I remember reading that some guys actually went to RSFSR to check this and came back disappointed. Some didn't came back since after knowing the truth about RSFSR they became communists, and probably this scared the Hearst so much that he abandoned this line and invented the hologramodomor, which is much safer since nobody gonna go and check famine.
Yes, i would expect them write more in line of socialist sci-fi tradition instead of typical american doomer settings. Sci-fi genre is utterly oversaturated with darkness already.
Dark Forest hypothesis is the most paranoid and pessimistic explanation of Fermi's Paradox. It got huge traction worldwide after it was the topic of otherwise excellent book by Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin.
Entire civilization on Earth exist for mere 10000 years or so, of which we are barely noticable on really short range for 200. People just can't imagine how space is stupidly mindboggingly huge and how much time is needed for anything to happen there.
For example: Probe like Voyager would need more time than our entire civilization existed to reach even the closest star. 8 times more time.
This also reminds me of the popular 90's liberal mantra about "knowledge based economy" (used to justify deindustrialisation), as if the economy wasn't ALWAYS based on knowldge ever since people learned how to make fire and tools.
How the hell it's even "more tech based than Lenin's model"? Lenin was great advocate of technological progress and tried to build and draw to party every even semi eligible technical personnel he could find, he just had to work with completely backwards country where technical education was solely in the hands of bourgeoisie.
"Lenin's model" moved from semi-feudalism to spaceflight in 40 years, despite 3 huge destructive wars no less.
"Sten" cycle by Bunch and Cole, even if just for the based afterword, but it's a good reading and its one of the most fun dunks on monarchists, it shows literally perfect immortal enlightened ruler straight from the wet dreams of r/monarchism and how horrible he fucked it up anyway. Also a lot of bashing of capitalism dystopias, american imperialism and it even have WW2 Pacific theatre in space for some reason.
Plus there is the two Scots joke being dragged over entire volume, that is significant achievement in itself.
Reminds me how Lenin was arrested in Kraków in 1914 for "spying", A-H gendarmes completely missing the fact he was de facto leader of big communist party and tons of illegal party correspondence he had out there in the open in his home, but they confiscated his completely legal notes about economy and statistics because lots of numbers and tables = spying.
They are really hooked over the weird idea of "hiding the power level". For them, socialist governments consequently realising plan of building socialism are the hidden neoliberals, while succdems like Bernie, consequently participating in imperialism and neoliberalism are real socialists who only wait for finally being in power to suddenly push the communism button (and they also accuse us ML's of being "blanquists").
That's the truth for like 50 years though. They even occasionally admit it openly.