ArchivesA Sci-Fi book about Belarus. Impossible? Think again!
It might be said that not many people know much about Belarus. Our history is complicated and full of twists, geopolitical situation is not that important in the middle of the Middle Eastern crisis. Some say that Belarus is not well known compared to Ukraine or Russia, there is not much literature available for the Western reader….So on and forth. All these are pretty valid points, and I was enormously amazed when somehow I stumbled upon Sci-Fi fiction called “Belarus”! Oh, boy…it was a cheap shot, I have to admit it. Nothing but shock…
A description does not say much:
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)
And I have a question to ask: Why is that Belarus reads like a Russian fairy tale set in space? Why can’t be Belarussian fairy tale set in space? Maybe, I am asking too much, but anyway. I did not buy this book yet, however, I am planning to do so somewhere next week and as soon as I am done reading it, I will post a review of such unusual Sci-Fi fiction.
For time being, let me provide with a review found on Amazon.com.
In the far distant future, wealth and power is concentrated in a few families who use their money to buy and shape whole planets according to their whims. Andrei Mironenko has opened the planet Belarus to colonization and he intends to be the czar of the new and improved Russia before the Bolshevik revolution destroyed the nation.
Andrei has no time to enjoy his dream because his kingdom is beset from without and within. The republic is falling into chaos, with each planet going its own way. With no central government and therefore no trading, the way of life deteriorates. On a smaller, but no less devastating note a super serial killer is on the loose and he always seems to stay one step ahead of the authorities. Andrei is determined that no matters what happens to him or the rest of galaxy, Belarus will go on. This means another war with the planet’s former occupants who went into hiding.
BELARUS is an entertaining work that will attract readers who like cutting edge speculative fiction. The different life forms that author Lee Hogan describes so vividly feel very real and believable. There is plenty of action in this novel but it is the characters that make this book several steps above the mundane.
Harriet Klausner
However, one thing holds me back a bit…This book costs from $ 0.99 !!! It is my sincere hope that it is solely because of a paperback and not hardcover! 
Those of you who would like to give it a shot could get the book from Amazon(“Belarus” by Lee Hogan
Good reading to you all!
April 8th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I hate to tell you — my novel isn’t actually about Belarus. Another Belarussian citizen read it after it came out and hated it to pieces. I regret this, it wasn’t my intention to insult anyone. But I suspect part of the problem is that he didn’t quite understand that the novel is set more than 20,000 years in the future, on a distant planet (named Belarus by the rich guys who developed it because they didn’t want to name yet another world “New Russia.” The characters in the novel know about as much truthful human history as we do about people who lived 20,000 years ago. So, even though some of them have good intentions, they’re wrong about a lot of stuff. To me, this is what makes a story interesting, people screwing up because of their flaws and misconceptions.
Anyway, it’s a science fiction novel. The reason it’s so cheap is because it’s out of print.
April 24th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Hm… sounds like a pretty intersting book. Maybe I should get a copy… though I how so much stuff to read…ugh…