The Time Wanderers

Infobox Book |
name = The Time Wanderers
title_orig = Волны гасят ветер
translator = Antonina W. Bouis


image_caption =
author = Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Soviet Union
language = Russian
series = Noon Universe
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Richardson & Steirman
release_date = March 25, 1987
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-931933-31-5
preceded_by = Beetle in the Anthill
followed_by =

"The Time Wanderers" a.k.a. "The Waves Extinguish the Wind" (Russian: Волны гасят ветер, "Volny gasiat veter") is a 1985 science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe. The book is narrated by Maxim Kammerer, and tells the story of "The Great Revelation".

Plot summary

The principal characters are Maxim Kammerer and Toyvo Glumov, both working for an organization which investigates "Unexplained Events" ("UE"s). Their investigation of a series of events leads them to believe that they are witnesses to a new action by the Wanderers.

After much investigation, the UEs are discovered to be the work of a secret society called the Ludens. The Ludens are born human, but possess latent mental powers far beyond those of normal humans. They view themselves as a distinct race, and claim to have "different interests" from humanity at large, in some instances claiming to be above traditional human morality. The Ludens routinely conduct experiments on humans and alter their minds in order to further their own means.

Kammerer and Glumov's investigation unmasks the Ludens, and they are made public in what would later be called "The Great Revelation." At the end of the novel, the Ludens discover that Glumov himself has the capacity to become a Luden, and Glumov must decide whether or not to join their race. Glumov at first states that to join the Ludens would be a betrayal of his family, friends, and civilization. Eventually, however, the temptation offered by a new way of existence overcomes him, and he becomes a Luden.

See also

* Noon Universe
* Noon Universe Chronology

Bibliography

# Strugatsky, Arkady and Boris. "The Time Wanderers" translated by Antonina W. Bouis. New York: Richardson & Steirman, March 25, 1987, 213 pp. ISBN 0-931933-31-5.
# Strugatsky, Arkady and Boris. "The Time Wanderers" translated by Antonina W. Bouis. New York: St. Martin's Press, May, 1988, 213 pp. ISBN 0-312-91020-7.

External links

* [http://moshkow.perm.ru/koi/STRUGACKIE/engl_volny.txt "The Time Wanderers" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky] on the Perm mirror of Maxim Moshkow Library.
* [http://lib.meta.ua/index.php?book_id=19610 "The Time Wanderers" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky] in the Meta.Ua Library.