★ This book has won the 2025 “Big Book” Award in the fiction category—a work that, set between the stars and the gallows, probes whether humanity can bear the weight of its own radiance.
★ The book has been awarded the “Text” category prize at the 14th “Made in Russia” Awards. (The annual “Made in Russia” Awards, established by Snob magazine, honor outstanding achievements by Russian scientists, cultural figures, and business leaders; the “Text” category recognizes the most influential literary works and narrative podcast series published throughout the year.) The award ceremony is hosted by Snob magazine.
★ A philosophical science fiction novel—or, as it might be called, a “thought-experiment novel”—this work carries on the tradition of the Strugatsky brothers, blending philosophical sci-fi with suspense. It continues the “idea-driven” tradition of Soviet science fiction while redefining the boundaries of “hard sci-fi” through the integration of modern psychology (Jung’s collective unconscious) and mystical elements.
★ The book does not offer simple answers; instead, it creates a stage for intellectual inquiry, inviting readers to ponder together humanity’s ultimate questions—much like Bruegel’s eponymous painting, which leaves endless room for interpretation.
★ With its grand, soul-stirring prose and profound depth of meaning, this work evokes the classics of Soviet science fiction—stories that journey through the cosmic shadows in search of the path to the stars.
★ Author Eduard Verkin is a multiple winner of prestigious Russian literary awards, including the “Big Book” Prize and the “Yasnaya Polyana” Prize! His works have been translated into German, Polish, French, Finnish, Czech, Serbian, Arabic, Japanese, and several other languages.

In a utopian future, humanity has overcome war, disease, hunger, and aging—but still faces unresolved questions about the meaning of existence, the limits of knowledge, and the price we pay for it. Yan, a nature-reserve ranger, unexpectedly finds himself serving on a grand jury tasked with deciding the fate of synchronic physics—a field of science that conducts dangerous experiments on the human body in the quest to conquer the universe. But where, exactly, lies the boundary of progress? Once that boundary is crossed, progress can no longer justify its means.

Around the 24th century, thanks to advances in science and technology, humanity has entered an era of “surface utopia”: disease, aging, war, and famine have been conquered; material scarcity is addressed through “replicators”; and interstellar travel is achieved via “necroteleportation” (by undergoing multiple clinical deaths). Numerous exoplanets have been discovered and developed, while parts of Earth have been converted into nature reserves. Yet civilization has fallen into a state of spiritual stagnation, urgently in need of a breakthrough. The Tsiolkovsky Institute is developing a cutting-edge field of science called “synchronic physics” (a tool that, in the future, may endow humanity with superhuman abilities: freely altering one’s appearance, surviving in oxygen-free environments, instantly reaching any location without undergoing multiple “deaths,” and predicting the future by simulating ideal states). Synchronic physics aims to “tame entropy,” synchronize human consciousness with the cosmos, and grant humanity near-divine powers—such as shape-shifting and precognition. However, its theoretical foundations are intertwined with esoteric disciplines like tarot and astrology, and for a century and a half, no breakthroughs or new results have been achieved. Vast societal resources have been diverted toward this endeavor, sparking intense controversy.
The protagonist, Thomas Young, an ordinary rescue worker in an Earth nature reserve, is “randomly selected” to join the “Grand Jury” tasked with deciding the fate of synchronic physics. The jury is scheduled to convene on Regan, a planet that hosts a branch of the Synchronic Physics Institute, where an “Yahn drive” is being constructed—a device that exists simultaneously in multiple dimensions and whose operation is directly linked to Jungian theory. Countless books have been transported there. The jury must vote on whether to approve a collective consciousness-experience experiment that would project participants into the future. This experiment could lead to a breakthrough—or it could result in the dissipation of consciousness. While jury members typically include leading figures from the scientific community, scientists, and philosophers, what qualifies Young to bear the weight of the world’s fate? Despite his family’s opposition, he embarks on the journey. Traveling aboard a cargo starship to the remote planet Regan, Young meets two other jury members along the way: Maria, a librarian, and Whistler, a synchronic physicist. Together, the three represent three distinct perspectives: “ordinary citizens,” “guardians of knowledge,” and “scientific elites.” At the Synchronic Physics Institute on Regan, they wait for the other jurors, and during the long wait, they engage in extensive philosophical conversations, stroll through the institute, and reflect in introspective monologues. It is through these dialogues that the author conveys the novel’s central ideas and themes: the future of humanity, the meaning of life, the paths we choose, the goals we pursue, the price humanity pays for progress, the purpose of evolution, and the quest for immortality as the ultimate goal. The novel does not reveal the outcome of the vote; instead, it focuses on Young—the “magpie on the gallows”—and on his profound new insights into civilization, life, and personal responsibility after everything he has experienced. Like Bruegel’s painting, the novel leaves endless room for interpretation.
The title of the book is inspired by the eponymous painting by the 16th-century Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting depicts a magpie perched atop a rural gallows against a backdrop of serene pastoral scenery. The “magpie” symbolizes chatter, alertness, and vitality, while the “gallows” stand for death, authority, and repression. Placed side by side, these two images form a powerful metaphor: even amid harsh order or dire circumstances, there are observers, rebels, or voices of hope that refuse to be silenced. Even in a utopian future (a pastoral landscape), humanity still faces an ultimate “gallows”—the inexorable increase of entropy in the universe, the paradoxes of evolution, and the existential emptiness of meaning. The ordinary protagonist, Thomas Young, like that “magpie,” stands atop the grand “gallows” of the Grand Jury, which holds the fate of civilization in its hands, observing, questioning, and ultimately participating in the decision from his humble perspective. Synchronic physics may be both a source of salvation (the magpie) and a self-destructive mechanism for civilization (the gallows).
Is there a place for us in the universe? Is the universe waiting for us? Are we capable of shouldering the burden of exploring the cosmos? To further expand into the Milky Way, should we “accelerate” the evolution of the human brain? And if evolution proceeds, can humanity still be called human? In this novel, Edward Virkin explores themes such as the justification for conducting global experiments on humanity, the phenomenon of overcoming aging, and the evolving nature of space missions, infusing the science-fiction narrative with the depth and contemplative intensity of contemporary psychological prose. This work is sweeping in scope, deeply moving, and rich in meaning, evoking the classics of Soviet science fiction—those tales that plunge into the cosmic haze and seek the path of starlight.

[Author] Eduard Virkin, born in 1975 in Vorkuta, is the son of a miner and a pharmacist. In 1993, he entered the History Department of Syktyvkar State University and later simultaneously enrolled in the university’s Law Department. After graduating in 1998–1999, he worked as a lecturer in social sciences at a college in Vorkuta. It was during this period, amid feelings of confusion and uncertainty about life, that he decided to devote himself to literary creation. In 2003, with the recommendation of a local writers’ organization, he joined the Advanced Literary Workshop at the Gorky Literary Institute. He has written short stories, novellas, and children’s books. He enjoys motorcycling and fishing, though he currently has little time for these hobbies, as his literary work consumes most of his energy. He is a member of the Russian Writers’ Union, married, and has two sons.
Eduard Virkin’s works have been translated into many languages, including German, Polish, French, Finnish, Czech, Serbian, Arabic, and Japanese! Virkin has been shortlisted for and won several major Russian literary awards, including the Yasnaya Polyana Prize, the Big Book Award, the Bookworm Prize, the New Horizon Prize, and the Fate’s Dream Prize. His works are often compared to classics of world literature: for example, “Sakhalin Island” is seen as an echo of Chekhov’s eponymous work, while his young adult novels are regarded as comparable to the works of Krapivin and Bradbury.
The book “Autumn Sunshine” has been included on the International Board on Books for Young People’s Honour List. Eduard Virkin also publishes under the pen name Max Ostrogin, under which he has released several science fiction works. One of his most famous novels, “The Cloud Legion,” was first published in 2012 and has since gone through eight reprints, becoming a phenomenon that has won multiple awards and been incorporated into school textbooks on Russian literature. His novella “Chap” won the 2017 New Horizon Science Fiction Award. His post-apocalyptic novel “Sakhalin Island,” published in 2018, has received widespread acclaim, and Fantasy World magazine named it “Novel of the Year.” In 2023, his two-volume novella “Snark Snark,” totaling 1,500 pages, was shortlisted for the Big Book Award and placed third in the readers’ vote. In 2025, his new work “The Magpie on the Gallows” won the 2025 Big Book Award in the fiction category.