secret city
Humanity is not the only intelligent race on Earth. And not the first. But now people who have forgotten about magic dominate the planet, and the descendants of ancient civilizations live in the Secret City, hidden from prying eyes in the heart of a huge metropolis.
And only a few of us manage to find out what is really happening on the Moscow streets...
(2019)
The Secret City is on the verge of great changes. The rebellious Yarga, the first prince of Navi, will stop at nothing to achieve his goal - the revival of the great empire of the Dark Court. For the sake of this goal, he is ready to do anything, sacrifice anyone, and chelas, vampires, people, miracles and even navas are just pawns on the chessboard of a cunning and ruthless player. […]
(2019)
In the Secret City and the whole magical world, the usual and very hectic life is in full swing: the mysterious master NO teaches you how to quickly and inexpensively repair a broken steam locomotive, terrible vampires appear in the Moscow metro, someone was lucky to touch the mystical secrets of St. Petersburg, and Inga Volkova and Yana Mannerheim have to go to a mysterious island in the middle Pacific Ocean, where, by order of the merciless Yarga, […]
(2018)
Returning to the pinnacle of power requires a lot of time and effort, but Yarga, the first prince of the great Navi, has plenty of both. With cunning and meanness, he crushed the Green House, in which his loyal supporters seized power, and now he turned his gaze to the Order, threatening to leave Santiago without allies. A magician of unprecedented power appears in the Secret City. […]
(2018)
There was no test in the history of the Secret City harder than the second coming of the Yarga. The first prince of Navi has escaped from centuries of imprisonment and longs to regain his former greatness. He decided to revive the Dark Court empire on Earth. The Green House has already known the heavy hand of the first prince, it is the turn of the people for whom Yarga has prepared a terrible, truly bloody night... And […]
(2017)
Power, love, hate. What else is needed to start a war? On one side of the scale is the royal crown, on the other is the life of loved ones, and the choice is like a sword strike: swift and sharp. There is no time ... But the outcome cannot be changed either by force or by prayer, because it is impossible to change what has already happened. The bloody wedding of Queen Vseslava became the prologue of a […]
(2014)
No rest in the Secret City! And where can he come from if Yarga, the first prince of Navi, has returned to the big game and is going to seize power over the entire Earth. Conspiracies and betrayals - this is the Yarga war, and those whom she considers loyal subjects are already tightening the noose around the neck of Queen Vseslava.
The book is intended for those who think that Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko bakes his countless Dozora too slowly. Panov has no ideas of his own, and if you compare his cycle with a more eminent competitor, then "Dark City" finally slips into the world of bribed lyrics and adventures of various Thieves in Law, both in language and style. Yes, it contains the same intrigues, miracles, colorful characters, but the novels themselves completely lack individuality. As a result, the whole cycle merges into one giant soap opera like "Santa Barbara". For example, I once read five volumes in a row. Thanks to the most detailed Fantlab annotations, otherwise I would not have remembered which ones I mastered and what they are talking about. I call this type of literature “Yes, I kind of read it” (pronounce it with doubt).
Score: 4
On this moment read 12 books. I gave it a 6 for the first six relatively decent books, but then, the further into the forest, the less sense. It all started promisingly: a good idea about the Great Houses, interesting and detailed description magic, charismatic heroes, adventure, riddles, battles. Nice relaxing read. But over time, some things, like a snowball, accumulating and growing, overshadowed all the pluses that this series had, or could have had. Here are just a few of the cons that "finished" me:
1. The unnatural, strained stupidity of people, the fervor and stupidity of miracles. The further, the harder it is to believe that such code idiots could rule something. Almost every dialogue, every action of the representatives of these two Houses is contrary to logic and common sense. And after all this is worth the plots? A-ta-ta...
2. Endless repetitions and explanations. In each subsequent book, the author explains in some detail who the Great Houses are, where the Red Caps come from, what the Shases love, with whom and why the mercenaries are friends, etc. and so on. Which ultimately bloats the text nicely. Someone will say - “this is for those who started reading the cycle from the middle”, to which I would answer that “the reader from the middle” is an evil Pinocchio himself, and I’m tired of rereading about the Western Forests 100,500 times.
3. Secrets and mysteries of history. The author, as it were, lifts the veil by mentioning the Key of the Three Races, the heritage of the Assurs, some other worlds, other civilizations, mysterious ancient artifacts, but all in passing, and these mentions never reveal themselves. Interest is warmed up, books are read in the hope of getting answers to questions, but, alas, the author does not seem to have the mind to develop his own ideas.
4. Turns by 180 degrees in the behavior of the characters. Here we have hardened cynics who have been achieving their goal for several hundred years, sacrificing everything and everything, regardless of losses even among their closest ones, can suddenly shed a mean tear and shout “oh, sorry for the bird!” drop everything and actually commit suicide. Here, incredibly ancient beings who have gone through hellish torments, hardened in all circles of hell, suddenly start screaming “oh-oh, bo-bo!” from some simple wound inflicted by an ordinary sword. Here the enemies trust each other, and then they are surprised at the betrayals. Here one semi-random night together is a reason for love to the grave, and so on and so forth ...
5. Red caps. Jokes aside, but 12 books with the same conversations about whiskey and robberies is a bit too much. Entire chapters in which the Red Caps drank, scratched their turnips, waved their yatagan, fired from a shotgun, and then, on a tip from Petya, they went to steal something, naturally unsuccessfully. Every single time it's the same. In the end, my nerves gave out and I began to look through all this fuss diagonally, which reproached reading books by about a third.
In general, it seems that you are not reading a book, you are not living this world, you are not living the fate of the characters, but just watching a cartoon. Some kind of mixture of The Simpsons, Bleach anime and the True Blood series, where everything is epic and heroic, hypertrophied, implausible, flavored with complete stupidity and sometimes sex.
Score: 6
The idea of the "Secret City" was, though not new, but good - a parallel, magical Moscow, existing along with the real Moscow. However, Panov’s “parallel Moscow” turned out to be some kind of cardboard, tied to real Moscow only by external toponymic features (“Vernadsky Avenue”, “Arbat”, “spider’s booth”, etc.), and not by deep internal connections. If N. Gaiman’s parallel London “The Doorway”) can only correlate with real, historical London, V. Orlov’s magical Moscow (“Violist Danilov”, “Pharmacist”) correlates with real-life Moscow, then Panov’s “Secret City” can be without problems relocated to any major metropolitan area in the world. The history of "TG" is faceless, practically incompatible with the history and topography of "visible" Moscow. The heroes of TG are just as faceless, they are not psychologically spelled out, characters without biographies, without fate. Despite the fact that "TG" is called a mystical cycle, it does not contain the secret that the best authors of "crypto-city" works had in it. And one more thing: quite rightly Dick 111 wrote: "... you can start from any volume and stop at any place." The cycle of V. Panov leaves absolutely indifferent, despite the mass of author's inventions and riot of fantasy. I read and forgot.
Score: 5
Mastered six books. At first everything started well - interesting world, an entertaining story ... But then HE appeared.
Start over. The three great houses are the Dark Court, the Green House, and the Order. Clearly stands out, of course, the Dark Court. It is gothic, gloomy (even the name of the House symbolizes) and the very best. The other two are for extras. The Dark Court includes the best healers, the best merchants, vampires, and of course Navi.
Navi. Immortal unkillable ubermags. The very best. Almost nothing can kill them, they are not afraid of bullets, they are rich and beautiful and full of energy. Compared to them, Slavic Ludas and knights - miracles look faded. It is immediately clear who prevails in the Secret City. But even among the Navi, one character stands out.
