Easy to Be a God

One of Poland's most popular science fiction franchises finally arrives in English with this opening volume of the five-book Fields of Long-Forgotten Battles series. The twenty-fourth century setting is expansive — humanity has colonized over a thousand planets and survived a brutal civil war — and the dual storylines maintain strong momentum: a disgraced sergeant racing to unmask a rogue group threatening an alien race, and a salvage ship that discovers an ancient derelict whose survivor could upend everything. Reviewers praised its dizzying pace and rich world-building. The honest caveat is that the episodic, multi-strand structure can feel disjointed, and readers new to the series are dropped in with a steep entry curve. Fans of military science fiction with patience for complexity will be well rewarded.