The Garin Death Ray


The Garin Death Ray also known as The Death Box and The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin is a science fiction novel by the noted Russian author Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy written in 1926–1927. Vladimir Nabokov considered it Tolstoy's finest fictional work.
The "hyperboloid" in its title is not a geometrical surface but a "death ray"-laser-like device that the protagonist, engineer Garin, used to fight his enemies and try to become the dictator of the world. The idea of a "death ray" was commonplace in science fiction of the time, but Tolstoy's version is unique for its level of technical details. "Hyperboloids" of different power capability differ in their effect. The device uses two hyperbolic mirrors to concentrate light rays in a parallel beam. Larger "hyperboloids" can destroy military ships on the horizon, and those of less power can only injure people and cut electric cables on walls of rooms.

Influence

, the inventor of laser, said that his invention had been inspired by this novel.
The film adaptations of the novel were released in the Soviet Union in 1965 and 1973.
The Soviet rock band Kino was originally known as Garin i giperboloydy.
The Estonian punk band Vennaskond has a song "Insener Garini hüperboloid" .
The Russian band Piknik has a song "Гиперболоид" .