Hello!
Greetings and salutations Everyone!
I am here
to bring you the most awesome of words! It’s finally here! The fantasy novel
“Mortals” has been written and published, and it is already being sold - in
Croatia and in Croatian language.
And what
are we supposed to do with a new fantasy novel that proves to be a hit in one
European region –
bring it to readers from all around the world!
And that is
where I need your help. This project is for translating the novel into English, so it can be published
worldwide.
It is a new
revolutionary approach to fantasy, like you've never seen before. Let’ s call
it the Balkan fantasy; gritty and
brutal, bloody and violent, with no need for such as Orcs, because there is
nothing in all the worlds of imagination that is more savage and ruthless than
a human being. And all of that, and more from a writer brought up in a region
that knows all about such things from
first hand experience. And “Mortals” are just a few steps away from reaching
every fantasy fan. With this book, fantasy has never been closer to reality…
You don t
have to believe my own bluster, read the prologue and first chapter which are
already translated. I hope you enjoy them. And if you do, reach out, and book
will be there for you. In time.
And what's
in it for you?
Well… there
are some interesting perks, but what is totally new – EVERY PERK (even the
smallest one) GETS A DIGITAL eBOOK of “MORTALS”!
Also, every perk (if you contact me and you wish to read the original published novel) will get the PDF od EPUB version of the whole novel in Croatian language.
PREFACE
They haven’t discovered any
magical ring, nor do they derive their lineage from some godlike king of old.
They are only six ordinary,
although heroic soldiers of a great Cedonian army. But is it really possible to
have cowards among the sons of Cedon, when a road to paradise is paved with
honorable service to the king and to the homeland?
Nobody had any idea about
dark forces leaning over their and destiny of an entire world. And it all started
with landing of a Romean army coming to the aid of their Ellenic allies’, and
sworn enemies of Cedon.
Darkness was on them, born
out of despair in far west and brought forth from ancient history.
Is Darik’s band able to change
something that seems inevitable?
Of course not, but
sometimes, only sometimes even a pebble can change an avalanche flow.
Fantasy has never been
closer to reality…
ABOUT THE BOOK
The main theme of "Mortals",
a fantasy novel, is related
to alternative history. The story is told from the point of view of a few low
ranking soldiers participating in a great conflict between the Cedons and the
Ellens. The novel follows their mission assigned by a king of Cedon himself.
There are also their amazing discoveries with elements of supernatural,
encountering a new force that could bring changes to the course of the war,
brought to their area by the experienced Romean army.
A 386 page novel (Croatian edition)
brings a story which reader will not let go so easily. Within its cover there
is an illustrated map of the area where the plot of the "Mortals" takes place.
The novel could have been found on the
shelves of all major bookstores in Croatia right after its printing and it
recorded bigger interest than many other titles of the same genre in the
country. Moreover, the book is launched in its electronic form on TookBook, a
popular Croatian e-library.
Promotion of the "Mortals" at one of the
biggest SF and fantasy happenings in Europe, traditionally held in Zagreb, on
SferaKon 2015, was also well noted.
Considering that the topic and ambitions
of the book go beyond borders of only one country, it is the author´s desire to
bring it closer to global readers and to launch it on a worldwide market.
Therefore, a crowdfunding campaign is initiated for fund-raising in order for
the book to be translated into English.
The prologue and chapter 1 have already
been translated and they are available to anyone who wants to read them and
based on the reading decide whether to support this crowdfunding campaign to
some extent or not.
The official web page of the novel is available in
Croatian and English: http://smrtnici.com/en/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Davor L .Kuyek was born on July 9, 1979, in
Zagreb, Croatia. Having finished primary school together with general-program
secondary school, he entered and finished Faculty of Science and Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, at department of geography and
history. He is currently working as a teacher of geography and history at
primary schools in Zagreb.
He has fallen in love with reading since
childhood when he used to be a frequent visitor of local libraries, and he has
always preferred science-fiction and fantasy novels. That preference of his is
still present. He has been reading historical novels, as well, and growing up,
and especially while and after studying at the University he started doing some
research about professional historical literature with emphasis on military and
political history. He has always liked sharpening his skill of narration, and
after few unpublished short stories and half-finished SF novel, he put all his
strength into writing a fantasy novel, which will finally be entitled as "Mortals".
In "Mortals" he reaches into his
knowledge of history with its military aspect. Therefore, as a basis for the
novel he takes an actual world from the end of the 3rd century BC, with
location on the east Mediterranean, and with just few indications of
supernatural elements. Characters described realistically, put in the context
of time and free of contemporary moralizing framework, as well as a position of
"common" individuals in series of events which change history and their lives,
together with sharp speech, smooth style and numerous historical facts as the
basis of the novel, make it a literary work that breaks the norm, capable of
imposing itself and charming the pants of the reader within a short period of
time. At the moment the author is writing the sequel in the same spirit.
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR...
"Mortals" represent the novel which
reflects a new approach to the popular and not rarely underappreciated genre.
It is a personal approach which is definitely different than the one which can
usually be found on the shelves with fantasy literature. It doesn't indulge
anyone and I strongly believe that it won't leave you indifferent.
It was my intention to use the approach
which leaves the classic architecture of a fantasy novel where the protagonists
are almost always shallow, as good ones in a fight against clearly indicated
evil, in a surrounding labeled as black and white. On the contrary, in my work
I have put elements of an actual system of values, which is a characteristic of
a world before widespread monotheistic religions. Moreover, I gave up on various
humanoid species living side by side with humans. Their role in fantasy books
too often comes to "they are ugly, so they must be evil" or "they are beautiful,
so they must be good".
In this respect, the novel is definitely
different. Attention is drawn to the world and the way it functions. The focus
is put on individuals who truly are people of flesh and blood and they
represent integral part of the world surrounding them, belonging to an army
from a particular period of time. And the armies must ensure that they have
something to eat, warriors get tired during a battle and they certainly don't kill
fifty men with a single strike...And yes, armors can really sometimes ward off
a swing of a sword. Life is not a fairy tale.
And why "Mortals"?
Because the main protagonists are common
people, they didn't discover any ring, nor their great ancestor was a king, so
therefore they are supposed to become Majesty, nor any of them is a midget who
happens to be a son of the most powerful man in a whole kingdom. Nothing about
them is special. "Mortals" actually represent series of huge events from a
point of view of little people. Mortal people.
I have written a novel that I alone
would enjoy reading, and interpretation of characters and their actions is
completely in hands of readers.
I hope that soon you will be able to
enjoy reading English version of the book at least a little bit as the author
of these lines. And also I wish that for the readers from all over the globe.
Therefore, I'm thankful to all of you whose
attention is drawn by this very book and to the ones who visited this Indiegogo
campaign, and especially to the ones who decided to help translating it into
English.
For all questions and additional
information about the book and the whole project, I'm at your service.
THE GOAL
The goal is
to translate the novel by the end of the year and publish it on Amazon as an
eBook, but also on CreateSpace as a printed version.
SHARING IS CARING
As you can
see, even the smallest perk gets you a digital copy of “Mortals”.
So please,
if you have friends that love fantasy, share this with them, share it on
Facebook or Twitter, and help bringing this fantasy novel to readers worldwide.