Markiyan Prokhasko is a Ukrainian writer, blogger, and journalist. Born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Markiyan has been living in Lviv since childhood. He studied history and journalism at the Ukrainian Catholic University. He is interested in urban topics and the world. Author of the prose book The Unstoppable Power of Water (2018), in which he combined the themes of the city, the historicity, and the atmosphere of the cities of Eastern Europe. He worked in the Lviv media Your City. He was published in the media Zbruc, Kunsht, The Ukrainians, Ukrainian Pravda, The Day, Zaxid.net, Galician Correspondent, Kurs, Media Krytyka, Ukrainian Journal, Expedition XXI, and others. Markiyan writes about culture, science, history, and the world. Author of short stories in almanacs. In the fall of 2018, with the support of sponsors, Markiyan organized an expedition to the Ukrainian research station Akademik Vernadsky in Antarctica (Vernadsky Research Base). The trip took place in 2019. At the beginning of 2022, the book A Dream About Antarctica was published in the Old Lion Publishing House. The author intertwines the story of his journey with the historical detective story, research on climate change, the legal status of a no man's continent, and stories about scientists and their work. Markiyan joined the creation of an audio series about a trip to Antarctica from Megogo. He is a speaker at TEDx, CreativeMornings, Responsible Talks, etc. Participant of the literary residence in Buchach in 2021. Since 2018, he has been blogging about Antarctica, in particular on his site NoPolarBears.aq
After sticking to my end-of-the-year resolution to tackle unfinished tasks, I am finally done with this giant book.
I鈥檓 left with a mix of thoughts鈥擨 absolutely loved exploring the Antarctic and found the author's journey super inspiring. That said, as I went along, I noticed some parts felt repetitive or overly detailed; honestly, it could have been trimmed down by 20-30%. I think the writing style could have been a bit more engaging and profound, too, which took away from the experience a little.
Still, I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy adventures, nature, and stories of people making the impossible possible. 馃椈