Vladimir Torin’s "Amalgam" (Summary)

Vladimir Torin’s novel "Amalgama" (2015) weaves together historical facts, political intrigue, and mysticism around the ancient secret of Venetian mirrors. These artifacts have the power to bend human will and open time corridors. The author boldly weaves together the era of the Crusades, medieval Europe, Stalin’s USSR, and modern Russia. The plot quickly shifts between centuries, recounting the fates of real historical figures, intelligence officers, and secret societies. The author immerses the reader in the thick of conspiracies, Masonic lodges, and palace coups.

The literary community highly praised the work. For this novel, the author received the Valentin Pikul International Prize in 2016. The book also won the Terra Incognita Award for achievements in prose.

This publication opens a book series of the same name. It is the first book in a cycle that was later expanded with the novels "Tantamaresque" and "Farewell to Hyperborea." The new installments continue to develop the author’s adventurous and mystical theme, giving readers the opportunity to explore this fantastical universe in greater depth.

Secrets of the Venetian Amalgam

In 2014, ordinary Moscow manager Sergei Antsiferov is vacationing in Venice. In Piazza San Marco, he encounters a strange old man. The stranger’s face bears a striking resemblance to the famous "Lion’s Mouth" bas-relief. That night, the old man hands Sergei an ancient parchment in a transparent folder and tells him to escape. Moments later, three assassins slit the old man’s throat. Sergei hides on a medieval balcony, narrowly escaping execution. He then returns to Moscow with the mysterious manuscript.

The events shift to London in 1991. Soviet intelligence lieutenant colonel Nikolai Sirotin is studying Jan van Eyck’s painting "Arnolfini Portrait" at the National Gallery. Sirotin notices a striking resemblance between the Arnolfini merchant and his fellow student at the KGB institute, Vladimir Putin. A Japanese man approaches the intelligence officer and asks him to look into a small mirror. Sirotin instantly loses consciousness and is transported to 15th-century Bruges, finding himself right in the interior of the Red Room depicted in the painting.

The events of 1178 unfold simultaneously. The powerful German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa lays siege to Italian cities. The cunning Venetian ambassador, Enrico Dandolo, brings the ruler a mirror as a gift. The emperor suspects the dangerous magical properties of the Venetian gifts. Dandolo peers into the glass first. The German ruler is unaware of the ambassador’s voluntary blindness. Barbarossa looks at his reflection and completely loses his composure. The emperor ends the war, prostrates himself before the Pope, and leaves Venice in peace forever.

In Moscow, Sergei and his friend Ivan are unsuccessfully trying to sell a Venetian manuscript to antique dealers. In a shop on Arbat Street, a gray-haired man with a bushy mustache, Alexander Valentinovich, expresses interest in the mysterious document. He tells his friends historical facts about the deadly Venetian amalgam. Mirrors were said to have driven monarchs mad, taken lives, or granted incredible health. Alexander Valentinovich recommends having the parchment examined by Rudolf Mikhailovich Chetverikov, a professor and expert in the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University.

Through the corridors of time

The plot takes the reader to Joseph Stalin’s Kuntsevo dacha in 1941. The Soviet leader demands that Lavrentiy Beria unravel the secret of Peter the Great’s mirror. Stalin personally activates the ancient object: the glass becomes shrouded in a sparkling mist. The leader orders his young bodyguard, Pyotr Shelomov, to step into the smoke. The Red Army soldier vanishes without a trace. He will end up in Bruges, change his name to Giovanni Arnolfini, and ask an artist to paint a strange portrait with his face — the face of the Russian president’s ancestor.

Many years later, Lieutenant Colonel Sirotin, who escaped from the 15th century, finds himself in a closed psychiatric hospital in the city of Gorky. The year is 1980. The intelligence officer writes reports to KGB chief Yuri Andropov. He warns of the collapse of the Soviet Union and interethnic conflicts. He received this information from the time-displaced Shelomov. Sirotin is visited by General Alexander Valentinovich Khomyakov, a secret agent of the Council of Ten. The general listens to the patient, shows him the deadly mirror, and calmly leaves. Outside, he smashes the ancient artifact.

