Fantasy novel by Vladimir Orlovsky (Grushvitsky), a Russian Soviet science fiction writer, one of the prominent representatives of early Soviet science fiction. "Riot of Atoms" (1928), revised from the previously published 1927 story of the same name, is one of the first works on the use of atomic energy. The novel became a noticeable phenomenon in pre-war Russian science fiction. According to the plot, the German nationalist scientist gives his country a weapon of revenge, but due to an absurd accident, it gets out of control and a nuclear chain reaction begins in the atmosphere. The original story was subsequently published in the April 1929 issue of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories - the last issue personally edited by Hugo Gernsback - and is probably the first Russian science fiction story translated specifically for an American magazine.