{"product_id":"hard-to-be-a-god-arkadi-boris-strugatski-1974","title":"Hard To Be A God by Arkadi \u0026 Boris Strugatski","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Undercover Earth Historian Battles a Medieval Anti-Intellectual Purge and the Agony of Non-Intervention\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOperating undercover for Earth’s Institute of Experimental History, Anton lives on a distant human-inhabited planet arrested in a brutal, feudal dark age. Posing as the aristocratic, sword-fighting nobleman Don Rumata in the Kingdom of Arkanar, Anton is bound by a strict code of non-intervention: observe the planet's historical development, rescue key cultural figures when possible, but never kill or use advanced Terran technology to alter the society's trajectory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnton's detached mission deteriorates as the kingdom falls under the grip of Don Reba, a ruthless minister whose \"Gray\" stormtroopers launch a violent campaign to eradicate the realm's scholars, poets, inventors, and physicians. As Arkanar slides into religious tyranny and totalitarian terror, Anton struggles to smuggle targeted intellectuals to safety while protecting the woman he loves. Pushed past his psychological endurance, Anton must confront whether a civilized observer can maintain moral neutrality when faced with systematic slaughter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy You’ll Love This Book\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArkady and Boris Strugatsky craft a critique of fascism, anti-intellectual purges, and historical determinism. A foundational 1964 classic of speculative world-building and moral philosophy, this novel is essential reading for fans of the authors' \u003ci\u003eRoadside Picnic\u003c\/i\u003e, Stanisław Lem’s \u003ci\u003eSolaris\u003c\/i\u003e, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fehmerling Books","offers":[{"title":"Good \/ Paperback","offer_id":67669492433050,"sku":"7210040","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/3455\/3498\/files\/arkadi-boris-strugatski-hard-to-be-a-god-front-cover.jpg?v=1792508760","url":"https:\/\/www.fehmerlingbooks.com\/products\/hard-to-be-a-god-arkadi-boris-strugatski-1974","provider":"Fehmerling Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}