Útěky z pekla – Strugackij Arkadij (2024)

One of the main themes that the brother duo has focused on in their work is the so-called progressivism – assistance provided by an advanced civilization to a less developed one. This theme runs through the collection, which consists of two novellas and two short stories. ***** In the novella A Attempt to Escape, young men from the twenty-second century, accompanied by a peculiar companion, find themselves on a medieval planet, where they encounter indifferent cruelty. The novella The Boy from Hell presents the opposite scenario: A young soldier, hailing from a war-torn world, is transported to a happy and joyful Earth. Instead of enjoying its benefits, he approaches the local inhabitants and technological wonders with caution, and his greatest wish is to get back home. The short story The Poor Evil People describes the failure of one attempt at "open progressivism," while in The First Men on the First Raft, an Earthling, a contemporary of the authors, is confronted with representatives of a strange civilization, both backward and immensely advanced at the same time. ***** Does an advanced civilization have the right to intervene in the development of a less developed society? Should it attempt to influence its development, or should it rather let history flow on its own? ***** The novellas A Attempt to Escape and The Boy from Hell have only been published in Czech so far...