The Doomed City

It is HARD TO BELIEVE that the best, exemplary sample of domestic science fiction — "The Doomed City" by the Strugatsky brothers — was conceived back in the late 60s and completed in 1972. The degree of internal freedom in this novel is too astonishing, impossible for that time. NO ONE wrote like this even "for the drawer"… SUCH a thing seemed incredible. However, the entire incredible, almost detective history of the fate of "The Doomed City," presented in the "Commentaries" to the novel, makes one believe — it was EXACTLY LIKE THAT. And reading the novel becomes all the more interesting because of it!