Romualdas Drakšas: a lawyer (and not just any law, but criminal!), a professor who writes fiction books. I remembered his name because I once read his science fiction diptych "The Man" and I really liked it as a child... So what does Romuald write these days?
It appears - historical fiction novels about the lives of the ancient Baltic people.
And, oh, how ancient. This is not the time of Vytautas or Mindaugas, but more or less the fourth century! Yes, the same times when the Roman Empire still existed! (Although maybe not in the best position.)
So, I jumped at the chance to read… What can I say?
1. Romualdas knows how to write fiction.
I cannot comment on the author's scientific works, because I have not read them, but I have read fiction. And as with "Man" and "Humanity", so with "Enemies of the Huns" - a pleasure to read.
And, wait a minute. Can you imagine a strange novel (perhaps from a school literature course) where the author tries to prove that he can write? Remember how reading those books felt like eating sawdust?
Draksh's work is not like that. His work is easy, clear, uncomplicated.
Maybe if you're hoping to turn heads or feel like you're going to be deafened by construction noise, that will be a disadvantage, but I consider this an advantage. Why? Because, in my opinion, the greatest meaning of fiction is to make your life easier, to relax you, to calm you down after a hard day, to rest your brain from fatigue…
…“Enemies of the Huns” is relaxing because it is not a complicated piece of literature, and that is all a work of fiction needs – an engaging film.
2. I regret that this book will probably never see the cinema screens.
Would be a lot of fun. Now and at this moment, even though I finished reading the book a few weeks ago, I remember the plot twists (imagine the flow of the Nemunas here), the scenes...
Ah yes, this book would be perfect for the blue screen.
But, for some reason, it seems that there are not many people like me. There aren't many people who read Drakš's work at all, for some reason - judging by the number of reviews on the Goodreads platform. I don't really understand why, because the author's books really don't look bad, the reviews are mostly positive, but... What, there's a lack of advertising, maybe?
Then maybe I will advertise directly: go, my dear friend, directly to the "Vagas" bookstore and buy it. Can also be purchased online. After you've purchased, received, and read it, come back and share your thoughts on the book.
Let's make this book more readers in Lithuania 🙂
3. History cannot be seen through history.
Although the plot of the book was really solid, although the dialogues and characters seemed realistic, but I'm not sure... So where is the "historical novel"? Are my criteria too high? Do I want too much?
Why did I sometimes feel like I was reading Game of Thrones? Well, yes, here, you know, old times and lialia... Swords and spears. Someone wants to fight and prove that they are bigger brats... Food, drinks, land, women and men...
Well, like in the past, it means a history book?
But…
Of course, the author apologizes for this in the very introduction of the book, on the first page. That you don't need to read this book "as it was", but rather "as it could have been". Well, maybe it wasn't like that. It probably wasn't. But, hey, let's imagine.
I understand the authors - the era of the plot is such that there are probably few, if any, written sources of that time from Lithuania or the entire Baltic region.
But then why advertise it as a "historical novel"? I feel a little pricked.
Here, along with it, is an interesting fact: the book was published by Eugrimas, a publishing house that presents itself as a "non-fiction publishing house" (at least on the back of the book and on their own page). This only made me more puzzled - why did they allow "Enemies of the Huns"?
Well, if we ignore the slightly melancholic cover - a book purchase and worth reading. I rate it 4/5 clouds, which is very good on my scale 🙂
