The novel “The Secret Brother” features alchemists and knights, witches and kings, heretics and the faithful dogs of St. Dominic. The Fourth Crusade, as is known, began from the island of Lido (Venice), but instead of landing in Egypt, the Venetians persuaded the knights to land under the walls of Constantinople. As a result, Constantinople fell. Against the backdrop of historical events, the tragic story of a certain monk Monyo develops, who grew up in the ancient castle of Procinta and considers his mistress a witch. Monyo's highest dream is the future salvation of the soul of the beautiful owner of the castle. The story “Black Climbers or Mikhail Tropinin’s Journey to the Kuril Islands” tells about many complex vicissitudes of Soviet literary life in the 70s of the last century. The story involves real people and describes real events.