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Death himself comes to the boy Ilya, who is dying in the hospital, but instead of taking him away, he begins to tell fairy tales. However, among those who do not like the strange friendship between a child and a supernatural creature, there is someone stronger than Death...

The intrigue around the identity of the writer, speaking under the pseudonym Zotov, has long been revealed, which means that the only way he can maintain interest in himself is through books. Therefore, the author plunged into experiments, moving away from the cliches of genre literature. His new book, “The Storyteller,” no longer fits into the framework of a thriller or detective story—Zotov’s favorite genres—and is difficult to define.

The novel is written in the first person - this is also an unusual move for a writer who, with rare exceptions, previously preferred to remain a dispassionate observer. The narration from the perspective of Death himself leads to the fact that readers are guaranteed to be imbued with sympathy for the hero - or, on the contrary, will experience disgust for him. It must be said that Thanatos provides a reason for both. He is undoubtedly an unfortunate creature who, from the very beginning of centuries, has seen enough of human nastiness and stupidity - and therefore does not have any special love for people. But on the other hand, Thanatos’s teenage embitterment, his inability and unwillingness to notice the good, the desire to devalue absolutely everything that people believe in, make him a bilious and cynical type, a poser and a “glamorous scumbag.” Reading Death's long outpourings on the topic of the injustice of the world and the depravity of humanity is sometimes disgusting, and sometimes simply boring - Thanatos does not show much originality in his nihilism.

Other characters are also not very attractive: Thanatos' brother Nikao (Plague) is a slippery coward, another brother, Limos (Hunger), is a calculating schemer, Palamos' sister (War) is a lustful bitch. Together, this wonderful family makes up a “quartet” of horsemen of the Apocalypse, who, however, ride not horses, but Ford Mustangs. But even worse than all of them combined is the Master, the demiurge who created both the Earth and the “quartet”. In terms of the degree of cynicism and cold-blooded malice, the supreme deity surpasses his creatures. To be fair, it should be said that the Master, like his “children” horsemen, is simply unhappy, going crazy from disappointment and boredom - and this partly results in the main intrigue of the novel, the meaning of which will be revealed only in the epilogue.

But Zotov betrays himself here too: his trademark black humor gives way to unexpectedly touching moments. It turns out that the nihilist Thanatos is capable of sympathy and other human emotions - even though the boy Ilya, dying of cancer, turns out to be only the third person in history whom Death pitied. And the author himself, as it turns out, is not alien to anything human: short insert stories telling about various episodes from the experience of Death are often tender and lyrical, and their heroes refute not only the depressive worldview of Thanatos, but also the very world order of the novel, which is Zotov’s gloomy, hopeless . The story about how Death personally came for Ray Bradbury and the Hiroshima girl Sadako Sasaki (the one who dreamed of making a thousand cranes in order to recover from radiation sickness), Thanatos’s altercations with his secretary Nicolo Machiavelli and personal driver Elvis Presley are much more interesting to read than internal monologues of the main character. At such moments, it becomes clear that, no matter how inhospitable the world may be, the notorious “eternal values” are not at all as meaningless as Thanatos tries to show. A world in which Death itself turns out to be capable of love does not seem such a hopeless place - even the Master admits this.

Numerous homages, quotes and allusions, as well as references to historical events, including recent ones (the death of Muammar Gaddafi, with whom Death also meets - and clearly has no illusions about his personality) - are the dignity of the novel and entertainment for readers. But the drawback of “The Storyteller” is the virtual absence of a plot in it. The intrigue begins only in the second half of the novel, and even there it is constantly slowed down by the hero’s monologues, his memories and fairy tales for Ilya. However, these are the costs of the chosen genre - after all, this is not an action movie or a thriller, but a philosophical parable.

Death himself comes to the boy Ilya, who is dying in the hospital, but instead of taking him away, he begins to tell fairy tales. However, among those who do not like the strange friendship between a child and a supernatural creature, there is someone stronger than Death...

The intrigue around the identity of the writer, speaking under the pseudonym Zotov, has long been revealed, which means that the only way he can maintain interest in himself is through books. Therefore, the author plunged into experiments, moving away from the cliches of genre literature. His new book, “The Storyteller,” no longer fits into the framework of a thriller or detective story—Zotov’s favorite genres—and is difficult to define.

