Broken Statues
Eleven dark fantasy stories woven from the history and mythology of Eastern Europe.
A godless land
The nameless czardom has been a battleground of the gods for generations.
Now, the people have finally denounced them.
They killed them, they chased them away, and they forgot their names.
So they're left to live in a world where no one answers their prayers, noble houses fall one by one, and miracles only happen in fairy tales.
Stories
Each story is complete on its own, but they tell a larger tale together.
The Blue Flower
A woman waits for her husband to come home from war.
Monsters Have Good Days
A dying soldier reflects on his life.
The Golden Apple
The youngest heir of a noble house fights for its legacy.
One Last March
An old general goes to war for the last time.
The Only Question
An old god ponders the meaning of life.
Scent of Rage
An inquisitor is tracking down a murderer.
Dreams and Seeds
A healer races against time to save her grandson.
The Wings of Terror
A man on a quest to slay a monster.
Broken Statues
The czar gambles his life to fulfil his lifelong dream.
A Quill's Confession
A storyteller struggles to write his life's work
The Bard's Three Tales
Bonus storyA travelling bard tells stories to a noble.
Inspiration
Books & Authors
Joe Abercrombie — The First Law Trilogy, Sharp Ends
J.R.R. Tolkien — Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, Unfinished Tales
Albert Camus — The Myth of Sisyphus
Mark Lawrence — The Prince of Thorns Trilogy
Fyodor Dostoevsky — Crime and Punishment
Kentaro Miura — Berserk
Haruki Murakami — his beautiful way of describing the mundane
Historical & Mythological
Dvoeverie, the dual-faith practice blending Christianity with pagan beliefs)
The Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict, 9-11 century AD
Various folk tales and myths like The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple
About me
I'm Alexander Kondov, a software engineer by day and writer by night.
I always found the real world to be too constrictive, and my daydreaming gave birth to countless characters and places that don't belong to it. Broken Statues is my first published work of fiction, containing stories I've been working on from 2020 to 2024.
I wrote them with love for the craft, care for every word, and a lot of coffee.
Drop me a line, I love talking about writing, fantasy, and good books.
Get Broken Statues
FAQ
What order should I read the stories in?
The stories are completely standalone. Start with whichever title catches your eye.
Are the stories connected?
They share the same world, and careful readers will notice subtle connections - recurring places, echoes of events, threads that weave between tales.
How long are the stories?
They vary from short stories to novella-length pieces. Most can be read in a single sitting of 20-45 minutes.
Any content warnings?
These are dark fantasy stories dealing with war, loss, violence, mortality, and moral ambiguity. The tone is literary and reflective rather than graphic, but the themes are heavy.