Pirin, Book I, Memoirs of Helewen
Sebastiano B. Brocchi's “Pirin” Saga is a brave dare: is it possible to create a credible High Fantasy narrative universe, meticulously structured, based upon a solid lore, but essentially founded upon the depth of a philosophical, spiritual, humane message? Stories rooted in the mythical, legendary heritage of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages, in the history and mysticism of several civilizations and ages, in order to weave the branching threads of an epic, magical saga available in different media. Besides the works of the main trilogy, in fact, several spin-offs and a videogame have been released, the latter receiving enthusiastic reviews on an international level. Today, the first volume of the literary trilogy, titled “Pirin, Book I, Memoirs of Helewen”, has been launched online in ebook format (soon to be available in print as well) in the English translation by Tolkien scholar and writer Giovanni Carmine Costabile. The translator accepted another dare of mine and valiantly achieved the result, transposing into the modern version of Chaucer's language the complexity of a rich, often high-flown style, a prose which is not afraid to step into the field of poetry, in order to present the reader with the haunting sceneries of an elsewhere that, although unreal, yet may seem incredibly present. Get absorbed in the story of a people of demigods inhabiting a blessed realm encircled by the steep Eastern mountains, and enter the labyrinth of tales narrating the gests of their rise and fall, in the wake of the ancient prophecy of the King of the World...
