CZECH AND SLOVAK SF

   In Czechoslovakia there are two main groups, the Czechs and the Slovaks, speaking different languages. Sf is written in both.The history of Czech sf begins in the 19th century, with the first true sf work probably being Zivot na Mesici ("Life on the Moon") (1881) by Karel Pleskac. Also of interest are some of the works of the famous mainstream author Svatopluk Cech; for example, Hanuman (1884; trans W.W. Strickland 1894 UK), depicting a civil war between two factions of apes (APES AND CAVEMEN), and Pravy vylet pana Broucka do Mesice ("The True Trip of Mr Broucek to the Moon") (1888). Another important ancestral figure was Jakub Arbes, who wrote a series of romanetos (short novels) on fantastic themes, including Newtonuv mozek (1877; trans Jiri Kral as "Newton's Brain" in Poet's Lore [anth 1982 US]), which prefigures the theme of TIME TRAVEL.The first author to write sf systematically was Karel Hloucha, author of seven novels and story collections, including Zakleta zeme ("Enchanted Country") (1910) and Slunecni vuz ("The Solar Waggon") (1921). Aliens that can take the shape of human beings play an important role in Metod Suchdolsky's novel Rusove na Martu ("Russians on Mars") (1907).In 1920, the first sf book by Karel CAPEK was published: the play R.U.R. (1920; trans 1923) introduced the word ROBOT into the genre. The 1920s and 1930s were rich in sf novels; each year several titles appeared, with a variety of themes from technological inventions to the political and social aspects of future societies. Among the writers active in this period were Tomas Hruby, Jiri Haussmann, Marie Grubhofferova, J.M. Troska (the pseudonym of Jan Matzal) and others. Troska was the most influential, especially with his SPACE OPERA trilogy Zapas s nebem ("Struggle With the Skies") (1940-41). At the opposite pole stood Jan Weiss (1890-1972) with his dreamlike mainstream sf novel Dum o 1000 patrech ("The Thousand-Storey House") (1929).After WWII (and especially after the communist coup in 1948) the production of Czech sf decreased, and those few, mainly juvenile works which were published described a more "realistic" NEAR FUTURE. Frantisek Behounek, a well known scientist, wrote seven HARD-SF novels about the apotheosis of science in a communist future, examples being Akce L ("Operation L") (1956) and Robinsoni vesmiru ("The Space Family Robinson") (1958).The leading figure of the 1960s, and the symbol of the rebirth of sf, was Josef NESVADBA, whose work is well known also in the English-speaking world. Perhaps the most popular writer of this period, however, was Ludvik Soucek (1926-1978), author of nine witty sf-adventure novels and a few story collections, often with elements of the detective story. The first and most popular were the trilogy Cesta slepych ptaku ("Voyage of the Blind Birds") (1964) and the collection Bratri cerne planety ("Brethren of the Black Planet") (coll 1969); his last novel, Blazni z Hepteridy ("The Madmen from Hepteris") (1980), was published posthumously. Two DYSTOPIAS by mainstream writers are of interest: Jiri Marek's Blazeny vek ("Cheerful Era") (1967) and Cestmir Vejdelek's Navrat z Raje ("Return from Paradise") (1961). The latter is a complex novel of high literary standard describing the inhabitants of a computer-ruled society who are unaware of their status as slaves. Other interesting writers of the period were Josef Koenigsmark, Vaclav Kajdos and Ivan Foustka.After the heightened activity of the 1960s, the so-called "normalization" of Czech culture following the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact countries in 1968 meant that there was another decrease in Czech sf in the first half of the 1970s. At the end of that decade, however, a new wave of writers appeared. The most significant authors of short fiction are Jaroslav Veis (1946), Zdenek Volny and Ondrej Neff (1945-); each has published several books. Veis's Pandorina skrinka ("Pandora's Box"] (coll 1979) is very widely admired. Neff, after the success of his first collection, Vejce naruby ("An Inside-Out Egg"] (coll 1985), turned to novels: his Mesic meho zivota ("The Moon of My Life"] (1988), set in a colony of Moon-miners, is among the best Czech sf. Another fine book from the period, from the usually mainstream writer (although he has also produced four sf novels) Vladimir Paral, is the dystopian Zeme zen ("The Country of Women"] (1987). The most important publications for this generation of sf writers were the twin anthologies Lide ze souhvezdi Lva ("People from the Constellation of Leo"] (anth 1983) and Zelezo prichazi z hvezd ("Iron Comes from the Stars"] (anth 1983), both ed Vojtech Kantor.The establishment in 1982 of the Karel Capek AWARD for the best sf work by new authors encouraged the arrival of a still younger generation of writers - Josef Pecinovsky, Frantisek Novotny, Eduard Martin and Jan Hlavicka are the most significant. Although they have published collections, this group's work primarily attained popularity