A six-volume book series ‘Shahnamak’ for teenagers by Arman Arian will be unveiled at the Book City main branch in Tehran on August 5.
Published by Chekkeh publishing house, the collection is recreated based on the ‘Shahnameh’ (Book of Kings) a long epic poem written by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi, between 977 and 1010 AD, Mehr News Agency reported.
Arian is one of the well-known fantasy writers, best known for his trilogy, ‘Persians and I’, the first modern Iranian fantasy work based on Persian mythology and history that won national and international awards.
“Today’s world is abundant with western and eastern heroes as found in popular video games and stories like ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Game of Thrones,’ and thus ancient Iranian mythology is quite forgotten. Therefore, it is important to revive our ancient mythical heroes,” he says.
‘The Beginning of Mythical Stories; Myth 1 King Keyumars’ (in the Shahnameh he appears as the first king in the world), is the first volume. The second is ‘Victory Over Demons; Myth 2 King Hushang’ (the second king to rule the world), and the third, ‘Riding Demons; Myth 3 Tahmuras Diveband’ (the third king who used magic to subdue demons and made them his slave).
‘The Tyrant Comes; Myth 4 King Jamshid’ (the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian Dynasty) and ‘The Tale of the Snakes; Myth 5 Zahhak’ (evil figure in Iranian mythology, evident in ancient Iranian folklore as Azi Dahaka) are the fourth and fifth volumes respectively.
The last volume is titled ‘The First Revolution in History; Myth 6 Freydun’ (son of Abtin, one of the descendants of Jamshid, who together with Kave, revolted against the tyrannical king, Zahhak).
Background
While Arian, 34, is known as children’s and young adults fantasy writer, he doesn’t limit his genre to fantasy. His books are well received by a cross-section of readers from all age groups.
His writings are inspired by a rich academic background in cinema studies with extensive knowledge of myths, religions and history.
“We need to look back to our cultural heritage to survive in the intricate modern life,” said the young author in an interview with Borna News Agency. His objective “is to dig into ancient Iranian literature, history, mythical and epical stories.”
Besides writing, he conducts workshops on scenario writing at the Iran National Foundation of Computer Games. He held the ‘Myths and Legends’ workshop in 2009 and was on the jury of the Third Tehran International Digital Arts Festival (2009), the First International Tehran Game Expo and Festival (2011) and the first ‘NoGhalam’ (New Pen) amateur story writing competition in 2009.
He is the youngest winner of the annual ‘The Book of The Year of Iran’ award. In addition to several national awards, he received the honorary diploma at the 31st IBBY World Congress in Copenhagen in Denmark (2008).
Arian’s earlier books include the trilogy of ‘Ash Vaz Dang Heh’ (2013-2014), ‘ Shadowy Light’ (2014), the trilogy ‘The First Night Story’ (2013), ‘The Book of Spell’ (2011), ‘ The Nightmare of the Dark Garden’ (2011),’ The Encyclopedia of ‘Avesta’s Dramatic Elements’ (2011), and the well-known trilogy ‘Persians and I’ (2004-2006), which became the best-selling work at the 19th Tehran International Book Fair, 2006.
