Aelita (novel)

Aelita (Russian: Аэлита) also known as Aelita, or The Decline of Mars is a 1923
Aelita
science fiction novel by Russian authorAleksey Tolstoy.

Contents
Plot summary
Adaptations
English releases
See also
References
External links
Author Alexei Tolstoy
Original title Аэлита
Plot summary Translator Lucy Flaxman

The story begins in the Soviet Union, just after the end of the Russian Civil War. A Country Soviet Union
lonely engineer, Mstislav Los', designs and constructs a revolutionary pulse Language Russian
detonation rocket and decides to set course for Mars. Looking for a companion for Genre Science fiction novel
the travel, he finally leaves Earth with a retired soldier
, Alexei Gusev.
Publisher Foreign Languages
Arriving on Mars, they discover that the planet is inhabited by an advanced Publishing House
civilization. However, the gap between the ruling class and the workers is very Publication 1923
strong and reminiscent of the early capitalism, with workers living in underground date
corridors near their machines. Published in 1950
English
Later in the novel, it is explained that Martians are descendants of both local races Media type Print (Hardcover)
and of Atlanteans who came there after the sinking of their home continent (here
Tolstoy was inspired by Blavatsky's books). Mars is now ruled by Engineers but all is not well. While speaking before an assembly,
their leader, Toscoob, says that the city must be destroyed to ease the fall of Mars. Aelita, Toscoob's beautiful daughter and the
princess of Mars, later reveals to Los' that the planet is dying, that the polar ice caps are not melting as they once did and the planet is
facing an environmental catastrophe.

While the adventurous Gusev takes the lead of a popular uprising against the ruler, the more intellectual Los' becomes enamored with
Aelita. When the rebellion is crushed, they (Gusev and Los') are forced to flee Mars and eventually make it back to Earth. The trip is
prolonged with the effects of high speed and time dilation resulting in a loss of over three years. The exact fate of Aelita herself is
unknown. It is hinted that she actually survived, since Los' receives radio messages from Mars mentioning his name.

Adaptations
The novel was adapted in the Soviet Union to silent film under the same title shot by Yakov Protazanov in 1924, and by Hungarian
director András Rajnai in 1980.[1] Andrija Maurović (artist) and Krešimir Kovačić (writer) in Yugoslavia adapted it into a comic,
published 1935-1936, titledLjubavnica s Marsa (Mistress from Mars).[2]

English releases
 1. Tolstoy, Aleksey Nikolayevich.Aelita translated by Lucy Flaxman. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House,
1950, 276 pp. LCCN 5903-7312.
2. Tolstoy, Alexei N. Aelita translated by Antonina W. Bouis; introduction by Theodore Sturgeon. New Y ork: Macmillan,
1981, 167 pp. ISBN 978-0-02-619200-2. LCCN 8100-2185.
3. Tolstoi, Alexei. Aelita or The Decline of Marsnew translation by Leland Fetzer. Ann Arbor: Ardis, August, 1985, 176
pp. ISBN 978-0-88233-788-3. LCCN 8500-7437.
4. Tolstoy, Alexei (2001). Aelita. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Fredonia Books.ISBN 978-1-58963-374-2.

See also
Aelita Prize
1923 in science fiction

References
1. "Aelita (1980, in Hungarian, entire film)"(https://web.archive.org/web/20161011071203/http://indavideo.hu/video/Aeli
ta_1980_Rajnai). Archived from the original (http://indavideo.hu/video/Aelita_1980_Rajnai)on 2016-10-11. Retrieved
2016-10-10.
2. Maurović, Andrija. Ljubavnica s Marsa. Vedis. ISBN 9789537679064.

External links
Aelita at SovLit
Aelita: Russian Princess of Mars? at ERBzine

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