hard to be a fraud

In only six days i managed to read Hard to be a God1 by the Strugatzki Brothers—400 pages, i'm a very slow reader. My plan was, to buy the blu-ray that german label Bildstörung; which was foiled by the blu-ray going out of print and prices raising almost immediately. So i put that on the back burner, and decided to read the book the movie is based on. In short: it's an almost Star Trek prime directive story with a twist. Earth sends out teams of people to observe human-like civilisations on other planets; and in some cases, interfere with their natural development to advance it. The book follows Anton, who under the guise of nobleman Don Rumata, is observing a medieval society, that is in the process of ending chances for the renaissance. Anton is struggling with his role in the proceedings, he does rescue a few people, sets up bribes and systems to keep others safe, and tries to enlighten the people in his vicinity to no avail; he also enjoys his role as a nobleman with a reputation…