History Literature / TheBullsHour

* OverlyLongName: Defied. If anything, the aristocrats on Tormance have ''shorter'' names than the commoners.

!!The Novel provides examples of the following tropes:

* LatexSpacesuit: Environmental suits had to be worn by the expedition's away party members, because the vaccination and acclimatisation to the local conditions and diseases would've taken too much time to allow free exit. These were made from futuristic high-tech alloys and in addition to environmental functions also protected from the most weapons known on Earth. [[spoiler: It still wasn't enough for the four of them.]]

''The Bull's Hour'' is a 1968 Social ScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanYefremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula,'' taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling the story of the Earth starship ''Dark Flame'''s visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history — it gave Efremov ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he saw as humanity's shortcomings.

* ActionGirl: Several among the ''Dark Flame'' crew, mainly Fay Rodis, the expedition commander. Who, because of being [[BadassBookworm a historian]] underwent a psychological and physical conditioning fo better function in the "high-inferno" conditions.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:In the epilogue we learn that the Eartlings' struggle wasn't in nought, and Tormancians have managed to break their planet out of the vicious circle, and the [[FasterThanLightTravel straight beam starship]] to induct them into [[TheFederation the Great Ring]] is being sent there from the Planet of Green Sun, one of the Earth's colonies.]]

* Fantastic Caste System: The population of Tormance is generally divided into two major castes — the so-called "kzhi" (an acronym from the Russian "korotkozhivuschie", shorl-lived), who are the proletarians determined to be incapable of education, and are encouraged to commit governmentally promoted (and tacitly mandated — a grim reminder of the earlier population explosion, mentioned by the Cepheans) suicide, as the Tormancians are apparently unable to practice other forms of population control, and the long-lived "dzhi", who are allowed to live their natural course of life and consist of various educated professionals. The ruling class is technically also count as dzhi, though they are not referred as such. Between them are the thin layers of entertainers (who have varied lifespans, with the athletes and performers often euthanized fairly young, but artists being virtually dzhi) and farmers who are living a tough country life and also dying relatively young entirely naturally.
* FantasticNamingSystem: Actually exist both on Earth and Tormance, Earthlings having the naming system rather different from most current ones.
** Tormancians generally have tripartite names among the commonets, and bipartite among the aristocracy, though the both classes share the common custom to shorten the name in colloquial speech. For example the dzhi engineer Honteelo Tollo Frael, the liaison official attached to the Earthlings by Chyo Chagas, is usually referred to as Hon Tael or simply Tael, while Chagas' second-in-command Gentlo Shi is usually called Gen Shi, and his wife Yantre Yakhakh has a common name of Yan Yakh. Only the Supreme Ruler's name is never shortened.

* FasterThanLightTravel: Finally invented, based on the Ren Boz' experiment in the previous novel, though still very much involved and complicated process during the expedition itself — ''Dark Flame'' is, in fact, only a second FTL starship on the Earth, and currently the only one, the original prototype, ''Noogen'', having disappeared during its last jump. By the time of the novel's FramingStory, however, some 130 years later, "straight-beam" starships are already a mature technology, and while not at the CasualInterstellarTravel level yet, they are already pretty mundane.

* SequelGap: The expedition takes place some two centuries after the ''Literature/AndromedaNebula,'' and its FramingStory one more century later.

** Tormancians generally have tripartite names among the commonets, and bipartite among the aristocracy, though the both classes share the common custom to shorten the name in colloquial speech. For example the dzhi engineer Honteelo Tollo Frael, the liaison official attached to the Earthlings by Chyo Chagas, is usually referred to as Hon Tael or simply Tael, while Chagas' second-in-command Gentlo Shi is usually called Gen Shi, and his wife Yantre Yakhakh has a common name of Yan Yakh. Ony the Supreme Ruler's name is never shortened.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese anti-socialism". But as he was already quite disillusioned with Soviet society at the time, Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthling visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes unofficial copies were circulated]] and widely discussed in intellectual circles.

'''''The Bull's Hour''''' is a 1968 Social ScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanYefremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula,'' taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling the story of the Earth starship ''Dark Flame'''s visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history — it gave Efremov ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he saw as humanity's shortcomings.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese ant-socialism". But as he was already quite disillusioned with Soviet society at the time, Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthling visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes unofficial copies were circulated]] and widely discussed in intellectual circles.

Naturally, the expedition itself wasn't a success. Losing five crewmembers out of thirteen: four to violent deaths involving the locals, and one to GoingNative in attempt to do something about the miserable society of the planet, the starship returned to Earth with precautionary tales of the perils society might suffer if things went badly, though the reader is left with the vague hope than not all was lost with the planet. [[spoiler:And, indeed, in the epilogue of the FramingStory we finally know that the crewmember remaining on the planet was successful in mobilizing the locals to set their own panet right.]]

