Stories That Travel Through Time and Place
Uncover hidden histories and unforgettable adventures.
Explore the BooksIn the Shadow of the Lost World
Deep in the legendary heights of Mount Roraima, where myths mingle with mist and gold‑filled rivers carve secrets into the earth, the Hazan and Costa families collide in a race for fortune, identity and survival. In In the Shadow of the Lost World, Ilko Minev transports readers into the heart of the Amazon’s darkest frontiers, where wild horses roam, diamonds glitter like whispers, and every life is measured by the jungle’s unforgiving rhythms.
As the 21st century dawns, Jews, Indigenous peoples and pioneers of every origin converge on Roraima’s remote terrain. When the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land ignites violent clashes with settlers, the families find themselves trapped between ancient loyalties and modern greed. The once‑quiet world becomes a battleground where survival is up for grabs and where the past echoes louder than any gunshot.
Here, Ilko weaves real history with fiction’s daring pulse. You’ll feel the roar of the rivers, the scrape of pick‑axes on solid rock, the thin breath of hope when all seems lost. In the Shadow of the Lost World is not just a story, it’s an adventure that demands to be lived. Are you ready to follow the river?
The Daughter of the Rivers
When the Amazon calls, even the most isolated lives are swept into its current. In The Daughter of the Rivers, young Maria Bonita is plucked from her rubber‑plantation home at just 16 and carried down the Purus River to Surara, where life is harsher than she ever imagined. With love for Adriano blooming amidst deadly outbreaks and the endless jungle, Maria is soon alone—mother to three children, cast into the garimpos (gold‑digging fields) under the brutal gaze of the forest.
Enter Oleg Hazan, a Bulgarian‑Jewish immigrant chasing fortune beneath the canopy. Their destinies intertwine in a world where survival means more than hope. It demands grit, culture, and identity. Meanwhile the Amazon itself watches: a melting‑pot of Indigenous, Portuguese, Northeastern Brazilian, Jewish, and Arab roots, as Minev so vividly describes.
Blending real history with fictional resonance, this novel immerses you in a world of rubber booms, gold rushes, and cross‑cultural dreams. It’s a story of resilience, reinvention, and the search for belonging in a place where rivers carry secrets and futures alike. Brace yourself for an unforgettable journey of struggle, transformation and the enduring power of story.
As Flowers Go
When Licco Hazan recounts his life story, you’re plunged into a world where history’s darkest moments collide with the untamed wilderness of the Amazon. Born into a proud Jewish family in Sofia, Bulgaria, Licco’s early life is shattered by an assassination attempt, the rise of fascism, and the chilling plan to deport Bulgaria’s 50,000 Jews during World War II.
Against all odds, Licco escapes a labor camp with the help of the unlikely ally Albert Goering, brother of the infamous Nazi leader and, in an astonishing twist of fate, winds up in the heart of the Amazon, in Brazil. There he meets Berta, the love of his life, and together they carve out a new existence in a land far from everything he once knew.
More than just a memoir, this novel blends real family testimony and little‑known historical facts into an unforgettable saga of survival, hope, and reinvention. With every page, you feel the heat of the jungle, the fear of captivity, and the fierce pull of freedom. Ilko Minev invites you to witness a life’s journey that proves how the human spirit endures even when the world falls apart.
