Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (, ; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with the moral dilemma of keeping one's humanity while being strong. Some of his works have been adapted into film productions, for which he wrote the screenplays. Biography Lukyanenko was born in Karatau, Kazakhstan, then a part of the Soviet Union. After graduating from school, he moved to Alma-Ata, and enrolled at the Alma-Ata State Medical Institute in 1986 majoring in psychotherapy. He had started writing as a student, and in 1992 had just started making money from it. During this time he became an active member in Russian fandom, visiting conventions and attending seminars all around the Soviet Union. In 1996 he moved to Moscow where he currently resides. Name transliteration Lukyanenko's name is romanized as Sergey Lukianenko on the English version of his official website and as Sergei Lukyanenko by his publisher on works translated into English. Other spellings such as Sergey Lukyanenko are also found. Writing career Early years Lukyanenko started writing in the mid-1980s, and his first publication, the short story "Misconduct" ("Where The Mean Enemy Lurks", although written earlier, was published later), followed soon in 1988. Science fiction in the Soviet Union was exposed to political control, as it was viewed chiefly as a political tool rather than an art. In the late 1980s, however, it was viewed somewhat benevolently, and he was able to jump on the bandwagon of the state support, attending a number of literary seminars and publishing several novellas and short stories. First works of this period show the clear influence of the Russian children's author and teacher Vladislav Krapivin, whose fan Lukyanenko remains up to this day. These works, such as the novella Eighth Color of Rainbow, feature the same themes of coming of age, loyalty and friendship, as well as teenage protagonists and a similar target audience. However, Lukyanenko soon moved from imitating Krapivin toward a more polemic view of his idealistic views of children and their interaction. In the 1994 novel Knights of Forty Islands, Lukyanenko established himself as an author of the Goldingian tradition. After dissolution of the Soviet Union After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the switch to the market economy, Russian authors now had to struggle with unfamiliar realities of a free publishing system. The