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The Black Palmira – overall, it's a decent book, very much in line with the general style of Lukyanenko's writing and doesn't stand out from his other works. But as a resident of St. Petersburg, I found it simply repulsive to read. The author clearly hates St. Petersburg, but seems to have only visited it once, and that was just a brief stopover. He demonstrates a shocking lack of knowledge about the city's topography and the way of life. He describes St. Petersburg as a world of dirty, urine-soaked, and graffiti-covered entrances, perpetual rain, gloomy clouds, and muddy puddles (and this is supposed to be happening in the summer!). Some of the facts described in the book seem incredibly absurd to a resident of St. Petersburg: for example, the mother of the main character was raped in the Field of Mars near the Eternal Flame. This is simply unbelievable. Has the author ever seen the Field of Mars, or only in pictures on tourist websites? First of all, this "rape" supposedly took place, apparently, in Soviet times. And in Soviet times, there was a round-the-clock guard standing near the Eternal Flame, so that scenario is impossible. In the summer, the Eternal Flame serves as a beacon for groups of students, couples kissing during the white nights, and people strolling along the embankment. As a rule, there is a group of 20-40 people there all night, some leaving, some arriving, singing songs loudly, telling stories, and sharing jokes. It's unthinkable that anyone would plan a robbery, rape, or attack there – if the victim cries out, a crowd will gather. In spring and winter, the Eternal Flame is also never left unattended for a minute – it serves as a heating device for homeless people, who gather around it in dozens. So, you could only rape someone near the Eternal Flame in the twilight.
There are practically no dirty, graffiti-covered, and neglected entrances in the city center. The center consists of luxury housing and business centers, as well as old Stalinist communal apartments (their number is decreasing every year). It's unthinkable that an entrance would be kept in complete disarray. The main characters of the book live almost on Nevsky Prospekt, and yet their entrance looks like a garbage dump.
I remember the last ten summer seasons in St. Petersburg quite well. We haven't had a "monsoon" with months of rain and clouds. On the contrary, there is usually scorching heat and drought, which drives people south to the sea. And this contributes to a temporary shift to a nocturnal lifestyle.
If the "Blacks" were to appear in St. Petersburg, they would cause trouble in the residential or industrial areas. This is obvious – there is more "mass" there – more people. And robbing jewelry stores on Nevsky Prospekt is a job for quiet and unassuming people. Anyway, these jewelry stores are empty for entire days (and, by the way, I don't think there are more than two or four jewelry stores on Nevsky Prospekt – the rent is too high, it's more profitable to open an office).
The main characters drink "Obolon" beer. They drink it in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, and in their homeland. It's hard to believe that the Others, with their life experience exceeding a hundred years, would poison themselves with this swill.
In short, Vasiliev hasn't been to St. Petersburg for a while, and he should correct this oversight. But the plot of the book is not bad, quite intricate and dynamic. I even liked it a little. But I don't want to read Vasiliev anymore. What if, in the next book, I discover a "wonderful picture" of manure, but this time depicting my native city? Although I don't like Krasnodar either, I will definitely want to find the author and punch him in the face. So, why stir up trouble?
