Agustín de Rojas (19492011) is the patron saint of Cuban
science fiction. A professor of the history of theater at the
Escuela de Instructores de Arte in Villa Clara, he authored a
canonical trilogy of novels consisting of Espiral (Spiral, 1982),
for which he was awarded the David Prize; Una leyenda del future (A
Legend of the Future, 1985); and El año 200 (The Year 200, 1990),
all of which are scheduled for publication in English translation
by Restless Books. While he was heavily influenced by Ray Bradbury
and translated Isaac Asimov into Spanish, de Rojas aligned himself
mostly with Soviet writers such as Ivan Yefremov and the brothers
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. After the fall of the Soviet Union, de
Rojas stopped writing science fiction. He spent his final years
persuaded—and persuading others—that Fidel Castro did not
exist.
Nick Caistor is a British journalist, nonfiction author,
and translator of Spanish and Portuguese literature. He has
translated Cesar Aira, Paulo Coelho, Eduardo Mendoza, Juan Marsé,
and Manuel Vázquez Montalban, and he has twice won the ValleInclán
Prize for translation. He regularly contributes to Radio 4, the BBC
World Service, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Guardian. He
lives in Norwich, England.
"The best and most popular novelist of this genre that the Island
has ever given…. He is considered one of the principal exponents of
Cuban science fiction, and he was undoubtedly the one who
knew how to best combine solid scientific formation as plots and
attractive characters with a confidence well-based in humanity’s
socialist future.”
—Yoss
“Finally, we have the chance to read a landmark work from one of
Cuba’s greatest science fiction writers…. Steady build-up of
suspense, believable depiction of characters under intense stress,
unique take on human space exploration…. If you like intensely
psychological sci-fi that deftly piles on the suspense, this
novel’s for you…. Agustín de Rojas authored a trilogy that pushes
the boundaries of our imaginations…. You’ll want to prepare
yourself for Legend. It’s been compared to Clarke’s 2001, and like
that remarkable text, de Rojas’s will blow your mind in a good
way…. The boundaries between dream and reality, and then between
human and machine, almost melt away as the story progresses. And it
is de Rojas’s skillful manipulation of those boundaries that makes
Legend so addictive.”
—Rachel Cordasco, SF Signal, 4.5-star review
“This is the first English translation of a novel by de Rojas
(1949-2011), considered the father of Cuban science fiction.
Influenced by Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov A Legend of the Future
tells the tale of a space mission to Titan, a moon of Saturn,
during a potentially apocalyptic war between superpowers back on
Earth. Along the way, the spaceship's crew is drawn into an
experiment of reconditioning that may remind some readers of the
ideological indoctrination reinforced to this day in Castro's
Cuba.”
—Kevin Nance, Chicago Tribune
“On the surface it's a very focused exploration of how three people
could survive such a situation and the lengths they might have to
go to. How people adapt when circumstances spiral out of control —
and how they crack when they don't adapt sufficiently. Dig a bit
deeper, though, and it is also a lesson on how ideals and beliefs
can be eroded given certain influences and when they do
deterioration is inevitable and unavoidable. The tightly written
prose manages to firmly grasp the reader, the pace is steady and
the quality of the writing superb. It's unforgiving and demanding
but also worth the effort. I loved this brief glimpse of science
fiction from a mindset free of western constraints. A Legend of the
Future is a remarkable glimpse not only into a vision of the future
but more importantly into a culture very different from western
capitalism. It's also a stark reminder about some of the more
serious problems that a country in the stranglehold of a
communistic country face. A worthy addition to anyone's science
fiction collection.”
—Ant Jones, SFBook.com
"At last, they are finally publishing science fiction from Cuba....
Let me assure you, it is a pity that it took so long!... What
really sells this story is not the situation (which is terribly
reminiscent of 2001 and Tau Zero), but the psychological focus on
the characters.... I came to admire Rojas’ lesson conducted with
the crew of the Sviatagor: namely, how the limits of individual
humanity can only be surpassed through cooperation and dependency
upon our fellow man—sometimes at great personal sacrifice. If A
Legend of the Future is idealistic science fiction, colored by the
politics of its age, then it is idealistic science fiction at its
best—concerned with the fate of mankind among the stars and not
with spaceships and gadgets and alien races. I remain curious as to
what else Cuban science fiction has in store for its new,
English-speaking audience. For those of you who are also curious,
start with A Legend of the Future."
—Kenyon Ellefson, Portland Book Review
“Philosophically dense and hallucinatory in the manner of later
Philip K. Dick.… Legend works as both suspenseful survival sci-fi
(much like the current Matt Damon film The Martian) and a
philosophical reflection of what it means to be human.… A strong
blend of hard science and psychological fiction, A Legend of the
Future should prove engrossing for admirers of Philip Dick or
Stanislaw Lem.”
—Bill Sherman, Blogcritics
“Reading through [A Legend of the Future], I had was reminded of
books like Solaris, and interestingly, of Jeff Vandermeer’s
Annihilation.”
—Andrew Liptak, io9
“A subdued psychological drama enhanced by speculative elements
about human psychology (fans of Joss Whedon’s TV show Dollhouse
will find a couple of points of resonance) topped off with an
overwhelming awareness of mortality.… It’s a novel that, together
with A Planet for Rent, shows the dizzying range of fantastical
situations that can emerge from a ground-level view of ideological
conflict’s aftereffects.”
—Tobias Carroll, Electric Literature
“Throughout [A Legend of the Future], cohesively worked into the
narrative as part of the conditioning, as memories vividly relived
as like hallucinations, reveal just how tightly-knit this crew was,
still is, and the philosophy and indoctrination that created that.
The characters are put in situations, through changes, only
possible in SF, but the psychological exploration of death,
desires, thoughts, and values among deeply emotional-connected
people struggling to find a way to survive catastrophe is relatable
and human. It’s a fantastic book, well-plotted and paced, that
plays with some traditional SF rules and gambits, while
ever-exciting in the new avenues it creates.”
—P.T. Smith, Three Percent Blog
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