About the book: 1977 / The novel "Broken Trumps" closely intertwines elements of scientific and social fiction, pamphlet and parody, serious reflection and grotesquery. But with all its content it is directed against the ideology of militant imperialism. For the first time speaking in a new genre for him, Mark Lanskoy continues to develop the theme of his previous novel “From Two Shores” - the theme of vigilance towards the black forces of international reaction, ready to plunge humanity into a new world war. (editorial annotation 1977) The novel “Broken Trumps” - another contender for the title of “the first domestic space opera.” Intrigues, conspiracies, insidious assassinations and vile betrayals - everything that delights the reader in classic adventure literature, from Alexandre Dumas to Robert Louis Stevenson - could be present in Soviet SF only in two cases: either in a parody or in a revealing novel " from their lives." Lanskoy used both options simultaneously. What the author ended up with most closely resembles the American space opera of the thirties and forties of the last century. The one whose action takes place within the same solar system - rustic, naive, oversaturated with adventures... There is, in fact, one significant difference: in Lansky’s novel there is not a single truly positive character, and therefore there will not be a full-fledged happy ending with hugs against the backdrop of the rising sun. In general, the thing is very unusual in Soviet times - I would put it on a par with Snegov’s epic “People Like Gods,” despite all the “difference in potential” of these texts. The fate of “Broken Trumps” was not very successful: at least I am not familiar with any reprint of this book. Was Fortune favorable to Mark Lansky himself? I don't know. It would be interesting to know... Vasily Vladimirsky - December 2006