In the name of lost souls Vitaly Zykov. Vitaly Zykov “In the name of lost souls”

In the name of lost souls Vitaly Zykov

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Title: In the Name of Lost Souls

About the book “In the Name of Lost Souls” Vitaly Zykov

Cultists perform dark rituals, calling ancient evil into the world. Warriors of the Church of the Last Day are searching for forgotten knowledge. Fighters from the Tower and the School fight demons... Alliances are made and broken, masters of traps and ambushes hunt enemy magicians, and large clans test the teeth of their neighbors' borders. The struggle for power is in full swing in Sosnovsk. And no one cares about the Soul Eaters prowling the paths of the Upside Down.

But who said that it will always be like this?

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Vitaly Zykov

In the name of lost souls

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved grandmother, Larina Anna Petrovna. Who would have imagined that those childhood “fantastic” stories that I once told you would turn into something more?.. Thanks for everything, bah.

Unpleasant sensations, to say the least. Previously, he would have been running around the room and swearing out loud, cursing everyone and everything, but that person remained in the past. The transference finally reached him, forcing him to change, making him more resilient, strong, patient and tough. Now the Dreamwalker only winced in annoyance and slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, waiting for the attack to end.

There was a rustling noise nearby, causing him to jerk his head up sharply. The palm rested on the handle of the knife, and a mental battering ram formed in the mind, capable of crushing even the Transparent, not to mention a person. However, Artyom himself remained motionless as a rock. And it doesn’t matter that Serebryanka’s instincts, firmly ingrained in the subcortex, demanded the destruction of the enemy, and in order to keep them in check it was necessary to make a considerable volitional effort.

He is a man, not an animal.

- They're coming. “A short guy in dirty gray camouflage, a mask and a shortened neck appeared from behind a mountain of broken bricks. Fifteen or sixteen years old, no more, but his eyes look evil and tenacious. So young, but a fighter who has already seen so much.

- How many? – Artyom adjusted his hood, hiding from the too bright light. The mark of the viritnik forever placed him on the other side of the shadow, recording him as an enemy of the local sun. You can’t get used to it, you can only come to terms with it.

- Eight, two in handcuffs. Only…

- What is it, Volodya? – Artyom stared at the boy with irritation.

“There are only three people, and the rest,” the young fighter sighed heavily, “the rest are Marked.”

The news sounded strange to say the least. The clergy were famous for their racial intolerance and proudly carried the slogan about the purity of humanity that survived the catastrophe. And then suddenly there are already three Changed Ones.

- Sure?

- Yes, I’m telling you exactly. Prisoners, three warriors in camouflage and three Changelings.

Lazovsky mentally remembered the local dark lords with an unkind word. The Cardinal's mission smelled bad from the very beginning, but now he was completely convinced of it. If at first they were only required to intercept a group of militants from the Church of the Last Day and recapture the prisoners, now an ordinary operation threatened to develop into something more serious. The partisans who ambushed a food train and encountered a tank column must have experienced the same feeling.

Damn it! Lazovsky had only three fighters under his command - Volodka, his peer Mishka and Seryoga Gulidov. Even though the latter, as a Dreamwalker, represented considerable strength, it was still too early to pit him against the creatures. So spin as you please.

But still, what happened, why did the churchmen change their principles? Suddenly I remembered how one self-confident “pure” tried to take him and Zakhara prisoner.

“It’s okay, we’re working according to the old scheme,” Artyom reassured. - Return to position.

He quickly rose to his feet and dived into the bird cherry thickets. Not a single pebble crunched, not a single branch moved. He glided like a shadow, always knowing exactly where to put his foot, where to turn, and where to even fall to the ground. Moving easily and naturally, like a hunting predator. Serebryanka’s reflexes, coupled with constant practice “in the field,” turned the recent intellectual into a sort of Chingachgook. However, for young people, all the Immortals were like that - strong, self-confident and immensely dangerous.

Artyom sat down on one knee near a stub of concrete pillar sticking out of the grass and carefully looked out onto the destroyed road.