In the present day, Sergei and Ivan meet with Professor Chetverikov. The scientist demonstrates the various properties of glass in his laboratory. He then asks them to leave the manuscript for a detailed examination. As soon as the young men leave the university building, they are kidnapped by burly militants. The one-eyed giant, Gosha, and Mutny torture the friends in an abandoned dacha outside Moscow. The kidnappers insistently demand the return of the Venetian manuscript.

The story returns to the 12th century. Rainald von Dassel, the loyal Archbishop of Cologne, attempts to stop Enrico Dandolo. During the duel, the blind Doge holds up a smoking mirror. Von Dassel falls through a time portal and finds himself in 1990s Russia. The stern medieval warrior easily kills local bandits, ends up in prison, and brutally deals with criminals. Soon, General Khomyakov discovers him and recruits him into the service of the State Security Committee. The fearless Mute becomes the ideal assassin and bodyguard.

In 2014, the beaten Sergei and Ivan are saved by a fragile girl named Glafira. The friends met her the previous night at a nightclub. She turns out to be a member of the Guardian caste — elite warriors of the Council of Ten. She kills the kidnappers with her bare hands. Then, she uses Dandolo’s healing mirror and heals the boys’ wounds. Glasha explains how time portals work and confesses her feelings to Sergei. The heroes track Professor Chetverikov to the capital of Lithuania.

The Battle for an Ancient Secret

The professor’s true nature is revealed. Chetverikov is a maniac and serial killer. He desires the recipe for a power amalgam to completely subjugate young female students. The maniac strangles a flight attendant, steals her car, and escapes to Vilnius. In the Old Town, he ambushes Sergei, Ivan, and Glafira. The girl is bound in paralyzing nets. Khomyakov and a special forces unit suddenly arrive to the rescue.

A bloody firefight ensues. Chetverikov hides in an ancient basement where Adolf Hitler’s personal mirror was kept during the war. Khomyakov and Mute von Dassel rush after it. The professor declares to the general, "I know when the mirror will turn on." The mirror suddenly activates. Chetverikov leaps into the sparkling mist. Mute von Dassel lunges after him, clutching the maniac’s throat in a death grip. Khomyakov is left standing before an ordinary glass window, empty-handed.

The Archbishop of Cologne and a dead professor tumble out of a sarcophagus containing the relics of the Magi in Cologne Cathedral. The year is 1970. Von Dassel struggles outside. He embraces the ancient stone he laid during the cathedral’s construction hundreds of years ago. The knight dies with a peaceful smile on his face.

Corrupt police officers attempt to frame Sergei and Ivan for criminal charges in modern-day Moscow. Glafira saves them by casting the illusion of a huge, ferocious lion on the investigators. The heroes calmly leave the detention center using the Mirror of Subordination at the checkpoint. Before this, the book explains the mystery of Stalin’s death. The dying leader attempted to say, "I will rise now," but Lavrentiy Beria used the "Mirror of God’s Wrath" against him, triggering a fatal heart attack.

Glafira, Khomyakov, and the old Master, who miraculously survived the Venetian street, meet in a posh restaurant on the thirty-fifth floor of the Ukraine Hotel. A Japanese tourist, one of the highest-ranking officials of the Council of Ten, sits down with them. He takes the manuscript tube from Khomyakov and scolds the agents for their lack of initiative. The Japanese tourist forces the general to look into a black glass and sends Glafira for retraining. Khomyakov, driving his car, loses consciousness due to the mirror’s effect and dies in a terrible accident.

The events of the finale unfold on a winter night on a Moscow balcony. Sergei and Glafira enjoy each other’s company and resolve to always be together. Glafira gives Sergei a medallion with a winged lion, making him a new warrior of the Secret Council. Ancient mysteries remain hidden in the mists of time. The Venetian guardian continues to protect the world’s secrets from prying eyes.