Svyatoslav Loginov. Light in the Window. Earthly Paths. The Well.

Writer Svyatoslav Loginov is a well-deserved winner of numerous science fiction awards (the Strannik, Interpresscon, Roscon, Aelita, Belyaev, Kir Bulychev, and Ivan Efremov prizes, among others). He is a master of short fiction and the author of the novel The Many-Armed God of Dalain, one of the most unusual phenomena in Russian science fiction, which revolutionized the idea of ​​what science fiction should be, and other brilliant works recognized and sought after by readers.
The three novels included in this book represent three worlds, three sides of life.
In the novel "Light in the Window," the action takes place on the other side of existence, in the afterlife, where the protagonist enters after death. But this afterlife is not ephemeral and fluid, as most mystics imagine. It operates under strict economic laws: here you can obtain everything you need in life—from the simplest things, clothing, services, and food, to the luxury of rich mansions surrounded by impenetrable walls—but you must pay for your needs with the memories you left behind in the world of the living. As long as you are remembered there, you are alive here too. If your memory is erased, you become nothing.
The novel "Earthly Paths" is a multilayered story about how magic is disappearing from the world. Progress, the hard-working god, patron of artisans and scientists, has pushed the traditional gods in which people believed, and with them, magic, to the remote outskirts of civilization. In a world that doesn't believe in magic, magic loses its power. In a world that doesn't believe in gods, the gods cease to be gods.
"The Well." Set in the 17th century, the story takes place halfway around the world. Where hasn't fate cast Semyon, a simple peasant from near Tula who sought his fortune on the Volga and was captured by nomadic steppe dwellers, to so many places? The sands of Arabia, Persia, Mecca, Istanbul, Jerusalem, China, India... He's experienced everything in life, accepted all the sins, exchanged banners, clothes, and faith, and returned to his homeland with a soul seared by hatred for those who wronged him. But in nature, there exists a magical well, bestowing upon man what no treasure can buy. It is the gift of mercy. And whoever accepts this gift finds peace in their heart...