Max Maximov has published already several scifi novels in the best tradition of the Strugatski brothers. The Strugatskis had been the first to receive the Aelita Award back in 1981. So the 40th anniversary of the award was celebrated with an appropriate winner in the START-category for newcomers.
historical mystical blockbuster and audiobook of the year 2021
The main action of the novel takes place in May 1945 near Pillau in East Prussia (now Baltijsk). But through the events of May 1945, events of the 15th century at Marienburg Castle shine through. Mystically two epochs, two historical catastrophes – the decline of the Teutonic Order and the collapse of Nazi Regime – seem to mirror each other in a strange way.
„Now we have, if not our own Stephen King, at least our own Robert Harris.“ GALINA YUZEFOVICH in MEDUZA