The Kid From Hell

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Kid From Hell (Russian: "Парень из преисподней") is the eighth novel by the Strugatsky Brothers to be set in the Noon Universe.

A native of a post-apocalyptic planet is taken to Earth as an experiment to see how well a "savage" would adjust to its Utopian society. Hilarity does not ensue.


Tropes used in The Kid From Hell include:
  • A Father to His Men: Guepard.
  • Child Soldiers: Warcats, sometimes called Warkittens. Double as Badass Army.
  • The Empire: literally. Currently quite busy waging war with Duchy of Alaya.
  • Fish Out of Temporal Water: Gug.
  • In-Series Nickname: at least two examples.
    • Regular Alayan soldiers are called porcupines, at least by Warcats.
    • Imperial soldiers are called rat-eaters, although it's unclear if this name apllies to military only or to imperials in general.
  • Military School: Warcats. It is implied that there are several Warcat schools throughout the Alaya.
  • My Country, Right or Wrong: It may be filthy, backwater, and violent, in comparison to the nice and clean Earth, but it is still Gug's home.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: Almost all Warcats mentioned in the book. Hare, Rooster, Nosy, Crocodile, Sniper, Mite. The only exception is Guepard who uses his real name and rank (senoir mentor Digga) once.