Probably, every fan of the work of Russian science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, “Depth” is familiar. Just a luxurious series of books will appeal to even the most picky science fiction fan. Therefore, no one should pass them by, and especially cyberpunk fans.
Legendary trilogy
To begin with, it is worth saying that the trilogy "Depth" by Sergey Lukyanenko was one of the first representatives of the cyberpunk genre in Russian literature. She gained a huge number of fans among gamers, hackers and just people whose work is related to computers. However, even readers who know little about computers (and at the time when the books were written, there were much more of them than now), they still plunged into the magnificent world created by a talented writer.
The first part of the trilogy - “The Labyrinth of Reflections” - was published in 1997. And almost immediately it became a rarity - the entire circulation, like the next eight, was dared in a surprisingly short time. It’s clear that fans longed for a sequel. And they saw him. The second part, Fake Mirrors, appeared on the shelves two years later, in 1999. The book has become no less popular than the first. In total, it has been published ten times! And was translated into Czech and Polish. But the third was not so exciting. Transparent Stained Glass became not a full-fledged novel, but rather a story. The plot was not so strong, and the main character disappeared, and his companions faded into the background. In general, the book was not so connected with the previous ones as readers expected. But nevertheless, she also gained some popularity.
What is Depth?
As already mentioned, the Lukyanenko genre of “Depths” is cyberpunk. So, a fictional world must be closely connected with computers or virtual reality.
The way it is. Ordinary Russian programmer Dmitry Dibenko never missed the stars from the sky. Sometimes he meditated, bribed by newfangled Buddhist movements. Sometimes I used soft drugs to relax. And once he created a small program that was supposed to help calm down after a hard working day, to renounce the world. But she had a small side effect - when launched on any computer, she made a person believe that everything that happens on the screen is true. So there was Depth - a virtual world in which anyone with at least the weakest computer could enter. Communication via the Internet has become really lively. And the games acquired incredible realism - medicinal drugs acquired a taste, and with the advent of special costumes, they began to hurt.
Of course, the authorities have passed many laws and regulations restricting freedom in the Deep. But the genie was released from the bottle, and it was not possible to drive it back.
Welcome to deeptown
Depth brought the Internet to a whole new level. Now he has become alive. Each server represents a whole world, and its realism and completeness depend only on how much time and time the creator put into it. But among the many worlds, Deeptown rises - the city, which is the center of the Depth itself. A never-sleeping city where millions of people from all over the world come daily. Yes there, some just live here, going from Deeptown to reality for only a few hours a day or even less.
Which is not surprising - here you can live in a chic mansion or castle, enjoy the most exquisite dishes and do whatever you can think of. And completely forget about the shabby one-room apartment and an empty refrigerator that await in reality. Many do so.
There are representatives of all professions: artists, policemen, programmers, movers, prostitutes, robbers, sellers, bartenders and many others. But divers stand apart from everyone. Most people do not believe in them, considering it a beautiful legend. And the divers themselves try not to advertise their skills. But they are. People who cannot fully believe in the reality of what is happening. And thanks to this, they are able to leave at any time, breaking their tails, find holes in the most reliable security systems, encircle hundreds of professional programmers, system administrators, antiviruses and security programs. Of course, their services are in great demand. And even the fact that their services are very expensive does not deter customers. After all, there are no poor people among them. But there are very few divers themselves - one for many thousands of ordinary users. It is to them that Sergey Lukyanenko’s Depth trilogy is dedicated.
Labyrinth of reflections
The main character of the book is Leonid. He lives in a small apartment in St. Petersburg. And he lives in Deeptown. Yes, it’s not cheap to buy an entire multi-storey building here. But Leonid can afford it - he is a diver. His services are very popular and generously paid. True, the risk is considerable - for the theft of some secrets they can kill in reality.
But once Leonid receives a very unusual order - a person is stuck in a virtual game. He just sits in place and does not try to do something or leave the game for several days. This is not so rare - a special protocol of actions has been created for such a case. The catch is that this person is not connected to any computer to enter the network. Who is he? It is Leonid who will have to find the answer.
Fake mirrors
The book continues to talk about the adventures of Leonid, a former diver who, like everyone else, suddenly lost all his fabulous abilities in the Depth. But the legend goes that the Dark Diver remained somewhere else, who not only retained all the skills inherent in this special caste, but also increased it. Few people believe in its existence. But no one can refute it.
It is much worse that a third generation weapon appeared in Deeptown. Killing a person from him in the Depth, you can kill him in reality. What will this lead to? Perhaps the death of the Depth itself. But its permanent inhabitants will never allow this. If necessary, they will accomplish the impossible and even sacrifice their lives.
Transparent stained glass
In the third book, many of the main characters faded into the background, and Leonid completely disappeared. In her place came Karina, Depth Security Inspector. She will take part in the verification of the virtual prison.
Far from immediately, she realizes that a cruel experiment is being set up on prisoners - they will try to turn them into divers by means of superhuman suffering. Can Karina challenge the system? Will he be able to find people who will support her?
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. Now you know more about the cycle of books by Sergey Lukyanenko “Depth”. It is possible that you will want to familiarize yourself with them or re-read them to refresh your impressions of long-read works. Well, good reading!