Books
automatic translateA Month Beyond the Rubicon by Sergei Lukyanenko, Summary
"A Month Beyond the Rubicon" is the third and final novel in the "Changed" trilogy, published in 2021. Lukyanenko concludes the story of Maxim Vorontsov, a young Muscovite who has by this point undergone two Summonings and transformed into something unique: a Protector with abilities unlike any other Changed.
Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky, summary
Dmitry Glukhovsky’s post-apocalyptic novel was published in 2005. The book is the fruit of a unique online experiment, where early readers directly influenced the plot, correcting technical details and suggesting logical steps to the author.
Metro 2034 by Dmitry Glukhovsky, summary
This post-apocalyptic science fiction novel depicts the survival of the remnants of humanity in the Moscow subway. Created in 2009, this book is a grim chronicle of the Sevastopolskaya station’s hopeless struggle against an unknown threat and simultaneously a story about the search for lost humanity.
Metro 2035 by Dmitry Glukhovsky, summary
This dystopian novel was written in 2015. This book is the finale of a post-apocalyptic trilogy about the survival of Muscovites underground after a nuclear war. The author abandons the mystical elements of the previous installments.
"The Mechanics of Happiness" by Manuk Mnatsakanyan, summary
The work of Armenian writer and engineer Manuk Mnatsakanyan was published in 1982. The text formed the basis for a screenplay depicting the lives of Yerevan residents burdened by routine concerns but still holding out hope for a better future.
"Sword of Destiny" by Andrzej Sapkowski, summary
This collection of short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski was published as a standalone book in 1992. In this book, readers are introduced to the concept of Destiny, a key concept in the entire series, and meet Princess Cirilla, whose fate shapes the rest of the narrative.
A summary of Maxim Gorky’s "The Philistines"
This book, Maxim Gorky’s debut play, written in 1901, directly and harshly depicts the looming conflict between generations and classes within a well-off bourgeois family.
A Million and One Days of Vacation by Evgeny Veltistov, summary
This book is a 1979 science fiction fairy tale in which one day of schoolchildren in space is equivalent to thousands of years of life on Earth due to the curvature of space near a super-dense dead star.
A summary of Tatyana Korsakova’s "The Backstreet Millionaire"
This book is a melodramatic crime story about betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness. Written in 2007, the novel centers on a successful businessman playing the pauper and a simple woman who suddenly becomes the heiress to a vast fortune.
"Sweet Angel" by Colleen McCullough, summary
This 2004 Australian novel tells the story of a young woman’s emergence into independent living in Sydney at the turn of the 1960s. The narrative is told through the personal diary of radiologist Harriet Purcell.
A summary of "Bel Ami" by Guy de Maupassant
The novel "Bel Ami," written in 1885, is a classic realistic work about the meteoric rise of the cynical adventurer Georges Duroy in Paris during the Third Republic.
"Peace and War" by Boris Akunin, summary
This historical detective novel, published in 2020, describes life on a Russian estate on the eve of and during the Patriotic War of 1812. This book is a bold reimagining of classic Russian literary plots through the lens of criminal investigation.
"The World of King Arthur" by Andrzej Sapkowski, summary
The Polish writer’s literary essay, published in 1995, is a comprehensive study of how tribal Welsh tales evolved into a pan-European canon of chivalric epics.
"The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Carl Sagan, summary
"The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" is the last major book by American astrophysicist and science writer Carl Sagan, published in 1995Co-written with his wife, Ann Druyan, it became a kind of definitive statement by the scientist on why critical thinking and the scientific method are essential to society—especially when pseudoscience and superstition spread faster than sound knowledge.
Arthur C. Clarke’s "The Worlds of Arthur C. Clarke: Beyond Heaven" Summary
This book is a voluminous collection of the writer’s short fiction. The text is held together by a paradoxical fusion of the everyday irony of London pub regulars with the cold drama of interstellar space. The work was continuous.