feat(br): hard to be god

2 files changed, 47 insertions, 48 deletions

diff --git a/content-org/brain-rot.org b/content-org/brain-rot.org
index e5da7da..6ea5763 100644
--- a/content-org/brain-rot.org
+++ b/content-org/brain-rot.org
@@ -2132,20 +2132,19 @@ I encourage everyone to at least /try/ to experience it.
 
 
 *** DONE Hard to be a God (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1964)
-CLOSED: [2024-07-05 Fri 20:08]
+CLOSED: [2024-07-07 Sun 22:41]
 :PROPERTIES:
 :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract A short review of an absolut marvel of a book
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image brain-rot/covers/hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg
-:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating  4.75
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating  4.5
 :END:
 
-I remember, when back in high school we were tasked with reading /The Master and Margarita/.
+I remember, back in high school when we were tasked with reading /The Master and Margarita/.
 Teenage me loved this book about devil and demonic stuff.
 Then they told us that all of that /cool/ stuff is just a cover to hide the real meaning of the book: commentary on the Soviet Union and communism[fn:teen].
 
-
-#+attr_shortcode: 4.75 "hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg" 
+#+attr_shortcode: 4.5 "hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg" 
 #+begin_rating
 Cover
 #+end_rating
@@ -2156,7 +2155,7 @@ The planet is populated by beings living in a society that reminds us of the Mid
 However, the power shifts and a violent, hateful revolution starts taking place.
 Intelligence is killed by angry crowd, and Don Reba getting more and more powerful.
 That alien world is going into revolution.
-Coincidental, this is how communism overtook Russia.
+Coincidentaly, this is how communism overtook Russia.
 
 This is a hard book to get through.
 The subject is very dark, and the form doesn't make it any easier.
@@ -2164,9 +2163,9 @@ One of the biggest problems here is: should observers interfere
 The reader /wants/ a gun-blazing ride on Don Reba, but would it be ethical?
 The observers have guns and flying machines.
 They are able to crush anyone.
-But this would lead only to more bloodshed and a circle of violence.
+But this would only lead to more bloodshed and a circle of violence.
 
-Which is the second thing the book is about.
+Which is another interesting aspect of this book - mediation on human condition.
 Violence is /inherent/ to human race.
 We see it all the time, and the writers put a mirror to our faces.
 How many wars were fought not for survival, but for power?
@@ -2174,26 +2173,26 @@ World War I was called "The Great War" and was supposed to be the last war.
 Humanity saw the absolute worse it can do, definitely we will learn from it.
 We know how it ended.
 
-But I also not invested emotionally.
+/Hard to be God/ is, most definitely, an intelligent SciFi novel.
+
+But I was not invested emotionally.
 It's not visceral book.
 It is disgusting, but you comprehand it more with your mind than heart.
 
-As for the downsides, my biggest (and I think only) complaint here is that I was unable to truly follow the story.
-We know that there are many observers, we meet few.
-For most of the book, we follow one of them - Don Rumata.
-But is Don Reba also one of them?
-Is the one welding godlike powers?
-Only in the last chapter was this explained to me.
-I am not a focused reader, it's completely possible that I missed a sentence (or a chapter) explaining it.
-So yeah - the book expects the reader to /truly/ follow it, to fully comprehend it.
-It's not a book to read here and there.
-Luckily, it's shorter than something like /The Brothers Karamazov/.
-If it wasn't, I would have no idea what's going on.
-
-But even with this "problem", I still consider /Hard to be a God/ a masterpiece.
-Challenging, smart, offensive.
-It lives more in the subtext than in a standard story.
-Definitely a must-read.
+At the same time, it's an easy read.
+You could think that with this subject matter, the book would be offputting, but it's not.
+I /had/ problems following names at some point, as every male character tends to be Don freaking something, but that's all.
+It's an ejoyable read, if you don't focus on what's it actually about.
+
+But when you do start thinning about the meaning, it becomes a completely different beast.
+Authors don't spare the viewer.
+There is a scene, where two young adepts are talking about torture methods, like it was nothing.
+It' almost funny, if it wasn't so real.
+
+/Hard to be a God/ is a short book, which is a great but challenging piece of art.
+I'd call it a masterpiece, if I were emotionally invested.
+As it stands now, it's closer to /Gulag Archipelago/ in a form of story.
+Highly recommended, even if this would be your first encounter with Russian speculative fiction.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/content/brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964.md b/content/brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964.md
index 0a773e9..4f1159d 100644
--- a/content/brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964.md
+++ b/content/brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 +++
 title = "Hard to be a God (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1964)"
 author = ["Michał Sapka"]
-date = 2024-07-05T20:08:00+02:00
+date = 2024-07-07T22:41:00+02:00
 categories = ["brainrot"]
 draft = false
 weight = 3003
@@ -11,18 +11,18 @@ primary_menu = "brain-rot"
 menu_order = "name"
 abstract = "A short review of an absolut marvel of a book"
 image = "brain-rot/covers/hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg"
-rating = 4.75
+rating = 4.5
 [menu]
   [menu.brain-rot-ebscifi]
     weight = 3003
     identifier = "hard-to-be-a-god-arkady-and-boris-strugatsky-1964"
 +++
 