The novel is written in the first person - this is also an unusual move for a writer who, with rare exceptions, previously preferred to remain a dispassionate observer. The narration from the perspective of Death himself leads to the fact that readers are guaranteed to be imbued with sympathy for the hero - or, on the contrary, will experience disgust for him. It must be said that Thanatos provides a reason for both. He is undoubtedly an unfortunate creature who, from the very beginning of centuries, has seen enough of human nastiness and stupidity - and therefore does not have any special love for people. But on the other hand, Thanatos’s teenage embitterment, his inability and unwillingness to notice the good, the desire to devalue absolutely everything that people believe in, make him a bilious and cynical type, a poser and a “glamorous scumbag.” Reading Death's long outpourings on the topic of the injustice of the world and the depravity of humanity is sometimes disgusting, and sometimes simply boring - Thanatos does not show much originality in his nihilism.

Other characters are also not very attractive: Thanatos' brother Nikao (Plague) is a slippery coward, another brother, Limos (Hunger), is a calculating schemer, Palamos' sister (War) is a lustful bitch. Together, this wonderful family makes up a “quartet” of horsemen of the Apocalypse, who, however, ride not horses, but Ford Mustangs. But even worse than all of them combined is the Master, the demiurge who created both the Earth and the “quartet”. In terms of the degree of cynicism and cold-blooded malice, the supreme deity surpasses his creatures. To be fair, it should be said that the Master, like his “children” horsemen, is simply unhappy, going crazy from disappointment and boredom - and this partly results in the main intrigue of the novel, the meaning of which will be revealed only in the epilogue.

But Zotov betrays himself here too: his trademark black humor gives way to unexpectedly touching moments. It turns out that the nihilist Thanatos is capable of sympathy and other human emotions - even though the boy Ilya, dying of cancer, turns out to be only the third person in history whom Death pitied. And the author himself, as it turns out, is not alien to anything human: short insert stories telling about various episodes from the experience of Death are often tender and lyrical, and their heroes refute not only the depressive worldview of Thanatos, but also the very world order of the novel, which is Zotov’s gloomy, hopeless . The story about how Death personally came for Ray Bradbury and the Hiroshima girl Sadako Sasaki (the one who dreamed of making a thousand cranes in order to recover from radiation sickness), Thanatos’s altercations with his secretary Nicolo Machiavelli and personal driver Elvis Presley are much more interesting to read than internal monologues of the main character. At such moments, it becomes clear that, no matter how inhospitable the world may be, the notorious “eternal values” are not at all as meaningless as Thanatos tries to show. A world in which Death itself turns out to be capable of love does not seem such a hopeless place - even the Master admits this.

Numerous homages, quotes and allusions, as well as references to historical events, including recent ones (the death of Muammar Gaddafi, with whom Death also meets - and clearly has no illusions about his personality) - are the dignity of the novel and entertainment for readers. But the drawback of “The Storyteller” is the virtual absence of a plot in it. The intrigue begins only in the second half of the novel, and even there it is constantly slowed down by the hero’s monologues, his memories and fairy tales for Ilya. However, these are the costs of the chosen genre - after all, this is not an action movie or a thriller, but a philosophical parable.

Georgy Zotov with the novel Storyteller for download in fb2 format.

"The Storyteller" is a completely atypical novel by Zotov. There are no dashing chases, hard action and an exciting detective story. Of course, I'm lying a little. Elements of all of the above are present, but only partially, and not prevailing over everything else, as was the case in “The Blood Element” or, say, in “Welcom Apocalypse”. But in “The Storyteller” it is just a seasoning that gives the dish a sharpness and piquancy. The main component in the novel is undoubtedly the author’s philosophical reflections on life and values ​​in modern society, which Zotov puts into the mouth of Death, who reads fairy tales to the terminally ill boy Ilya.

If you liked the summary of the book The Storyteller, you can download it in fb2 format by clicking on the links below.

