Mouse


Author
Ivan Philippov

Format
Novel, 2023
345 pp

Genre
Zombie apocalypse, horror, action, survival story
Title
Mouse

Aesthetics
Apocalyptic, survivalist, tense, high-paced

References
The Last of Us, Craig Mazin, 2023
The Walking Dead, Frank Darabont, 2010-2022
28 Days Later, Danny Boyle, 2002

Sales points
Zombie apocalypse in an original setting
Novel banned in Russia
Pitch
After a lab experiment to make Putin immortal goes wrong, a deadly virus is unleashed on Moscow. The city of 12 million is quickly overrun, leaving few survivors. Two brothers, a prison guard and her prisoner, and a theatre student dressed as a pink mouse accompanied by a migrant worker fight for their lives as they navigate the infected city.

Synopsis
In 2020, an infected mouse escapes from the Institute of Functional Immortality, where technology for Putin's immortality is being developed. This results in a devastating zombie apocalypse that sweeps through Moscow, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death. Millions of people die, becoming zombies. The infected have heightened senses of hearing and smell, but their vision and motor skills are severely impaired, which makes an escape possible, if far from easy.
The story follows three different groups of characters: Seva (15) and Kostya (10), two brothers trapped in their apartment, their parents killed, looking for a way to get out of town; Asya, a girl dressed in a full-length costume of a pink mouse, who is also trying to escape the city and return to her hometown, finding romance along the way against all odds; and the 80-year-old doctor of biological sciences, Lavr, and his prison guard, Tonya, stuck in a paddy outside the prison, where Lavr is kept on charges of treason.
The three groups set off from different parts of town heading in the same direction as they try to escape the city. The story unfolds through the three parallel narratives, each group facing various dangers and challenges. As we follow their journeys through devastated Moscow, they will get to visit the Pushkin museum, escape from a deranged cannibal, walk through the metro tunnels, climb the rooftops and hijack a train. Eventually, they all converge in the final chapter, where their paths cross and their fates are intertwined.
The novel ultimately explores the themes of survival, hope, and human connection in the face of adversity, all while providing a sharp social critique of contemporary politics through its satirical depiction of the brutal deaths of well-known political figures.
About the author
Ivan Phillipov is a Georgia-based writer, journalist, film executive and co-host of a popular podcast. For the past 15 years Ivan worked with Alexander Rodnyansky as a creative executive in his US film company AR Content. As a journalist Ivan Philippov wrote for many Moscow-based publications, including Forbes, GQ and Esquire. Leaving Russia in the first weeks of war for Tbilisi, he now writes for independent Russian media Holod and his op-eds were published in The Guardian in 2022 and 2023.