Aleksey Alekseevich Glushanovsky is one of the most widely read Russian science fiction writers. The lack of specialized education does not prevent him from creating interesting worlds and stories.
Biography
Aleksey Alekseevich was born in Yekaterinburg on February 20, 1981. In 1998 he entered the Ural State University at the biological faculty (speci alty - ecology) and successfully graduated in 2003. He still works in this speci alty.
The young writer does not like science fiction, although he writes in this genre. He goes fishing and hunting, keeps a dog - a spaniel named Lord. Although in the columns "about himself" on various sites (for example, "Samizdat"), he self-critically calls himself a lazy person and a slob, it's hard to believe this, since he has more than one book behind him. Alexey Alekseevich Glushanovsky admits that he began writing his first book only to impress his girlfriend. The romantic story ended prosaically: after some time he broke up with the girl, but the book had already been released at that time. Many fans of fantastic prose are now reading it and subsequent ones.
Books
"Way of the Demon" by Alexei Glushanovsky among fantasy fans is considered one of those series worth reading. The first book is called "The Road to Magicians", it was released in 2007 by the Alpha Book publishing house. It is in this publishing house that Alexey Glushanovsky usually publishes. The books came out in order every year. The Wizard's Path and The Wizard's Path, the second and third books in the series, were released a year later by the same publisher. The final book "Way of the Demon" was published in 2009.
Tetralogy tells about a young man named Oleg, who got from our ordinary world into another filled with witchcraft and other races, such as vampires, demons and wizards. The main character is fond of magic, and this becomes the key to the transition to another world. There he becomes a half-demon and begins his journey. "Wizard's Path" - the second book in the series, tells how Oleg is studying at the Magic Academy, but he is not going to change his old habits at all, remaining "a plug in every barrel." His considerable magical powers should have kept him out of trouble, but every time it turns out the other way around.
In the third book ("The path of the sorcerer") Oleg finishes his first year and is transferred to the fire faculty. He decides to start studying the light magic of fire, but besides this, life also teaches him other lessons: intrigues are woven around, in which he has to participate in one way or another.
Dark fantasy
The fourth book is very different from the others written by Alexey Glushanovsky. "Way of the Demon" is a dark book, full of blood and cruelty, and it should not be considered separately from the cycle, since then the impression of the author's excessive bloodthirstiness is created. Nevertheless, when reading the tetralogy, one can completely follow certain events, and then the actions of the protagonist become clear to the reader.
In the final book of the tetralogy, written by Alexei Glushanovsky, the demon Oleg helps to elevate the ruler to the throne, but after that he himself is in danger: conspiracies are built around him, assassins are sent to him, but, of course, only for the sake of "state necessity." The traitors did not take into account the abilities of their opponent and the fact that over time he ceased to be a simple cheerful student from another world and turned into a necromancer demon. He has vampires and liches as friends, and they do not want Oleg to go to the realm of the dead because of such nonsense as the disfavor of the ruler. The protagonist, having paid for his carelessness, is forced to literally get out of his own grave. After that, Oleg takes up the restoration of justice and spares almost no one.
Stories and novels
In addition to voluminous cycles, Alexey Glushanovsky wrote more than a dozen novels and short stories. Some of them are related to the main books of the cycle, for example, the story "The Sword of the Emperor" is a prequel to the tetralogy "The Path of the Demon". The author mentions thatall the stories in one way or another connected with the heroes of his novels can be read separately from the rest of his work. "These are complete works with no sequel," he says.
The work of Alexei Glushanovsky, including his novels and stories, can be found on the page of the site "Samizdat", where he uploads not only finished works, but also various versions of the same work. For example, the story "Spider" is in two versions, and they were created at the request of publishers. On the same portal, you can ask the author questions, he often answers users in the comments. You can also look at his page in the Fantasy Lab.
Other novels
The novel "The Birth of Magic. Guardian of the World" is also outside the cycles. This book tells about the Mayan prophecies and the year 2012, which is significant for humanity. Portals from other worlds appear on our planet through which fairies come to us. The total destruction of humanity can only be prevented thanks to the mysterious bards, who somehow managed to negotiate with the fairies and stop their invasion. Bards become the only defenders of the Earth, but they are few in number and not only are they not immortal, but also suffer from their own powers. The main character of the novel is named Arthur. He, too, is a bard and has long since reached the point where his brethren die, but for some reason, Arthur is still alive. At some point in the world, the killing of bards andthe hunt for the main character begins.
Aleksey Glushanovsky wrote several works in collaboration with colleagues. For example, the book "Smile of a Hussar" (published by "Alpha Book" in 2009) was created together with Vlad Polyakov, and the collection "The Price of Empire" ("Alpha Book", 2012) was written with Svetlana Ulasevich.
Winter Tales
Another series of books by Alexei Glushanovsky - the trilogy "Winter Tales". The first book is called "The Heart of the Blizzard". Publishing house "Alfa-kniga" released it in 2010. "Wasteland Hope" came out a year later, and the third, "Blizzard Home", is still unfinished.
The "Winter Tales" tells about Prince Rau - a talented commander of the snow elves, a people that is almost completely destroyed. Of course, the young prince wants to take revenge on the enemies, but the enemy's forces are too great. A powerful amulet can help in this unequal battle, allowing you to open portals to other worlds. There, Rau hopes to restore the former greatness of his people. Unfortunately, the amulet scatters all the allies of the prince across different worlds, and he himself, weakened and wounded, is thrown onto modern earth. Rau encounters a technogenic civilization.
This trilogy is also addressed to teenagers. It can be called a representative of combat fantasy, as the plot is replete with gunfights. The share of humor is present, which makes the book a good entertainment literature.
Reviews
Aleksey Glushanovsky can be attributed to the strong middle peasants of modern domestic fantasy. Yes, there are a lot of cliches and illogical turns of events in his books, some characters lack personality, humor is peculiar, and also in some books there is a significant proportion of sex scenes. On the other hand, the author is working on himself and developing, which can be seen in the "Way of the Demon" cycle, where the third and fourth books differ significantly from the first two for the better.
For whom does Glushanovsky Alexey write? All books are interesting primarily to teenagers, because the works of this author are addressed to this particular audience. Serious fantasy lovers can read these books as light reading at a time.
Conclusion
The best book from the tetralogy, authored by Alexei Glushanovsky, is "The Sorcerer's Path". This is what many readers say, although it is also strongly criticized for having clichés and being too simple. On the other hand, books are intended primarily for teenagers, and one should not forget about the specifics of this age. The readers' verdict is unequivocal: Alexey Glushanovsky and all books are worthy within their audience. You should not treat them as serious fantasy, otherwise the reader will be disappointed. For example, some compare the "Way of the Demon" tetralogy with clips, bright and colorful, which absorbed everything that the author liked in other books. All pictures have been slightly modified.but in them everyone recognizes the old ideas of such masters of the pen as Tolkien, Sapkowski and Zelazny.
