Sedia, Ekaterina: The Secret History of Moscow
Writer: Ekaterina Sedia
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 303
The premise: Galina has always been the crazy one of the family; she's even been hospitalized for schizophrenia. So when she sees her sister Masha turn into a jackdaw and fly away, she doesn't tell anyone. That is until she meets a cop who's investigating a string of disappearances around Moscow and saw the very same thing himself. Together they seek out answers, and discover that there's more to the city of Russia than meets the eye. A secret city lies just beneath, a city of magic, exiled deities and fairytale creatures, where the missing become immortal. And unfortunately, the two different Moscows are starting to collide.
My Rating
Give It Away: it's a promising debut that promises to put Ekaterina Sedia in the same ranks as Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, and Catherynne Valente, if it hasn't put her there yet. It's not a book I'll keep and cherish forever, but I liked enough of what I read that I want to read more of Sedia's work. Sedia strikes me as the kind of writer who's going grow and improve with each story and book she writes, and I look forward to reading her other projects. The Secret History of Moscow is definitely DIFFERENT as far as urban fantasies go, and fans of de Lint and Gaiman should certainly check this out. Me, I'm just pleased Sedia's ignited my curiosity to learn more about Russia, Moscow, and its history and myth, and that's a powerful thing to pull off. A good read, though a bit slow, but with lots of promise, especially in the prose.
The full review, which does include spoilers, may be found in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Ekaterina Sedia's THE SECRET HISTORY OF MOSCOW
Happy Reading! :)