To Mars
Eksmo. Moscow 2019. 317 pages

available in full English

As a child, Ivan had to witness his parents‘ bodies being repeatedly possessed by monsters. With toy soldiers and stuffed animals, he created an army of helpers against fear. Later as an adult, Ivan dreams of not just becoming rich and successful, but of changing the world for the better. Because if mankind continues to go on as before, a global catastrophe is imminent. Ivan wants to build a new civilization on Mars in time. But suddenly Ivan starts to hear voices, then one voice, the voice of the author Max. But this author, who created Ivan, himself repeatedly has the reins taken out of his own hands. He needs Ivan’s help to find out which evil force is playing its cruel game with both of them. In return, Ivan wants Max to help him carry out his idea of flying to Mars by having Max continue writing the book in that direction. Ivan sides with Max, even though the evil force has threatened to destroy all text files if Max with his writing tries to undo the consequences of the cruel parallel plot line. Also, in the life of author Max, places and periods of time suddenly shift. While Ivan, now a wealthy investor, is preparing with a team of scientists to launch the rocket to Mars, gravity suddenly disappears in the parallel world, the atmosphere is atomized, the sun is melting. Then years of normality return to Ivan’s life. It’s only when he goes to the opening of his spaceport that he is suddenly taken back to a parallel world and an endless forest populated by monsters. While Max suddenly disappears completely, the evil force finally reveals itself: Andrei, who had been separated from his parents and taken to an orphanage, while Max took his place living with his parents. And Ivan suddenly finds himself in a psychiatric hospital, his mother claiming during a visit that she had spent his entire childhood with him in clinics. His current cellmate, a „crazy“ lecturer, tells him about the simulacrum theory. This is Ivan’s chance to prove that he is not crazy: if he can prove credibly that he is just a character from a book. He is released home for good behavior, but he finds nothing on the Internet about his Mars company. So, in the end he calls the reader for help as a final instance, who can and must decide who is who in this mirror cabinet of reality and delusion.

A psychologically and logically intricate plot, exciting like Borges or Kafka, but up to date with simulacra and cosmic dimensions, including theories about space and time.

In the spirit of: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.