Support the Translation of Master Chen’s Novels on Kickstarter

By Edward Nawotka, Editor-in-Chief

Today’s feature story profiles the bestselling Russian novelist Dmitri Kosyrev, aka Master Chen. His work has appeared only sparingly in English, but a Kickstarter effort is now afoot to translate three of his best known books: The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas, The Pet Foal of the House of Maniakh, and The Pet Monkey of the House of Tang. Tiny Montpelier, Vermont publisher Russian Life is trying to raise $15,000 to get the books into print. They are shy of having $4,000 committed with two weeks left.

The stories sound fascinating. Here’s the precis from the Kickstarter page:

By the year 749 A.D., the Silk Road, stretching four thousand miles from China’s Pacific Coast to the Mediterranean, was the apex of world commerce and power, the conduit for all that was valued and feared in both East and West – from silk and spices to horses and the bubonic plague.

And the most powerful, influential and cultured traders along this vital trade route were the Sogdians, an ancient people whose land – centered on Samarkand – stood at the dangerous crossroads of the Chinese, Ottoman and Arabian empires. Sogdian was the lingua franca of the Silk Road, and Sogdian merchants were cunning, clever and often very wealthy.

Nanidat Maniakh, a dashing young Sogdian trader, is enjoying the good life as the head of a powerful silk dynasty. Yet Fate has other plans: his world is suddenly torn asunder by murder and war, and the fate of his homeland hangs in the balance. Overnight, this able merchant must also become a cunning warrior and spy.

In a richly detailed narrative that spans the full breadth of Asia’s Silk Road, this exciting new trilogy by a Russian author who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Silk Road Trilogy is sure to be a hit with lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

Take a look and if you like what you see, give them your support.