Faded souls

In the early 19^th century, in a village near Mount Gučevo in western Serbia, the fates of a young man and an unconventional priest become entwined. The young man awakens to a chilling reality, trapped between life and death in the village graveyard, where restless souls—forgotten by the living—linger before fading into oblivion. Meanwhile, the priest confronts a terrifying truth: he must tread deeply into the forbidden and do what is right. As the secrets of the past unravel, both men realize that death is merely a prelude, and something far more sinister may be lurking beyond.

Mladen Jakovljević, born in 1975 in Novi Sad, Serbia, is a full professor at the University in Kosovska Mitrovica, specializing in English Language and Literature. His PhD dissertation, “Parallel Worlds: Postmodern Fiction’s Affinity for Fantastic and Science Fiction Literature,” focused on alternate realities in the works of Philip K. Dick, Thomas Pynchon, and William Gibson. Jakovljević is a board member of Matica Srpska’s Literature and Language Department, a renowned Serbian institution. His academic research is focused on science fiction, fantasy, and gothic literature. He translated into Serbian the medieval English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the medieval poem Sir Orfeo, and works of fiction by Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Roger Zelazny. As an author, Jakovljević has written three novels: The Twilight Gorge (2014), Faded Souls (2019), and Upon My Return (2021). His fiction explores themes of fate, memory, and death, navigating distorted realities. Faded Souls and Upon My Return delve into the aftermath of loss and the search for solace amidst the turmoil, intertwining themes of magic, spirituality, and tradition.