Book: Roman Papsuev “Marvelous Wonder” (Volumes 1 and 2)

I’ve been following Roman Papsuev’s wonderful world of “Old Rus’” almost since the first illustrations appeared, back when it wasn’t even a world yet—just the artist’s fresh take on well-known characters from Slavic folklore. I wrote more about this project earlier this year when I discussed the book “Tales of Old Rus’. Origins.”

By that time, however, Roman had already drawn, written, and released two additional volumes under the collective title “Marvelous Wonder” (Divo Chudnoye). I purchased both in mid-summer, devoured the first volume over a couple of evenings in July, and left the second one lying around, waiting for its time, all the way until September.

These are still art books, where the illustrations and high-quality printing are incredibly important. However, “Marvelous Wonder” already has some distinctions from the earlier books.

The very first volume, “Tales of Old Rus’. The Beginning”, was a pure art book, almost devoid of text. The second book, “Tales of Old Rus’. Origins”, as I mentioned earlier, reused many of the same illustrations, but Roman took the time to describe in detail how he created his characters, pointing out numerous details that one might easily overlook during a casual viewing. In this book, he also began to expand on the world in which his characters live. This turned out to be significantly more engaging than simply looking at the pictures.

Both volumes of “Marvelous Wonder” go even further. Firstly, these books can be considered a bestiary—an encyclopedia of various creatures in the world of Old Rus’. It’s no longer just about individual characters but about entire races with different subtypes and notable representatives. Secondly, there are significantly more completely new illustrations here, even for previously mentioned characters. And thirdly, the text is no longer just commentary from the artist-author. Instead, it is presented as the writings of the archivist of Kitezh-Grad, documenting the creatures inhabiting the world of Old Rus’. It feels like an old scholar sat down with library records and compiled a monumental work on who lives around us, complete with excerpts from various manuscripts describing encounters with these beings.

As in any respectable academic work, the information is now strictly structured. Each section focuses on a specific type of creature, whether they are Light (read: good) or Dark (read: evil). Of course, not everyone fits neatly into a black-and-white palette, but most do, as the lore divides the world into the children of Belobog (White God) and the beasts of Chernobog (Black God). You’re either with one side or the other—or undecided, like the monkey in the well-known joke (“whether with the smart or the beautiful”).

For each type of creature, the archivist first tells about their origins, then about their subtypes, and if they’re skilled in warfare, their military practices are also described.

The first volume covers sorcerers (both good-natured and ill-natured), their servants, terrifying kidnappers, treasure guardians, and concludes with khudas and bedaks (known to us from traditional folklore as imps and demons).

The second volume introduces us to giants of various kinds, shapeshifters (who, it turns out, also have numerous subtypes), as well as ghouls (upyri) and other undead creatures.

And that’s not all, because more books are in the works, promising to introduce us to other beings from this world—familiar yet so unfamiliar.

How does this all come across? I devoured the first volume over a few evenings, even though I was utterly exhausted from work. It was just so fascinating to read about all these creepy creatures and dark sorcery (there weren’t many good sorcerers; it was mostly about all kinds of vile monstrosities). Pure delight, as always.

With the second volume, my feelings were slightly different. At first, I couldn’t pinpoint why, but after a while, a few thoughts surfaced. The slightly reduced enthusiasm might be due to a bit more repetition. Yes, it’s now presented from the archivist’s perspective. Yes, there are many new, previously undescribed creatures. But at the same time, there are also those you’ve already seen across three books. Even the giants, while seemingly new, partially overlap with the heroes (bogatyrs) described in earlier volumes—not identical, but close. And Roman had already written extensively about ghouls (upyri) and werewolves (volkolaki) in his previous book. It’s not that it was less detailed or less interesting there—just different. So, there was less novelty this time, leading to a slightly different impression.

Moreover, as the world keeps expanding, it starts to feel a bit overcrowded—almost too many creatures per square kilometer (oops, I mean sazhen). Of course, there are neighboring worlds spilling creatures into this one, but still. It’ll be interesting to see how the author ties this entire bestiary together within a world that isn’t all that vast.

Don’t get me wrong—when I say “the second volume is worse,” I don’t mean it’s bad. The first one is simply better. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading both volumes.

Additionally, just a month ago, the first book featuring fiction set in this world was released. This expands the world further, making it feel even larger, more real, and hopefully more engaging. I’ve already started reading it, so expect a review soon.

My rating: 4.5/5 for both books combined. I still highly recommend them.