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Belarus #1
Belarus
It's a planet ripe for a new vision-of a glorious past that once was, and could be again. Andrei Mironenko, a powerful magnate in the Star republic, believes the pristine planet of Belarus is uninhabited and unspoiled.
He didn't dig deep enough.
"With a richly imagined geo-political setting, Belarus reads like a Russian fairy tale set in space." (Syne Mitchell, Compton Crook Award-winning author of Technogenesis)
He didn't dig deep enough.
"With a richly imagined geo-political setting, Belarus reads like a Russian fairy tale set in space." (Syne Mitchell, Compton Crook Award-winning author of Technogenesis)
- GenresScience FictionFiction
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
140 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 2, 2022
This was quite a heart hitting story, not trying to sugarcoat most things, but rather trying to show the senseless brutality of old habits set into stone and warring factions both within and with outsiders. There are still a few pieces missing into the great puzzle of the lore here, which were not fully explored, but were eluded to {hopefully in subsequent books}.
August 15, 2019
It's easy to see, with nine of her ten novels now under my belt, why some of her critics found Emily Devenport a frustrating author. Even in her earliest works, she refused to tell the stories they expected her to tell. Sometimes, like here, it often seems like she's even refusing to tell the stories that she expected herself to tell. Some people will hate that about her.
Oddly, I think it's my very favourite aspect of her work. I've learned that I just can't assume anything in a Devenport novel, because I know that, when I least expect it, she's going to take some wild left turns, plural, to make me completely reevaluate everything that I've read that far. I utterly adore how she keeps me on the hop as a reader. I wish I could find another author that does that remotely as well as she does.
Even if this was my very first experience of her work, the first chapter would have captivated me anyway. Just check out the first two paragraphs:
---
Andrei Mironenko walked the dimly lit corridor of Archangel Station fully alert and with every system in his danger suit functioning perfectly. Yet he did not see Grigory until he came face-to-face with the pair of blood stones that filled the sockets where the man's eyes used to be.
"Mironenko," said Grigory.
---
How great is that? I have no idea who Andrei Mironenko is, but I expect that he's some variety of Russian from the name. He's clearly a man of importance because he's wearing a high tech danger suit, whatever that is. I know that I already want one and I'm only one sentence into the book. And who or what is Grigory who has gemstones for eyes and can see people anyway?
Full review at http://www.thenamelesszine.org/Books-....
Oddly, I think it's my very favourite aspect of her work. I've learned that I just can't assume anything in a Devenport novel, because I know that, when I least expect it, she's going to take some wild left turns, plural, to make me completely reevaluate everything that I've read that far. I utterly adore how she keeps me on the hop as a reader. I wish I could find another author that does that remotely as well as she does.
Even if this was my very first experience of her work, the first chapter would have captivated me anyway. Just check out the first two paragraphs:
---
Andrei Mironenko walked the dimly lit corridor of Archangel Station fully alert and with every system in his danger suit functioning perfectly. Yet he did not see Grigory until he came face-to-face with the pair of blood stones that filled the sockets where the man's eyes used to be.
"Mironenko," said Grigory.
---
How great is that? I have no idea who Andrei Mironenko is, but I expect that he's some variety of Russian from the name. He's clearly a man of importance because he's wearing a high tech danger suit, whatever that is. I know that I already want one and I'm only one sentence into the book. And who or what is Grigory who has gemstones for eyes and can see people anyway?
Full review at http://www.thenamelesszine.org/Books-....
March 21, 2021
A world is colonized and developed by a 'Patron', a powerful member of a powerful ruling family in a far, far future which see many worlds being developed by the many cultures of an Earth barely held together by a Republic, ruling Dynastic Family clans and technology that has a mind of its own. The Universe of 'Belarus' is actually deep and complex-- with a storyline that is taken from a Russian/European cultural perspective that is enlightening and a pleasure to read. Add in the background of inter-melding alien cultures and elder players and I found this to be a captivating, thick read. No--- the Author is NOT Russian herself-- but she does her homework. The Universe and the culture is cohesive and compelling. And the dangers that face the young colony and its world-builders are both contemporary and ancient-- both Real Politik and an alien Horror that is not as alien as we'd like to think if we remember our own Myths of the Deep Dark Forests. This one is Part One. The second Book is "Enemies"
December 2, 2021
Belarus by Lee Hogan is the first book in the Belarus duology. Lee Hogan is a pseudonym for Emily Hogan who also writes as Emily Devenport.
In this one it is thousands of years in the future, wealthy and powerful families use their fortunes to buy and shape whole planets according to their whims. Andrei Mironenko has opened the planet Belarus to colonization. He intends to be the czar of a new and improved Russia before the Bolshevik revolution destroyed the nation. Andrei has no time to enjoy his dream because Belarus is beset by enemies from within and without. The republic, of which Belarus is a member, is on the brink of war, hostile aliens are hidden below the surface of the planet, and a serial killer is killing his most vulnerable citizens. If Belarus is to survive he will need to depend on his loyal staff and the dubious help of an ancient legend known as Baba Yaga.
In this one it is thousands of years in the future, wealthy and powerful families use their fortunes to buy and shape whole planets according to their whims. Andrei Mironenko has opened the planet Belarus to colonization. He intends to be the czar of a new and improved Russia before the Bolshevik revolution destroyed the nation. Andrei has no time to enjoy his dream because Belarus is beset by enemies from within and without. The republic, of which Belarus is a member, is on the brink of war, hostile aliens are hidden below the surface of the planet, and a serial killer is killing his most vulnerable citizens. If Belarus is to survive he will need to depend on his loyal staff and the dubious help of an ancient legend known as Baba Yaga.
March 2, 2012
This book will enlighten you on the subject of Russian culture.
