Lichoar (2026)

Set in Brno in 1999, this novel follows Pemysl Pemek Phoda, a Masaryk University doctoral student preparing his thesis on a mysterious deity woven through history. His academic interest soon becomes a desire, then an obsession, and then something more. Written by the authors of the witch-folk band of the same name, the book is a journey through Europe, legends, folk tales and ancient beliefs. It explores memory through the diaries and emails of its hero, his colleagues, friends, enemies and historical figures, as well as through the memory of landscapes ravaged by war and swept over by history. It is also a detective story: together with Pemek, readers follow the trail of something that takes names, forms and lives, causes misfortune and capriciously bestows unwanted gifts. Licho, Lichoradka and Lichoar echo throughout the story like a refrain. At the same time, the book celebrates the beauty of searching and groping ones way forward, of knowledge, Slavic and European mythology, fear and nature. Standing on the border between fantasy, detective fiction and an excursion into a mythical past, this Czech-language novel invites you to follow it with a mischievous grin, while warning that Licho never sleeps and knows.