Anatoly Kurchatkin’s novel, set in Russia and Thailand, ranges in time from the Brezhnev years of political stagnation, when Soviet values seemed set to endure for eternity, through Gorbachev’s Perestroika and the following tumultuous and disorientating decades. Under the surface, ancient currents are influencing the destinies of mathematician Rad, art gallery owner Jenny, entrepreneur (and spy?) Dron, American investor Chris, redundant Soviet diplomat Yelena and Thai playboy Tony in a rapidly globalizing world of laptop computers, mobile phones, credit cards and international finance. The fourteenth-century battle in which the Prince of Muscovy, inspired by St Sergius of Radonezh, defeated the Golden Horde of the Mongol Empire foreshadows a modern struggle for the soul of Russia. Tsunami was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and the Russo-Italian Moscow-Penne Prize. Translated by Arch Tait.

Rick Holden is a struggling writer. He has retreated to the seclusion of Avalon Estates to complete his latest novel, one based on magic and witchcraft. In returning to this Long Island manor after more than a dozen years he renews his acquaintance with the mysterious Jewel household. Ophelia, the lady of the manor, her weak-willed husband, Chester, her playboy stepson, Rad, the eccentric groundskeeper, the neurotic housekeeper, and the intoxicating niece, Phaedra. The Ancients say that life revolves in a great circle; no one ever really dies. Phaedra believed in the Ancient Mysteries. She had spent her entire life learning the ways of the Craft. Rick looks to Phaedra for instruction and inspiration. What he didn't expect to find was love. Phaedra is the story of a man and woman caught in an impossible situation that is out of their control. It is a story of faith that endures through the ages, of two people who continue to find each other, fight for each other and sacrifice all they have for love.

Biographical sketches of eminent companions of Prophet Muḥammad, d. 632).