During. The churchmen had just rounded the ruins of the kindergarten and stood warily at a shallow ditch. Artyom grinned knowingly: a colony of centipedes used to live here, if the last Wave had not forced them to migrate, even a madman would not have entered the lair of vile creatures.

Finally, the commander made a decision, and the group moved around. Now they were in full view: two machine gunners, prisoners and a trio of humanoid creatures, as mobile as mercury. Everything is as Volodka said. The owners of the Sports Palace were accompanied by werewolves in combat uniform. They all have elongated heads with powerful jaws, broad shoulders and chests, long arms with strong hands, scales from the throat to the groin, and some kind of unreal thinness. And metal collars on their necks.

What demon?! The marked ones did not look like prisoners at all. Look, their eyes are scouring around and sniffing the air, they are trying not for fear, but for conscience. Like watchdogs...

Dogs! It was as if lightning had struck Artyom. It was as if a switch had been flipped in my head, and all the misunderstandings fell into place at once. She and Volodka mistook completely different creatures for werewolves, many of which appeared in Sosnovsk after the Transfer. It looks like the churchmen somehow managed to tame the mutants. Those very unfortunate people whose minds could not withstand the changes and faded away, giving way to an animal essence. They could no longer even be called people, just humanoid predators. Cunning, swift, dangerous, but completely brainless, in the service of the enemies of the Tower and the Village.

My insides trembled as usual, and doubts scratched like cats at the back of my mind. Did he do everything right, could he handle it, wasn’t he taking on too much... I had to twist my emotions into a tight ball and squeeze them in a mental fist. A simple trick helped out this time too, saving me from unnecessary worry. At such moments, Lazovsky felt like a soulless machine, programmed to accomplish a goal. The time for worry will come later, but now the quiet and conflict-free artist should have made room for the cold and detached warrior.

Damn it, what is he thinking?!

Artyom straightened the shifted holster and regretfully removed his hand. In a fight with clerics, you can no longer rely on firearms. The percentage of those dedicated to the Light among the owners of the Sports Palace is very large, which means it’s easy to run into an adept who knows how to put up shields. And then pistols and shotguns will turn into an annoying nuisance. No, as long as the “pure” magician was alive, there was no need to think about firearms. But this is only his, Artyom’s, concern.

There were about ten meters left before the clergyman who was walking first, when Lazovsky came out of the bushes and stepped in their way. The fact that the bone kukhri clutched in his right hand did not even tremble made Artyom feel a fleeting surge of pride. Such small victories over one’s created nature are sometimes more pleasant than other great achievements.

In the best traditions of stories about noble robbers, he should have said something, for example, demanded the release of the prisoners and surrender to the mercy of the victors. But the clergy did not even think of entering into negotiations with Marked. A short burst almost cut Artyom in half. The world suddenly slowed down, and Artyom rushed towards the enemy, weaving like a drunken hare.

Consciousness sank into the Upside Down, causing the heart to freeze for a moment and then beat with redoubled force. The poisoned energy of another reality ran through my veins. A fireball ignited in my solar plexus, and my left hand felt as if it had been dipped into boiling water. The pain pulled on my nerves like a string, but released almost immediately. To reach the mind immersed in Patala, something more serious was required.

The feeling of danger made us rush from side to side, missing almost visible bullets. The air became thick and dense, you had to literally push through it, and spend a lot of strength on every step. This could not continue for long, however, the “clean” ones were approaching. One two Three…

Alas, the enemies were not going to stand and wait like sheep at the slaughterhouse. They were already hitting Artyom with two guns. Pieces of lead flew closer and closer, forcing the shooters to go around in a wide arc. All that remained was to acutely regret that he was not the Cardinal, who managed to move around the battlefield, disappearing for a long time from the sight of both enemies and allies. And for the thousandth time curse Khmury, who, with the tenacity of a hamster, hid ancient secrets from others.

