Viktor Martinovich

Revolutsia

Revolution Novel. Manuscript 2017. 352 pages

Foreign rights:

Germany/ Voland and Quist see German translator's journal HERE see live pitch HERE

He, a professor at a private Moscow university; she, a waitress in a bar; for both it is a case of love at first sight. But one day he leaves their apartment near the Moscow television tower never to be seen again. And now Martinovich‘s nameless hero begins to explain to his beloved Olya in a long letter why he has not been in touch all this time. He wants to tear down the wall of lies he has erected piece by piece bet- ween himself and Olya.

An unknown organization, which knows everything about him, including his financial debts, blackmails him into carrying out small favours. Why is anyone interested in him at all? As a professor at the university he turns free-thinking minds to a perfect fit for industry and government use. Knowledge is power. And his will to power is the only rational means by which the chaos in the nation might be controlled. That is the situation as presented to him by the godfather of the organization. He feels intel- lectually flattered, and carries on. The favours become more deman- ding. His doubts are eased by frequent, unexpected privileges, which confirm the influence of the secret organization.

As he is offered promotion within the organization, but only on the condition that he leaves Olya for ever, he decides to quit. But it seems to be too late. His attempt to flee abroad across the border fails, as his friends, who he now sees as his enemies, are always one step ahead. Slowly he realizes that he has to overcome a different sort of boundary. Freedom lies in a flight forward. There has to be a revolution from wit- hin. He plans his own revolution down to the finest detail. Anticipating his opponent‘s every move and ruthlessly applying terror and violen- ce, he manages to overthrow the organization. But on the day of his coming to power, he finally understands that he has now reached the position where the former godfather always wanted him to be.

While Martinovich‘s debut novel PARANOIA explores submission to oppression, his recent novel REVOLUTION shows the other side of the coin: submission to corruption by power.