I am delighted to be able to share with you these Selfies Of Success by Maria K. (Maria Igorevna Kuroshchepova.)
Maria K. (Maria Igorevna Kuroshchepova) is a writer,
translator, and blogger, covering a wide range of topics from travel and fashion to politics and social issues.
A non-fiction and science fiction writer in her own right, Maria is also a prolific translator of less-known works of Russian and Soviet literature into English. Her most prominent translations include her grandfather Vasily Kuznetsov’s Siege of
Leningrad journals titled The Ring of Nine, and Thais of Athens – a historic novel by Ivan Yefremov. Both works quickly made their way into the top 100 Kindle publications in their respective categories and
continue attracting consistent interest and acclaim from readers.
About the book: Great historic rulers attempted to take over the world with superior armies and weapons. Ludwig Shtirner decided not to follow in
their footsteps. Instead, he set out to take over the world using nothing more than the power of his mind.
Book Review Aleksandr Belyaev’s RULER OF THE WORLD (1929), newly translated by Maria K, is a fun read. But it is also a look at a whole school of science fiction that emerged in Europe after World War I and
can be characterized as apocalyptic sf.
An “apocalyptic” work is formally defined as a prophetic vision, like the Revelation of St. John in the New Testament. But its connotation, from that same book, is more specific: a vision of ultimate disaster –
of wars and plagues and pestilences that signal the end of the world.
Leningrad journals titled The Ring of Nine, and Thais of Athens – a historic novel by Ivan Yefremov. Both works quickly made their way into the top 100 Kindle publications in their respective categories and
continue attracting consistent interest and acclaim from readers.
About the book: Great historic rulers attempted to take over the world with superior armies and weapons. Ludwig Shtirner decided not to follow in
their footsteps. Instead, he set out to take over the world using nothing more than the power of his mind.
Book Review Aleksandr Belyaev’s RULER OF THE WORLD (1929), newly translated by Maria K, is a fun read. But it is also a look at a whole school of science fiction that emerged in Europe after World War I and
can be characterized as apocalyptic sf.
An “apocalyptic” work is formally defined as a prophetic vision, like the Revelation of St. John in the New Testament. But its connotation, from that same book, is more specific: a vision of ultimate disaster –
of wars and plagues and pestilences that signal the end of the world.
It is no accident that the same traumatic war that produced Vicente Blasco Ibanez’ The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916) also led to apocalyptic visions of mass upheavals and destruction in science fiction.
A new image of the Mad Scientist emerged. No longer a Frankenstein or Dr. Moreau, pursuing his research in back streets or on remote islands, he was now a megalomaniac using science as a means to achieve world power, or at least allying himself with forces which so used it.
Destructive rays and atomic energy were staples of the apocalyptic school, but so was scientifically-based mind control/ Ludwig Shtirner in THE RULER OF THE WORLD (1929), is a latter-day Svengali, but
he doesn’t rely on mere charisma and he isn’t looking for just a Trilby.
he doesn’t rely on mere charisma and he isn’t looking for just a Trilby.
A “Napoleon Wannabe” (the translation is anachronistic, but you get the point!), he seeks to rule the world, and he has the mind-control technology to do just that – first imposing his will on a banker and, after that banker’s death, taking effective control of first the bank and before long the entire economy of Germany. Police and military
attacks on his headquarters are fruitless; the attackers’ minds are simply taken over.
One prophetic detail: France, alarmed that it may be next on Shtirner’s list, calls on America to attack his headquarters with drones, which can’t be taken over.
attacks on his headquarters are fruitless; the attackers’ minds are simply taken over.
One prophetic detail: France, alarmed that it may be next on Shtirner’s list, calls on America to attack his headquarters with drones, which can’t be taken over.
That attack fails only because the drones are early
models that can’t be directed from afar and are blown off course.
models that can’t be directed from afar and are blown off course.
Meanwhile, a duel of wits and technology unfolds between Shtirner and Kachinsky – a Russian electronic telepathy expert recruited by the
government who comes up with the idea of protective suits to shield the forces of law and order from mind control). But the finale isn’t what
you expect; Belyaev always liked to avoid the obvious in his sf, and Ruler of the World is no exception. Maria’s translation captures both the flow and the spirit of the story.
Book link:
http://www.amazon.com/Ruler-World-Alexander-Belyaev-ebook/dp/B00CTA3XAI/
My web site: http://www.landofmariak.com/
government who comes up with the idea of protective suits to shield the forces of law and order from mind control). But the finale isn’t what
you expect; Belyaev always liked to avoid the obvious in his sf, and Ruler of the World is no exception. Maria’s translation captures both the flow and the spirit of the story.
Book link:
http://www.amazon.com/Ruler-World-Alexander-Belyaev-ebook/dp/B00CTA3XAI/
My web site: http://www.landofmariak.com/