War for Survival - 3

Prologue

My left hand ached disgustingly, not allowing me to relax for a minute. In the center of the palm there was a burning hot spot, from which pulses of pain continually shot out into the shoulder. At times it began to seem as if Artyom was touching a bare wire and being electrocuted.
Unpleasant sensations, to say the least. Previously, he would have been running around the room and swearing out loud, cursing everyone and everything, but that person remained in the past. The transference finally reached him, forcing him to change, making him more resilient, strong, patient and tough. Now the Dreamwalker only winced in annoyance and slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, waiting for the attack to end.
There was a rustling noise nearby, causing him to jerk his head up sharply. The palm rested on the handle of the knife, and a mental battering ram formed in the mind, capable of crushing even the Transparent, not to mention a person. However, Artyom himself remained motionless as a rock. And it doesn’t matter that Serebryanka’s instincts, firmly ingrained in the subcortex, demanded the destruction of the enemy, and in order to keep them in check, it was necessary to make a considerable volitional effort.
He is a man, not an animal.
- They're coming. “A short guy in dirty gray camouflage, a mask and a shortened neck appeared from behind a mountain of broken bricks. Fifteen or sixteen years old, no more, but his eyes look evil and tenacious. So young, but a fighter who has already seen so much.
- How many? — Artem adjusted his hood, hiding from the too bright light. The mark of the viritnik forever placed him on the other side of the shadow, recording him as an enemy of the local sun. You can’t get used to it, you can only come to terms with it.
- Eight, two in handcuffs. Only…
- What is it, Volodya? - Artyom stared at the boy with irritation.
“There are only three people, and the rest...” The young fighter sighed heavily: “the rest are Marked.”
The news sounded strange to say the least. The clergy were famous for their racial intolerance and proudly carried the slogan about the purity of humanity that survived the catastrophe. And then suddenly there are already three Changed Ones.
- Sure?
- Yes, I’m telling you exactly. Prisoners, three warriors in camouflage and three Changelings.
Lazovsky mentally remembered the local Dark Lords with an unkind word. The Cardinal's mission smelled bad from the very beginning, but now he was completely convinced of it. If at first they were only required to intercept a group of militants from the Church of the Last Day and recapture the prisoners, now an ordinary operation threatened to develop into something more serious. The partisans who ambushed a food train and encountered a tank column must have experienced the same feeling.
Damn it! Lazovsky had three fighters under his command - Volodka, his peer Mishka and Seryoga Gulidov. Even though the latter, as a Dreamwalker, represented considerable strength, it was still too early to pit him against the creatures. So spin as you please.
But still, what happened, why did the churchmen change their principles? Suddenly I remembered how one self-confident “pure” tried to take him and Zakhara prisoner.
“It’s okay, we’re working according to the old scheme,” Artem reassured. - Get back to position.
He himself quickly rose to his feet and dived into the bird cherry thickets. Not a single pebble crunched, not a single branch moved. He glided like a shadow, always knowing exactly where to put his foot, where to turn, and where to even fall to the ground.

The continuation is quite in the spirit of the previous books in the series. A good idea has received excellent development.

As for the numerous jambs and absurdities - it depends where you look, I personally read the novel mainly for the sake of the plot - the political (or military-political) struggle on the territory of Sosnovsk, and it, in my opinion, is described very plausibly. The way the characters think is, however, surprising, but nothing particularly jarring. In the end, it's better than overly predictable heroes.

Judging objectively, I understand that the novel, frankly speaking, does not amount to ten, but personally, the entire cycle seems to me one of the best works of the genre that I have read (like another series by the author), perhaps because it lacks numerous cliches that I can’t stand, and those that are present don’t bother me too much. Therefore, purely subjectively, I give it a 10, just like the previous parts of the series.

Rating: 10

Sterop gave a good review.

I like the book - how a person rises above himself, becomes something more (the fact that initially GG is not a very pleasant person makes the process even more interesting). But there are also disadvantages.

