I hate things all fiction … there should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric —
and pure invention is but the talent of a liar.
Lord Byron in a letter to his publisher John Murray — London 1817.
Προαιρεῖσθαί τε δεῖ ἀδύνατα εἰκότα μᾶλλον ἢ δυνατὰ ἀπίθανα.
Probable impossibilities are preferable to improbable possibilities.
Aristotele. Poetics. 1460A; c. 335 BC.
The third volume in the series … the year is 2006. Russia and its billionaires promise riches and an auspicious future, for many the country has become the land of the rising sun, not least for German media czars and politicians.
You live and learn, Jack Boulder realizes, but to which purpose? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger — The lie is a condition of life (both quotations by Friedrich Nietzsche; and Boulder will find answers to both).
From Basel to the Mediterranean, from Berlin to Istanbul — and beyond.
"One never really knows where a story has its beginning or when it's over and done with. This one was simple. It started on a Saturday."
It tries to answer questions such as: Why is a Russian oligarch interested in re-inventing the Berlin-Baghdad railroad of the late 19th century? Why is a leading German media entrepreneur and former East-German journalist deeply interested in the same topic? Is it dangerous to go long-distance biking in Turkey? Question after question.
It begins with an accident in Greece, follows man-hunts along dusty railroad tracks in the Middle East, and finally ends with a furniture truck in Switzerland.
This book is part of a cycle of books. The first installment, Unnamed Forces, plays in 2002, the second one, Berlin Export, in 2004, and the third one, Occident Express, in 2006. The story of The Stamp Collector takes place in 2010.
Although each work within the cycle presents an independent, self-contained tale, they are all connected by the characters of the protagonist, his friends and some other persons, and the outcome of the events of earlier plots. Still, each individual installment of the cycle can be read on its own.
Occident Express.
Illustrated paperback. 264 pages, 28 color illustrations.
New Edition 2024 | Publishing date: 26 February 2024.
www.TwinTree.co
ISBN (Europe): 978-3-7578 5382-2 | ISBN (outside Europe): 978-628-01-2333-2
Order through: Books-on-Demand.
Readers' Opinions
The author really liked and appreciated this comment:
"I can't help it, I love your book! I am only on Page 75 .... but I love it already. And I admire the way you describe situations, landscapes and history."
U.M., Garden City, New York.
… and this one — short as it is:
"Great story, brilliantly written, really cool."
H.F., Germany.
… and this one — referring to the illustrated hardcover edition:
"An elegant book, very shrewd with illustrations in color and animating citations. The first book in the series was a more international agent crime novel. This one is much more reflective, well done!"
H.G., Stockholm.
… More so:
"Fortunately, there are prolific authors like Peter de Chamier whose book characters provide once again reading pleasure. Once again this time: The book begins with a brilliant first chapter! A perfect summary of the novel already on page 128: 'A good story has never been written by life, but by an imaginative and creative writer'. Naturally, a Swiss finds pleasure in the countless realistic descriptions of his homeland: recycling, apples, Wettsteinbrücke in Basel, the restaurant in Zug, the furniture shop parking lot in Aubonne, ... Kudos to the author!"
M.B., Zurich.
… A reader at a rainy place:
"... Anyway, when it's raining outside, it's cozier to read and walk in other worlds than the one out here. It's nice how you sketch what it looks like there and the beautiful introductory illustrations give us some ideas. You seem to have a lot of vastness around you, but also places and people to hang one's heart on. Sometimes I think you yourself are one of the players in your books*, moving through the world and experiencing strange stories."
R.K., Berlin.
* As for "you yourself are one of the players" — the author insists to respond: I am not ... I am just a story teller.
© 2024 by Peter de Chamier
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