* PrimeDirective: Subverted. Outwardly, [[TheFederation the Great Ring]] has a law forbidding the interference with the internal affairs of an independent planet, but its applicability clause states that it counts only for the planets allowing a full and unrestricted access to any information -- meaning basically only the planets that might be admitted to Great Ring yesterday. Every other society is a fair game, an attitude not unlike the one of TheCulture.

There was ample reason for this, as the bleak picture of a PoliceState, verging on totalitarian control of the population, a stagnating, rigidly stratified oligarchical society with its and deep-running enmity between the [[LowerClassLout proletarian]] and educated classes, expertly played by the [[SleazyPolitician scheming oligarchy]], [[GaiasLament destroyed environment]] etc., resonated well with the disillusionment the Soviet intellectual elite felt about their own society during Brezhnev's times.

Naturally, the expedition itself wasn't a success. Losing five crewmembers out of thirteen, four to the violent death from the locals, and one to GoingNative in attempt to do something with the miserable society of the planet, the starship returned to Earth with the precautionary tale of the perils the society might suffer if the things go bad, though th reader was left with the vague hope than not all was lost with the planet. [[spoiler:And, indeed, in the epilogue of the FramingStory we finally know that the crewmember remaining on the planet was successful in mobilizing the locals to set their own panet right.]]

There is ample reason for that, as the bleak picture of a PoliceState, verging on totalitarian control of the population, a stagnating, rigidly stratified oligarchical society with its and deep-running enmity between the [[LowerClassLout proletarian]] and educated classes, expertly played by the [[SleazyPolitician scheming oligarchy]], [[GaiasLament destroyed environment]] etc., resonated well with the disillusionment the Soviet intellectual elite felt about their own society during Brezhnev's times.

There is an ample reason for that, as the bleak picture of a PoliceState, verging on a totalitarian control of the population, the stagnating, oligarchical society with its rigid social stratification and deep-running enmity between the [[LowerClassLout proletarian]] and educated classes, expertly played by the [[SleazyPolitician scheming oligarchy]], [[GaiasLament destroyed environment]] etc., resonated well with the disillusionment the Soviet intellectual elite felt about their own society by the Brezhnev's times.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese ant-socialism". But as he was already quite disillusioned with Soviet society at the time, Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthling visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes circulated in the unofficial copies]] and widely discussed in the intellectual circles.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese ant-socialism". But as he was already quite disillusioned with Soviet society at the time, Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthling visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes circulated in the unofficial copies]] and were widely discussed in the intellectual circles.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese ant-socialism". But as he already got quite disillusioned in the Soviet society as well, the Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthling visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes circulated in the unofficial copies]] and widely discussed in the intellectual circles.

'''''The Bull's Hour''''' is a 1968 Social ScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanYefremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula,'' taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling a story of an Earth's starship ''Dark Flame'' visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by the refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history, it gives Efremov an ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he sees as detrimental to the humanity.

* WhyMaoChangedHisName: The official name of the planet is Yan-Yakh, after the Supreme Ruler Choyo Chagas' wife, Yantre Yakhakh. It is explicitly said that the planet is renamed every place the First Lady changes.

* FantasticCasteSystem: The population of Tormance is generally divided into two major castes — the so-called "kzhi" (an acronym from the Russian "korotkozhivuschie", shorl-lived), who are the proletarians determined to be incapable of education, and are encouraged to commit governmentally promoted (and tacitly mandated — a grim reminder of the earlier population explosion, mentioned by the Cepheans) suicide, as the Tormancians are apparently unable to practice other forms of population control, and the long-lived "dzhi", who are allowed to live their natural course of life and consist of various educated professionals. The ruling class is technically also count as dzhi, though they are not referred as such. Between them are the thin layers of entertainers (who have varied lifespans, with the athletes and performers often euthanized fairly young, but artists being virtually dzhi) and farmers who are living a tough country life and also dying relatively young entirely naturally.

* SequelGap: The expedition takes place some two centuries after the ''Literature/AndromedaNebula'', and its FramingStory one more century later.
* OverlyLongName: Defied. If anything, the aristocrats on Tormance have ''shorter'' names than the commoners.
* WhyMaoChangedHisName: The official name of the planet is Yan-Yakh, after the Suupreme Ruler Choyo Chagas' wife, Yantre Yakhakh. It is explicitly said that the planet is renamed every place the First Lady changes.