Apparently the author is not yet very experienced; he has the eternal problem of beginners - a sharp predominance of action over the descriptive part of the text, which should create an atmosphere. Combat is good, it is very necessary, but less is better than skirmishes literally under every bush.

The second and main drawback is what I call “an atmosphere of general hysteria,” when respectable, adult people, often with great power for a long time, suddenly begin: “yelling at each other about, and more often without any reason, grabbing strangers by the chests ...". In his other books there are also such moments, they look very unnatural, first the significance, intelligence and other advantages of an important figure are described, and then this, often of considerable age, character suddenly throws a tantrum out of nowhere, which completely destroys the previously created image.

I would also like to mention the fight with Tagir over Katya. Purely schoolchildren (Tagir also showed himself to be an infantile fool), and the false pathos of the verse (what is this all about) simply hurt the eyes.

Another point is also well commented on; one can understand the initial (well deserved) dislike for Artem. But then he showed himself quite well. Even though the author wanted to show how difficult it is to change established public opinion, it still looks somehow forced. “A coward and a weakling” - of course, he showed himself to be neither a coward nor a weakling, but nothing has changed, it’s still negative, why? - and Idk. Personal hostility (which may well arise without any particular reason) plays a role in ordinary greenhouse conditions; in conditions of almost constant hostilities, no one will be distracted by such nonsense; this is fraught; in the book, this is almost the main motive for all actions.

Adults behave like a group of teenagers. This psychological unreliability is the main complaint. In general, I repeat, I like the book, the general idea, the world, the development of the hero (with reservations, what I disagree with is the claim that the main character is subject to excessive “mental torment and tossing” - this is not particularly the case here, his behavior after the fight in the school and the village, after the fight with Eduard, it is quite stable, it is written that he is a little unpleasant, but no more, no “suffering due to injustice”) - these are advantages (one can also add - the absence of an obvious opposition to “black plasticine” and an ideal hero, everyone here has their own goals, no one is eager to save the world - realism in one word) outweigh the shortcomings, I hope the author will grow in skill and in 5-10 years will begin to produce real masterpieces, in any case, there is clearly potential for this .

Rating: 8

I liked this book the most from the series. Although again the author uses the same funny technique, assigns Artem the role of a “mouse” in the story about a turnip; when the grandfather (cardinal), grandmother (Vadim, Tagir), etc. they pull, they pull... they are in a fragile dynamic balance, Artyom appears and, like that mouse, like that last glass that still wasn’t worth drinking, :gigi: solves the matter. There is a bit of imbalance, which is sad, because it is Zykov who is famous for the complete absence of imbalance and illogicalities. For example, where did that strong wild Marked, who consisted of two twins, go? And in general, in the last book, that gathering of the Marked Ones was presented as a victory, like we’d gather everyone under one wing and show it to everyone. And in this book there is not a word about the results of past success. But the fights are great, it is read very quickly and with great pleasure, humor has appeared in the topic. The detective component (especially with Partisan, when every reader immediately guessed that it was he who killed the Devourer) is lame, the love line also fails, it looks extremely unnatural. Another disadvantage that was not mentioned below is that the plot is too similar to a computer toy. Although this may not be a minus, considering the genre and all that.

Rating: 9

The plot develops, and so do the characters. Certain moments, of course, are jarring, such as Artyom’s fixation on his rating, and the author belittles Artyom in a painfully unconvincing manner.

I did not see convincing reasons that everyone considers him a weakling, he participated in battles, won, survived, withstood blows from stronger and more experienced enemies, this is enough for respect.

As for infantilism, they are animals, so they cannot avoid fighting in the pack.

But the rest of the book is interesting, dynamic, some kind of plot intrigue, so the adventures continue: smile:

Rating: 8

I haven’t seen such a juicy fantasy for a long time! A delightful style of presentation, rich language, a wide palette of characters, a thoughtful and smoothly constructed plot. It cannot be said that it is very original, but it is a logical continuation of the previous books. You feel like you have a full hand. I highly recommend reading it!

