Tag: folklore

Book: German Shenderov, Sergey Tarasov “The Knówer: Bonds of Hell”

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The big discovery of last year for me was Ivan Belov’s Zastupa series; the third book came out just recently, and I’m going to read it as soon as it starts being sold in an ebook version. In my review I praised the first two books a lot, and someone wrote to me that in that case I absolutely had to read another one that came out in the same The Scariest Book series.

That was The Knówer: Bonds of Hell, co-authored by German Shenderov and Sergey Tarasov. Originally, German Shenderov had written only a short story, “Khryashchekhmyl,” which appeared in his short story collection back in 2022. But later he wrote two more stories about the same character, after which Sergey Tarasov joined the series, and together with Shenderov he finished the book—what has now become a novel in stories. And the original “Khryashchekhmyl” became only the first chapter of this book, changing its title to “Atonement.” And already as a novel, the book came out in 2025.

The recommendation—and then the blurb—won me over. The story is set mostly in 1965, in a small Belarusian village, where a local knówer lives and fights evil spirits. Folklore, and on Belarusian soil that’s native to me… I just couldn’t pass it by.

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Book: Arkady & Boris Strugatsky “Monday Starts on Saturday”

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Ah, it’s hard to write about such a classic, one that has been known to everyone for many decades. But I still decided to give it a try.

The thing is, Monday Starts on Saturday was the very first book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky that I ever read. And that was back in my distant childhood. I remember laughing out loud at some episodes, trying hard not to show it, since I had to read some of them in a clinic while waiting my turn for physiotherapy.

Since then, the book has retained a sense of eternal joy and a smile for me, and that is why in my adult years I was very afraid to reread the story: what if I perceived it completely differently, and those childhood impressions faded? Nevertheless, the second time I also enjoyed it, and now I have read it for the third time. But this time I had a specific goal — to think about what had changed in my feelings and perception of the story compared to childhood, and also after so many years separating the everyday life of the book’s characters from today’s realities.

The book tells about the work of a programmer in an institute of sorcery and magic. Nothing less. Complete with all the trappings of Soviet research institutes of the 1960s–70s.

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Book: Roman Papsuev, Vera Kamsha “The Battle for Lukomorye” (Book 2)

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I thought I would write about the second book of The Battles for Lukomorye a bit later, but then the media started saying that we need to talk more about the heroes of Russian fairy tales — about the likes of Dobrynya and Muromets. Well then, let’s write. Though in reality, the heroes were not nearly as noble as they appear in the tales.

I read the first part of this cycle a year ago and at that time also wrote down my thoughts about the book.

The Battle for Lukomorye is a fictional cycle set in the world of Tales of Old Rus’, which originally began as more of an art project by Roman Papsuev. The last time I thought it was a novel in two parts (since there was already word about plans for a second book). In fact, it turned out that the story does not end with the second volume.

I have already written about this world before, so I will not repeat myself in detail. In short, it is a world built on the motifs of Slavic fairy tales and folklore. The book The Battle for Lukomorye tells of events when the dark forces once again attempt to break into Rus’, while brave Rusichi (and other inhabitants of Belosvetie) strive to resist the followers of Chernobog, remembering how hard the struggle had been the last time, when only at great cost were they able to drive back the hordes of Koschei the Deathless.

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Book: Collection “Rescuers”

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It’s quite difficult to write about the “Rescuers” collection since this is not just a book but a project to help Ukraine, which is suffering from war. Nevertheless, I’ll still try.

After the war with Ukraine began, many Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes, many suffered, and many, unfortunately, died. Like other cities, for more than six months now, one of the most Russian-speaking cities of Ukraine, Kharkiv, has been subjected to daily bombings. And for me, Kharkiv has always been the capital of Ukrainian science fiction, because it was there that one of the most famous and most prestigious science fiction festivals — “Star Bridge” — was held for many years, organized by Kharkiv residents whom I deeply respect — writers Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky, better known to readers under the pseudonym Henry Lion Oldie.