Santiago. Clever, immortal, beautiful, rich, equally virtuoso with cold weapons, hand-to-hand combat and magic, loving one woman whom he fell in love with a lot of years ago, the permanent commissar of the Dark Court, respected by all races living in this reflection of Moscow, he overshadows the whole course with his rays events described by the author. Is it worth adding that he also
Spoiler (plot reveal)
Prince of the Dark Court, or rather part of it
Already in the second book, it becomes clear that Santiago is the alter ego of the author. Santiago cannot be deceived - he knows everything three hundred steps ahead, and two analysts help him in this - comical characters who constantly swear at each other, but regularly communicate strategically important information our Mary Sue.
The first book shattered my idea of such a highly publicized series. An interesting anti-hero, betrayed by his own nation (It's strange - the queen, who should take care of her people, throws out the Messiah, who is destined to elevate the people, and in the following books tries to do the work of this poor fellow with torment), turns out to be a virgin maniac, torturing girls for pleasure . All the charm of the innocently expelled savior of the house of Man collapses with the light hand of the author, who needed Absolute Evil as opposed to Absolute Good - Santiaga. Of course, the Absolute had calculated everything in advance and knowing that the Vivisector was in fact
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Butler
Brilliantly won the fight.
The second and third books aggravated the situation. The commander of the Order, who fell in love with a werewolf, decides to commit a crime.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
And Santiaga, knowing that the commander was framed in order to frame him, decides to enter the trap, kill the framed commander, himself fall under suspicion in order to expose the real villain - a worthy magician of Humans, who is able to bring humanity into the ranks of the Great Houses, and whose achievements are sold by the group human mercenaries for thirty pieces of silver, thereby selling their people
The fourth book is pretty good... because there isn't much Santiagi in it. At first.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
A poor girl-chela, who owns the rarest gift of polymorphism, an evil and terrible blind officer of the landing Soviet Union, for some reason stubbornly called the Empire, makes you be cruel and kill in order to become great. What horrors. But our kindest Santiaga saves us again, cracking the plan of the evil old paratrooper at the root, and receiving this very girl as a gift.
The fifth and sixth books just finished me off. Great Navi suddenly began to weaken (Really?). And the valiant Santiaga again helps everyone out, pushing the foreheads of the other two Houses (which, by God, look like a bunch of kids - anyone can lead them by the nose without really straining. Then why are they Great?) and at the same time releasing the Ancient Evil out, in the form evil mutated humans who love hate.
At that moment, when Yana was kidnapped (this is in the last book I read), everything became clear to me.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
She, too, will turn out to be a hidden witch, but will overcome her blood memory with love for Cortez - a very predictable move.
But, to my surprise, the sixth book at the end still gave me a surprise.
Let's skip the Navi uber-soldiers, who are not only unkillable, but also super-duper magicians (better than all the fairies of Ludov combined), super-duper fast (Sailors with their movement speed of 100 kilometers per hour rest - and the author himself convinced that there is no one faster than them!) and super-duper strong (the vigilantes of the same Lyudov nervously smoke on the sidelines). Let's also skip the scene where a hundred of these terminators destroy almost the entire army of Miracles in a few minutes. And let's move on to the pulp itself - try to guess to whom? Of course, to Santiago.
He stands out even against the background of these terminators in the way that a bodybuilder with experience would stand out among preschoolers. He goes to battle with the leaders of Hyperborea with his bare hands. And wins. Not one of course (there were a couple of his close associates there), but this does not change the essence. Great warriors, who in ancient times destroyed entire armies, were defeated by a group of Navi led by Radiant. But two Hyperborean witches remained, completing the most important ritual
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Attention, I'm not kidding - Lenin's awakening from sleep
And here
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
It turns out that one witch is Yana, who overcame the gene memory, invested by her greatest in skill and strength magician only with love for Cortez, although the same Veronica could not do this, and the other, which Veronica is Anna, is the same polymorph, tame pet Santiagi, who miscalculated this plan and replaced the real Veronica, has already full of energy A Hyperborean sorceress who could almost kill everyone with a glance, and for some reason stupidly fell into captivity in the all-reaching hands of the Radiant
And again, Santiaga is smart and well done, he beat everyone and everything - and left two Great Houses with a nose, and defeated the ancient race of Hyperboreans, and did not even allow awakening
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
The Devil is actually the Prince of the Dark Court, and the Prince of the Dark Court is Santiaga
I'm afraid my mind can't take it.
Rating: 1
Gentlemen and ladies, let's ask ourselves why everything seems so bad in such low genres as multi-volume opupei and inter-author cycles. To hell with lofty matters, where is at least "our" Forgotten Realms or Battle Mallet? And there are none. They are not needed. Then try to make something of your own, if you can profitably sell someone else's?
Let's look at the diagnosis on the example of a typical patient, our "World of Darkness for the Poor", our "Turkish Star Wars" (this is when someone else's film is taken and filmed / re-edited to look like something else).
So, another young and obviously not too talented author takes someone else's universe and begins to shred it with rusty garden shears to fit his own understanding and the low standards of a potential consumer. The idea is not new, they indulged in this even in the Middle Ages (and probably more than once), and in general there is nothing fatal in small borrowings. But our demiurge approached the task as casually as possible, he will tear off pieces from other people's creations with meat and sew them together with white threads.
So, how to give birth to a small-town "masterpiece". To begin with, let's reduce the scale of the original, from the whole world to one city, so as not to pee a bunch of nuances. “Tokyo is the center of the universe”, in this case Moscow. Next, we will remove all these incomprehensible names like some kind of Inconnu, let everything be as simple as possible for us - people, chud, dregs and in the same spirit. Well, then you can rummage through the subsections:
Bloodsuckers - so, they have some kind of clans here. We won't even change their names. They have some Camarilla and Sabbath organizations here. They obviously must be translated somehow, but the dictionary at that moment was far away.
Fluffies - everything is somehow complicated here, let's just take that werewolves are like that and not like that.
Magicians - some kind of Traditions, Conventions ... Oh, everything is complicated, let's take it in general for any separate cycle.
Ghosts - oh well ... What is it all about?
Fairies - umm, to take? Are the Red Caps modern day goblins? Let's make them gopniks.
That's it, let's add flat and cool characters, you can write dozens of volumes on this basis. In order for teenagers to buy more actively, we will add all sorts of piquancy and the departed USSR will regularly find fault. Netlenka is ready!
So we have someone else's instead of ours, only scanty and miserable. And not to say that this alien was originally strongly original. The same bloodsuckers at Ann Rice flooded bless you. But their authors did add new ideas and built something of their own on someone else's foundation. And we have a dull plagiarism even without changing the original names.
Therefore, for the time being, even in the field of such consumer goods, everything is bad. And it will be bad, as long as we take someone else's and try to pass it off as our own, without the slightest imagination or creativity.
Rating: 1
Everyone knows the cartoon "Scooby Doo"?
There, in each series, a new monster appears, the heroes valiantly run away from him, and at the end it turns out that the monster is a villain in disguise.
"Secret City" works in the same way. I only managed to count as many as three templates in it.
1. There is one Person.
A new one appears in the Secret City actor, which has unique abilities and pursuing its own goals. It could just be a very powerful human magician, a skilled mercenary, or the owner of a powerful artifact. Naturally, he attracts the attention of the Great Houses, who, without further ado, decide to eliminate him.
In the end, the person either perishes, crushed by their combined efforts, or leaves the Secret City. It is extremely rare that a representative of a different race acts as a Chel. However, this does not affect the ending.
Examples: "Wars are started by losers", "Commander of War", "Smell of Fear", "Vertigo".
2. The fourth power.
Another force enters the confrontation with the Great Houses. Tellingly, she had never been mentioned before in the books. Miracle-Ludo-Nava accept the challenge and together repel aggression.
At the end, the fourth force is either destroyed or banished. It is extremely rare that peace is offered on terms that are shameful for the fourth power.