Rating: 8

So-so, I’m not a fan of books about “Rimbaud,” but even Mr. Loser is depressing. And when he also leaves a “rag” and “bedding” in his team, it’s sad. To summarize: the plot is a 3 (this is on a scale of ten), the narrative is crumpled, the impression is that all three books are a smeared prologue to the main story.

Rating: 3

Perhaps in this book the author managed to get rid of some of the “diseases” of the first two parts. Having bought the third book, I tried to re-read the series from the beginning, and, let me tell you, I deeply regretted it. In the third book, GG’s painful, and most importantly unreasonable, internal torment became less, and this is already the result. As before, 80% of the character’s actions are meaningless wanderings through the expanses of the author’s “great and powerful” style (Zykov does not write his books quickly, but it seems to me that this time interval should be increased).

What can I say... out of the three published books it would be necessary to make one, discarding all the nonsense and nonsense, because almost 50% of the entire “work” is read diagonally...

Rating: 6

I read it in one sitting. Not a minute is wasted, it’s just a pity that the author takes two years to write, but you read the book in one day. No snot, no mental anguish, constant action, which is what should be in a city where danger awaits you around every corner. Bravo author, made me happy.

Rating: 10

I was very disappointed with the author’s language, and even doubt creeps in as to whether the same person wrote “The Way Home” or the first novels of this series? The characters are constantly twisted and distorted, their cheeks and ears turn red, like teenagers. And they behave... Actually, in this novel there are two types of behavior of the heroes - either almost demonic, unprincipled (Leonid, Cardinal, Karaganda and some others), or teenage, eccentric, hardly amenable to logic (Artyom, Zakhar, and indeed many Labeled).

In most of Zykov’s novels there are no significant female heroes, and if there are at least minor ones, they are bitches who ruin the lives of those heroes whom the author considers positive (for example, in “The Road Home” these are Nastya and Oleg, Melisandre and Kirsan Kayfat ). Relationships are only sexual, no friendship, no trust. Well, there are also background women (wives of Kayfat, Oleg), who are housewives and mothers of children. But no serious independent roles.

In the first two novels of this cycle, Zykov followed the same rut. And in this, the last novel of the cycle, the Artem-Katya line appeared. But... it would be better if she didn't appear. It's better not to see this teenage unhappy love.

But besides all this, the main problem of the novel (and the cycle in general), from my point of view, is that the author never created a convincing picture of the world. I can’t believe either in the world of earthlings reborn and tortured by all sorts of cults, or in the world of immigrant demons. One gets the impression that the entire planet is a kind of USA. “Pygmies” in the role of Indians, and all sorts of kneshal, sharush, psipheus, etc. - these are aliens, dragged into one millennium or another onto the planet through a gate (by the way, the very idea of such a world is interesting..., but here’s the embodiment...). And the equality demon = alien is a clear influence of some Western writers.

Rating: 6

Rating: 10

Compared to the first two novels, the third looks better. Or, by this time, I had already begun to more or less understand all these sharushas and psytheas. Zykov’s language is lively, uncluttered, and easy. The characters turned out to be quite lively and interesting, but only the main ones. The plot itself is somewhat reminiscent of an RPG game. The character is leveling up, the exp is progressing, the skills are being upgraded, and there are monsters, new locations and local bosses ahead. As a result, a strong action movie without any semantic load.

Rating: 6

I wasn't very impressed with the novel. Especially compared to the first two books. Either all these magical bells and whistles have become boring, or something else. The main characters started to become somewhat annoying. some with their whining and soul-searching, some with their notorious awareness, some with their unwillingness to think through the elementary consequences of their actions. stylistically... there are a lot of rhetorical questions in the text. an attempt to communicate with the reader? Apparently there will be many books in the series. So far, it seems that further development will go in the spirit of “I went to some awesome place, found a new gadget, got hit in the face, went to look for a new gadget.” and so on ad infinitum. I don’t see a global idea yet.

