is no ideal, no trouble-free functioning machine with ideal, adapted people. Also there will be intrigues, misdecissions and crimes - but: above all there will be social mechanisms making it possible to deal with such inevitable consequences of human social live.
By means of the question, how a communist society shall and is allowed to handle another, aggressive society, Iain Banks deals with a multitude of ethical problems of communism, wraped into a thrilling and mostly quite confusing futuristic secret service story. But the actually interesting lies somewhere else: Who thinks the live in a communist society were monotonous and dull, levelling and above all "unfree", that can learn here, what real communism actually means.
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Orgiginal title: Excession
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: English)
Comment: This is the German translation of the literature tip above.
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Category: Science Fiction
Language: English
Comment: This is cetrainly the best book by Iain Banks and probably one of the best books ever. Superficial subject is the question of power - can there be a peaceful co-existence of the social systems? Whereas in "Excession" it is made plain that the communist society must never attack militarily from the outside, here it becomes clear that societies of exploitation will never accept an equal limitation. But not being allowed to attack of course doesn't mean not to care for the fate of the exploited in such a society - on the contrary - already because of reasons of self-defence.
The game "Azad" is not only a game, it is the representation of the system of power and control of a society of exploitation: allegedly full of chances, but in reality hard, cruel, hypocritical, merciless. For the "Culture", Iain Banks' communist society, it can become a question of live and death. Will the Player of Games realise this? How will he decide? The temptations of the exploiters are great - the facade is colourful and beautiful. But behind the scenes the true nature of the exploitation shows up - a horrible grimace.
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Original title: -
Translation of the title: The Inhabited Island
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: Russian)
Comment: Fascism! This is the most important subject of the Strugatzki brothers. This is what they want to describe - all its cruelty, its inhumanity. This is what they want to warn of and they want to motivate to fight it with every fibre of one's body. But this isn't so simple. Fascism, this is not only Hitler. Fascism is every medieval violence. Fascism is a basic feature of the society of exploitation and a basic feature of the live and thinking within it - and true liberation cannot come from the outside. True courage is needed here, no blind go-getters. Mercy and wisdom are the most important weapons against this system. Also Maxim Kammerer, ship-wrecked spaceman on a planet far away from his communist home and without contact to his people, must learn this. Rage and despair let him learn to love this new world. He takes part, he engages himself, he fights for his new guest home - his inhabited island. But there is something else. Could there be another one? Another mysterious stranger?
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Original title: -
Translation of the title: A Beetle in The Anthill
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: Russian)
Comment: Second part of the Maxim Kammerer Trilogy
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Original title: -
Translation of the title: The Waves Suffocate The Wind
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: Russian)
Comment: Third part of the Maxim Kammerer Trilogy
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Original title: -
Translation of the title: It Is Hard to Be A God
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: Russian)
Comment: About the Island Imperium of the "inhabited island"
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Original title: -
Translation of the title: The Remote Rainbow
Category: Science Fiction
Language: German (Original: Russian)
Comment: What is more important, inestimable knowledge for the benefit of a whole civilisation - or the lives of a handful of children of a remote outpost? For the one who believes that the road to the progress of mankind must not be paved with the lives of people, the choice is clear - a plea for humanity - just true communism in action.
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Category: Science Fantasy
Language: English
Comment: In contrast to their usually more straight forward writing of the famous authors of the "Dragonlance" Weis and Hickman succeeded here in making an absolute masterpiece: the description of stalinism and of the origin of its failing, without directly referring to actual political events, but as impressive as thrilling. The right thing for true friends of fantasy - and a must for every Communist. Many Communists discuss about the reasons of the failing of realsocialism - Haplo and Alfred, the central heroes of the story, learn them: fear and greed for power. A detailed review can be found at Ilaros.
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Original title: The Death Gate Cycle
Category: Science Fantasy
Language: German (Original: English)
Comment: This is the German translation of the literature tip above.
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