Miloš Kratochvíl

Prisoners of the Silver Sun

Zajatci stříbrného slunce Zajatci stříbrného slunce
Zajatci stříbrného slunce
Triton, 2015, 98 pp
9788073875817
Awards:
 2016 Golden Ribbon Award – Literary section: Literature for children
Read an excerpt:
English
Children’s and Young Adult  |  English sample translation available

In this prose the seasoned author delivers a surprising message and lets us wonder what genre for young readers he has created this time. The dystopian variation conjures up a world in which computer-game backdrops materialise into reality. A six-year-old boy named Mark, who lives in the near future, gets a DVD from his father with a game called The City, and becomes addicted to it. Eventually he manages to destroy the City and still have one or two lives left, despite his family’s frequent reproaches that games should not be played for the joy of killing. In a dream, Mark suddenly finds himself within the City’s ruins, guided by a little boy whom he had wounded with three shots. Mark, who is responsible for all the destruction, now ponders the City’s ruins and the disk of the silver sun, which rises above the rebuilt metropolis, and children and adults alike are faced with a disquieting question concerning the limits of the virtual world. Iku Dekune’s charming illustrations stand out as faithful representations of a child’s imagination.

Praise

“Miloš Kratochvíl’s book is unique both because of its text and its illustrations by Japanese artist Iku Dekune… I’d be surprised if this exceptional book didn’t win the children’s book of the year award.”

— Mik Herman, čítárny.cz

Illustrations
Zajatci stříbrného slunce
Triton, 2015, 98 pp
9788073875817
Awards:
 2016 Golden Ribbon Award – Literary section: Literature for children
Read an excerpt:
English