Publisher Description

Russia, 1946, the Nazis recently defeated, Stalin gathers together half a dozen of the top Soviet science fiction authors. Convinced that the defeat of America is only a few years away and equally convinced that the Soviet Union needs a massive external threat to hold it together, he tells the writers to concoct a highly detailed and believable story about aliens poised to invade earth, so that when America is defeated, the whole population of Soviet Russia will believe the story and before long, the world would as well.But then new orders come from Moscow: they are told to drop the project; Stalin has changed his mind; forget everything about it. So they do. They get on with their lives in their various ways; some of them survive the remainder of Stalin's rule, the changes of the 50s and 60s. And then, in the aftermath of Chernobyl, the survivors gather again, because something strange has started to happen. The story they invented in 1946 is starting to come true...

Notes

One of the UK's most critically acclaimed and consistently interesting SF writers Continuing fascination with Russia and Stalin Perfect for fans of Charles Stross and Philip K. Dick Twice shortlisted for the Clarke Award 'The king of high-concept SF ' THE GUARDIAN Published in America, Germany, France 'Roberts joins my list of essential writers' VECTOR

Author Biography

Adam Roberts is 43 and Professor of 19th century literature at London University. His novels, SALT and GRADISIL have been shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award. He has also published a number of academic works on both 19th century poetry and SF.

Review

'Roberts joins my list of essential writers.' - Vector.'The king of high-concept SF.' - Guardian.

Promotional

One of the UK's most critically acclaimed and consistently interesting SF writers Continuing fascination with Russia and Stalin Perfect for fans of Charles Stross and Philip K. Dick Twice shortlisted for the Clarke Award 'The king of high-concept SF ' THE GUARDIAN Published in America, Germany, France 'Roberts joins my list of essential writers' VECTOR

Prizes

Short-listed for Arthur C. Clarke Award 2010 (UK)
Short-listed for John W Campbell Award 2010 (UK)
Short-listed for British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel 2010 (UK)

Long Description

Russia, 1946, the Nazis recently defeated, Stalin gathers together half a dozen of the top Soviet science fiction authors. Convinced that the defeat of America is only a few years away and equally convinced that the Soviet Union needs a massive external threat to hold it together, he tells the writers to concoct a highly detailed and believable story about aliens poised to invade earth, so that when America is defeated, the whole population of Soviet Russia will believe the story and before long, the world would as well.But then new orders come from Moscow: they are told to drop the project; Stalin has changed his mind; forget everything about it. So they do. They get on with their lives in their various ways; some of them survive the remainder of Stalin's rule, the changes of the 50s and 60s. And then, in the aftermath of Chernobyl, the survivors gather again, because something strange has started to happen. The story they invented in 1946 is starting to come true...

Review Quote

"Wildly imaginative yet delivering the absurdist punch associated with Kafka and Orwell, this novel of high spirits disguised as fact provides a field day for the literary enthusiast as well as the UFO fan."

Promotional "Headline"

A PhilDickian epic of twisted realities and alien invasion set in the dog days of the Soviet Empire.

Description for Sales People

One of the UK's most critically acclaimed and consistently interesting SF writers.

Description for Press or Other Media

A PhilDickian epic of twisted realities and alien invasion set in the dog days of the Soviet Empire.A story that begins in 1946 when Josef Stalin calls together the greatest writers of SF in the Soviet Union for a mysterious meeting and ends with the nuclear hell of Chernobyl. Konstantin Skvorecky and his fellow writers are asked by Stalin to create an alien invasion - a threat that will unite the Soviet Peoples and ensure the survival of Communism. But as Skvorecky's memoir, brilliantly imagined by Roberts, reveals the plan is shelved and forgotten until, forty years, later it starts to come true. This is an extraordinary work of SF satire from one of the acclaimed voices of his generation.

Details