Examples: "The Concubines of Hatred", "The Doll of Last Hope", "Rebus Galla".
3. Prodigy.
A new artifact of epic power is discovered, for which all interested representatives of the Great Houses begin to hunt. Sometimes an artifact already has a rightful owner, but this, of course, does not stop anyone.
In the end, the artifact is either lost or destroyed. There is one exception - the Black Book.
Examples: "Pulpit of Wanderers", "King's Cross".
Sometimes a novel combines two or even all three clichés.
For example, “In the circle of times”: a mercenary (there is one Chel) comes to a secret city to revive the Knowing Settlements (fourth power) and for this uses a powerful artifact that controls time (wunderwaffle).
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
in the end, the knowledgeable settlements remain a ghost village, the child prodigy is hidden where no one can get it, and the mercenary leaves far and for a long time. The template cracked, but held.
The disadvantage of this approach is obvious: all plot moves are foreseen on the fly. Reading the first chapter, it is easy to understand what will happen in the seventh (most novels in the cycle consist of only seven chapters). For children's cartoon it's still bearable (although I never liked Scooby-Doo). But in a long book cycle, it quickly becomes annoying.
I can't help but mention the Red Caps - local gopniks in jester bandanas. A couple of successful episodes with their participation in more than two dozen books side by side with a great many ridiculous and unfunny ones. And their stories are always a separate template, because any adventure of the Red Caps is, by definition, doomed to failure, and the author will select all the goodies they receive closer to the denouement of the story. Unfortunately, a depressingly much time is devoted to this unfriendly family.
But Santiago is much more annoying. The world has never known such ultra-mega-inhibitors. In most books, this schemer outplayed everyone long before the dealer dealt the cards. He is the best fighter, the most powerful magician and the most tireless lover. In the annual Secret City racing competition, the winner is the one who arrives second, since Santiaga is by default the first. Naturally, such an indestructible and all-conquering character very quickly begins to annoy. But, thank God, in the last novels Panov nerfed him to a more or less acceptable level.
In general, the level of books first rises rapidly, and then just as sharply falls. Recently, the cycle has completely moved to P.R.O.E.K.T., which caused a natural drop in interest. Reading it or not is a personal matter for everyone, although I doubt that there are many readers who are not familiar with the Secret City. For myself, I can say that this is a very strong urban fantasy, with a lot of pleasant moments and really stylish episodes, but not without many of the shortcomings inherent in big series. At the very least, it is worth getting acquainted with it, but at the same time remember that this is a very strong craft work. No more.
Score: 7
I love the Secret City very much, so there will be many letters and thoughts.
But I'll start, oddly enough, with the shortcomings and controversial features.
Firstly, the cycle is simply monstrously tightened up to complete unreadability recent books. As sad as it is to admit, it has turned into a cash cow for the author, which must be approached periodically, but, of course, there is no longer any creative moment in this - only a technical action.
Secondly, the TG is also written very unevenly. That is, instead of the usual rolling of quality along a hyperbole, a kind of “arrhythmia” is observed. After the first extremely successful novels - "Wars start by losers" and the dilogy "Commander of War" with the continuation, there are indistinct "All Shades of Black", and then immediately a peppy "Hyperborean" part. Several times the cycle was interrupted by collections of short stories, including amateur ones. Like almost all fanfiction, most of them are disgusting and terrible to the point of complete chthonicity, but there are a couple that are surprisingly good.
They are the strongest, they are the smartest, they are the most united, they always win, all the strongest/smartest/necessary insert non-navas prefer to work with them. Only one thing remains unclear - how the navy in the distant past
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
managed to lose stupid people
But history is silent about this (at least until I read it).
The main characters are mercenaries with a specific morality. They don't give a damn about anything and everyone, except for their own benefit, which is annoying at times. But here one can rightly object that this is the property of the characters, and not the author, and that this at the same time gives them the charisma of "cold-blooded professionals."
In addition, at times outright bandits or even sadists (!) -
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
dear Anna, for example.
I was extremely pleased with the phrase " a real man will not shoot the woman he loves in the head. We hope in the next parts to see a diagram of which parts of the body of a beloved woman a real horseman is not forbidden to shoot.
Fourthly, the heroes are practically invulnerable. Cortes associates, despite the fact that they are opposed by creatures many times superior to them in experience and skill, not to mention ordinary physical characteristics, always get away with it and almost always win. In extreme cases, they get off with an unscheduled visit to the Erliysky monastery.
Santiaga sees 100+ moves ahead and does not tolerate defeat in principle. The most that especially outstanding enemies are capable of is to present the Commissar with a couple of tactical surprises, which he rejoices like a child.
No, of course, everyone has the right to express their political views, there, there is a whole sub-genre of "anti-communist hitting" and nothing, no one sticks a finger at them. But a spoon for dinner is good, and in TG anti-Soviet outbursts look like a saddle on a cow. Here I don’t even want to enter into polemics, because they don’t argue with ideological hatred.
Based on the listed shortcomings, we can conclude: TG is not a very good work from a purely literary point of view. And for the most part, this is true. If it were not for the pluses, which will be discussed below, TG would be just one of a huge host of passing books for 5-6 points. But there are other pluses as well.
First of all, it's the setting. No boring standard fantasy races. Of the widely known - only vampires borrowed from VTM, but we can endure them, slightly grimacing, especially since they are just one brick in a huge wall.
The universe of the Secret City is large, diverse and fresh. Panov constantly reveals new corners here and there, and for a very long time this allowed the cycle to maintain a fairly high level of quality. The world of TG is interesting to explore, get acquainted with its history, glorious and terrible pages. The setting was conceived for five plus, implemented for a good, strong four.
Key characters are well written. Not all of them are pretty, many are very contrasting, but all of them are written well. Despite paragraph 3 of the shortcomings - the sympathy of the author of one particular faction, there are characters in other houses written with obvious approval.
For example,
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Franz de Geer is an example of an excellent and very professionally crafted leader character. He is noble, but not stupid, resolute and strong. At the same time, he is able to make compromises if everyone benefits from this, and to complete the image, the author organically wove a personal tragedy into his story, which Franz did not reconcile with, but was able to drive it deep into “personal space” and prevent it from interfering in the main work - the leadership of the House of Chud.
Another great character is Baron Mecheslav. In general, in my opinion, he is close to the absolute ideal of a real man. Strong, determined, reliable as a rock, ambitious in his own way, but his ambition is not beyond his abilities. Mecheslav knows well what he can do and what he can't, and he doesn't go where he doesn't belong. A true example of calm strength. And his relationship with Queen Vseslava is a separate plus. They are written completely without snot and worries, so they look real. And when they have problems, you empathize with them.
Even the Fuhrer of the Red Hats clearly enjoys the favor of the author. For all the comicality of KSH, Panov periodically makes it clear to the reader that keeping all this freemen within the framework of at least relative decency is a difficult matter.
All these pluses, of course, are good, but, you say, one way or another they are in many places. What distinguishes "Tayy City" from many other books? Moreover, with such significant shortcomings, something very weighty should lie on the “other bowl”. And it still lies.
This is the atmosphere. Panov managed to capture the very essence of the genre and present it to the reader in at its best. What is the most important thing in urban fantasy? It's a secret under your nose. It is the feeling that real life is always with you. That as soon as you leave your boring office, you will find yourself in the midst of bright, dangerous and, most importantly, real events. Or maybe you don’t even have to leave the office, and a courier with a mysterious package will suddenly call from the checkpoint. Dashing, freshness and mystery - these are the components of the success of TG. It is for this that we love urban fantasy - for a fairy tale next to us. And Vadim Panov managed to bring this fairy tale right into our hands.
