Ivan Efremov was an encyclopedically educated person. His scientific knowledge and experience as a paleontologist have found application in literary work. Efremov's works took a worthy place in the "golden fund" of world fiction. Critics considered the style of Ivan Antonovich elegant, but very cold. Efremov himself preferred to call himself not a science fiction, but a dreamer.
From the biography of Ivan Antonovich Efremov
The future scientist and science fiction writer was born on April 22, 1908 in the village of Vyritsa (now it is the Leningrad Region). His father was called Antip Kharitonovich. He was a simple peasant, but then broke out into merchants. And even received the rank of titular adviser. When the revolution happened, Efremov’s parents divorced. In order not to incur a charge of belonging to the exploiting class, Ivan took on another patronymic and became Ivan Antonovich.
Ivan's mother, Varvara Alexandrovna, was engaged in raising children. But she paid more attention to her youngest son, Vasily. He was constantly sick. In 1914, the family moved to Ukraine, to Berdyansk. There Vanya went to the gymnasium.
The Civil War began. Efremov was at the front, where he received a light concussion. In memory of her, Efremov kept a slight stutter all his life. Returning from the front, Efremov settled in Petrograd. I had to work as a loader, a driver. In his free time, Ivan read a lot. He was fascinated not only by fiction, but also books on biology.
Efremov managed to learn how to navigate. For more than a year he walked on the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. After graduating from marine life, Ivan entered the biological department of the university. However, he soon became interested in geology, dropped out of university and moved to the Mining Institute. He took part in research expeditions, visited Siberia, Central Asia and Mongolia. The result of his scientific research was a series of works on paleontology, for which Efremov was awarded the degree of candidate of biological sciences. Before the war with the Nazis, Efremov became a doctor of sciences.
Creativity of Ivan Efremov
Efremov began literary experiments during the forced evacuation to Kazakhstan. There he became seriously ill with typhus and for a long time was bedridden. In order to pass the time somehow, Ivan Antonovich began to compose stories and short stories. His first works were:
- The Last Marseilles;
- "Star ships";
- Observatory Nur-i-Desht;
- “By the ways of the old miners”;
- “Rainbow Jets Cove”;
- "Lake of the mountain spirits."
In his works, Efremov combined fiction with real scientific facts. Many of his sketches later became prophetic. For example, in Yakutia, kimberlite pipes described by Efremov were found, deposits of mercury and a cave of ancient people with drawings were discovered. Deep-water vehicles appeared that could explore the bottom of the sea and drill wells in it.
The plot of “Shadows of the Past” is based on the fantasies that under certain conditions images of past events can be stored in rocks. A few years later, scientists theoretically substantiated the principle of constructing holographic images.
Efremov’s special attitude has developed in relation to the novel “The Heart of the Serpent”. The writer called this work a well of errors. The first version of the story did not hold water. Readers savvy in chemistry and biology pointed out inaccuracies in the descriptions. For subsequent literary experiments, Efremov began to take more seriously.
The future of human civilization Efremov did not think out of contact with other worlds. He linked the progress of mankind with the development of interstellar space. The idea of the Andromeda Nebula novel occurred to the writer when he participated in an expedition to the Gobi Desert. The author in vivid colors described what humanity subsequently faced. It is about the consequences of ill-considered handling of nuclear energy.
The book mentions:
- unidentified flying objects;
- artificially synthesized food;
- substances with a special structure having the highest hardness.
The novel "Bull Hour" Efremov dedicated to his wife Taisia. In fact, the book became a philosophical parable about the consequences that life in a totalitarian society can lead to. The heroes of the Andromeda Nebula are mentioned in the novel as figures from the distant past. The “Bull Hour” can be seen as part of Efremov’s dispute with colleagues who claimed that life is just a road to death. The main idea of the work: the man of the Earth will never give in to the onslaught of bestial instincts. The book celebrates the triumph of all that is most light and fair.
The last creative work of Efremov was the book "Thais of Athens." The author delved into the past of civilization and told a story from the life of Geter, who became a companion of the Egyptian king Ptolemy and Alexander the Great. In this work, science fiction gave way to rigorous historical research. Critics consider this novel a hymn to beauty, love, intelligence, fidelity. "Thais of Athens" saw the light after Efremov's departure from life.