through anthologies: Navrat na planetu Zemi ("Return to Planet Earth"] (anth 1985) and Stalo se zitra ("It Happened Tomorrow"] (anth 1985), both ed Ivo Zelezny.A few sf works have been written by Czech authors in exile, an example being Maso ("Meat"] (coll 1981 Canada), a collection of two novellas by Martin Harnicek. Another author in exile, Ludek PESEK, is published in German and sometimes in English, although he writes in Czech. One novel by Ivo DUKA (pseudonym of Ivo Duchacek and Helena Koldova) was published in English: Martin and his Friend from Outer Space (1955). Pavel KOHOUT, who left Czechoslovakia in 1968, later published an sf novel (see his entry for its long title).Sf written in Slovak does not have as continuous a tradition, and there are noticeably fewer works. Sf featuring social comment and adventure was published in the 1930s and 1940s by Peter Suchansky, Dezo S. Turcan and Jan Kresanek-Ladcan. After WWII the production of Slovak sf was sporadic and its nature naive, as in Luna 2 neodpoveda ("Luna 2 Doesn't Answer"] (1958), one of the three sf novels written by Jan Bajla. Only one author from the 1960s stands out: Jozef Tallo, whose collection is Vlasy Bereniky ("The Hair of Berenice"] (coll 1962). Many more writers emerged in the 1980s: Alta Vasova, Jan Fekete, Jozef Repko and others; they write mainly juvenile fiction. The most successful may be the post- HOLOCAUST novel Po ("After") (1979) by Vasova and three juvenile novels by Jozef Zarnay, including Kolumbovia zo zakladne Ganymedes ("Columbuses from Ganymede Space Station"] (1983).More than 50 sf films have been made in Czechoslovakia, the first of them in the early 1920s. The earliest of real interest are adaptations of stories by Karel Capek; they are Bila nemoc ("The White Plague"] (1937; vt Skeleton on Horseback), dir Hugo Haas, and Krakatit (1948), dir Otakar Vavra. From the mid-1950s to 1970, several sf films with animation and live action combined, based loosely on novels by Jules VERNE and using original drawings from French editions of his books, were made by director and animator Karel Zeman: Cesta do praveku (1955; vt Journey to the Beginning of Time), VYNALEZ ZKAZY (1958; vt Weapons of Destruction), Baron Prasil (1961; vt Baron Munchhausen), Ukradena vzducholod (1966; vt The Stolen Airship) and Na komete (1970; vt On the Comet). A completely animated Czech/French coproduction was La PLANETE SAUVAGE (1973; vt Fantastic Planet).The tradition of Czech sf comedies was launched by Oldrich Lipsky with a comedy set in "the 5th century after Sputnik": Muz z prvniho stoleti ("Man from the First Century"] (1961; vt Man in Outer Space). Lipsky's other sf films include: a TIME-TRAVEL comedy, Zabil jsem Einsteina, panove! (1969; vt I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen!); a parody of pre-WWII pulp detective fiction involving Nick CARTER and a carnivorous plant, perhaps his best film, Adela jeste nevecerela (1977; vt Adele Hasn't Eaten Yet); a Jules VERNE adaptation, Tajemstvi hradu v Karpatech ("Mystery of the Carpathian Castle"] (1981); and Srdecny pozdrav ze Zemekoule ("Cordial Greetings from Earth"] (1982). Milos Macourek has had a hand in several good sf comedies, notably KDO CHCE ZABIT JESSII? (1965; vt Who Would Kill Jessie?) and Coz takhle dat si spenat (1976; vt What Would You Say to Some Spinach?), and also cowrote the screenplay of ZITRA VSTANU A OPARIM SE CAJEM (1977; vt Tomorrow I'll Wake up and Scald Myself with Tea), one of a number of Czech sf films, several of them comedies, based on Josef Nesvadba's stories and novels.Not many Czech films are "serious" sf, or even straight sf, but those that are include: the space opera IKARIE XB-1 (1963; vt Voyage to the End of the Universe); the post- HOLOCAUST story KONEC SRPNA V HOTELU OZON (1966; vt The End of August at the Hotel Ozone); a film about a visit from deep space, Akce Bororo ("Operation Bororo") (1972), dir Otakar Fuka; a children's film about First Contact with ALIENS, Odysseus a hvezdy ("Odysseus and the Stars") (1974), dir Ludvik Raza; a free adaptation of Capek's Krakatit (1924), TEMNE SLUNCE (1980; vt The Black Sun); and, from Slovakia, ecological space sf in Treti Sarkan ("The Third Dragon"] (1985), dir Peter Hledik.Sf dramas are quite frequent on Czech tv, especially for children. One of the better serials has been Navstevnici ("The Visitors"] (1984), in which an expedition from AD2484, when Earth is endangered by a comet, returns to 1984 to seek help; it was dir Jindrich Polak.Sf is very popular in Czechoslovakia. It has a wide readership, and print-runs of books by well known authors have been up to 100,000; however, the worsening economic situation in the early 1990s is likely to change that figure dramatically for the worse. On the positive side, a monthly sf magazine, Ikarie, was launched in June 1990 under the editorship of Ondrej Neff, who has also edited, with Jaroslav OLSA jr, Encyklopedie science fiction ("Encyclopedia of Science Fiction"] (1992).

   IA/JO