Score: 10
The funniest thing about the Secret City is that it doesn't even consist entirely of stamps. But just pieces of something else. Such a mosaic. You look into every piece - yeah, this is torn out of a Slavic fantasy with meat. This is from Europe. And this is generally from the Masquerade of the Vampires. Moreover, Panov, in order to drive each borrowed piece into place, does not even use a file, but a sledgehammer.
The funny thing is that it worked for the popularity of the cycle. Whatever piece the reader does not take, he immediately blurs into a satisfied smile. “Yeah, it already happened, you don’t need to get into anything and strain your brains.” Fantasy escapism, coupled with the convenience and clarity of our world, is generally a deadly combination. As for Panov...
With Lukyanenko, a cool magician or a higher vampire, for all his toughness, can live in a simple apartment in Khrushchev and go to work by subway. At Panov, feeding the Red Caps, everyone drives cool cars and lives in sheer glamour. So he has not just our world, but that part of it in which a simple man in the street wants to be. By the way, the dirt of gateways and sewers, the realm of wasps and Red Hats (“historically”, this is a kind of fairies like) - this is also a little-known territory for him and therefore also romance.
Score: 6
I started reading three books in the cycle, I couldn’t finish reading more than one ... I understand that literature is entertaining, I understand that common sense is not needed for such books, but at least there must be some kind of logic?! The Patrols, which set the teeth on edge, were the most unsuccessful, in my opinion, Lukyanenko's books, but they were logical and consistent. In Dozoroh, real Moscow (and not only Moscow) is connected with magical clear, understandable and meaningful causes and effects, as well as historical development. The issue of the confrontation between the helicopter and the dragon (it seems the twilight watch - Fafnir) is not resolved in favor of the latter, the impact is at the level of people and structures, the issue of financing problems is raised sharply, etc. And here - why Moscow? why COLD weapons, and fencing competitions (and not on rapiers, which in modern world quite understandable), but with swords (I myself was engaged in fencing) and I note that in the absence of armor, the rapier is no less effective than the banal two-handed. (I can give advice to learn to shoot) The history of the development of the Secret City - either you need to give clear (more or less) facts of its formation, separating it from the real history of Moscow, or no less clear facts, connecting it with real Moscow; there is also a variant of mean phrases like - “historically”, BUT with the actual presence of NAV, CHUD, etc. WE second-rate people (HUMAN, if I'm not mistaken) should have at least somehow treated the fact that some idiots in the center of the Russian capital ring with armor at solemn parades and meetings, talk in all seriousness about magic, etc. , all the intelligence agencies of the world had to twitch trying to make inquiries, recruit, etc. And vice versa, the entire secret city (with the described scale, of course) should have tried to gain influence on all power and law enforcement agencies. With the presence of a described fragmentary history of the development of civilization, the described era simply could NOT exist. Rave! I’m generally silent about the heroes, first make the world ...
Score: 2
Secret City is good. Honestly, very good. After the "watches" it was necessary, as they say, to have courage bordering on recklessness in order to write a book about another Moscow that exists in parallel with us. But Panov succeeded. It seems that the author, after reading "Patrols", set out to write a book in which, unlike Lukyanenko's creation, there will be more sarcasm and a kind of game than seriousness. And Panov masterfully coped with the task. He masterfully balances between comedy and tragedy. This, in my opinion, is the main advantage and the reason for the popularity of the series. This recipe has been repeatedly tested by Western television: in almost any series there should be one or more characters on which the viewer will relax, rest, smile. And then he will painlessly swallow the serious thoughts and actions of the other characters. As recent examples, I will cite Downton Abbey and Dexter. In both series, through serious events, the grin of the authors shows through: do not strain, guys, after all, we are just kidding. It was this technique that Panov brought to perfection, masterfully "jumping" from the gloomy gothic of Santiaga or the Vampire clans to the rollicking Red Caps and back. Thanks to this, the morality of books does not strain, does not crush the reader.
And, of course, the lightness of the author's pen can be written down as an unconditional plus. Panov writes as if effortlessly - a rare gift that only a few have. Therefore, his books are read easily, without tension.
Panov created a deliberately grotesque, unreal world, while his characters behave completely adequately to the proposed circumstances, their images are consistent, not naive and not primitive, although with the portrayal of characters (with a few exceptions), Panov is still worse than, say, at Lukyanenko. But this is not catastrophic - Panov takes the variety of events, the kaleidoscopic nature of the paintings, the scale of the world.
In a word, if the Secret City did not exist, it would be worth inventing it!)))
Thanks to Vadim Panov for such a royal gift!
Score: 9
I was advised to read The Secret City by a friend whose taste I generally trust. After listening to him, I :glasses:on the advice of friends, I bought a Moskvich car:gigi: I bought the first six novels and read it in one fell swoop. Since then I have bought all of Panov's books and have never regretted it.
Pros. Fascinatingly. Lots of juicy characters. Good humor (there are very good hairpins addressed to well-known political and television figures, in general, judging by the cycle, Panov does not favor television). Resourceful. Throughout the cycle, the same technique is used - a mass of seemingly unrelated characters, events and storylines are woven into one unthinkable tangle by the middle-end of the novel. And most importantly - DO NOT BAD. A very rare skill for the author of the cycle. Agree, it’s very disappointing to find that the author has exhausted his talent in the first (third, fifth) novel and slips us an “apple-flavored” drink instead of apple juice. Yes, the Panov cycle will not please you with philosophical reflections or a feast of Russian literary language in the spirit of Oldie, will not shock an unexpected scientific or social concept like the books of Asimov, Lem or Dick and you won't laugh to tears like the stories of Eric Frank Russell or Kuttner, but he doesn't need to.
This is just a very good ENTERTAINMENT literature, written in simple but competent language. And it's not as easy as it seems - to write a fantasy-adventure-detective action movie and make it so that the reader runs along with the author along the plot without stumbling over heavy and often illiterate constructions.
Some cons. Some characters still give off a cardboard template (Hats, for example), sometimes (fortunately, rarely) self-repetitions. Separately, I want to say about the love lines periodically woven into the plot. This is clearly not Panov's strong point. They often give away cheap melodrama and balance somewhere between courtyard lyrics and Mexican passions. Between "he was a titular adviser, she is a general's daughter" and "and then she threw off her last clothes and also threw herself into the stormy sea, and this abyss swallowed her whole." In general, the cycle is characterized by some kind of adolescence, which is in relation to big guns, which is in relation to large, sorry, boobs.
2. For an attempt to create the Main National Idea - five plus. I read this part with trembling strings of my soul - it seems to me that we are now lacking the National Idea. I did not understand and did not approve why the promoter of the Idea had to be made Tatem. For what? And I never got the idea that Tati is bad. No matter how hard they tried to explain it to me.
3. I understand, I touched on future series - but I want the great house of Humans to finally appear. And I don’t understand when it seems that it’s already just about .... And the Guardian is found, and the Throne, but the invented obstacles, and stupid ones: The Guardian is not ready - is there another Guardian?
4. The part about Anna, in general, is out of the general series - it is mystical, it tickles the nerves, it is read impatiently, the denouement satisfies :) For me, in general, it is very important that the end satisfies! :)
5. And in general, very different parts, each plot is non-trivial, interesting. The secondary characters are sometimes much more interesting and livelier than the main ones.
For example Anna, Gleb, the priest of the forgotten Wasteland.
6. Santiago wasn't impressed at all. Oh, he is such an intriguer, he is such a clever one, so scary and terrible! Yes, nothing like that! The tactic of non-intervention and waiting is his usual tactic. Although I agree, in a war, it is precisely such tactics that are needed, and they have a war every day. While the others fight, the Dark Court grows stronger.
7. And in general, the Houses seem so .... childish or something ... Their politics and intriguers will never spit on our politics and our schemers. To be honest.
