Science Fiction Works. The Last Man from Atlantis, The Witch's Castle, Ariel

The publication is a collection of short stories, novellas, and novels by the wonderful Soviet science fiction writer Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884–1942). Belyaev's creativity is characterized by a combination of boundless imagination, scientific accuracy, and a desire to convey a humanitarian call to the reader. In his works, incredible discoveries intertwine with colorful dreams of the future. This edition features Belyaev's works adorned with bright illustrations by the talented artist Anastasia Petrovna Slony (1986).

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884–1942) was born in Smolensk into the family of a church dean. From an early age, he played the piano and violin, was interested in photography, painting, and reading. The boy was particularly fascinated by the works of Jules Verne: his imagination was captivated by astonishing inventions, explorations of the ocean's depths, and journeys to the center of the Earth. In 1909, Belyaev graduated from a law lyceum and began practicing law. Around the same time, he started collaborating with the newspaper "Smolensky Vestnik": he wrote reviews of theatrical performances, musical concerts, and literary events. After receiving a significant fee for a won court case, Alexander went on a trip across Europe, about which he later wrote several essays. When World War I broke out, Belyaev, struck by a spinal disease, remained in the rear. The writer was bedridden for several years, which led to him "experiencing the sensation of a head without a body" — thus the idea for the famous "The Head of Professor Dowell" was born. Soon after his recovery, Belyaev and his family moved to Moscow: he resumed his legal practice and immersed himself in writing, diligently working on new short stories, novellas, and novels — among them was "The Last Man from Atlantis". In his works, Alexander Romanovich wrote about the vast cosmic expanses, the bottomless depths of the oceans, and amazing scientific discoveries. The writer was concerned with the limits of human capabilities, the specifics of the human psyche, and genetic engineering. He had a deep interest in science and sought to convey the phenomena described in his works as realistically as possible. Many of his contemporaries, including Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and British science fiction writer Herbert Wells, spoke positively about Belyaev's creativity. In his final years, Alexander Romanovich lived near Leningrad, where just a few days before the onset of the Great Patriotic War, his last work published during his lifetime — "Ariel" — was released. Belyaev became one of the founders of Soviet science fiction and anticipated the emergence of several inventions. In 1990, a literary award named after Alexander Belyaev was established in his memory.

This edition includes the novels "The Last Man from Atlantis", "Under the Arctic Sky", and "Ariel", the novellas "The Earth is Burning" and "The Witch's Castle", the stories "The Light of the Transfiguration" and "Mr. Laughter", as well as the series "The Inventions of Professor Wagner". Dynamic and expressive illustrations for the texts of the outstanding science fiction writer were created by artist Anastasia Petrovna Slony (1986).