The Debut Project

by Vanya Bagaev, Ilia Bagaev (Illustrator)

Every great invention needs a first victim.

Felix is a pacifist engineer whose inventions have a tendency to maim. Kolya is his long-suffering partner who'd rather not die for someone else's idealism. Together, they owe a very large debt to a very dangerous man, the kind who sends his bodyguard Dullard to do the talking... and Dullard doesn't talk much.

To survive, they'll need to pull off their first real engineering job, keep their friend Nina's tavern from going under, and avoid the attention of every criminal outfit in City N ( they will fail miserably).

Set in a fairy-tale anarcho-capitalist city, "The Debut Project" is a satirical novella in the tradition of Gogol and Guy heist comedy, body horror, and love letter to the kind of trouble only good intentions can cause.

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2026

About the author

Vanya Bagaev is a Russian-British writer of experimental and speculative fiction. He writes about weird characters in whimsical situations, employing a lot of unhinged dialogue, absurd, dark and dank humour, dreamlike sequences, hysterical surrealism, magical realism, sudden philosophical and psychological romps, stylised prose, often infused with poetry, witty comedy, poignant twists, Russianness, logic and lunacy, literary anarchy, magic degeneracy, and many other sublime matters. "Deleted Scenes from the Bestselling Utopian Novel" is his first novel. Vanya's other work is available on his website Nova Nevédoma.

Reviews

[Andrew Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult one to classify. Is it a fantasy? Science fiction? Adventure? You get a good idea what it is about from the accompanying blurb, so I will not detail aspects of the story. Given some of the language and content it is not aimed at a readership of young children. The plot and incidents are mostly predictable but that is not a bad thing in itself. The writing is good and that helps. As do the illustrations - top notch. Did I enjoy it? Overall, I have to say “yes” but I will read other offerings by the author before passing further judgement.
I received a review copy through the BookSirens system. My thanks to them and to the author. This is a totally independent review.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.