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by Alexey L. Pajitnov (Author), Tatyana Manusov (Editor), Jeanna Sugira (Illustrator)
We present the first novel written by Alexey Pajitnov, the inventor of the popular video game Tetris.
The novel The Angel's Ethereal Kiss is set in Moscow during the 1970s. The author, a scion of an educated Moscow family, a graduate of a magnet STEM school and a prestigious university, describes a world that may seem unfamiliar to him at first glance, a mirror universe - the adventures of a juvenile delinquent, a cunning burglar, successful through luck as much as skill.
The reader is thrust into a vortex of events. The protagonist is growing up in the middle of the decaying Soviet system, where honesty and integrity are only prized in the criminal underworld, among the very people in conflict with the authorities. The system is rotten from top to bottom, and the reader is instinctively drawn to the main character and sympathetic to his attempts to break out of that mold and strive for a better life.
Part Two of the novel The Angel's Ethereal Kiss is called The Courier. The young protagonist secures a job as a courier, but he is actually working for a powerful criminal mastermind. The underworld has its own notion of honor and loyalty. The protagonist finds himself in a deadly trap, and only his sharp mind and equally sharp instincts help him survive the experience. Having survived, he feels on top of the world; he solves complex physics problems, breezes through difficult exams, speaks fluent English, and builds businesslike relations with a girl named Nadya. The reader would find it hard to disengage from the protagonist's journey and feel as if they are solving the same problems and waiting for true love... What will be the outcome, and will The Courier prevail? Part III is devoted to answering these questions.
