BILENKIN, Dmitri (Aleksandrovich)

(1933-1987)

   Russian geologist and author of both fiction and popular-science books. For most of his career he concentrated on short stories - assembled as Marsianskii Priboi ("The Surf of Mars") (coll 1967), Notch Kontrabandoi ("Night of Contraband") (coll 1971), Proverka NA Razumonst' ("Test for a Reason") (coll 1974), Snega Olimpa ("The Snows of Olympus") (coll 1980), Litso V Tolpe ("A Face in the Crowd") (coll 1985) and Sila sil'nykh ("The Power of Power") (coll 1986) - which were generally more scientific than fictional but never boring or ill written. Some of his typical work was assembled as The Uncertainty Principle (coll trans Antonina W. Bouis 1978 US); some stories also appeared in World's Spring (anth 1981 US) ed Vladimir GAKOV. DB's longer works are Pustynia Zhizni ("The Life Desert") (1984), a provoking comparison of different historical/cultural human types on a future Earth transformed by mysterious "timequakes", and an intellectual SPACE OPERA, Prikliuchenia Polynova ("Polynov's Adventures") (1986).

   VG