8. Caps .... The story of the elections made me laugh ...
9. The philosophy of Kadaf is well thought out ... But somehow damp ...
10. An alternative to mages has been invented in the form of geomancers! I love interesting inventions, besides, at the present time, it seems to me that it is very difficult to come up with something new :) Only for this, plus a point :)
All in all, a great series!
But... Having revealed Strugatsky's "Powerless of this World" after the Secret City.... I would like to underestimate the cycle by at least 2 points. Because the gap between them is an abyss.
So, on earth, besides people, there are several more races, many of which outwardly even look a little like people, but thanks to magic they hide it. In addition, the world described by Panov is somewhat at odds with the real one (such as the Imperial past of Russia, etc.).
The GG of the cycle is a team of mercenaries performing various assignments and tasks for money, mainly for navs, although it also happens for other Great Houses. Thanks to their profession, they are constantly at the epicenter of events, more than once saving the inhabitants of the Secret City.
From the negative (for me personally) sides of the plot, one can single out the omniscience and omnipotence of the Navs, who almost always come out “dry from the water”, as soon as they were able to lose the war and lose power ???
I also wanted to dwell on the Red Hats - creatures that cannot think sensibly without alcohol, although they are not good at it with it. They constantly serve as the center of all misunderstandings, adding to the plot a special admixture of humor and a parody of the current society (the election of the Great Fuhrer alone is worth something).
Other races also have a certain ethnic component of real peoples, but we won’t talk about it so as not to stir up ethnic disputes.
In general, the cycle is quite entertaining, dynamic, with a certain amount of humor and will appeal primarily to lovers of long series (since, fortunately, the end of the novels is still visible).
Score: 10
Publishing house "Eksmo" new novel from the popular book cycle by Vadim Panov "Hermetikon". Despite the fact that science fiction writers tirelessly offer readers more and more new worlds and plots, today there are not many stories that have the powerful potential of a real bestseller.
For the book to draw you in from the first lines, and for its characters to become almost the best of friends to the reader, something more is needed than it seems at first glance. Worlds that you want to believe in, which go far beyond the scope of a single book and become a separate page in the history of Russian science fiction, such Worlds are not so easy to create.
Something, but Vadim Panov knows how to build new Worlds brilliantly! Another proof of this is Hermeticon. The most popular universe created in the domestic steampunk genre is waiting for guests again! A world where steam engines peacefully coexist with unique technologies, and cars have not even been heard of yet, is so masterfully thought out and described that while reading, the very rare effect of presence appears, which makes you hastily flip through page after page and look forward to continuing. favorite story.
Luckily, you won't have to wait long! Already at the beginning of autumn, a new novel from the Hermetikon cycle is coming out to the readers! Huge majestic zeppels, unsurpassed bamballeros, boundless Void - these recognizable scenery of the world created by Panov will meet the reader in the new novel as well. Vadim Panov chose an old Indian parable about wolves as an epigraph to the book Cardonian Roulette: “Two wolves fight inside every person,” the old man said softly. - One wolf is black, this is envy, jealousy, selfishness, ambition, lies. The second wolf is white, it is peace, love, hope, truth, kindness and fidelity. - And which wolf wins? the boy asked quietly. "The one you feed." During the struggle for the independence of the rich Cardonian Confederation, the "wolves" will be able to feed all the participants in the confrontation. It is not so easy to stand aside when the freedom of an entire people, or even the entire Hermeticon, is at stake.
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Vadim Panov. Red stones of white
After the release of the first book of "Hermetikon" - "The Last Admiral Zagrata" - readers dubbed the new cycle of the famous science fiction writer the Victorian answer " Star Wars”, and critics began to juggle genres, under the description of which, to one degree or another, Panov’s new novel fits. Steampunk, space opera, fantasy, western, philosophical fiction... All this is really here and, being fused together, creates an organic, unlike anything else, against which several exciting storylines are rapidly unfolding at once.
It seems that Panov really managed to create a world with great potential, allowing readers to give such a valuable effect of complete immersion in a different reality, in which there is something from Victorian England, something from the wild American West, something from revolutionary Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, and something else that is very own, very attractive, but completely alien.
The amazing universe of Hermeticon, for which cars and airplanes are still a novelty, but space travel is quite a common thing, appears in the second part of the cycle in all its brilliance and power. The period of tourist acquaintance with the new place remained in the first volume - now it's time for active action and solving mysteries, of which there are a great many. The most important and terrible of them - Emptiness - lies in wait for the reader already on the first pages. Some magical substance that fills the space between the planets of Hermeticon, the Void can cause monstrous hallucinations, which even the most desperate travelers are afraid of meeting. Through the Void, local humanity flies on zeppelin airships at their own peril and risk. It is well known that any most ordinary flight can end up completely differently and not where it was planned. What happens to the characters in the new book...
The essentially magical reality of "Hermetikon" is masterfully cozily and carefully inscribed in the beautiful scenery of steampunk. The author inhabited his new world many characters, each of which, whether you like it or not, is interesting to watch. By the way, it’s better not to rush to categorical conclusions: the characters in Hermeticon are for the most part ambiguous, like a box with a secret, and are revealed very gradually - in lively dialogues, barely noticeable gestures, expressive actions. In the struggle for power or personal freedom, faith in eternal values or natural resources, fear for oneself or love for one's neighbor.
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Panov created the "Prime Machine"
The Eksmo publishing house and the Nival company announced the launch of a new literary series in the Prime World universe, known for the game projects Allods, Demiurges, Silent Storm and Heroes of Might and Magic 5". Series opens with a new novel
The era of Prime takes its starting point from the moment of the strongest natural disaster, which served as an impetus for the destruction of the once mighty Lafitte empire. The heavens opened up, the earth opened up, and a dense turquoise liquid poured onto the surface of the mainland, mortally dangerous for all living beings. It soon became clear that she had the ability to change matter beyond recognition. This substance was called Prime. And it has become the main resource of the new world.
The provinces, which were originally part of the unified Lafitte empire, were quite different from each other in climate, and therefore in the level of development and way of life. In the Age of Prime, the gulf between them widened even further. People from the northern lands were able to escape by occupying a well-fortified observatory high in the mountains. Their race was called Dokty, and the support of existence was scientific achievements and rationality of thought. The northerners were able to create defense mechanisms against the negative effects of Prime and figured out how to use it as the most valuable natural resource in their own technological developments. The peoples of the southeastern regions of the empire lived in the swampy lowlands. They had nowhere to hide from Prime, and the beginning of a new era was darkened there by a huge number of victims. However, those who survived the cataclysm gained the ability for unusual intuitive magic. Creativity and magical abilities became the distinguishing features of the subjects of the Adorni kingdom. "New people" can create and transform matter with the power of imagination alone.
The natural boundary between the Doctian Empire and the Adorni Kingdom was the Primezone, the territory most affected by the catastrophe. Chud lives in this area - strange creatures, so strongly modified that it is no longer possible to understand who they were in past life: people or animals. Despite the danger of the Primezone, it has become a point of attraction for people. After all, it is in it that the source of the most important of the resources - Prime is located. And it is precisely for access to it that the struggle between the two new states is going on.
The novel takes place in the year 70 of the Prime Era, at a time of relative lull in the ongoing war between the Dokt Empire and the Adorni Kingdom.
Sometimes wars start casually. In broad daylight, men jump out of cars parked on an ordinary Moscow street and, without hesitating anyone, open heavy fire from machine guns. And at the same time they aim at a group of some nondescript short men in red bandanas, who have just shopped at the nearest McDonald's. Of course, panic immediately sets in, passers-by rush in all directions, and one of them suddenly turns over the table of a street cafe and takes cover behind it, clutching his backpack to his chest.
