Hard to Be a God
Hard to Be a God by Arkady and Boris Strugatskyby Аркадий Стругацкий and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Shares rank 108 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended as a brilliant, gorgeous and monumental science fiction novel that is enjoyable and makes readers want to read more by its authors.
Recommended as a brilliant, gorgeous and monumental science fiction novel that is enjoyable and makes readers want to read more by its authors.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Part of a brilliant series
“which are also my favorite books of the series”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Writing a better reality: The case for optimistic sci-fi (2022)” “These books are brilliant as well.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “AI Is Throwing a Roadside Picnic” Gorgeous, monumental, unsettling, bordering on madness
“It's insane, gorgeous, disgusting, teetering on the edge of madness, and monumental.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Terrence Malick's Disciples” Enjoyable; readers want more
“I enjoyed ‘Hard to Be a God’ and wish to read more from them.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “AI Is Throwing a Roadside Picnic”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Hard to Be a Godby Аркадий Стругацкий and Arkady and Boris StrugatskyThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“These books are brilliant as well.”
“I enjoyed ‘Hard to Be a God’ and wish to read more from them.”
“which are also my favorite books of the series”
“It's insane, gorgeous, disgusting, teetering on the edge of madness, and monumental.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.