Ukrainian writer Yan Valetov is not very well known to modern readers. At the same time, the author has published quite a few books, including the once popular «No Man’s Land» series about post-apocalyptic Ukraine, released in 2008. However, judging by Valetov’s past, his low popularity at home is not very surprising, since he was often published in Russia, received awards there, and published books in Russian, respectively. Unfortunately, this was the norm for those times. But in 2024, the «Folio» publishing house republished this series in Ukrainian. In this article, we will talk in detail about the cycle, and most importantly, we will figure out whether books that were once published in the swamps and only then reached us are still needed in Ukrainian, and even in our time.
«No Man’s Land», «Children of the Capital», «Fools and Heroes», «School of Scoundrels»
Author Yan Valetov
Publisher «Folio»
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 288,352,352, 384
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2008, 2024
Size 130×200 mm
Website folio.com.ua
Sometime at the beginning of this century, a large-scale man-made disaster occurred in Ukraine. It flooded its central part, killed millions of people, and turned the land into a ruthless post-apocalyptic wasteland where the remaining population survives as best they can.
Parts of Ukraine in the east and west became separate states: The Eastern Republic found itself under the protectorate of the Czarist Russian Empire, while in the west a Confederation led by a hetman was formed. In the middle, in the No Man’s Land, it turned out to be something like a giant dump where neighboring countries evicted criminals, set up secret experimental laboratories, smuggled contraband, and simply ignored the people who remained to survive.
Among them is a former Soviet special forces officer, a Russian «who chose Ukraine», Mikhail Sergeev. Together with a teenager named Movchun, they make their way through the apocalyptic wasteland to get beryllium. The customer has promised a lot of medicines and medical equipment for it, which is vital for the local residents. But of course, everything goes wrong.
Before analyzing this series, I have to say that these books were first published in Russia in 2008, and reached the Ukrainian publishing house only in 2017. I was not surprised that the books also received the Russian «Interpresscon» award. After all, how can you not give something to books where Ukraine is destroyed and divided, and Russia is involved in this? Although it is also after the crisis, it is now an imperial country with a strong ruler named Krutov. But the president of Ukraine before the disaster was Plyushchenko. I think there is no need to explain who the author meant.
At the same time, Jan Valetov criticizes Russia, its system, and its government a lot. It is also clear that he is against communism as a phenomenon in general. But all of this is nothing compared to the way the author tears apart Ukraine, its government, and its system. At the same time, according to various information on the Internet, he has a pro-Ukrainian position.
And if you don’t understand why I’m bringing politics into this because we’re in the post-apocalypse, there’s only one reason — the author himself is doing it. Moreover, this series is not real fiction. It is a political manifesto and an example of powerful self-reflection. It often seems that the writer not only needed to speak out, but also to show how intellectually developed he is and how much he «understands».
If we take the purely post-apocalyptic portion of the novels, it barely takes up a fifth of the entire story. The remaining four (!) novels are devoted to the politics and military adventures of the protagonist Mikhail Sergeev in other time periods.
Also, the ending, from the reader’s point of view, is just a merger. The author used a technique that is so forbidden that it is very outrageous. Yes, this was sometimes done in various popular books, but it has long been a mauvais, it is not allowed. But still, this can be attributed to the relative age of the novels.
In the «No Man’s Land» series, there are many references to Soviet and Russian culture, to songs, movies, books, people, political figures, etc. I attribute all of this to the fact that Jan Valetov is a man of that era, he grew up and was formed in that era, and this is normal, because those times existed. But here we are discussing supposedly fantastic books that were published in Ukrainian translation in 2024 and are presented as «books of war», and are also part of the «Folio» «Contemporary Ukrainian Literature» series.
So from this side, this looks strange and incomprehensible, to put it mildly. I remember the Maidan and Putin’s supposedly strong position in the world, I remember the pro-Russian government, the aunts, and everything Russian that was coming from every TV or radio. And it was much louder than the Ukrainian voice that was just breaking through. It was there, we lived in it, it’s our history, and we shouldn’t forget it.
I don’t understand why these books are being translated and published in Ukrainian now. Can they teach something, say something important, or just entertain our modern readers? In my opinion, no, although there will be some entertainment here.
However, they cause much more irritation and anxiety. They can also have a negative impact on young people because they will read how super strong the Soviet GUR and its agents were, how powerful Russia is, and how everything used to be of high quality and good. Yes, at the same time, they will also read the author’s criticism of all this, but at the same time, they will see much more dissatisfaction with Ukrainian. Although often this is not satisfaction, but one of the initial forms of what is now called «inferiority syndrome».
As for the books themselves, they are simple paperbacks with ultra-thin paper and often crooked layout. The only thing that attracts attention here is a good genre cover, and it was this cover that caught my eye when I first saw these books. But on closer inspection, it loses its charm, because everything is drawn mediocrely, and most importantly in the spirit of Russian action fiction from the 1990s and 2000s.