Vitaly Zykov

IN THE NAME OF LOST SOULS

There was a rustling noise nearby, causing him to jerk his head up sharply. The palm rested on the handle of the knife, and a mental battering ram formed in the mind, capable of crushing even the Transparent, not to mention a person. However, Artyom himself remained motionless as a rock. And it doesn’t matter that Serebryanka’s instincts, firmly ingrained in the subcortex, demanded the destruction of the enemy, and in order to keep them in check, it was necessary to make a considerable volitional effort.

He is a man, not an animal.

They're coming. “A short guy in dirty gray camouflage, a mask and a shortened neck appeared from behind a mountain of broken bricks. Fifteen or sixteen years old, no more, but his eyes look evil and tenacious. So young, but a fighter who has already seen so much.

How many? - Artem adjusted his hood, hiding from the too bright light. The mark of the viritnik forever placed him on the other side of the shadow, recording him as an enemy of the local sun. You can’t get used to it, you can only come to terms with it.

Eight, two in handcuffs. Only…

What is it, Volodya? - Artem stared at the boy with irritation.

There are only three people, and the rest... - The young fighter sighed heavily: - the rest are Marked.

Yes, I definitely say that. Prisoners, three warriors in camouflage and three Changelings.

Lazovsky mentally remembered the local Dark Lords with an unkind word. The Cardinal's mission smelled bad from the very beginning, but now he was completely convinced of it. If at first they were only required to intercept a group of militants from the Church of the Last Day and recapture the prisoners, now an ordinary operation threatened to develop into something more serious. The partisans who ambushed a food train and encountered a tank column must have experienced the same feeling.

Damn it! Lazovsky had three fighters under his command - Volodka, his peer Mishka and Seryoga Gulidov. Even though the latter, as a Dreamwalker, represented considerable strength, it was still too early to pit him against the creatures. So spin as you please.

But still, what happened, why did the churchmen change their principles? Suddenly I remembered how one self-confident “pure” tried to take him and Zakhara prisoner.

It’s okay, we’re working according to the old scheme,” Artem reassured. - Return to position.

He himself quickly rose to his feet and dived into the bird cherry thickets. Not a single pebble crunched, not a single branch moved. He glided like a shadow, always knowing exactly where to put his foot, where to turn, and where to even fall to the ground. Moving easily and naturally, like a hunting predator. Serebryanka’s reflexes, coupled with constant practice “in the field,” turned the recent intellectual into a kind of Chingachgook. However, for young people, all the Immortals were like that - strong, self-confident and immensely dangerous.

Artyom sat down on one knee near a stub of concrete pillar sticking out of the grass and carefully looked out onto the destroyed road.

On time: the churchmen had just rounded the ruins of the kindergarten and stood warily at a shallow ditch. Artyom grinned knowingly: a colony of centipedes used to live here, if the last Wave had not forced them to migrate, even a madman would not have entered the lair of vile creatures.

What demon?! The marked ones did not look like prisoners at all. Look, their eyes are scouring around and sniffing the air, they are trying not for fear, but for conscience. Like watchdogs...

Dogs! It was as if lightning had struck Artyom. It was as if a switch had been flipped in my head, and all the misunderstandings fell into place at once. She and Volodka mistook completely different creatures for werewolves, many of which appeared in Sosnovsk after the Transfer. It seems that the churchmen have somehow managed to tame the mutants. Those very unfortunate people whose minds could not withstand the changes and faded away, giving way to an animal essence. They could no longer even be called people, just humanoid predators. Cunning, swift, dangerous, but completely brainless, in the service of the enemies of the Tower and the Village.

Damn it, what is he thinking about?!

Artyom straightened the holster that had shifted and removed his hand with regret. In a fight with clerics, you can no longer rely on firearms. The percentage of those dedicated to the Light among the owners of the Sports Palace is very large, which means it’s easy to run into an adept who knows how to put up shields. And then pistols and shotguns will turn into an annoying nuisance. No, as long as the “pure” magician was alive, there was no need to think about firearms. But this is only his, Artyom’s, concern.