“Wilk,” the latest
adventure from Stephen Brooke (coming June 6) and its
predecessor, “The Dictator’s Children,” would have to be
considered, in the broad sense, historical fiction. We prefer to
label them as historical adventure, which might be seen as a
sub-genre.
The emphasis is on
adventure. The narratives attempt to be period-accurate but there is
no pretense that the events in the story could actually have
happened, as in strict historical fiction. There is even a completely
invented (meaning it is not a disguised version of a real place)
Central American nation in “The Dictator’s Children,” in the
tradition of such countries as Graustark or Ruritania.
“Wilk” takes place
against the backdrop of Russia and China shortly after the end of the
First World War, periods of revolution in both nations. Broadly, they
are accurately portrayed, as are the logistics of Wilk’s trip
across Asia. There is nothing that will jar ones perception of the
reality of the setting.
Here is the official blurb
for “Wilk”:
A connecting flight — as the aging
Wilk returns to his native Poland he reminisces how, in the aftermath
of the Great War, a young Jan Patrowski finds himself adrift. From
the Russian Revolution to a China torn apart by factions and
warlords, he strives to learn who he is. The decorated war hero and
pilot? The clever mechanic and engineer? Or maybe a man in love who
would throw away the rest of the world and lose himself in the heart
of Asia.
Join him as he travels
across a continent in a novel of adventure and a journey of discovery
by Stephen Brooke, WILK.