Currently available on the Internet a large number of electronic literature. The Storyteller publication is dated 2013, belongs to the “Horror” genre in the “Zotov’s Bestsellers” series and is published by AST publishing house. Perhaps the book has not yet entered the Russian market or has not appeared in electronic format. Don’t be upset: just wait, and it will definitely appear on UnitLib in fb2 format, but in the meantime you can download and read other books online. Read and enjoy educational literature with us. Free downloading in formats (fb2, epub, txt, pdf) allows you to download books directly into an e-reader. Remember, if you really liked the novel, save it on your wall in social network, let your friends see it too!

16 Pages

4-5 Hours to read

63 thousand Total words

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Death himself comes to the boy Ilya, who is dying in the hospital, but instead of taking him away, he begins to tell fairy tales. However, among those who do not like the strange friendship between a child and a supernatural creature, there is someone stronger than Death...

The intrigue around the identity of the writer, speaking under the pseudonym Zotov, has long been revealed, which means that the only way he can maintain interest in himself is through books. Therefore, the author plunged into experiments, moving away from the cliches of genre literature. His new book, “The Storyteller,” no longer fits into the framework of a thriller or detective story—Zotov’s favorite genres—and is difficult to define.

The novel is written in the first person - this is also an unusual move for a writer who, with rare exceptions, previously preferred to remain a dispassionate observer. The narration from the perspective of Death himself leads to the fact that readers are guaranteed to be imbued with sympathy for the hero - or, on the contrary, will experience disgust for him. It must be said that Thanatos provides a reason for both. He is undoubtedly an unfortunate creature who, from the very beginning of centuries, has seen enough of human nastiness and stupidity - and therefore does not have any special love for people. But on the other hand, Thanatos’s teenage embitterment, his inability and unwillingness to notice the good, the desire to devalue absolutely everything that people believe in, make him a bilious and cynical type, a poser and a “glamorous scumbag.” Reading Death's long outpourings on the topic of the injustice of the world and the depravity of humanity is sometimes disgusting, and sometimes simply boring - Thanatos does not show much originality in his nihilism.

Other characters are also not very attractive: Thanatos' brother Nikao (Plague) is a slippery coward, another brother, Limos (Hunger), is a calculating schemer, Palamos' sister (War) is a lustful bitch. Together, this wonderful family makes up a “quartet” of horsemen of the Apocalypse, who, however, ride not horses, but Ford Mustangs. But even worse than all of them combined is the Master, the demiurge who created both the Earth and the “quartet”. In terms of the degree of cynicism and cold-blooded malice, the supreme deity surpasses his creatures. To be fair, it should be said that the Master, like his “children” horsemen, is simply unhappy, going crazy from disappointment and boredom - and this partly results in the main intrigue of the novel, the meaning of which will be revealed only in the epilogue.

But Zotov betrays himself here too: his trademark black humor gives way to unexpectedly touching moments. It turns out that the nihilist Thanatos is capable of sympathy and other human emotions - even though the boy Ilya, dying of cancer, turns out to be only the third person in history whom Death pitied. And the author himself, as it turns out, is not alien to anything human: short insert stories telling about various episodes from the experience of Death are often tender and lyrical, and their heroes refute not only the depressive worldview of Thanatos, but also the very world order of the novel, which is Zotov’s gloomy, hopeless . The story about how Death personally came for Ray Bradbury and the Hiroshima girl Sadako Sasaki (the one who dreamed of making a thousand cranes in order to recover from radiation sickness), Thanatos’s altercations with his secretary Nicolo Machiavelli and personal driver Elvis Presley are much more interesting to read than internal monologues of the main character. At such moments, it becomes clear that, no matter how inhospitable the world may be, the notorious “eternal values” are not at all as meaningless as Thanatos tries to show. A world in which Death itself turns out to be capable of love does not seem such a hopeless place - even the Master admits this.

Numerous homages, quotes and allusions, as well as references to historical events, including recent ones (the death of Muammar Gaddafi, with whom Death also meets - and clearly has no illusions about his personality) - are the dignity of the novel and entertainment for readers. But the drawback of “The Storyteller” is the virtual absence of a plot in it. The intrigue begins only in the second half of the novel, and even there it is constantly slowed down by the hero’s monologues, his memories and fairy tales for Ilya. However, these are the costs of the chosen genre - after all, this is not an action movie or a thriller, but a philosophical parable.

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