Metro 2035: City of Seven Winds is the third collaborative novel by Irina Baranova and Konstantin Benev, written as part of the "Metro Universe". Released in July 2019 as part of the Metro 2035 Universe, this is the eighteenth book of the premium series.
Synopsis[]
In 2035, life is booming on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Despite everything, Baku residents have managed to preserve and carry to the subway that inexpressible color, which has always distinguished Baku among other cities. As in former times, people here love and betray, dream and believe in fairy tales... To earn money to feed his family, Ali Babayev gets a job with a famous gang in the city of Artemovsk - that's when a new Oriental fairy tale bursts into his life. In it, Ali ecounters treasure, robbers, and secret caves - only it unfolds in the world after the Shoah, in the underground kingdom of the subway and the islands of Baku Bay.
Interesting Facts[]
- The idea of writing a novel about his native Baku was set in Konstantin Benev's mind all the time, but somehow never added up. As always, everything was decided by chance.
- The plot of the novel is an interpretation of the middle eastern fairy tale "Ali Baba and Forty Thieves" in the setting of 2035.
- The entire plot of the book was visualized by Benev when met one of the inspirations for his character - Evgeny Pavlovich Shumilov, a hereditary oilman who had been working at the "Oil Rocks" for more than forty years.
- All of the characters in the book (including minor characters) have real-life prototypes. They are all close friends and classmates of Konstantin.
- Chiara was portrayed on the cover by actress Ravshana Kurkova. However, slightly modified by the artist.
- The epigraph to the novel includes the phrase - "To the city that doesn't exist...". This is indeed true. The city depicted in the novel is a replica of the good old Baku, which has forever gone down in history, along with the late Soviet Union.
- Originally conceived as a single novel. Subsequently, it was decided to make a cycle of three separate novels under the working title of Secrets of the Baku Courtyard.