DL: Today, I’m joined by Vlad Puting, bestselling author of the Motherland Climax series of alternate history/spy thriller novels. On the fifth anniversary of Motherland Climax, we’ll be delving a bit more into the world he created, his inspirations, and aspirations, and a secret new project he’s working on dubbed a ‘special literary operation.’ Vlad, we’ve had our difficulties over the years, but it’s a pleasure to have you here.

VP: The pleasure is all yours, I’m sure.

DL: I’d say thank you for agreeing to this interview, but it was your agent who reached out to me and paid me a bunch of cash, so…yeah. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

VP: You’re welcome. I’m told you could use the money.

DL: Funny guy. For this interview, it’s best to get the obvious out of the way. Our altercation at Octocon in His Britannic Majesty’s city of Dublin a few years back led the media to speculate we were engaged in a feud. I’m happy to state quite clearly that what a certain author friend of yours, Hamish Skellington, reported as a fistfight, was merely a misunderstanding taken out of context. Would you agree?

VP: A lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinions of an ant.



Except from the Foreword of Motherland Climax written by Hamish Skellington (appears in the fifth anniversary special edition):

DL: Right… Moving on. So, we’re here today to discuss the fifth anniversary of Motherland Climax. A multiple million-selling novel featuring one of the literary world’s most applauded or vilified characters, Victor Petrov. If you were given the chance of going back and changing anything about the book or Victor Petrov, would you?

VP: No. It was a story that had to be told, and I am glad it resonated.

DL: Even those excessive and gratuitous battle scenes that have drawn outrage from groups like the Confederate Mothers Against Fictional Violence or the League of Britannic Mothers? Activist committees who condemn, what they refer to as, chauvinistic, and misogynistic themes in your works?

VP: I care little for the false outrage others feel over trivial non-issues. The fact they protest me at every book signing or speaking tour shows they perceive me as a threat. My message has been simple and well received by those it was meant for. That is the only thing that matters.

DL: And what is your message? If you were to explain it in the most basic of ways to a wider audience, what would it be?

VP: Read my book and find out.

DL: Oh, I have.

VP: Thank you for the royalties.

DL: You served with the Imperial Rus Army during the Battle of Moscow in 1998. Three months after that, you and several thousand officers and enlisted were purged and either arrested or went into exile on the Mad Tzar’s orders. There’s been speculation that you, a battle-hardened and decorated officer, were singled out due to reports of an inappropriate relationship with Tzarina Antionette. These rumours have been fuelled by a fictional version of her appearing in Motherland Climax and being coerced into marrying Victor Petrov. Care to make a statement?

VP: No comment.

DL: I thought the lion didn’t concern itself with the opinions of an ant.

VP: I have nothing to say on this matter.

DL: Fine. Let’s talk about what you refer to in your books as the Doctrine of Equality but which many interpret as a veiled hatred of modern liberal democracy. Most of your detractors see this as you promoting authoritarianism to a new generation. Do you believe democracy should be replaced with a new system of government—one more autocratic, paternalistic, and less inclined to stay within the bounds of the law?

VP: I believe the best man should rule his country as he sees fit.

DL: The best man… not the best woman? Or person?

VP: To each their own.

DL: Motherland Climax has certainly had an impact on a specific subset of (mostly) young men, as can be witnessed at any convention. Was that intentional, or just luck?

VP: I don’t believe in luck. I make my own destiny.

DL: Ok… how about the fictional political creed you mention throughout the series referred to as neo-Bolshevism? Your detractors continually point out that there’s very little of the actual dogma explained throughout the entire series. No explanation of the economic or social model of that system of government aside from a few vague references. The Victor Petrov character appears to utilise it purely to rally popular support, but if anything, it comes across that he’s only interested in his own power. Was that a deliberate decision on your part?

VP: Petrov does what needs to be done depending on the circumstances. He doesn’t have the time or luxury to sit down and debate it. He acts decisively and in the interests of his nation, as any true leader should.

DL: I’d like you to expand on that. Petrov doesn’t shy away from using military force as a political tool, but he also orchestrates high-level acts of espionage and destabilisation against nations he perceives as rivals, even though they’re not technically at war. Things like widespread disinformation campaigns, disruption of free and fair elections, eroding political and legal institutions, economic warfare, and so forth. Do you believe a civilised leader should engage in such practices? Doesn’t that blur the lines between war and peace?

VP: I never dreamed of entering politics, so I cannot answer that question. I merely imagined a character with a different outlook from what you would call the mainstream and allowed him free reign. If the Rus Empire never collapsed, in the right set of circumstances, there’s always the possibility I would have followed a different path and given you a different answer. We will never know.

DL: Vlad, from my perspective you’re being quite cryptic and vague. This is your five-year anniversary book tour of Motherland Climax. Your team asked me to host this interview. Is there anything you’re prepared to talk about without being so…evasive?

VP: Yes. I am working on a special literary operation.

DL: A special literary operation…what exactly is that? Like a new book?

VP: No. It involves a hundred thousand words and tells a new story set inside the world of Motherland Climax.

DL: That’s a book, Vlad.

VP: No. It is a special literary operation.

DL: Will it be printed in paper and available in digital format?

VP: Yes.

DL: Sounds like a book to me. Care to share any details?

VP: It is a special literary operation. Not a book.

DL: …

VP: …

DL: When can we expect this new book to land, Vlad?

VP: Nothing is landing! This is a special literary operation, not a book! This interview is over.

DL: Come on, you lion. I call a spade a spade. Why won’t you call a book a book? Unless there’s something fundamentally different about this special literary operation? I mean, from what you’ve described, it sounds exactly like a book.

VP: I will not waste my time with you, Larkin. I am leaving.

DL: Did I hurt your feelings?

VP: I refuse to be taunted by a washed-up author whose sole contribution to the literary world is writing about a pot-head Irish soldier with an itchy trigger finger.

DL: Not a Big Red fan then?

VP: This interview is over.

DL: I hope your book flops, you prick. Oh, sorry. I meant special literary operation. What a wanker. 



Motherland Climax by Vlad Puting (by Damien Larkin) out Tuesday 1st July 2025 exclusively on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Motherland-Climax-Vlad-Puting-Alternative-ebook/dp/B0F5QKSZBJ/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motherland-Climax-Vlad-Puting-Alternative-ebook/dp/B0F5QKSZBJ/