The definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Ukrainian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy with "the potential to be a modern classic" (Lev Grossman), combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way. Our life is brief . . . While vacationing at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with an air of the sinister directs her to perform a task with potentially scandalous consequences. He rewards her effort with a strange golden coin. As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or school, she also feels it’s the only place she should be. Against her mother’s wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education. As she quickly discovers, the institute’s "special technologies" are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want. A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy that probes the mysteries of existence, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work of speculative fiction—brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey—is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place far beyond those fantastical worlds.

Человечество – большой манипуляционный кабинет, где все манипулируют всеми. Подросток Арсен Снегов, мастер компьютерных игр, понял это раньше других. Таланты геймера не остаются незамеченными: он оказывается сотрудником странной конторы, якобы занимающейся разработкой новой игры… Но кто знает, что там творится на самом деле?

A Krokodil becenévre hallgató Andrej Sztroganov huszonhét éves tolmács és fordító váratlanul a Galaktikus Migrációs Hivatalban találja magát, ahol közlik vele, hogy elfogadták kérelmét, kiemelték földi létéből, és a messzi Raa bolygóra kerül. Ám nem csak térben távolodik el otthonától: a Raa jelene ugyanis a földi jura korszakkal esik egybe. Andrejnek fogalma sincs, miért választotta a menekülést, mivel a tranzakcióért eddigi életének két utolsó évével kellett fizetnie, így nem tudhatja, mi történt vele ez idő alatt. Csak annyira emlékszik, hogy feleségétől elvált, és az asszony valahova külföldre távozott kisfiukkal együtt, és sejti, hogy a gyerekkel történt vagy történni fog valami rossz. Szeretne visszatérni, de a Földön ekkor még a dinoszauruszok sem jelentek meg… A Raa idilli, nagyon békés világ, természetes a környezet, és humánus a társadalom, mindenkiről gondoskodnak. Igaz, az itt élők két csoportra oszlanak. A gyerekeket születésüktől fogva felkészítik a nagy Próba letételére, ezt kamaszkorukban kell teljesíteniük. Akinek sikerül, teljes jogú polgár lesz, ura önmagának, részt vehet a döntésekben. Aki nem teljesíti a Próbát, függő helyzetbe kerül: mentort kell választania, aki rendelkezik sorsáról, de gondoskodik is róla. A bevándorlóknak szintén jogukban áll letenni a Próbát, de eddig senki nem vállalkozott rá. Krokodil úgy dönt, belevág…

The eagerly anticipated sequel to the highly acclaimed Vita Nostra takes readers to the next stage in Sasha Samokhina’s journey in a richly imagined world of dark academia in which grammar is magic—and not all magic is good. In Vita Nostra, Sasha Samokhina, a third-year student at the Institute of Special Technologies, was in the middle of taking the final exam that would transform her into a part of the Great Speech. After defying her teachers’ expectations, Sasha emerges from the exam as Password, a unique and powerful part of speech. Accomplished and ready to embrace her new role, she soon learns her powers threaten the old world, and despite her hard work, Sasha is set to fail. However, Farit Kozhennikov, Sasha’s dark mentor, finds a way to bring her out of the oblivion and back to the Institute for his own selfish purposes. Subsequently, Sasha must correct her mistakes before she is allowed to graduate and is forced to do what few are asked and even less achieve: to succeed and reverberate—becoming a part of the Great Speech and being one of the special few who dictate reality. If she fails, she faces a fate far worse than death: the choice is hers. Years have passed around the Institute—and the numerous realities that have spread from Sasha’s first failure—but it is only her fourth year of learning what role she will play in shaping the world. Her teachers despise and fear her, her classmates distrust her, and a growing love—for a young pilot with no affiliation to the school—is fraught because a relationship means leverage, and Farit won’t hesitate to use it against her. Planes crash all the time. Which means Sasha needs to rewrite the world so that can’t happen...or fail for good.

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