This is a collection of early fantastic prose by St. Petersburg resident Andrei Stolyarov, one of the brightest representatives of the young generation of writers who came to literature in the 1970s and 1980s, a generation that, with the light hand of the Strugatsky brothers, was called the “fourth wave” in Russian science fiction. As for a light hand, yes - the Strugatskys greatly influenced the authors of this generation, even the concept of “the time of students” appeared. The students were different - both bad students, and three students, and four students. There were few excellent students. But, absolutely, of those rare people who wrote an A+, the first was Andrei Stolyarov. Apprenticeship is not imitation at all. This is a correct understanding of the literary task that the writer sets for himself. The Strugatsky brothers, unlike many of their “brothers” who turn their noses up at science fiction, believed and proved by their own example that it is not Cinderella in the reserved kingdom of literature, but an integral and important part of it. High literary level, going beyond tradition and shifting the emphasis from the idea and the fantastic device to the human and the human, realistic image of the world, the rejection of dullness and facelessness, which characterized the bulk of the fantastic production of the Soviet era - this is the writing credo of the authors of the “fourth wave.” And Stolyarov is the best example of this. Many of the works included in the book have not been republished for decades, so we hope that this volume will be a real gift for connoisseurs of good science fiction.