Now about the Dyachenko spouses, who write together. Reviewers usually emphasize that the Dyachenkos write "social science fiction", that is, the kind where there are a lot of all sorts of reflections and people, but little action, technoid or magical fetishes. It seems to me that since you are writing entertaining books, everything should be in moderation — "philosophy" and toys for big kids in the form of blasters and fireballs.
Of course, descriptions of certain feelings and relationships turn out awesome for the Dyachenkos (at least in text form — I really don't know what would happen if you acted like the characters of their books in the real world). That's why they exploit this on a massive scale — everyone does what they do best. The main thing is not to get overly carried away with the same thing, otherwise it'll turn into endless chewing gum. So far, the Dyachenkos somehow manage to avoid this danger — even though the sci-fi ideas in their books aren't super-massive in scale, and there usually aren't that many of them, they are presented elegantly and don't look alien relative to the social component.
It would probably be great to cross Gromov's ability to realistically describe details with the Dyachenkos' ability to effortlessly weave sci-fi and human feelings into the fabric of the narrative. But there's an opinion that this is impossible, which I already wrote about in the previous post about Gromov.
However, the Dyachenkos are strong enough as is. After them, I changed my opinion that Russian sci-fi sucks. Who knows, soon I might even start watching Russian TV shows. The horror.
By the way, if we're to draw some deliberately false parallels with Western sci-fi, then Gromov is more like Vernor Vinge — that guy also loves physics. And the Dyachenkos are like Dan Simmons — this one loves mysticism pushing through human actions, and generally prefers fewer technological explanations of details.
The Dyachenkos, probably for the same reason, prefer to write fantasy, so that technical details don't get in the way of them concentrating on the reflections and emotions they love so much.
Now for the book reviews.
The "Wanderers" series (The Gatekeeper, etc.).
It resembles anime — there, too, the main thing is the interaction of characters and soul-searching, rather than a wildly twisted plot. On the one hand, this allows for a very good and realistic reveal of the characters' motives and personalities, which is interesting. On the other hand, the action develops slowly, and again it turns out that nothing much happens. Maybe it's because the authors give the reader unjustified hints that there will be something very massive in scale, but the characters walk towards it through everyday mundane stuff until the very end of the book. Or maybe that's just how I perceived it, having been raised on Western writers' love for scale.
Armaged-home
Hell knows. They go around in circles way too much, and the basic premises are implausible. Gromov's pedantry is much better, even though he himself went down the path of a weak connection to reality in "A Thousand and One Days".
The Valley of Conscience
Curious, although I don't like sci-fi about our time (the realistic kind). If you're going to fantasize, then give us a richer setting. And if it's about our time and society, then more realistic books are better. But the ending was pleasing.
The Age of Witches
Too few fun bits. Yes, I confess, I want food for the imagination, not for the mind.
Magicians Can Do Anything
Now here the fun bits are just right. Looks like regular fantasy, but better. For those who like something a bit simpler, to relax.
Skrut
Sort of like a horror story. Tolerable, but unnecessarily long, and the thoughts are still the same.
Sow Thistle
The sketch, as usual, is masterful, but the endless exploitation of the style, as they rightly noted on Aldebaran, ruins the whole thing
Henrik
A sad story "about nothing". The talent, you could even say the "magic of words", is definitely present. But after half a dozen books by the Dyachenkos, the haze of enigma, mystery, and understatement that they try to create dissipates over an emptiness, and it just becomes uninteresting.
Fortunately, I read the book before the rest of them, and so to me it was interesting.
The "Varan" series
Here the writers really came into their own. Fantasy, but not classic. The suffering, doubts, and plot are tied together quite successfully, meaning there isn't that stuff I complained about above. The second book in the series, "The Copper King", is even better than the first, which doesn't happen very often. Lots of excellent setting and fresh ideas, which the Dyachenkos usually lack.
Pandem
The Dyachenkos themselves consider this their best book. Despite the realism being quite a stretch in some places, here at least they finally got bold, and took on something global, you could even say Zen-like. The book has a therapeutic effect: it helps you come to terms with the imperfection of the world. To strengthen the effect, you can read the Miles series by the writer Lois McMaster Bujold — it, as we know, helps you come to terms with your own imperfection.
Brief conclusions. You can and should read them, at least the "Varan" series and the book "Pandem" — they're just too good. Pandem in general had a strong influence on me, at least it seems so to me. For a book, that's a rarity. I even changed the title of my LiveJournal blog a while ago, in case anyone didn't notice.