Well, the “Tales of Old Rus” project kept growing and evolving, transforming from a hobby into a remarkable universe with its own artbooks, lore, and bestiary. Naturally, the first fictional novel set in this world followed. “The Battle for Lukomorye” was originally planned as two books, with only the first part released so far and the second on its way. Since I’ve been immersing myself in the world of Old Rus quite actively this year, I read the first novel almost immediately after its release.
There is, however, some confusion regarding the authorship of the book. In many stores, it’s listed as having two primary authors: the universe’s creator, Roman Papsuev, and the well-known writer Vera Kamsha. Yet, the book itself also credits three additional writers: Tatyana Andrushchenko, Alexandra Zlotnitskaya, and Elena Tolokonnikova. It’s impossible to discern who contributed what. The book is presented as a collection of novellas, but no individual authors are credited for specific sections. Whether they collaborated on everything together or each worked on separate parts remains unclear—for now, the story doesn’t say.
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