And he does it right.
Indeed, unlike most of the inhabitants, Artem knows well what will follow all this. One of the reasons for the beginning of the war just lies in his backpack. The only thing Artyom doesn't know is that in the Secret City, the losers start wars, but the heroes end them.
Until he knows...
They go to the same shops, streets, squares and parks. Some of them have green eyes, some have red or white hair. They are almost the same as us. And they also live in Moscow. Except they are not human.
For several millennia, the capital has been inhabited by Navi, People and Chud - representatives of the Great magical houses. The descendants of civilizations that have long disappeared, under a veil of spells invisible to the common man, live, love and fight for their lives.
A threat loomed over the Secret City. And the lives of its inhabitants must be saved a common person… Will he succeed? And will mages, vampires and werewolves accept a stranger?
Artyom and the inhabitants of the Secret City have a new enemy. She is a human witch who dreams of immortality. She is smart and prudent, her combinations and moves are difficult to guess even for an experienced chess player. Her name is Kara. And it is she who will be able to bring discord into the orderly structure of the Secret City ...
But will this cunning villainess be able to withstand such "titans" as Santiaga and Cortez's team? What secrets does the Commissioner of the Dark Court keep? And who will pay with their lives for spreading a forbidden spell?
Everyone was sure that there were no more metamorphs - creatures that can change their body as they please and, moreover, use magic. But in a small village, a girl Anna is born with these rare abilities. When Anna grows up, she will begin to cruelly avenge her abused childhood. She, using magic, will seduce men and kill them one by one. The heads of the Great Houses of the Secret City need to protect people from the evil metamorph at all costs. But how to do that?
Hyperborea is an empire of hatred. Its inhabitants drew strength from a special plant called the Golden Root, under the influence of which they turned into uncontrollable monsters. Only the concubines of Azag-Tot, the head of Hyperborea, did not succumb to such terrible transformations. But all this was in the distant past. Hyperborea sunk into oblivion many centuries ago. No one expected that one of the concubines of Azag-Toth would be reborn…. The Great Houses of the Secret City need to capture her and destroy the stim drug that caused this rebirth. Will it be possible to prevent the formation of a new Empire of Hatred?
How many tourists, walking along Red Square, did not even realize that deep underground right under their feet in a sealed sarcophagus lies the very fiend of hell - Azag-Tot, the ruler of the empire of hatred of Hyperborea. The Hyperboreans fell many centuries ago, but today, thanks to the drug "stim", they are reborn, and Azag-Toth is freed from the shackles. Will the Great Houses of the Secret City be able to defeat the Realm of Hate if they can't even reconcile with each other?
A doll of last resort or a sleeping geisha is the strongest magical artifact that can give life to a person who has exhausted all resources and is on the verge of death. Clara Sommerset was supposed to deliver this unique figurine to the famous collector Ivan Razin, but the artifact was lost, and Clara died under mysterious circumstances. Which of the inhabitants of the Secret City is involved in this crime? Who and why needed a chrysalis of last hope?
More recently, Mark was convinced that he could find his way to the Hidden City again. They were driven by a desire to avenge their flight. He was sure of his uniqueness, of his necessity. But reality sobered him up and doused him with an icy shower.
A simple person in the Secret City cannot count on much. The incredible abilities of Mark in non-humans do not cause anything but a smile. And despite everything he did for the Great Houses, he faced a wall of indifference and indifference.
But now the shadow of the Inquisitor has already fallen on Moscow, bonfires are flaring up, the real and other worlds are about to converge in a bloody war. And just then a simple person can change everything ...
A hundred years have passed since the group of people found their way to other worlds. And for a hundred years no one can repeat their path. The members of the Great Houses of the Secret City have always wanted to gain the knowledge of the Pulpit of Wanderers (that is how this group of people came to be called), and now they will have such an opportunity. The wanderers have returned to our world. Nur, a megamorph, the Keeper of the Black Book, mercenaries and many other heroes of the Secret City series familiar to the reader will go in search of the High Road.
Gambling is one of the most serious vices of both people and residents of the Secret City.
In the center of the plot of Panov's book "The King's Cross" is a deck of cards. But not a simple deck, but the Deck of Destiny, created at the beginning of the 19th century by the brilliant man-sorcerer Saint Germain. These cards have changed the course of history more than once, and therefore now they are a tasty morsel for many in the other world.
The insidious intrigues of Santiaga, the war between vampire clans, the hunt for a powerful Destiny Deck, meeting new heroes and the emergence of new mystical secrets. All this - in the continuation of the cycle "Secret City".
For many centuries, a split has reigned in the Masan family. The brothers were separated immediately after the agreement between the Great Houses and the Church was concluded. The reason for the disagreement was the Dogmas of Submission, with which the Sabbats, who left the secret City, did not agree.
However, over time, the old slogans of a split began to be questioned. And so the brothers, tired of internecine wars, began to remember their common past. And even Commissioner Santiaga realizes that it is time to unite the warring clans under the leadership of one leader ... The same opinion is shared by Baron Bruja - Cardinal Sabbat. What will they do to get common purpose? What will they donate?
Cortez's team is sent on a secret and dangerous mission that could end a long-running feud.
He is a brave knight who wields magic. She is a sorceress from a race where only women can wield magic. And then, in a twist of fate, the two fall in love with each other in the Secret City. They are representatives of different civilizations, different types magical beings, and they shouldn't have developed feelings for each other.
For the first time in the Secret City series, Vadim Panov puts a love story at the center of the plot. A feeling that can sweep away any obstacles, turn prejudices and enmity into dust ... great love that has no right to exist...
The brutal murder in one of the Moscow parks discouraged professionals from the MUR. It appeared that the perpetrator had supernatural powers. And it turned out to be true! Traces of the crime led to the Secret City - securely hidden among the modern metropolis, the abode of magicians and sorcerers, the descendants of the ancient rulers of the Earth ... And then it was even more interesting - the Red Caps riot, the bloody treasure hunt of Stepan Razin, the ambitions of a young witch and, of course, not without one of the most powerful human (and not only human) feelings - Fear! Everything is mixed up in the Secret City, the fate of which is again in the hands of human mercenaries - Artyom and Cortez!
Something strange is happening on the territory of the Secret City: golems have begun to disappear somewhere. And the Queen of the Green House suddenly decided to get married and have offspring. And at one Moscow construction site, for inexplicable reasons, the death rate has risen sharply. What can connect all these events? All roads lead to the last of the remaining Gallus Rebuses.
And the question that once split the indestructible Order will be raised again: “Was the Sleeping magician?”
The book "Web of Confrontation" by Vadim Panov is a collection of stories united common theme: Commissar Santiaga and Yarga's long-standing feud. Moreover, some of the stories are the work of the author's fans, who have put a lot of imagination and effort into supplementing and continuing the cycle of books about the Secret City.
The heart of the collection is the short story Web of Confrontation. It is built on the dialogue between Santiagi and Shinka, Yarg's henchman, who was captured. This "interview" reveals a lot of details about both the commissar's past and the fate of his worst enemy.
The name of the novel "Vertigo" perfectly reflects its essence, because the head will spin in a lot of the inhabitants of the Secret City.
A young successful girl named Dasha, despite a successful career, lives like Cinderella. But one day it turns out that she is a beautiful daikini fairy. The beauty finds herself in a new magical world full of unusual creatures and magic, the heroine's world is turned upside down...
The Red Caps have a brilliant new business plan. The restless guys decided to brew Red Fist whiskey. Barrels with it are already in the cellars of the Fort, which is of great interest to the drunkards of the city.
The secret services of the Great Houses are on the ears: a mysterious killer has opened the hunt for representatives of each of the Houses. And even the great Santiago is powerless against him...
