Romanian Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery and Stories That Blur the Boundaries of Reality
📖 About Teodora Matei
Teodora Matei is a Romanian author whose writing moves comfortably between fantasy, science fiction, mystery, crime fiction and romance. Born in Ploiești in 1971, she began publishing fiction in 2012, gradually building a varied body of work that demonstrates her interest in both the extraordinary and the deeply human.
Her literary debut came with Stăpânul castelului, initially published in instalments in the Romanian online magazine Nautilus in 2012. The story later became the first volume of the Povești la castel trilogy. In 2015, she made her book-length debut with Omul-fluture, written in collaboration with Lucian Dragoș Bogdan.
Over the years, Matei has contributed to numerous Romanian literary magazines and anthologies. She has also been involved in the Romanian speculative fiction community through her editorial work, including Galaxia 42 and Tritonic’s science fiction, fantasy and horror publishing programme.
What makes her particularly interesting to me is the variety of genres she explores. Her books range from mysterious castles and supernatural encounters to detective investigations, speculative futures and stories about relationships. Despite these differences, her fiction often returns to the same essential questions: what motivates people, how their choices shape their lives and how much of the world around them they truly understand.
📚 Books and Series
Teodora Matei has written both standalone works and interconnected stories, sometimes independently and sometimes in collaboration with other Romanian authors.
🏰 Povești la castel
The Povești la castel trilogy is an excellent introduction to her atmospheric fantasy. Beginning with Stăpânul castelului, the series explores the lives of people connected to a mysterious castle, blending unusual events with recognisable human emotions.
The trilogy consists of Stăpânul castelului (2016), O noapte la castel (2018) and Inima castelului (2020). All three were subsequently collected in the omnibus edition Povești la castel (2022).
Rather than relying exclusively on spectacular magical events, these stories explore the people who inhabit or encounter the castle, their histories and the consequences of their decisions.
🦋 Omul-fluture
Written with Lucian Dragoș Bogdan, this speculative fiction trilogy includes Omul-fluture (2015), Maya (2016) and Sindromul Charlotte (2017).
The collaboration represents another side of Matei’s writing, moving into science fiction and exploring imaginative possibilities beyond the familiar world.
🔎 Crime and Mystery Fiction
Matei has also developed a substantial interest in crime fiction. Her books featuring Commissioner Anton Iordan include În mintea comisarului (2017), Lumânări vii (2018) and Afaceri de familie (2020).
These works demonstrate her ability to move from supernatural mysteries to investigations grounded in human behaviour, secrets and moral complexity.
📕 Other Notable Works
Her other publications include Cel-ce-simte (2016), Tot timpul din lume (2017), Aripile tatălui (2017), Un străin în Regatul Assert (2018, with Lucian Dragoș Bogdan), Himere (2021) and Între vulturi și oameni (2023).
Her bibliography also includes short fiction, poetry, contributions to collective volumes and editorial collaborations. This versatility makes her an author worth exploring beyond any single genre.
✨ What Makes Teodora Matei’s Stories Special?
One of the qualities I appreciate in speculative fiction is the ability to make an extraordinary situation feel entirely natural. A convincing supernatural story does not necessarily need elaborate explanations or complicated magical systems. Sometimes, a carefully constructed atmosphere and believable characters are enough to make the impossible seem strangely plausible.
That is something I particularly enjoyed in Teodora Matei’s writing. Her stories can create a sense of uncertainty without losing their emotional grounding. The reader is invited into a world where familiar places may conceal something unexpected, where appearances can be misleading and where the boundaries between reality and imagination are not always clearly defined.
Her interest in different genres also gives her considerable freedom as a storyteller. Mystery, fantasy, romance and crime fiction may seem like separate territories, but they share an essential fascination with people and the choices they make. Matei explores these possibilities through different settings and narrative approaches, allowing the human element to remain important even when the circumstances become extraordinary.
🦋 Teodora Matei on BookFairy
🏰 Stăpânul castelului (2016)
Povești la castel — Book 1
I read Stăpânul castelului in 2016, and it became one of those books that stayed with me long after I finished it.
What impressed me most was the combination of its mysterious atmosphere, compelling storytelling and carefully constructed ending. It reminded me of Mircea Eliade’s La țigănci, particularly in the way the seemingly familiar gradually becomes unsettling and the distinction between reality and the inexplicable begins to disappear.
I loved the entire experience, from the atmosphere to the unfolding mystery and its conclusion. Knowing that this was only the first volume of a trilogy made the experience even more intriguing.
📖 Where to Start with Teodora Matei
For readers who enjoy atmospheric fantasy, supernatural mysteries and stories in which reality is not quite what it seems, I would recommend beginning with Stăpânul castelului. It offers an engaging introduction to Matei’s storytelling and opens the door to the wider Povești la castel trilogy.
Readers who prefer science fiction might be more interested in Omul-fluture, particularly if they enjoy collaborative speculative fiction and imaginative concepts. Meanwhile, those drawn to crime novels and investigations can explore the books featuring Commissioner Anton Iordan.
With such a varied bibliography, there is more than one way to discover Teodora Matei. The best starting point depends on the kind of story you most enjoy.
❤️ My Favourite Reading Experience
For now, my favourite Teodora Matei reading experience remains Stăpânul castelului.
I have always loved stories that leave me questioning what is real and what might exist just beyond ordinary perception. There was something particularly satisfying about the way this novel developed its mystery and brought its different elements together.
The comparison with Eliade’s La țigănci is especially meaningful to me because both works evoke that unsettling sensation of stepping into a place where the familiar rules of reality no longer seem entirely reliable.
It is the kind of atmosphere I find difficult to resist, and Stăpânul castelului delivered it beautifully.
📚 Teodora Matei — Complete Bibliography
For a chronological guide to Teodora Matei’s novels, series, short fiction, poetry, collaborations, anthologies and collected editions, explore the separate Teodora Matei — Complete Bibliography page on BookFairy.