Synopsis: Koschei the Deathless is to Russian
folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing,
evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through
story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through
the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the
legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great
developments of Russian history in the twentieth century.
Deathless, however, is no dry,
historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms
from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his
eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests,
secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical
history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death,
which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Romance
Recommended for: fans of Game of Thrones, Grisha Trilogy
My thoughts:
“Magic does that. It wastes you away.
Once it grips you by the ear, the real world gets quieter and quieter, until
you can hardly hear it at all.”
I
found out about this book on my never-ending quest in search for other books
with the same vibe as The Grisha Trilogy,
one of my favorite series. Since a lot of people mentioned it and made
parallels between them, I said I might as well give it a shot.
“You will always fall in love, and it
will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast.”
The
world-building was another thing that had me wide-eyed most of the time. A
country of life? Another of death? An ongoing war between those two? Houses
made of skin and flesh and bone and hair. Talking horses. Imps. Firebirds.
There was literally everything! Combine all the magical yet strange wonders of
a place like that with the dead, mournful, cold atmosphere of the Leningrad
city trapped in a time when living is a luxury and you get an amazingly
captivating universe where nothing is as it seems.
And
speaking of the Tsar of Life, he's the epitome of all things evil and yet I
still adored him. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever besides his
desperate love for Marya. He makes The Darkling from the Grisha Trilogy look like a lost puppy, for he is flawed, selfish,
unapologetic and goddamn compelling. His love for Marya was so heartbreaking
and his whole life and story just down-right sad. Imagine being ancient and
alone, always losing your wife to a fool once in a few years, just because the
story of your life repeated itself until the world ended and you have no way of
stopping the betrayal of your lost one. Well, it definitely changed my
perception about meant to be situations.
Then
there's Ivan, whom I liked but I wasn't really a fan of. Then the side
characters: the terrifying and yet funny Baba Yaga; Viy, the Tsar of Death, the
true antagonist (at least in my eyes) in the book; Marya's friends -- they were
all such mysterious and lovely creatures. I honestly didn't know how the story
would end, because every character slipped up on the evil side, so I was always
at the edge of my seat, guessing and wondering if the villains would get some
closure after all. Despite my worries. the ending was satisfying and fitting to
the question between Marya and Koschei: who is to rule?
And
holy damn, what a sorrowful story within a story. Sometimes disturbing, Deathless gave me shivers and I still
chose to continue reading it. It was equally terryfing as it was fascinating.
“You will always fall in love, and it
will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast.”
I
won't say a lot about the plot, as I sometimes believe I didn't even fully
understand it, but I'll say a few things about the overall impressions I had.
Deathless is outstanding when it comes to the
writing style. I think it's the first time when I can say that a book has
lyrical prose. The metaphors, the repetitions, the magical words. At first,
they were a bit too much, but as I delved deeper into the story, I grew to love
them. They reminded me of the Shatter Me
style, but in reality they're a hundred times more complex and captivating than
anything I've read before. They suited the world perfectly.
“Life consumes everything and Death
never sleeps, and between them the world moves.”
The
world-building was another thing that had me wide-eyed most of the time. A
country of life? Another of death? An ongoing war between those two? Houses
made of skin and flesh and bone and hair. Talking horses. Imps. Firebirds.
There was literally everything! Combine all the magical yet strange wonders of
a place like that with the dead, mournful, cold atmosphere of the Leningrad
city trapped in a time when living is a luxury and you get an amazingly
captivating universe where nothing is as it seems.
Nonetheless,
the story isn't light. It's complicated, dark, twisted and deliciously
seductive. And I don't think it's YA either, because there are times when
violence and explicit content are the main emphasis in the world Valente
created. I have to confess I needed several breaks, because I felt my mind was
going to explode from the confusing feelings and theories and thoughts. I was
left reeling in shock, deeply disturbed and somewhat constantly scared. No
question asked, this book was a complete mind-fuck. I mean it's the first time
a book gave me shivers! *shudders*
“When I say forever,” Koschei whispered,
“I mean until the black death of the world. An Ivan means just the present
moment, the flickering light of it, in a green field, his mouth on yours. He
means the stretching of that moment. But forever isn’t bright; it isn’t like that.
Forever is cold and hard and final.”
But
the best thing of all was the characters. The main character, Marya Morevna, is
a mistress of the devil herself and she was such an ass-kicking heroine I
wanted to applaud her at her very step. She wasn't like that from the
beginning, oh no, but she slowly grew into such a fierce and determined leader,
a manipulative lover and finally a worthy queen to Koschei the Deathless. Sure,
she was often infuriating, stubborn and impulsive, but I learned to trust her.
And
speaking of the Tsar of Life, he's the epitome of all things evil and yet I
still adored him. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever besides his
desperate love for Marya. He makes The Darkling from the Grisha Trilogy look like a lost puppy, for he is flawed, selfish,
unapologetic and goddamn compelling. His love for Marya was so heartbreaking
and his whole life and story just down-right sad. Imagine being ancient and
alone, always losing your wife to a fool once in a few years, just because the
story of your life repeated itself until the world ended and you have no way of
stopping the betrayal of your lost one. Well, it definitely changed my
perception about meant to be situations.
“How I adore you, Marya. How well I
chose. Scold me; deny me. Tell me you want what you want and damn me forever.
But don’t leave me.”
Then
there's Ivan, whom I liked but I wasn't really a fan of. Then the side
characters: the terrifying and yet funny Baba Yaga; Viy, the Tsar of Death, the
true antagonist (at least in my eyes) in the book; Marya's friends -- they were
all such mysterious and lovely creatures. I honestly didn't know how the story
would end, because every character slipped up on the evil side, so I was always
at the edge of my seat, guessing and wondering if the villains would get some
closure after all. Despite my worries. the ending was satisfying and fitting to
the question between Marya and Koschei: who is to rule?
“Koschei turned, gripped Marya’s chin,
and kissed her—not on the cheek, not chastely or unchastely, but greedily, with
his whole, hard mouth, cold, biting, knowing. He ate up her breath in the kiss.
Marya felt he would swallow her whole.”
With
this book, I fell in love with Russian folklore. With this book, I learned to
question the power of free-will until the very last word. And with this book, I
learned that life can be as lethal as death. Deathless is unique, powerful and an emotional rollercoaster,
unlike anything I've ever read before. If you want a wild fantasy with villains
you can love, this book will blow away your expectations.
“After love, no one is what they were
before.”
ENJOY! ©
I think I need to add this to my read list. Catherynne Valente is such a talented writer!
You should definitely read this! It's unique and fascinating :)