-I remember, when back in high school we were tasked with reading _The Master and Margarita_.
+I remember, back in high school when we were tasked with reading _The Master and Margarita_.
 Teenage me loved this book about devil and demonic stuff.
 Then they told us that all of that _cool_ stuff is just a cover to hide the real meaning of the book: commentary on the Soviet Union and communism[^fn:1].
 
-{{< rating 4.75 "hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg" >}}
+{{< rating 4.5 "hard-to-be-a-god-book.jpg" >}}
 Cover
 {{< /rating >}}
 
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ The planet is populated by beings living in a society that reminds us of the Mid
 However, the power shifts and a violent, hateful revolution starts taking place.
 Intelligence is killed by angry crowd, and Don Reba getting more and more powerful.
 That alien world is going into revolution.
-Coincidental, this is how communism overtook Russia.
+Coincidentaly, this is how communism overtook Russia.
 
 This is a hard book to get through.
 The subject is very dark, and the form doesn't make it any easier.
@@ -41,9 +41,9 @@ One of the biggest problems here is: should observers interfere
 The reader _wants_ a gun-blazing ride on Don Reba, but would it be ethical?
 The observers have guns and flying machines.
 They are able to crush anyone.
-But this would lead only to more bloodshed and a circle of violence.
+But this would only lead to more bloodshed and a circle of violence.
 
-Which is the second thing the book is about.
+Which is another interesting aspect of this book - mediation on human condition.
 Violence is _inherent_ to human race.
 We see it all the time, and the writers put a mirror to our faces.
 How many wars were fought not for survival, but for power?
@@ -51,26 +51,26 @@ World War I was called "The Great War" and was supposed to be the last war.
 Humanity saw the absolute worse it can do, definitely we will learn from it.
 We know how it ended.
 
-But I also not invested emotionally.
+_Hard to be God_ is, most definitely, an intelligent SciFi novel.
+
+But I was not invested emotionally.
 It's not visceral book.
 It is disgusting, but you comprehand it more with your mind than heart.
 
-As for the downsides, my biggest (and I think only) complaint here is that I was unable to truly follow the story.
-We know that there are many observers, we meet few.
-For most of the book, we follow one of them - Don Rumata.
-But is Don Reba also one of them?
-Is the one welding godlike powers?
-Only in the last chapter was this explained to me.
-I am not a focused reader, it's completely possible that I missed a sentence (or a chapter) explaining it.
-So yeah - the book expects the reader to _truly_ follow it, to fully comprehend it.
-It's not a book to read here and there.
-Luckily, it's shorter than something like _The Brothers Karamazov_.
-If it wasn't, I would have no idea what's going on.
+At the same time, it's an easy read.
+You could think that with this subject matter, the book would be offputting, but it's not.
+I _had_ problems following names at some point, as every male character tends to be Don freaking something, but that's all.
+It's an ejoyable read, if you don't focus on what's it actually about.
+
+But when you do start thinning about the meaning, it becomes a completely different beast.
+Authors don't spare the viewer.
+There is a scene, where two young adepts are talking about torture methods, like it was nothing.
+It' almost funny, if it wasn't so real.
 
-But even with this "problem", I still consider _Hard to be a God_ a masterpiece.
-Challenging, smart, offensive.
-It lives more in the subtext than in a standard story.
-Definitely a must-read.
+_Hard to be a God_ is a short book, which is a great but challenging piece of art.
+I'd call it a masterpiece, if I were emotionally invested.
+As it stands now, it's closer to _Gulag Archipelago_ in a form of story.
+Highly recommended, even if this would be your first encounter with Russian speculative fiction.
 
 ---