On the Eve - Not gods, but people.

                         Yuri Fleishman
                      NOT GODS, BUT PEOPLE...

                          I want something like this, earthly...

                       Song from the movie "This Merry Planet"

   Fifteen years ago, when for me EVERYTHING in the fandom was just...
began, in the worst dreams it was impossible to imagine,
that the day will come when I will say to myself: “I'm tired of it! I'm tired of it!”
   Tired of reading smooth Western action films: read twenty
pages, and you can stop, save a lot of time - all the same
but nothing new can be extracted from the text. And their heroes are real
only monotonous that the thought creeps in about some kind of mold, with
which they are made. And the translations leave a lot to be desired...
   Somehow I was quietly tired of fantasy. And it turned out to be monotonous.
noah, and the gnomes, elves, noble knights wandering from book to book,
beautiful princesses, and of course - White and Black magicians,
At first arousing interest, they quickly became boring. I'm not talking about the best
examples of this genre, but you can’t read the same thing all the time.
   Our fiction is no better. "Horror Stories" by Petukhov, pornography
Willy Kohn, Nikitin's "Slavic cycle", Golovachev's epics - 
our Russian Tarzans and Lensmen... Excuse me, sturgeon can happen
only one freshness.
   The other pole is those who are classified as the “Fourth Wave”. Once upon a time
I liked their works, the authors wereamong the most read and
revered. Each of their new works was sure to be received,
read and immediately discussed. Alas, those times have sunk into oblivion.
Some of them died, some stopped writing science fiction, some began
I'm just not interested. And someone - not without the influence of the market - "re-
qualified as a house manager."
   Somehow the light that is in the works has been imperceptibly lost
The Strugatskys warmed their souls in the grayness of everyday life. "Widely known 
in narrow circles "turborealism is cold and prickly, in its abstruse ice-
In these labyrinths it is very easy to get lost and inadvertently
damage. I strongly suspect (for some reason it seems so to me) that
you won’t find treasures there, but to fight the Minotaur - I won’t let you
Theseus! The reader must not fight against anything, least of all -
with text.
   It used to be that the author had to fight for the reader. Vi-
Dimo, turborealist writers were so ahead of their time that
the interests and aspirations of simple, “unskilled” readers are already
not interested - they work for ETERNITY!
   I don't understand this kind of literature! "Well - explain to Fleishman -
that he doesn't understand!"

                             * * *

   Gentlemen!
   The moment you are alone with the ballot,
Let's talk about this. The Interpresscon award is OUR award. Awarding
her, we talk about what WE like, what works WE want
you should read. If anyone likes turborealism,these are on the list
things are there. I suggest you vote for the "Galactic Con-
Sula" by Evgeniy Filenko. 
   A little history: I was practically not familiar with creativity
Evgeniy Filenko until the moment when he came across it in “Search-87” 
to his "Epicenter". I read a few pages and see - this is IT!
It was as if I had been there myself! Read and reread on one
breathing, it evoked in me so many thoughts, feelings and emotions
I remember that few authors before could compare with Filenko.
The world he created was absolutely not like the worlds of my favorite writers.
teley, completely destroyed the prevailing science fiction of those years
stereotypes, and at the same time was harmonious, consistent and inviting
medicinal. It was SOMETHING!.. Since then I got it and read almost
all his published works.
   In recent years I have practically not bought science fiction, except for novels.
new editions of the Strugatskys. An exception was made only for Vla-
Stelina Kolets." But is it necessary to explain my feelings when I saw 
"Galactic Consul" - about which I have long heard and waited on the Internet - 
eagerness? The book was immediately purchased and read immediately! If
If someone hasn't done this yet, do it! The book is worth as much as a tile
the best chocolate, but I assure you - more pleasure and,
most importantly, it is much longer.
   Why do I call for voting for the “Galactic Consul”?
   The first and most important thing is the hero.Konstantin Kratov, forty
one year old. Cadet, star walker, xenologist, plodder, again
xenologist But first of all, HUMAN! Of flesh and blood. With all before-
advantages and disadvantages. Not the lifeless character of the museum Madame
Tussaud, but absolutely real and alive for me. While reading the novel, I saw
Kratov, empathized and accompanied him, wished him good luck.
chi. Such a “unity” of reader and hero is found in our fantasy.
stick not often.
   From a beardless youth to an experienced intelligence officer he passes in front of
us on the pages of the book; each episode of the novel reveals
the reader some of his character traits. Character in motion.
   Kratov is not a superman, although many of his actions give him the right to
such an assessment. But this is only at first glance. Superman no doubt
hesitates in his decisions and does not think about responsibility for them.
For Kratov, solutions often come at a high price. Completely special
knowing the consequences of his decisions, he pays this price. And by the way, he
ty, fully in accordance with biblical wisdom, still "rewarded
stands for his deeds!"
   A real person in an authentic setting...
   And the Galaxy described by Filenko... It would seem that one can say
new? We've already read so much... He said it! And as he said!
"Oh yes Filenko! Oh yes...!"
   And finally - the language of the work. Unusual in many ways: Filenko
managed to organically combine the living literary language of the twentieth century,
Japanese and Chinesepoetry with artificially constructed
concepts, social and technical terms of other times and ci-
villizations. But reading the novel is extremely easy and enjoyable. A
numerous connecting threads, references and associations with our real-life
liami - create a unique flavor.
   I'm looking forward to the second book!
   All this was decisive for me! I invite others to follow
my example!
   According to the large form of "Interpresscona-95" - vote for the novel Ev-
genius Filenko "Galactic Consul!"