May 7, 2014
compelling and evocative of Russian fairy tales. Can't wait to read the sequel
June 11, 2023
Just finished this book last night after having it sit on my reading list for ages...
Let's start by stating the obvious. This is not Russian Science Fiction. This is an American in 2002 writing a space opera about a tsarist Russia that "once was and still can be." At least that's what the book jacket says. What we actually get is a bit of a slow burn as we're thrown right in the middle of things and introduced to some mind-bendingly fantastical technology alongside the characters and the main character's main goal. Microscopic biomechanical wonder-tech, the quasi-mystical order of cyborg "monks" that control them, some sort of power armor... It's all thrown at us all at once alongside meeting Andrei and his goal to create a new colony in the image of old Russia.
We're then introduced to an A plot (the sadistic aliens mentioned on the book jacket,) a B plot (a serial killer using the chaos caused by the aliens to hide their own gory shenanigans) that ultimately ties into the A plot, and a bunch of C plots that don't really do anything except eat up page count and confuse the reader. Is Andrei creating a second chance for a Tsarist Russia or a second Earth in anticipation of an interplanetary civil war? Don't know, his motives for the colony are vague and conflict with the explanation we are given on the book jacket.
On the positive, the story is enjoyable especially once it picks up. There are several references to Baba Yaga given an appropriate space opera update while still maintaining her mystique as one of Russia's surviving folklore figures. The characters are likable if not fully developed. Overall it is a good "popcorn" novel.
As for the negative... as other Goodreaders have noted, the plot shifts focus several times without really resolving any of the complications, the understanding of Russian and Slavic history and culture is functional but extremely basic, and there is a lot of references to the more negative side of Christian fanaticism and what feels suspiciously like Bush-era Republicans (specifically those that watch Info Wars and other conspiracy networks.) The last item is particularly hard to take seriously as most of the religious zealots and conspiracy theorists feel less like proper antagonists and more like badly-realized cartoon characters.
Overall: Not bad but after seeing that the author has an inability to stick with one main plotline, I do not think I will be looking for any more of her books...
Let's start by stating the obvious. This is not Russian Science Fiction. This is an American in 2002 writing a space opera about a tsarist Russia that "once was and still can be." At least that's what the book jacket says. What we actually get is a bit of a slow burn as we're thrown right in the middle of things and introduced to some mind-bendingly fantastical technology alongside the characters and the main character's main goal. Microscopic biomechanical wonder-tech, the quasi-mystical order of cyborg "monks" that control them, some sort of power armor... It's all thrown at us all at once alongside meeting Andrei and his goal to create a new colony in the image of old Russia.
We're then introduced to an A plot (the sadistic aliens mentioned on the book jacket,) a B plot (a serial killer using the chaos caused by the aliens to hide their own gory shenanigans) that ultimately ties into the A plot, and a bunch of C plots that don't really do anything except eat up page count and confuse the reader. Is Andrei creating a second chance for a Tsarist Russia or a second Earth in anticipation of an interplanetary civil war? Don't know, his motives for the colony are vague and conflict with the explanation we are given on the book jacket.
On the positive, the story is enjoyable especially once it picks up. There are several references to Baba Yaga given an appropriate space opera update while still maintaining her mystique as one of Russia's surviving folklore figures. The characters are likable if not fully developed. Overall it is a good "popcorn" novel.
As for the negative... as other Goodreaders have noted, the plot shifts focus several times without really resolving any of the complications, the understanding of Russian and Slavic history and culture is functional but extremely basic, and there is a lot of references to the more negative side of Christian fanaticism and what feels suspiciously like Bush-era Republicans (specifically those that watch Info Wars and other conspiracy networks.) The last item is particularly hard to take seriously as most of the religious zealots and conspiracy theorists feel less like proper antagonists and more like badly-realized cartoon characters.
Overall: Not bad but after seeing that the author has an inability to stick with one main plotline, I do not think I will be looking for any more of her books...
October 2, 2018
Couldn't get into it, too many suffocating religious references and way too many misspellings and typos in the Kindle edition. Can't recommend it. If I want to read Russian fairytales I'll read them in their original and, honestly, the unrelenting references to largely medieval Russian cultural norms in a civilization that has progressed significantly, both in time and space, become tedious rather than interesting. There is too much babble presented as dialogue and interactivity (and probably supposed to be 'character building') that bored me rather than advancing the story. And that's exactly what happened to me: I got bored, and when it demands an effort from me to return to a novel, I cease to enjoy it. What a shame. As always, respect to the Writer.
June 16, 2018
I kinda remember reading this. And it looks interesting enough I might wanna read it again.
[outdated reviews from the great purge of 2018]
[outdated reviews from the great purge of 2018]
March 24, 2024
Creative and builds an interesting world. I enjoyed it, and think it’s worth reading.
May 3, 2015
I enjoyed this book. I liked the Russian cultural aspects. I liked the inclusion of Baba Yaga weird Russian folk witch / otherworldly being. I've come across her in other Russian mythology so that felt authentic. As I'm not Russian, it is hard to know if it is just an american author's conception of Russian culture or an experienced reality. Either way, I enjoyed the book - the way Russian culture was envisioned to continue into space. I thought the addition of the alien bug culture a good and intriguing one and I like that you can not really even come close to understanding the minds of an alien that is an insect. It was creepy, it was sci-fi and I enjoyed the book. I'll be reading the sequel if I can get my hands on it. Definitely a pleasant surprise.
June 18, 2008
A good book. A very interesting view of human exploration and colonization of space.
May 22, 2023
Awesome story about a future Russian colony on a faraway planet. Unfortunately the colonists are unaware of a hostile alien race living underground. Exciting and has really well written characters.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews