One of the best novels of Г. Л. Олди, written on the joint of alternative history, фэнтези and утопии-антиутопии, - foremost parable. Parable about Great Power and Little People, about that, how a blind conduct a blind, and that nothing new is - neither under a sun nor under a moon. But magicians and Russian empire of beginning of century? are gendarmes, whose official "profile" aethereal influences?! колдуны-каторжане?!However, Олди, as usual, does not search lungs ways - and intentionally complicate the task, that then gradually to go out the labyrinth of хитросплетений descendant their irrepressible fantasy.