Gennady Malianov

Gennady Malianov is a fictional detective from a cycle of science fiction / techno thriller stories by Canadian writer Karl Schroeder set in near future.[1] Typically Malianov operates as a freelance nuclear arms inspector investigating various cases of threats related to radioactive materials.

Malianov is a "pathologically shy Ukrainian arms inspector and anti-James Bond", [1] "neither dashing nor brave, not a killer, manipulator or even particularly clever".[2] Within the context of technological progress, he is neither optimist, nor apocalypic pessimist. Regardless rises and falls in the world, Malianov works hard to clean up the mess, thus working towards the progress. As Schroeder puts it: "Shooting radioactive camels in the Gobi desert[nb 1] is one of the prices to be paid for our industrialist past, and somebody has to pay it. Gennady represents that side of technological progress that we in SF so rarely acknowledge: he's a trash collector,"[3] "a world's janitor".[2]

Malianov is a favorite of the writer.[2] In 2019 Schroeder tweeted that he was hoping to collect all Malianov stories in one book. [4]

Stories
"The Dragon of Pripyat", 1999

Tesseracts 8 anthology, Tesseract Books, 1999.) ISBN 978-1-895836-61-5

Malianov enters the Chernobyl exclusion zone to investigate an extortionist's threat to breach the nuclear containment "sarcophagus" and dump the radioactive waste into the Pripyat River. Also there are rumors about a dragon in the area.[5]

"Alexander's Road", 2005

The Engine of Recall ISBN 0889953236

Malianov's search of missing stolen uranium leads him to a search of two stolen Soviet nuclear bombs,[5] hidden under abandoned oil derricks in Azerbaijan. Nominated for the Aurora Award for Best Short Fiction in 2006. [6]

"To Hie from Far Cilenia", 2008

METAtropolis: The Dawn of Uncivilization

Malianov is tracking some stolen plutonium to be smuggled, and finds that the illegal deals are carried out in virtual states. The story is set in near future, with advanced developments in the area of virtual reality and information networking.[7]

"Deodand", 2010

Originally published in METAtropolis: Cascadia

In the story, a deodand is an artificial intelligence that represents some system of the nature: a lake, a pack of volves, etc. As such, the deodands try to optimize the interests of the systems they represent. [8] Malianov runs into them during a temporary gig after the events from the Cilenia story: a robotics company hires him to figure out why their AI misbehave.

"Laika's Ghost", 2010

Engineering Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan, December 2010[9][10][11]

Paul Kincaid in his review of the 2012 "Best of the Year" anthologies called it one of the best stories in the reviewed collections. He sees it as a reflection of the growing pessimism in science fiction: [Malianov] "discovers that the only people ready to take up the dream of flight to other worlds are aged remnants of the former Soviet Union".[12] Schroeder disagrees with Kincaid's judgement: in the broader context of Malianov stories, the world is not exhausted in its energy, it merely shifts the gears.[3]

The title alludes to Laika, a Soviet space dog.

"Kheldyu", 2014

Reach for Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan, May 2014[13]

An Achille Marceau builds solar updraft towers in Siberia, which generate electricity while taking CO2 out of the air, thus supposedly helping to combat the global warming while profiting from the market in carbon. However Malianov notices an environmental disaster in the area. With the help of an ally, who is Achille's sister and UN's arms inspector, the sinister design is thwarted in an action-packed story.[14]

Shroeder describes "Kheldyu" as "my most pessimistic Gennady Malianov piece".[15]

Notes
  1. Shooting radioactive camels in China, as well as tracking the "Becquerel Reindeer" carcasses in Norway, are mentioned in the setup of the story "To Hie from Far Cilenia".

References
  1. "Why Science Fiction Likes To Look 50 Years Into The Future", by Ria Misra, Gizmodo, June 11, 2014
  2. "B55 Mini Interviews with Victoria Sandbrook, Robert J. Sawyer, Flourish Klink & Karl Schroeder", The Boskone Blog, January 6, 2018
  3. "Gennady Malianov", at Shroeder's blog
  4. A Feb. 1 2019 Karl Schroeder tweet
  5. The Engine of Recall by Karl Schroeder, a review by Ernest Lilley
  6. "2006 Aurora Awards". sfadb.com.
  7. "21st Century Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden (book review)."
  8. "YOUTUBE TALK ON DEODANDS", at Karl Schroeder blog
  9. Tilton, Lois (December 7, 2010). "Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, early December". Locus. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  10. Seel, Nigel (April 11, 2011). "Book Review: Engineering Infinity (ed) Jonathan Strahan". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  11. Waters, Robert E. (March 8, 2011). "Engineering Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan". Tangent. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  12. "The Widening Gyre: 2012 Best of the Year Anthologies", by Paul Kincaid, Los Angeles Review of Books, September 3, 2012
  13. Alexander, Niall (12 June 2014). "Step into the Stars: Reach for Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan". Tor.com. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  14. "Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, late June", Locus Magazine
  15. "Loosed Upon the World", at Shroeder's blog
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