SYMBOLION

Even if we never met in person, Viktor and I have remained “virtual” friends to this day. Today, I can no longer imagine that the novel would have been translated by someone else, who would have motivated me so much, and provided me with so many valuable insights for writing.

Viktor has many literary translations from Czech to English on his account; besides other things, he translated the Klingon dictionary. According to his own words, Klingon captured his attention the most with its warrior’s view of the world around him, which is also reflected in Klingon proverbs, for example. In this context, it is worth mentioning that Viktor has gone in for Japanese fencing – Katori Shintō-ryū – since 2006.

His other interest comes from the East as well – Taoism. Because individual translations of the fundamental Taoist canon, Tao-te-ťing, differ significantly (according to the understanding of concrete translator), Viktor created his own interpretation of Laa-c‘ words in the years 2008 – 2021, in which he got to the heart of the original embedded meanings, all based on a careful comparison of 70 English translations from Chinese, and a study of related literature. You can read the result in his e-book “O Tau a ctnosti” which can be downloaded for free at www.bonalingua.cz/tao

But Viktor did not stick to theory: together with the Predmostenzis society, he built the first Taoist path in the Czech Republic in 2020. It is meant for everyone, who wants to draw new energy in nature, take a break from regular worries, and also repeat basic principles of Taoism, just by the way.

I keep my fingers crossed for all these projects and greet Qapla‘! *

(*“wish  success” in Klingon)

You can read the translator Viktor Horák’s review of Symbolion HERE.