Why I Love Pelevin's Ch5: You've Earned Your Salt if You've Cried Tears of Sorrow for Your Father's Sword

I'm not exactly thrilled to be writing about this novel, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who still remembers it. It's a book that has stuck with me for years, and I've found myself revisiting it time and time again.

It's not exactly a popular book, and it's quite old - I'd say it's even a bit outdated. But you know what? I think that's part of its charm. There are plenty of great sci-fi books out there that just aren't being read anymore. They're still worth reading, but you can't take them seriously.

So, you pick up this hefty tome and inside, you'll find things like spaceships flying on index cards, a vinyl record player in the cockpit of a spaceship, and people calling each other on landlines. Although, some sci-fi authors try to pass off these phones as video phones, but the idea is the same.

Unfortunately, this book has also fallen victim to the same time warp. Most of the story takes place in old computer games from the 90s, which nobody plays anymore, and hardly anyone remembers. I remember reading this when I was 17 or 18, and back then, my memory still held onto all these 'run-and-gun' games that the author talks about.

But now, they're completely gone from my memory. By the way, despite its lack of relevance, this novel has become a favorite of my husband, so here I am writing about it.

So, here's the deal: The Prince of the Plague by Viktor Pelevin is a social satire with elements of cyberpunk, released in 1991. It's a book that explores the intersection of reality and virtual reality, and it's a commentary on the Soviet Union's decline.

The story follows Alexander Lapin, a programmer in a Soviet company, who finds himself getting lost in the world of computer games. He's an introvert and an escapist, and he uses the computer in Gosplan's office to escape the harsh realities of his life.

Together with his alter ego, Prince, he has to 'pass' through the dungeon, fight the boss, and save the princess! It's a unique and engaging read, with some really offbeat humor and deep thoughts about reality.

What I liked about the book:

The book is pretty engaging and fun to read, with some really offbeat humor.Pelevin wouldn't be Pelevin if he didn't throw in some deep thoughts about reality.You can draw parallels between the 1990s and 2019, and see some eerie similarities between the two eras.It's like everyone's stuck in a game, with the internet taking the place of games.To be honest, it was kind of unsettling reading this book, because it shows how everything's breaking down and changing.What I didn't like about the book:

Prince Gosplan - one of the first major works by the author, and it shows.You can tell the writer has a lot of potential, but there are also some rough edges.Some of the parallel storylines just don't get developed, the secondary characters are vague, and so on.Prince is outdated in its morals, just like the game Prince of Persia, which we might remember thanks to the remake, while all the other 'toys' have long since faded away and don't even evoke nostalgia.They're about five years older than Mario, for example.Prince is the author's first attempt at writing a sharp commentary on current issues.It's roughly in the same format, but more skillfully done, in the author's later work, Generation P.This novella can be seen as a warm-up or a successful trial run, nothing more.Book thoughts: Reality is as real as computer games to us, as real as February outside our window, but only when we're fully immersed in the game and the gameplay has got us hooked. What if our lives are just as much a game, and at any moment someone might press the reset button or simply distract us from the screen?

Characters: Alexander Lapin - a programmer in a Soviet company. An introvert and an escapist. In this reality, he's only kept going by the computer in Gosplan's office. Together with his alter ego, Prince, he has to 'pass' through the dungeon, fight the boss, and save the princess!

Verdict: If you enjoy the author, want to get immersed in an authentic atmosphere of late Soviet times, or love old games - then this is a must-read! If you're not particularly interested in the above, then the novella won't be to your taste either. Still, it's a unique read.

And now, I've got to leave some reviews for a couple of stories, and then I can start writing about Chapaev!

P.S. So, what was your favorite old game on the Spectrum?