Ten years have passed since Andrei Riznyk left the Secret City. He was sure that his fate would never again intersect with the fate of the Great Houses and their inhabitants, but Yarga's proposal turned everything upside down.
Knowing settlements. An ancient riddle of human sorcerers. It is Andrei who will have to resurrect them and challenge the Great Houses. Why does Yarga need this? He wants to shake the greatness of the Houses. But why take this risk to Andrey?
Power, love, hate.
What else is needed to start a war?
On one side of the scale is the royal crown, on the other is the life of loved ones, and the choice is like a blow of a sword: swift and sharp. There is no time ... But the outcome cannot be changed either by force or by prayer, because it is impossible to change what has already happened.
The bloody wedding of Queen Vseslava became the prologue to a series of upheavals that affected not only the Green House, but the entire Secret City. And again, the Great Houses cannot do without the help of a close-knit team of human mercenaries - Artyom, Cortez, Inga and Yana.
There was no test in the history of the Secret City harder than the second coming of the Yarga. The first prince of Navi has escaped from centuries of imprisonment and longs to regain his former greatness. He decided to revive the Dark Court empire on Earth. The Green House has already known the heavy hand of the first prince, the turn of the people has come, for whom Yarga has prepared a terrible, truly bloody night ...
And it must happen that at that very time a rumor spread around the South Fort that the great Fuhrer of the Red Caps was dying and he urgently needed a successor ... that is, a successor ...
In the next book of the Secret City cycle, the first prince of the great Navi will have to regain power. Yarga has more than enough strength, meanness, cunning and time. It cost him nothing to crush the Green House: having loyal allies, he quickly deprived his former owners of power. Now he is interested in the Order. And it's only a matter of time how quickly he realizes what he wants. This is how the cunning and vile prince acts - he deprives his enemies of allies. And now it's Santiaga's turn.
The prince's plans are about to be thwarted by the red menace looming over the Secret City. All because of who knows where the strongest magician came from. He will kill any Nava who gets in his way without hesitation. Who is he and where did he come from?
Love science fiction? Then like Vadim Panov. "Secret City" - all books in order and new in 2019. Full bibliography of the author in one list.
enclaves
Moscow club
In the future, humanity is faced with an acute shortage of oil, gas and other vital resources. The state has lost its strength, giving way to the Enclaves - huge competing corporations trying to change the political system in their countries. They are opposed by hackers who own the latest digital technologies. Further
Guides at the crossroads
The world is still going brutal war for power. Petra Kroncl, the granddaughter of a very wealthy businessman, is kidnapped, which becomes a cause for great disagreement between Moscow and Zurich. Nick Moratti is trying to do everything to provoke unrest in the capital of Russia. Along with this, the inhabitants of Moscow have to fight with a huge monster, known as the "killer of the gods." Further
Bonfires on the altars
Banum is a man who has seen the birth and death of all traditions existing in the world. Maybe this mysterious person would be able to open people's eyes to the true state of things. Also, this gentleman has a Book, for which for many centuries there has been an endless and cruel hunt. Further
Sellers of the Impossible
Many thought that the Digital Age would become a real paradise for humanity, but it turned out to be completely different. Corporation "Naukom" is trying to do everything to generate as much energy as possible in the north of Russia. The activities of the company are followed by the whole world. Wanting to eliminate the contradictions, the old enemies strengthen the old ones on the Dead, which in a very short time should lead humanity to a new war. Further
Tritons Forty-Two realized that the world needed the Age of Numbers. They lead to the complete destruction of society and the economy. Only a station that generates the new kind energy. No one knows what this can lead to, because the chances of success are extremely small. Only Kirill Gryaznov knows the exact answer to this question. Further
Secret City
A terrible maniac Vivisector appeared in Moscow, killing young women. In parallel with this, armed people appear in the city, bringing real horror and fear to the local residents. Lieutenant Kornilov takes over the investigation. It turns out that in our world there are sorcerers, priests and magical creatures, which became the reason for starting a war. Further
Many thousands of years ago, Moscow was captured by Navi, People and Chud, who are representatives ancient civilization. They, like simple people live, work and fall in love. One day, the Secret City is under serious threat. Only man can save the population. That's just he will need to try to earn the trust of wizards, vampires and werewolves. Further
Attack by the rules
The inhabitants of the Secret City have a new problem in the face of a terrible witch who wants to become an immortal being. She is very insidious, smart, prudent, and her name is Kara. Santiago and Cortez's team will have to declare war on the intruder. They also need to understand who started the distribution of forbidden spells, substituting those millions of lives. Further
All shades of black
People thought that metamorphs did not exist. This is the name of creatures that can change their body and appearance with the help of ancient magic. Anna is born in a small village. It turns out that she has incredible powers. Having become an adult girl, Anna begins to take revenge on everyone who was cruel to her. Further
And there are heroes in hell
The inhabitants of Hyperborea received energy from the Golden Root. But a terrible price had to be paid for this, and all the inhabitants of the empire turned into terrible monsters. The only people, who remained in their appearance, turned out to be the concubines of Azag-Toth. No one thought that one of them would once again be reborn, becoming a threat to the rule of the Great Houses. Further
Concubines of hate
Walking along Red Square, no one even thinks that somewhere underground there is a real sarcophagus. And in this coffin lies the terrible Azag-Tot, the former ruler of Hyperborea. The inhabitants of the empire disappeared many centuries ago, but, thanks to a special substance, they managed to resurrect and declare war on the Great Houses of the Secret City. Further
Doll of Last Hope
The Doll of Last Resort is one of the most powerful artifacts. The fact is that this little thing can resurrect the dead. Clara Sommerset was supposed to deliver the artifact to the customer, but along the way the figurine disappeared under very mysterious circumstances. Now the heroine will have to understand who is involved in this performance, and what horrors the new owner of the doll is ready to go to. Further
Shadow of the Inquisitor
Mark thought he could find his way to the Secret City. The guy wanted to take revenge on all those who were guilty of his flight. It turns out that an ordinary person in the Dark City cannot count on happy life. Mark has unique abilities that become just another reason for bullying and laughter for the locals. Further
Pulpit of Wanderers
It has been 100 years since a group of travelers found a portal to another world. And for a century no one can understand how these people could make such a terrible path. The Great Houses of the Hidden City have dreamed of obtaining the secret knowledge of the Pulpit of Wanderers all their existence, and finally they got a good opportunity. Nur, a megamorph, the Keeper of the Black Book and other characters familiar to the reader from the wonderful series of books "Secret City" set off in search of a path. Further
Royal Cross
Residents of the Secret City have always suffered from excessive gambling. We are introduced to a deck of cards that is the legendary Destiny Deck. This little thing was created many years ago by the brilliant sorcerer Saint-Germain. The powerful artifact has changed its owner more than once, causing so many sudden turns in history. Further
king of the hill
There have been terrible conflicts in the Masan family for several centuries. After the conclusion of an agreement between the Great Houses and the Church, the brothers decided to separate. The reason for the disagreement was the Dogmas of Submission, which became a big problem for the Sabbats. The brothers, tired of wars, decided to remember their past and unite under a single command. Further
Dragon Day
The hero is a brave knight-sorcerer. The heroine is a sorceress from a race where only the fair sex can wield magic. After meeting in the Secret City, the two realize they are in love. They are from different civilizations, but this does not become a reason for enmity. On the contrary, they are ready to do anything to save the relationship and arrange their happiness. Further
The smell of fear
Everyone in this world, whether you are even a brow, a miracle, a people or a Nav, is very afraid of something. Of course, if you are a witch, then you simply cannot help but use this fear to your advantage. In Moscow, terrible crimes begin to occur, which are committed by some strange creature from another world. Further
Rebus Galla
