It is no coincidence that Vitaly Zykov is considered one of the best young Russian science fiction writers. In just ten years, he managed to publish several dozen books, about a hundred stories and several works written in collaboration.
The writer's works have gained wide popularity among fans of historical fantasy. This was partly because the writer uses in his novels the classical system of “a guest from another world”, when a person from earthly reality falls into a fictional universe.
Zykov’s novels received a great response from the reading masses and caused a real storm of positive reviews. The writer himself is very adequate to criticism and the wishes of his readers. This is partly why he created a unique cycle about his universe, not having finished the story in the debut book “Nameless Slave” and continued it in many other novels, including the sensational two-volume book “Power of Power”.
Biography
The writer was born on October 5, 1979 in the city of Lipetsk. His childhood passed in a small parental apartment. The father of the future writer was a professor at the Lipetsk State Pedagogical Institute, and his mother worked as a doctor in a city hospital.
In 1986, Vitaly went to school. The boy studied well, his favorite subjects were the Russian language, literature and history. He differed from his peers in great perseverance and huge erudition.
early years
In 1996, Zykov graduated with honors from high school and entered the first year of Lipetsk State Technical University. Vitaliy was actively engaged in scientific activities, and, having completed his studies in 2001, he immediately entered graduate school, simultaneously starting his career as a teacher.
Power
Three years later, Zykov successfully defended his thesis and received the title of candidate of technical sciences. In 2004, Voronezh State University became interested in its successes, and the future writer was invited to work in one of its branches.
Literary career
During the summer vacation of 2003, Zykov decides to collect all his youthful literary achievements and turn them into a meaningful work. For several months he painstakingly worked on a novel telling the story of a great warrior and magician who had gone from servant to king. The novel covered only the first part of the plan, reflecting the difficult period in the life of the protagonist.
The following year, a book entitled The Nameless Slave was published by one of the largest Russian publishers, Alpha Book. A month later, a freshly written novel was awarded the prize. A. Sapkovsky "Sword without a name."
After the publication of the debut novel, Vitaly makes the first sketches to continue the story, which in the future will be called "The Power of Power". Between her and the first book will fit a few more parts with no less exciting storylines. But it is Power of Power. Volume 1 that will be a direct continuation of the sensational debut novel. The writer thought for a while whether it was worth combining the two new stories under one name, and even wanted to give a second name a new name for the first time, however, the publisher was able to convince Zykov that the story was essentially one, and the second part should be released along with the first. So, on the shelves of bookstores appeared the book "Power of Power. Volume 2".
"Way home"
The cycle of novels of the same name about the so-called “fellow travelers” - people from our world who have fallen into a parallel fictional universe. It was he who glorified Vitaly Zykov and brought all-Russian popularity to his creative opuses.
The list of books in the cycle:
- 2004 - The Nameless Slave. The writer’s debut novel about the main character, being, rather. A collection of legends and a description of the dream of a simple medieval townsman - the desire to rise from the mud and become a respected person.
- 2005 - "Mercenary of His Majesty." The continuation of the first book, describing the rapid career growth of the protagonist.
- 2006 - “Under the Banner of Prophecy.” A deeper and psychologically subtle, compared with the rest, part of the narrative, reflecting the religious searches of the character.
- 2009 - “Lord of Sardouor”. A book in which a former slave finally becomes king. ”
- 2015 - The Power of Power. Zykov distinguishes this novel from the rest. Partly because he describes more complex feelings that are experienced not by one, but by several characters.
- 2018 - The Great Sleepers. The end of the story begun in the last novel. Finally, the fate of the protagonist and several people, like him, who fell into a parallel universe, are becoming known.
"Power"
This two-volume is part of the epic “The Road Home,” on which the author began to work back in 2003. Initially, the writer did not plan to work with such a voluminous cycle, however, after the publication of the book “Nameless Slave” in 2004, he felt the strength in himself to continue the story of the protagonist. So six more parts of the story appeared, which were framed in 8 books.
The Power of Power turned out to be much more voluminous than other parts of the epic, so the writer planned to publish it in three volumes, but later decided to publish the book in two, moving part of the material to the next saga - The Great Sleepers.
Narrative features
The book differs from the rest of the saga with a complex plot, an abundance of dramatic and intense scenes, as well as a more complex narrative language. The main character has grown psychologically, and already “Power of Power-1” Zykova is forced to re-introduce the reader to a completely different person.
He has completely different problems, he faces radically different tasks, and he himself is looking for completely non-material benefits in this life, again giving preference to philosophy.
Plot
The narration tells about a group of people from our world who fell into an alternative reality, and moreover, they were in another world not of their own free will. Two guys and three girls for a long time could not understand what to do in a parallel world, but soon realized that only by rallying and yielding to each other could survive on the planet Thorne.
The fact is that on Thorne the concept of “science” is completely absent, instead of which the locals actively practice magic and sorcery. Habitual ideas about life are unsuitable, skills are useless. Trying to find at least some shelter for the night, a group of young people ends up in the forest, where they are taking a fight with a representative of the local fauna. After the battle, the settlers notice that one of the guys still dragged the beast.
From that moment on, the plot of Power of Power by Vitaly Zykov completely concentrates on the kidnapped young man named Yaroslav.
By fate, he finds himself in an abandoned sanctuary, where he gets acquainted with the spirit of one of the ancient magical creatures and becomes his disciple.
Reviews
Reviews of a new work by Vitaly Zykov are always full of warmth and sincere wishes to the author. Fans of the writer's work eagerly awaited the release of the two-volume and literally took it apart by the bones after publication, noting, first of all, the extremely interesting and confusing plot of the story, the rich literary language of the writer and the fascinating style of storytelling. Also, a large number of historical and cultural realities of the work, masterfully recreated by the author in the universe he invented, did not remain without the attention of devoted readers.
However, some readers are unhappy with the political subtexts in the author’s works. In particular, Zykova is blamed for the excessive politicization of the characters. Since the heroes of the work have a direct connection with our world, sometimes they recall some incidents from real life. This is not liked by many connoisseurs of literature who believe that fantasy should in no way be mixed in any way with the political aspects.