«The Temple» by Konstantin Valde Ulyanov: mysterious and thought-provoking fiction. Review by ITC.ua

The novel «Temple» by Ukrainian military man and writer Konstantin Valde Ulyanov is thought-provoking and leaves a deep mark. Back in 2012, the year it was written, the author created a unique and mysterious fantasy world that is both distant and familiar. There are no usual wizards or magical artifacts here – instead, there are strange dangerous lands, aliens, the military, and one big mystery. But most importantly, this work is no longer about external events, but about the inner journey of the characters, their experiences and moral choices.

«Храм»

Pluses:

good, high-quality edition; deep themes of moral choice, faith, search for meaning; multidimensional characters; well-written text; great fantasy idea, mysterious universe that intrigues

Minuses:

somewhat slow pace of the narration; some of the characters' actions and they themselves are sometimes underdeveloped

8.5/10

Rating
ITC.ua

Let me remind you that the author also has a wonderful dark fantasy «The Right of the Strong», for which we also have review. He also has a new novel out, «Paths of the Dead», set in the universe of «Temple». All the books are self-published, there is no editor, but they are well written and well produced.

«Temple» / «Храм»

Author Konstantin Valde Ulyanov
Publisher Samizdat
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 350
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2024
Size 145×200 mm
Website valdebook.com

The world of the novel «Temple» is unusual and mysterious. Konstantin Valde Ulyanov has come up with a relatively compact location with a tropical climate, forest and mountains, where a relatively small group of people live. All of them appear here out of nowhere, without memory or sense. But over time, their minds start to cook, they remember themselves, but they don’t remember anything from their other lives.

This community lives in a temple — a pyramid that resembles ancient Native American structures. Some people are hunters who hunt merkals — small mysterious glowing objects. They give them to the pyramid, and in return, it provides people with food, weapons, supplies, various things, clothes, etc. At night, no one leaves the temple because something very dangerous roams outside.

The protagonist of the novel is a young hunter named Svyst. Together with his experienced colleague Nut, he hunts merkalas and observes how the new head of the community, named Vidun, begins to spread the cult of the Lightbringer, a god who supposedly created the world. In addition to this, a dangerous tribe of savages is found living in an unknown part of the forest, with whom they may need to fight. Our hero is about to become a participant in great events, and it is important which side he will choose, what decisions he will make and what decisions he will not dare to make.

Novel «Temple» can be easily compared to popular projects nowadays «The secret of the bunker» and «The Outsiders». There is also a definite smell of the once cult series «LOST», plus I would add the first «Predator». If you like stories like this, where some mysterious events take place in a relatively confined space, where people show their true «me», where they are hunted by unknown creatures, where all this is somehow connected with aliens, then pay attention to this work.

However, I must warn you that Konstantin Valde Ulyanov does not provide answers to most of the mysteries he creates. At certain points in the story, he explains certain things, but the lion’s share of the mysteries remain unsolved, leaving the reader with an incredible field for speculation and imagination.

I would also like to note that the author does not impose his opinion on the reader, but rather puts him in situations in which he has to make choices together with the hero. As a result, you don’t just read – you live the events. You feel the tension along with Svist, empathize with his losses, and reflect on his decisions. This makes reading especially deep and personal.

The characters in the book are realistic and human. However, it is clear here that this was the first book by an undoubtedly talented author, so the characters and their actions sometimes look clumsy and not fully developed, not fully revealed.

However, we see that everyone has their fears, dreams, and goals. One seeks to protect his loved ones, another seeks power, another believes in a new religion. They argue, make mistakes, and act imperfectly — just like real people. The dialogues sound natural, and their thoughts make you think about certain things in real life. Sometimes I want to object to the characters, sometimes I want to support them. This, in my opinion, is a sign of a good book.

«The Temple» can definitely be called a fantastic action movie, but for the most part, the local events unfold slowly. Sometimes the author seems to invite us to stop, look around, and think. That is, the book, and the reader himself, do not rush headlong to the ending, but live together with the characters, listening to their thoughts, absorbing the details. Therefore, for those who expect pure action, the novel may sometimes seem sluggish. But if you allow it to open up, it will give you a real intellectual adventure, with vivid fantastic, mysterious events.

The novel is especially important because of its dedication to the memory of the dead. This gives the story even greater emotional depth and roots it in contemporary Ukrainian reality.

Despite its self-publishing, the novel «Temple» has a good quality as a publication. The cover is cool, gives some hints about the story, and definitely does not look universal. I liked the quality of the paper and its thickness, but the sans-serif font is not perfect. By the way, the same font is used in the novel «The Right of the Strong». Fonts are always a matter of taste, and some people don’t pay attention to them at all. And a special thanks for the available binding, which is not present in most books by full-fledged publishers.

I would also like to remind you that all the money from the books sold goes to the needs of Konstantin Valde Ulyanov’s unit. Therefore, I urge you to pay attention to this and other books by the author, go and buy them on his website.

Conclusion:

«Temple» is a deep fantasy novel that raises important questions and does not give easy answers. This is a mysterious, sometimes bizarre, sometimes slow, but definitely interesting story about how to preserve yourself in an environment where it is easy to betray, to surrender to the will of the crowd and general opinion. It's not easy, sometimes painful, but sincere and perfectly wrapped in the best traditions of quality bestsellers. If you are interested in reading not just about events, but about the inner world of the characters, if you are fascinated by mysteries and unknown places, this book is definitely for you.