It was Oldie who decided to publish the book “Rescuers,” a collection of Ukrainian science fiction of 2022. The title “Rescuers” has a double meaning. First of all, almost all works in the collection are somehow connected with those who help, who save. Secondly, the purpose of this collection is to help Ukraine fight; all money from the sale of this book “will go to help Ukrainians affected by the hostilities in the war unleashed by Russia.” This is the clear position of the authors.

But besides this noble purpose, I still wanted to get acquainted with what modern Ukrainian science fiction represents today, even if in short form. I’ve known and loved Oldie for a long time, but I don’t always have time to follow new and less well-known authors.

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Book: Roman Papsuev, Vera Kamsha “The Battle for Lukomorye” (Book 1)

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Well, the “Tales of Old Rus” project kept growing and evolving, transforming from a hobby into a remarkable universe with its own artbooks, lore, and bestiary. Naturally, the first fictional novel set in this world followed. “The Battle for Lukomorye” was originally planned as two books, with only the first part released so far and the second on its way. Since I’ve been immersing myself in the world of Old Rus quite actively this year, I read the first novel almost immediately after its release.

There is, however, some confusion regarding the authorship of the book. In many stores, it’s listed as having two primary authors: the universe’s creator, Roman Papsuev, and the well-known writer Vera Kamsha. Yet, the book itself also credits three additional writers: Tatyana Andrushchenko, Alexandra Zlotnitskaya, and Elena Tolokonnikova. It’s impossible to discern who contributed what. The book is presented as a collection of novellas, but no individual authors are credited for specific sections. Whether they collaborated on everything together or each worked on separate parts remains unclear—for now, the story doesn’t say.

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Book: Leonid Solovyov “The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin”

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I can’t quite recall when I first heard (or read) the name of Hodja Nasreddin. However, I can definitely say that his most famous mention is the parable of the talking donkey. In this story, Hodja Nasreddin promises a padishah that he will teach his donkey to speak like a human in 20, 30, or even 40 years (the timeline varies depending on the version). He then points out that within such a timeframe, either the donkey, Hodja Nasreddin himself, or even the padishah might die, making the whole process of teaching the donkey unnecessary.

Where did I first encounter all this? I honestly don’t remember! But the name of this witty and resourceful wanderer from the East has become universally known. So, I finally decided to read the most famous literary work about him, translated into numerous languages worldwide—Leonid Solovyov’s two-part series, The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin.

But first, let’s start with the figure of Hodja Nasreddin himself. To this day, it’s uncertain whether such a person truly existed, but parables and anecdotes about this character began appearing around the 13th century. They spread across Central Asia and the Middle East and became part of the folklore in some Caucasian, Balkan, and Mediterranean countries. There are even several places claimed to be Hodja Nasreddin’s burial site, the most famous of which is a tomb in the city of Akşehir, Turkey.

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

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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.

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Uladzimir Karatkevich “King Stakh’s Wild Hunt”

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It just so happens that I had never read any works by Vladimir Korotkevich (Uladzimir Karatkevich, if translated from Belarusian), even though my wife really enjoys his writing. I had been planning to for a long time, but I finally decided to start my acquaintance with the relatively short novella King Stakh’s Wild Hunt.

The novella tells the story of the main character, a collector of Belarusian folklore, who travels to distant marshy areas to find local folklore among the people. He’s kind of like Shurik from a famous Soviet film, but from an earlier time and in Belarus, not the Caucasus.

Luck smiles upon him, and he quickly learns about the legend of the Wild Hunt of King Stakh—phantom hunters who torment all the descendants of an ancient noble family. Since the last descendant is a lovely young woman, the main character decides to investigate the situation and protect the innocent victim. It’s a detective story with a blend of Belarusian motifs and constant reflections on the place of ordinary people in history. Initially, the narrative progresses slowly and measuredly, but after about a third, the pace changes, and events start to unfold more and more rapidly.

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Neil Gaiman “American Gods”

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The novel American Gods had been on my radar for a long time; the synopsis seemed intriguing. But for some reason, I never got around to reading it. Then, out of the blue, the Americans started adapting it into a TV series, and the book began getting advertised everywhere again. Several acquaintances read it, my wife too… so I had no choice.

I read the novel fairly quickly but took a long time to gather my thoughts to write a detailed opinion. I rated it right away, but as to why—that required some reflection.

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