PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION “For the first time in Brazilian literature, we see a book using elements like this to tell a story.” — PAULO COELHO A REVOLUTION IN BRAZILIAN LITERATURE People have never read so much in Brazil. Recent research shows that numbers of both readers and books (printed and digital) have risen sharply in the country. Bookstores are springing up everywhere and prices are increasingly competitive. There has always been enormous interest in Brazil in what is called popular literature. What people did not have until around fifteen years ago was access to this kind of literature. Traditional means of communication gave little value to entertainment novels, always favoring the classics and academic literature. This situation changed with the arrival of the internet. On the web, each surfer became a potential critic, able to expose their ideas and associate with others with the same interests. The web was an essential tool for publicizing entertainment literature widely and spontaneously in Brazil. Publishers immediately recognized this market niche and began to invest heavily in this new sector, expanding visibly and already generating millions. At the head of this movement is a select group of writers seen as idols to the new generation of readers (mainly young), who today sustain the Brazilian publishing market. At the top of the list is Eduardo Spohr, the only writer of Brazilian fantasy novels to figure in the best-seller lists of the main national press, ahead of such writers as George R. R. Martin, Stephanie Meyer and Erika Leonard James. Of his three novels already published, all figured in the ten best-seller lists in the country. His first two books alone (The Battle of the Apocalypse and Children of Eden – Heirs of Atlantis) had achieved sales of 600,000 copies by the beginning of 2013. Attracting crowds to his book-signing sessions, Spohr was one of the main writers responsible for taking fantasy books out of their niche to reach a wider public. Today, his work is sold not only in bookstores, but also in catalogues such as Avon, pharmacies, supermarkets and gas stations. THE CONTINUATION OF A SAGA Angels of Death is the second book in the Children of Eden trilogy and a continuation of the Heirs of Atlantis. These two books share the same setting as his first work, The Battle of the Apocalypse, though there is no direct relationship between them. The central theme of the trilogy’s plot is the civil war being waged in Heaven between Archangel Michael, considered a tyrant who wishes to destroy humanity, and his brother Gabriel, who, leading his army of rebel angels, fights to defend mortals. To prevent this war from spreading to the world of men, the two sides establish 2 a truce on earth. However, despite the agreement, celestials from both sides do not always respect the accord, and frequently materialize on the physical plane to carry out some covert mission. The result is a secret battle between angels, taking place on our planet, but invisible to ordinary people. Each volume of the Children of Eden saga deals with an aspect of this intrigue. In this second volume, an angel council, the malakin, whose mission is to observe humanity’s progress, decides to establish a squadron of celestial warriors to descend to earth and infiltrate the Armed Forces of several countries, in various periods of the 20th century, with the task of making a close study not only of wars on earth, but also of mortal behavior in extreme situations. These angel soldiers, ordered to mold themselves to human reality, finally fall prey to human vices, weaknesses and temptations, which will later make them rebel against their winged masters. The saga will have a third and final volume, to be launched in Brazil in 2015, Children of Eden: Paradise Lost. FANTASY VS. REALITY Angels of Death is a fantasy novel, but one that is set in our world, inspired by completely real people and events. With D-Day, as the European allied troop invasion during the Second World War came to be known, as the point of departure, the book traverses the 20th century, highlighting its main events, not only in the military sphere, but also in the social and political fields. Denyel, an immortal being and the protagonist in this adventure, enlists as a soldier in the United States army for the Normandy beach landings in 1944, then the capture of Paris and finally the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, in 1945. With this war over, the story moves to the 1950s and 60s, until he is sent to Vietnam, in 1968. In the 1970s, Denyel works as a spy, ending his journey in Germany, in 1989, observing the fall of the Berlin Wall up close. Spohr immersed himself in detailed research to recreate each battle, with a tactical as well as an individual point of view. The author visited the Second World War historical sites, explored the cafés of Paris, the protest points against the Vietnam War, in New York, and the areas frequented by international spies in Europe and Asia. Like any good fantasy book, Angels of Death captures not only the flavor of each era, but also the mysteries related to the historical periods in question. In the 1940s, the main character encounters the danger of German secret societies and Nazi witchcraft. In the 1960s, the antagonists are Soviet scientists with their psychic experiments. All this content, so well developed, enchanted Brazilian readers, causing Angels of Death to figure in best- seller lists, proving that his work is not only action, but also a history lesson, a book that is accessible and interesting to all ages and classes. 3 MARKET WAY BEYOND GEEKS Eduardo Spohr started his career as an independent writer in 2007. He won a competition sponsored by a Brazilian printing house, and his prize was 100 copies of his first book, The Battle of the Apocalypse, which he put up for sale in the Jovem Nerd store, the largest nerd culture site in the country. The hundred books sold out in just five hours, and with the proceeds from these first books, Spohr produced another 500, which sold within a month, exclusively online, with no exposure in any bookstore. As there was still a demand, a new edition, still independent, of 4000 copies was issued in 2009. His success attracted the attention of Grupo Record, the biggest publishing conglomerate in Latin America, which decided to publish the book in 2010. At first, it was feared that The Battle of the Apocalypse had already used up its potential, with 4,600 copies already sold by the site to the geek public. The surprise occurred when the book arrived in bookstores. The initial run of 10,000 copies flew off the shelves and the book immediately appeared on all the best-seller lists in the country. In less than two months, 50,000 units were sold in stores. The author’s other books – Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis and Children of Eden: Angels of Death – have had the same success. Sold in alternative outlets such as pharmacies, gas stations, department stores and supermarkets, the books were introduced into the Avon catalogue in 2012, reaching a public far different and much wider than the geeks. The Battle of the Apocalypse and Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis, together, have already sold more than 600,000 copies. In the first month after being launched, Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis sold 30,000 units in Brazil. PUBLICATION IN EUROPE Rights to Eduardo Spohr’s first book – The Battle of the Apocalypse – have been sold to four foreign countries. It was published in 2011 in Holland by Luiting Fantasy publishers with the title De Engelen van de Apocalyps. In 2012, it was Germany’s turn. Heyne, a Random House imprint, published the book under the title Armageddon: Der Krieg der Angel. The book was launched in Portugal, also in 2012, published by Presença. The other publishing house to buy the book was Pegasus, from Turkey, with publication forecast for this year. 4 INTERNATIONAL PRIZE In August 2012, Eduardo Spohr was awarded the Fundação Luso Brasileira Prize in the Revelation category. This foundation is a non-profit organization, based in Portugal, whose aim is the promotion of relations between Portuguese speaking countries, organizing and supporting cultural, educational, scientific, corporate and assistential initiatives. The prize is awarded annually to a personality (usually an artist) who has contributed significantly to the enrichment of the Portuguese language around the world. 5 ABOUT THE BOOK “If we wanted to compare Spohr to another author, it would be J. R. R. Tolkien, with his Lord of the Rings trilogy” — JOSÉ LOUZEIRO, Brazilian author and screenplay writer SYNOPSIS From the very earliest times, the malakin, wise and scholarly angels, observed human progress in silence. But then came the 20th century, and with it, modern weapons and industrial pollution, distancing mortal from divine nature, widening the frontiers between our world and the seven levels of heaven. Isolated in paradise, now incapable of seeing the planet, these angels solicited the help of the “exiles”, peaceful angels who had been operating on earth for years. Their task, from then on, would be to participate in human wars, all of them, to take note of military achievements, the movement of troops, and then to relate this information to their winged superiors. Disguised as ordinary soldiers, this group was present from the Normandy beaches to the Nazi concentration camps, from the jungles of Indochina to the decline of the Soviet Union.