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Product Description
Review
"Wildly imaginative yet delivering the absurdist punch associated with Kafka and Orwell, this novel of high spirits disguised as fact provides a field day for the literary enthusiast as well as the UFO fan." —Library Journal
"An endlessly inventive writer . . . one of our most intelligent and versatile authors." —SFRevue
"Part a droll comedy of manners parodying the fall of Soviet communism, part an intellectual inquiry into the idea of multiple quantum realities, and part an attempt to discover why, despite the ubiquity of reported sightings, UFOs have never been proved to exist. As ever with Roberts, the writing is impeccable and the ideas riveting." —Guardian
Product Description
A group of Soviet authors are shocked to watch the science fiction story they wrote 40 years ago slowly come to life in this fantastic tale from the author of Swiftly
In Russia, the year is 1946 and with the Nazis recently defeated, Stalin gathers half a dozen of the top Soviet science fiction authors in a dacha in the countryside. Convinced that the defeat of America is only a few years away—and equally convinced that the Soviet Union needs a massive external threat to hold it together—Stalin orders the writers to compose a massively detailed and highly believable story about an alien race poised to invade the earth. The little group of writers gets down to the task and spends months working until new orders come from Moscow to immediately halt the project. The scientists obey and live their lives until, in the aftermath of Chernobyl, the survivors gather again, because something strange has happened: the story they invented in 1946 is starting to come true.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Original oddball story,
By Abe (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Yellow Blue Tibia (Paperback)
4/5 An oddball novel that does not fit into the usual categories. Features classic acidic Soviet humour and looniness. Use that and the Product Description to get an idea if this novel is for you.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews) 20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange title, strange book!,
By Mike Fazey - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Yellow Blue Tibia (Paperback)
Yellow Blue Tibia, with its quirky humour and uncertain realities, calls to mind Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K Dick. It also reminded me a bit of Stanislaw Lem, in particular, his absurdist novel Memoirs Found in a Bathtub.Roberts has created some memorable characters here. The protagonist Svorecky has a kind of dry acerbic wit that permeates almost every conversation he has, and the nuclear physicist cum taxi driver with Asperger's Syndrome, Saltykov, is absolutely hilarious. There are some very funny scenes too - Svorecky's impromptu address to a group of Muscovite UFO enthusiasts and his interrogation at the hands of the militia are both eminently chucklesome. But behind the humour, there's an interesting sociological theme about the UFO phenomenon and why it's so culturally prevalent. The idea that the KGB devoted so many resources to investigating it is both silly and oddly plausible - the Soviet X-Files. I don't think Roberts intended the novel to be a serious exploration of the sociology and psychology of UFO culture - it's more an intellectual entertainment. As such, I think it works pretty well. So if you enjoy weird ideas and witty narrative, you'll probably enjoy this. 10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soviet SF Satire,
By T. Davenport - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Yellow Blue Tibia (Paperback)
I generally find "humorous" SF and fantasy to be anything but. Where's the wit? Where's the elegance, the sense of play? Well, as you may have guessed by the many gold stars above, I thought "Yellow Blue Tibia" was hilarious. It follows Konstantin Skvorecky, one of a small group of Russian SF writers selected by Stalin to create a fictional alien menace that will unite the Soviet people. Abruptly, the project is cancelled and the writers are scattered to the four winds.Skvorecky tries to forget - as he was ordered to - but twin conspiracies make that impossible. One group believes fervently in the alien menace and wants his help in warning the world. The other group believes just as fervently and wants to facilitate the coming invasion. Together, they drag him through the darkest crannies of the Soviet police state, from Stalin's country chalet to a KGB interrrogation cell to the ill-fated Reactor 4 at Chernobyl. What makes the journey so delightful is Skvorecky's droll narrative voice and the hilarious bon mots he exchanges with his various jailers, interrogators, helpers and would-be assassins. It all wraps up in the best kind of happy ending - the kind that implies that, if only the book were a few chapters longer, it would include the end of the world. 13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining albeit short of expectations,
By D-C-T - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Yellow Blue Tibia (Paperback)
I struggled with the 'verdict' regarding this book for some time. Of course these reviews are quite subjective, so to give you a bit of context and my personal frame of reference, some of the works which I find to be superb (5 stars) are:- "Revelation Space" by Alastair Reynolds - "Chasm City" by Alastair Reynolds - "Beetle in an Anthill" by Arkadiy and Boris Strugatskiy And example of good but not quite superb (3-4 stars): - "Singularity Sky" by Charles Stross Now, regarding "Yellow Blue Tibia" The PRO: I picked up Yellow Blue Tibia due to what I deem to be a very interesting premise of leveraging UFO phenomena to further political agendas and the superposition of sci-fi elements with historic events. The book is well written and has a very refreshing and a sharp sense of humor - if you have experienced USSR culture at all, the humor will be that much more effective. Furthermore, if you are from the former USSR, the book will be more meaningful to you, but at the same time, will seem more flawed. It is a rather quick read. Character development is great and the imagery is effective. The story does throw you a couple of 'curve balls' and keeps you on your toes as you read. The CON: There is a severe lack of solid scientific ideas behind the science fiction in this novel - again, this is quite a matter of taste of course. There is too much foreshadowing and at times you feel like you are reading a children's book. Very fast and abrupt resolution that has a fairly shallow basis, leaving feeling 'empty' at the end of the story. Lastly, a rather awkward romantic story line feels grossly out of place and unnecessary - or perhaps is not developed enough to take its place as a integral component of the novel. Overall: In my point of view, the book did not live up to the expectations. At the end, it felt very shallow. It was fun enough to read, but as I was 2/3 of the way through, I could not wait to finish it so that I could get to reading "Gallactic North". |
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