'''''The Bull's Hour''''' is a 1968 SocialScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanYefremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula'', taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling a story of an Earth's starship ''Dark Flame'' visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by the refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history, it gives Efremov an ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he sees as detrimental to the humanity.

'''''The Bull's Hour''''' is a 1968 SocialScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanEfremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula'', taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling a story of an Earth's starship ''Dark Flame'' visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by the refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history, it gives Efremov an ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he sees as detrimental to the humanity.

* GaiasLament: During a population explosing several centuries ago, the planet's inhabitants managed to almost destroy the planet's biosphere.

* StateSec: Snake Carriers, the security apparatus of the Yan-Yakh state, wield an enormous power over its populace, being basically the only thing resembling a military force on the planet as well.

* WhyMaoChangedHisName: The official name of the planet is Yan-Yakh, after the Suupreme Ruler Choyo Chagas' wife, Yantre Yakhakh. It is explicitly said that the planet is renamed every place the First Lady changes.

''The Bull's Hour'' is a 1968 SocialScienceFiction novel by the Soviet author Creator/IvanEfremov and is a {{Sequel}} to his earlier ''Literature/AndromedaNebula'', taking place some two centuries later than the original novel. Telling a story of an Earth's starship ''Dark Flame'' visit to a planet long ago colonized [[DefectorFromDecadence by the refugees from the Earth]] during the turbulent periods of its history, it gives Efremov an ample material to discuss his views on the society and criticize what he sees as detrimental to the humanity.

The novel has a turbulent history -- written at the height of a Sino-Soviet split and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Cultural Revolution]], it outwardly criticized what Efremov called "Chinese ant-socialism". But as he already got quite disillusoned in the Soviet society as well, the Efremov's unflattering portrayal of the planet that the Earthlong visitors called Tormance (explicitly after the eponymous planet in the David Lindsay's ''Literature/AVoyageToArcturus'') was close enough to home that the authorities [[BannedInChina soon banned the book]], which remained out of print for almost two decades until the Perestroyka, though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes circulated in the unofficial copies]] and widely discussed in the intellectual circles.

There is an ample reason for that, as the bleak picture of a PoliceState, verging on a totalitarian control of the population, the stagnating, oligarchical society with its rigid social stratification and deep-running enmity between the [[LowerClassLout proletarian]] and educated classes, expertly played by the [[SleazyPolitician scheming oligarchy]], [[GaiasLament destroyed environment]] etc.a, resonated well with the disillusionment the Soviet intellectual elite felt about their own society by the Brezhnev's times.

Naturally, the expedition itself wasn't a success. Losing five crewmembers out of thirteen, four to the violent death from the locals, and one to GoingNative in attempt to do something with the miserable society of the planet, the starship returned to Earth with the precautionary tale of the perils the society might suffer if the things go bad, though th reader was left with the vague hope than not all was lost with the planet. [[spoiler:And, indeed, in the epilogue of the FramingStory we finally know that the two crewmembers remaining on the planet were successful in mobilizing the locals to set their own panet right.]]

* FasterThanLightTravel: Finally invented, based on the Ren Boz' experiment in the previous novel, though still very much involved and complicated process during the expedition itself — ''Dark Flame'' is, in fact, only a second FTL starship on the Earth, and currently the only one, the original prototype, ''Noogen'', having disappeared during its last jump. By the time of the novel's Framing Story, however, some 130 years later, "straight-beam" starships are already a mature technology, and while not at the CasualInterstellarTravel level yet, they are already pretty mundane.

* LegendaryInSequel: Several of the ''Nebula'' characters, but chiefly Ren Boz due to his work on FasterThanLightTravel.

Naturally, the expedition itself wasn't a success. Losing five crewmembers out of thirteen, three to the violent death from the locals, and two to GoingNative in attempt to do something with the miserable society of the planet, the starship returned to Earth with the precautionary tale of the perils the soiety might suffer if the things go bad, though th reader was left with the vague hope than not all was lost with the planet. [[spoiler:And, indeed, in the epilogue of the FramingStory we finally know that the two crewmembers remaining on the planet were successful in mobilizing the locals to set their own panet right.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:In the epilogue we learn that the Eartlings' struggle wasn't in nought, and Tormancians have managed to break their planet out of the vicious circle, and the [[FasterThanLightTravel straight beam starship]] is being sent there from the Planet of Green Sun, one of the Earth's colonies.]]
* FasterThanLightTravel: Finally invented, based on the Ren Boz' experiment in the previous novel, though still very much involved and complicated process.

* SequelGap: The expedition takes place some two centuries after the ''Literature/AndromedaNebula'', and its FramingStory one more century later.