“Cult” is a youth novel close by its genre to an adventure detective story and containing elements of mystic. It has something in common with the mythology by Howard Lovecraft as well as by rock and drug subcultures. Stylistically it is close to Steven King’s prose. The main character, a University student of the Biology Department Yurko Banzaj comes to have his teaching practice in the town of Midni Buky. Here he falls in love with his high-school student, an informal outsider Darka Borkhes. The local drunkard Roman Korij works as a school watchman but in fact he is an infernal powers envoy and possesses the mysterious library of ancient books. Banzaj experiments on consciousness and practices controlled dreams where Korij emerges more and oftener. Banzaj experiences a couple of hallucinogenic visions that give him knowledge of the world’s mystic structure, deities, angels, demons as well of the fact that in the school basement there is an exit, a mystic “tunnel” to the space where outcast Jog-Sotot spends his exile. In order to implement his plans Korij inflicts an epidemic to the school with the help of black magic. Classes stop and teachers start killing each other. Looking for some key to this situation Banzaj and Dartsja go down to the school basement. They see Korij there. Korij summons demon Azazot. Then mystic battle takes place in which Dartsja, Banzaj and Korij perish. After that Darka and Banzaj find themselves in the sketchy Paradise. ... This book lures you in through its naivety, its directness, its coolness, its fear; everything is inside this book: love, romance, a quest that makes your head expand and then explode, the eternal drama of youth and also the mocking look of all those who felt they were too good for this drama and chose to live in a world without mystery. Die Zeit Granted licenses: Bulgaria: Izdatelstvo RIVA (Books) France: Editions Stock (Books) Germany: Suhrkamp Verlag (Books) Germany: Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar (Theatre play) Italy: LAIN-Fazi Editore (Books) Poland: Proszynski i S-ka (Books) Romania: Curtea Veche Publishing (Books) Serbia: Narodna Knjiga-Alfa (Books) Ukraine: Company CDcom (Audio-book (CD)) Ukraine: Family Leisure Club—DirectGroup Bertelsmann (Books) Ukraine: Folio (Books) Lyubko Deresh is a young and yet famous Ukrainian author. Born in Lviv, he studied economics in the University of Lviv. But from an early age he dreamed to be a doctor. The anatomy atlases of his mother were so bright and intriguing, that he decided to become a surgeon at the age of 7. His father knew nothing about Lyubko’s fragile dreams. He wanted Lyubko to indulge in sports, for example rowing. In opposition to him Lyubko decided to practice music, so he started to play the saxophone at a local music school. At the age of 14 Lyubko Deresh left school for a Physical-Mathematical Liceum in Lviv, and studied Chemistry and Biology there. It was a good step from his side to accomplish his intents to become a doctor. Till that moment he changed his mind just a little: now Lyubko dreamed to be a psychiatrist. Lyubko imagined psychiatry to be almost as bright way of living life as becoming a surgeon, but—more intelligent. Deresh has written two books for younger children, a number of essays and five novels: Kult (Cult), Pokloninnya yaschirzi (Worshiping the Lizard), ARCHE, Namir! (Aim!) and Trohy pitmy (A Bit of Darkness). The media have proclaimed him a Ukrainian S.King, and every one of Deresh’s new books arouses great interest of both his fans and the press. Several prominent Ukrainian publishing houses have bought licenses to print his books, and four of his novels have been released as audio books.