The theme this week is: Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
I must admit I am not a big fan of fantasy and science fiction. I used to be when I was a teenager and read quite a lot, but gradually I fell out of it as there were not enough books of those genres in our library and I made no effort of my own to develop my horizons. So my top 5 will be closely connected to what i have read before and most of them are Russian books. I am afraid I will have quite an unsuccessful list as most of the bloggers will not have idea about those books below.
1. Sannikov Land by Vladimir Obruchev
There were five of them. Courageous travelers, they set out to find a mysterious island that was seen for the first time amidst the ice of the Arctic by Yakov Sannikov. After crossing interminable ice-fields, they at last found Sannikov Land, "discovered it for science." This land, or rather the crater of a huge volcano, was the home of the flora and fauna of a remote geological period. There the travelers met men of the Stone Age and their contemporaries, mammoths, cave-bears and other animals. The expedition unriddled the island's secret, elucidated the reason for the disappearance of the Onkilon tribe, which at one time lived in North Siberia.
2. Duology “Cold Coasts” and “Morning Nears” by Sergei Lukyanenko
Cold Coasts
In this world Jesus has not come to us - instead, there was the God's Stepson with his magic Word. Besides, iron in this word is more rare and precious than gold, with inevitable consequences to the technology, economy and etc. The mighty Power, heir to the Roman Empire, shares the world with China, Russian Khandom, Ottoman Sultanate and a dozen or so of small countries. This world seems more placid and in a way more comfortable than ours, and it seems very stable and unwilling to change. But one day Markus, a bastard prince of the Ruling House discovers an ancient book which could change the world, for better or worseю
Morning Nears
Ex-gravedigger Ilmar, ex-cop Arnold, ex-nun, ex-pilotess (they fly planers there, not planes), ex-jailer, ex-bishop... twelve companions of the fugitive Prince Marcus, all in all... have to decide, whether Markus is a long waited Messiah, or an equally long-expected Tempter; they have to decide it quick, because the strange boy is being hunted by the police and the church, by foreign spies and every loyal citizen.
3. Professor Dowell's Head by Alexander Romanovich Belyaev
The entire scientific world mourned the loss of Professor Dowell. It was said that just before his death he was on the verge of a breakthrough in the transplantation of human organs.Thus begins a classic tale of horror and suspense by Alexander Beliaev, the bestselling Soviet science fiction author of all time, whose work is considered by many readers the equal of Wells’ and Verne’s.
Marie Laurent felt privileged to work for the professor’s brilliant associate, Professor Kern. But her feelings turned to shock and revulsion when she entered Kern’s laboratory and discovered—sitting on a table, surrounded by tubes and tanks, its eyes blinking and lips moving—Professor Dowell’s head!
4. Wolfhound by Maria Semyonova
Wolfhound is a series of a Low Fantasy novels by a Russian fantasy and Historical Fiction author Maria Semyonova. Wolfhound was condemned to death, but survived to wreak revenge for the murder of his clan. The last member of the clan of the Grey Hounds became a fearless warrior by the name of Wolfhound. After cheating death in the mines, Wolfhound sets out on a journey with his constant companion, the Earthbound Bat. Wolfhound has but one desire – to destroy the Maneater, a merciless warrior who slaughtered the village of the Grey Hounds.
5. Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Set in contemporary Moscow, where shape shifters, vampires, and street-sorcerers linger in the shadows, Night Watch is the first book of the hyper-imaginative fantasy pentalogy from Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko.
This epic saga chronicles the eternal war of the “Others,” an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who must swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. The agents of the Dark – the Night Watch – oversee nocturnal activity, while the agents of the Light keep watch over the day. When a mid-level Night Watch agent named Anton stumbles upon a cursed young woman – an uninitiated Other with magnificent potential – both sides prepare for a battle that could lay waste to the entire city, possible the world.
