Dive into the moonlit city of Celestopol and discover its countless wonders.
1922.
What a crazy year in Celestopol!
A year to discover the mirages and wonders of the selene city, jewel of the Slavic soul torn from the Earth, in the hands of a duke with a destiny defying the course of time.
A year in which to cross paths with Marie Curie, Archduke Franz Ferdinand or Howard Carter, but also with humble workers, voluble thieves or automatons with a copper heart. Between lunar ruins to explore, a world chess championship to prepare or plots to foil... The amber canals of the city have not finished revealing their secrets!
Emmanuel Chastellière invites us to rediscover a city built on the Moon in the shadow of Jules Verne, at the dawn of a new era, deliciously uchronistic, with 13 stories that intertwine in a astonishing chassé-croisé.
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Science Fiction
Uchrony
Steampunk
Mystery
Collection
Conquest of the Moon
Release : March 2021
Format : 14x21cm
Emmanuel Chastellière is the founder of Elbakin.net, the largest French website dedicated to fantasy. His previous works have been noticed by the Imaginales, the Futuriales (Prix Révélation 2018) or the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire.
Kokorin is a thief, a member of the Vorovskoy Mir, the night world of Celestopol.
A fan of old-fashioned tricks, the young man has a hard time adjusting to the codes of a new generation of thieves in town, even though he himself is not so old. Kokorin also has a tendency to fall for the wrong people...
He is a regular guest at the Patriarch's Ponds Inn.
Acteur : Dane DeHaan
NIKOLAÎ
The Duke of Celestopol, who took over the city founded by his father in 1900.
A lover of science and protector of the arts, Nikolai rules the city with an iron fist. More and more discreet as the years go by, his almost unchanged appearance at more than 50 years of age has led to many rumors about him, both under the dome of Celestopol and on Earth.
But after all, his mother, Empress Gloriana, celebrated her centenary! It is said that he has been in conflict with her for many years, as Gloriana could not stand his desire for independence.
Actor: Matthew Goode.
ARNRÚN
A fierce mercenary operating in Celestopol for about ten years. She usually works with Wojtek, a former soldier whose brain has been transferred to a bear body.
Little is known about the young blonde woman's past, except that she can't return to her native land. She once owned a horse farm in Iceland. Born in the town of Akureyri, she sometimes claims that she had to leave her island because the elves were talking to her.
Celestopol seems to be the only place where she does not hear voices. The mercenary rarely leaves her two revolvers behind, Fenrir and Jörmungandr.
Actress : Florence Pugh.
ANASTASIA ROMANOVA
The cousin of Duke Nikolai, colonel of the special forces of the Empress Glorianna.
Dedicated to her mission, the young woman does not hesitate to defy her cousin. She joined the military academy at the age of seventeen, then the order of the White Rose Sisters, officially committing herself to a life of celibacy and privation.
Following her tragic death in 1900, the city's opera house was named after her. Although it should not be said within earshot of the Duke, for many residents Anastasia has become the patron saint of the city.
Actress : Anya Taylor-Joy.
WOJTEK
A former soldier, Wojtek was killed in a cold Polish forest... before having his brain transplanted into the body of his murderer, a bear!
Since then, he has left the army, shocked by such experiments, and has rebuilt his life in Celestopol, where he plays the mercenary with his partner, Arnrún Hjartardóttir.
Naturally calm, Wojtek likes to take a step back from their affairs, but suffers from a melancholy that is impossible to shake off. Over time, he also seems to take on some of the characteristics of a bear, such as a fondness for honey.
BO-YEONG
A member of a noble family from the kingdom of Silla, the young woman comes to study in Celestopol.
It is there that she meets her future husband, a painter. Bo-yeong is a staunch supporter of her husband, but she is also sensitive to many causes in these times of turmoil under the dome of the lunar city.
Her caravan full of books and other second-hand books can be seen all over the city.
Actress : Kim So-hyun.
TUPPENCE
A specialist in cryptology, whom the Duke wishes to hire to ensure that the Emperor's Cup, an international regatta around the Moon, goes ahead without fraud.
She makes the trip to Célestopol in the first pages of the book, before going through the city and life armed with her strong character.
Being Nikolai's mistress, Tuppence gradually learns to tame the city.
Actress : Freida Pinto.
KOKORIN
Kokorin is a thief, a member of the Vorovskoy Mir, the night world of Celestopol.
A fan of old-fashioned tricks, the young man has a hard time adjusting to the codes of a new generation of thieves in town, even though he himself is not so old. Kokorin also has a tendency to fall for the wrong people...
He is a regular guest at the Patriarch's Ponds Inn.
Actor : Dane DeHaan
AJAX
The Duke's butler is one of the most advanced automatons in the city, so much so that one could almost believe him to have a conscience of his own, when he is not physically mistaken for a human being.
He is often accused of overstepping his duties, but Nikolai seems to trust him completely.
Actor : Dan Stevens
1922.
What a crazy year in Celestopol!
A year to discover the mirages and wonders of the selene city, jewel of the Slavic soul torn from the Earth, in the hands of a duke with a destiny defying the course of time.
A year in which to cross paths with Marie Curie, Archduke Franz Ferdinand or Howard Carter, but also with humble workers, voluble thieves or automatons with a copper heart. Between lunar ruins to explore, a world chess championship to prepare or plots to foil... The amber canals of the city have not finished revealing their secrets!
Emmanuel Chastellière invites us to rediscover a city built on the Moon in the shadow of Jules Verne, at the dawn of a new era, deliciously uchronistic, with 13 stories that intertwine in a astonishing chassé-croisé.
CÉLESTOPOL
A Russian city founded in 1850 on the Moon, a great project of the Empress Glorianna, a project supposed to symbolize the omnipotence of the empire, for whom the Earth already seems too small.
Since 1900, the city is governed by Duke Nikolai, with a status of quasi-independence. The city lives under a bell and an artificial gravity system allows the inhabitants to experience the same situation as on Earth.
Its population was estimated at two million in 1920.
Celestopol, the lunar city, the pearl of the Russian Empire, the city of all excesses, where all the technologies of this nascent 20th century combine to create the ultimate metropolis. Celestopol, where at every street corner, the magnificence of its architectural marvels rivals the dazzle of its automatons assigned to a thousand and one tasks. Celestopol and its selenium canals, where the golden mist permanently bathes the light of the street lamps. Celestopol, the domed city, humanity's ultimate challenge to the stars.
Celestopol the rebel, the rebellious. Celestopol, where each inhabitant carries within him an anger, a love, a sadness, a revenge. Celestopol and its extravagant duke, with unlimited powers, whose mere presence is an insult to the Tsarina's authority. Celestopol, in search of freedom and emancipation, far from an Earth that threatens to go down in flames.
Celestopol, the city that took a bit of the soul of all the Russias and put it on the moon.
THE EARTH
Celestopol 1922 takes place in an uchronistic context where Russia dominates Europe, since the collapse of the British Empire and France. Only Germany and the Ottoman Empire remain. On the other side of the Atlantic, a French empire based in Haiti and Quebec is still standing, an empire that has taken over a large part of North America.
THE MOON
The Earth satellite has been partially explored since 1840.
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