Strange things are happening in the Secret City: golems are disappearing somewhere. At the same time, the Queen of the Green House begins to search for a worthy groom to give birth to heirs. In parallel with these events, at one of the Moscow construction sites, for unknown reasons, the number of deaths is sharply increasing. Further
In the book "Web of Confrontation" the reader is invited to familiarize himself with a series of stories united by the common theme of the enmity between Santiaga and Yarga. Most of the stories are written by fans of the author. The book also contains details about the past of the famous commissioner and the fate of his sworn enemies. Further
Dasha is a young and successful girl living in luxurious conditions. One day she finds out that she is a beautiful fairy. Dasha goes to a fairy-tale world inhabited by unusual creatures. Once here, the heroine learns that the Red Caps want to create a new type of Red Fist whiskey, which becomes a big discovery for local lovers of quality alcohol. Further
10 years have passed since Andrey left the Secret City. The guy knew that he would never meet with representatives of the Great Houses. But having met Yargi, he learns a big secret about the Knowing Settlements. The hero urgently needs to resurrect them in order to try to destroy the Great Houses. Yarge herself also wants to undermine the greatness of the rulers, and Andrei becomes a good partner for her. Further
wild Persians
Yuri Fedre is one of the most talented employees of the Secret City. He is assigned a very strange task. The guy needs to find the killer of Karida Kumar's beloved dog. It turns out that operational intervention managers have already taken up this case, but all their attempts have not ended in success. Yuri goes to St. Petersburg, where the evil criminal lives. Further
Green Gambit
Vadim Panov again delighted his readers with the next adventures of his favorite characters. Should start soon large-scale war. Yarge makes plans to destroy people and magicians. Only his motives remain unclear. The hero is incredibly strong, but even he will have to try to fulfill what he wants. Further
Fools die first
Somewhere in St. Petersburg there is a very rare and dangerous artifact. The monster of St. James - under the influence of strong magic. Every day, curious visitors gather around such a strange exhibit, who want to join something new and mysterious. But how they will regret their actions if the monster one day manages to get free. Further
Vampire hunters
Veniamin Dolinsky in his earliest childhood witnessed a brutal attack by vampires. Having matured, he again meets with these terrible creatures. The book is filled with excellent humor and an interesting plot that will appeal to everyone, even the most sophisticated reader. Further
family business
In Ozersk, a small provincial town, there is a terrible secret. It turns out that countless treasures of the count family are hidden in the ancient estate, so in these parts you can often meet a variety of seekers who want to get rich quick. None of them knows that along with the treasures, a powerful force lives somewhere here, capable of giving its master everything he wants. Further
Night of the Sun
One day, scientists find a real treasure near Khabarovsk. However, this find did not bring wealth and fame to its owners. On the contrary, bandits attack the expedition. Only a young scientist of the World, who is also a fairy of the Green House, comes out of the cruel slaughter alive. Residents of the Secret City are horrified, because the criminals managed to find an ancient artifact that can destroy all life. Further
Ring of Paracelsus
Many people dreamed of finding the Ring of Paracelsus. As you know, this artifact can give its owner incredible powers. Among the seekers is Brandelius. This guy is ready to put everything on the line in order to get powerful power with the help of the find and become the ruler of the whole world. Further
Thirst
The book tells about the fate of Zoran, who turns out to be a participant in incredible events. At the sight of a mysterious stone, people begin to commit suicide en masse. Thus, they want to pour their own blood on the stone. This work is incredibly easy to read, and will be a good surprise for those who are already tired of boring books. Further
wish fulfiller
Maxim always respected his grandfather. The man in the past was a Chekist and a great lover of travel. In his younger years, he was even a member of the expedition of Nicholas Roerich himself. One day, a guy finds his grandfather's old chronometer. Having made a couple of movements, Maxim, without realizing it, finds himself in the distant past. Further
native blood
For the city of Vladimir, the death of Sophia Engel was a real shock. This woman was the strongest witch who left a magical artifact after her death. Hunters who want to get their hands on this entertaining little thing immediately go in search. They don’t care at all that the old woman has a granddaughter who doesn’t want to share her heritage with strangers at all. Further
proof of strength
Often the legends of the Secret City are intertwined with real stories. The simplest people find themselves involved in terrible events that even the most powerful sorcerers cannot resist. This story has it all: Crimea, scary caves, underwater travel and sudden death. Further
Kiss of Ouroboros
Due to the bloody wedding of Queen Vseslava, terrible events begin that involve not only the Green House, but the entire Secret City. This time, the Great Houses have no choice but to turn to the legendary team of human mercenaries, whose members are Artyom, Cortez, Yana and Inga. Further
Ballad of the Dead Queen
Erliets Hematus decided to do everything to take revenge unjust world and the Sleeper himself, who created such a terrible universe. There is a terrible prophecy according to which all living things must die very soon. The Dead Queen will stop at nothing until she destroys all the inhabitants of this imperfect world. Further
Giant Legacy
It turns out that the world is not at all as simple as it is commonly thought. There is a force ready to make its death leap. The first prince of Navi, being free, decides to return the Dark Court to the Earth. Soon the usual understanding of the world will disappear, leaving behind only wars and devastation. Further
Giant Legacy
Yarga again decided to visit the Secret City. The first prince of Navi, once at large, plans the resurrection of the Dark Court empire. The green house knows that the prince will be very difficult to stop. At the same time, rumors begin to spread around the South Fort about the dying state of the head of the Red Caps, who is in dire need of a receiver. Further
The first prince of Navi again wants to regain his legitimate power. Yarga, with the help of loyal allies, destroyed the Green House, depriving its owners of all power. Now he wants to take over the Order. This time, Santiago will have to enter the game. At the same time, a powerful magician appears in the Secret City, capable of killing anyone who gets in his way. Further
For many centuries, the Osars held great power in their hands. Once upon a time, they were even able to challenge the Nava themselves. This attempt did not become successful for the Osars, but their ancestors remember everything. They remember that the navas were once friendly creatures that turned into arrogant, vicious and unscrupulous creatures. Further
A group of special forces arrive at the border outpost of the Empire. The guys are led by Colonel Zakhar Tremi. The heroes need to find and eliminate spooks carrying a large batch of banned substances. The fighters are ready to do anything to fulfill the order of the leadership, and their leader is not going to reckon with the opinion of the border guards. Further
Teresa has always loved the Hero. Around the girl there was always a huge number of gentlemen who wanted to marry her, but each of them was met with a severe refusal. Teresa's heart belonged only to the Hero. The problem was that he was married. After the death of his wife, the Hero nevertheless decided to invite Teresa to the ball, which became a cause for great joy for her. Further
Hermeticon
The main character of the book is Pompolio. This guy comes from an ancient and noble family, who is a skilled warrior and a world famous traveler. One day, Pompolio, along with his comrades, is a participant in a coup d'état taking place on one of the distant planets. Further
There is one mysterious planet in the universe called Ahadir. Powerful artifacts are found here - the Red Stones of the White. There are a huge number of seekers of these values in the world, but no one has been able to find the exact coordinates of a distant planet. One day, a group of people find themselves on Ahadir, who became participants in the crash of two zeppels. Further
Pompilio is a famous hero with a strong character, incredible intelligence and nobility. Bambadao is the captain of a ship that every inhabitant of the Universe knows. Galileo is a lover of forbidden substances. Bedokur is a great friend and a good comrade. Together, the heroes need to confront the Company, which may soon capture the Hermeticon. Further
Due to the murder of Lillian and her husband, negotiations between Priota and Usher were broken. A full-scale war should begin very soon. The company wants to do everything to turn people into terrifying monsters in order to use them for their own purposes. Pompilio at the same time is in search of the killer of his beloved, whose death was a real shock for the hero.
