About this title: Every city contains secret places. Moscow in the tumultuous 1990s is no different, its citizens seeking safety in a world below the streets - a dark, cavernous world of magic, weeping trees, and albino jackdaws, where exiled pagan deities and faerytale creatures whisper strange tales to those who would listen. Galina is a young woman caught, like ...
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Description: Good. 0809572230 X-LIBRARY Soft cover book with some stamps/stickers. Book is in very good reading condition. Shop & Save With US. read more
Description: Good. 0809572230 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Prime Books, Holicong, PA
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780809572236ISBN:0809572230
Description: Minor shelf wear, appears unread. Neil Gaiman compares this urban fantasy of Moscow to his own fantastic vision of London in "Nev e rwhere"... read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Prime Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780809572236ISBN:0809572230
Description: BRAND NEW. No Jacket. BRAND NEW: Never used. Paperback. PERFECT, GIFT QUALITY, NO FLAWS. B35. Please Note; We donate 10% of sales to local Children's Charities. Email confirmation. Thousands of titles to choose from with a broad selection and variety. The very best customer care, quality of merchandise and secure packaging. Dependable, personal and friendly service. Satisfaction guaranteed. Standard shipments arrive 7-10 business days. Priority 3-6. read more
"Neil Gaiman has a blurb on the front of this book, and I was hoping that the story would follow through on the promise that Sedia does for Moscow what Gaiman does for London. However, I feel this book probably suffered in translation. Many of the Russian mythic or legendary figures were unfamiliar to me, so I wasn't sure why one was supposed to be so scary. Everything seemed a bit too matter-of-fact for characters falling into an underground part of Moscow where pagan deities and folklore creatures hide.I knew some of the lore from reading C.J. Cherryh's Rusalka novels, and I enjoyed those books more. The author would have rather long, meditative asides and character histories in which she analyzed current Russian criminality, the Russian Civil war, and the mongol invasion. But I didn't feel enlightened or astonished after any of those asides. Maybe I've been spoiled by Sergei Lukyanenko. :)"
"Book #27 of 2009 This was a rather strange book that I found I quite enjoyed. It was kind of fun to read all of these fairytale characters coming to life and contemporary Russians taking their very existense in stride... just like a good Russian would do! (A Russian peasant would know this after all...) I have only minor complaints, one is that we never meet Baba Yaga and that is sad (I know I said there was a Baba Yaga "sighting", she is mentioned, just never turns up as a character). There are also no talking headhogs but there is a rather wise talking cow, which I guess will do.
"The Secret History of Moscow reads like a fusion of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and American Gods, only set in Moscow and populated by Slavic deities.
On the one hand I can't say that I'm much enamoured by any of our protagonists, which is not to say that they are not good characters. They are, in fact, rather well-written individuals with layers of personality and lots of spirit--I just happen not to like any of them. As always, I've fallen for the minor league players. It's doubly more fascinating when Sedia writes for them their own mini-biographies. What is more interesting than hearing about other peoples' lives--provided that they lived something worth listening to?
Moscow itself is that rather well-used picture of a grey and used city. Its citizens seem to live on the edge or barely live at all; remembering either the glorious past or the bleakness of the present. It's something that's rather typical in Russian literature: from Tolstoy and Chekhov to Lukyanenko and his compatriots. It would be interesting, for once, and very out of the norm to read something about Russia that lacked the shadow of sadness evident in so much of its literature.
I hover between a 3 and a 4 for this and finally decided to round up due to my sunny disposition. They should really through out some half stars."
"Ekaterina Sedia is my new favorite author. She writes excellent characters that guide you smoothly through her imaginative worlds. "The Secret History of Moscow" was no different. Why are people in Moscow turning into birds? Where do people who disappear go? Read to find out.
I feel that if I knew more about Russian and Eastern European mythology and folklore I would have enjoyed this more. Also, Ms. Sedia uses a very Russian technique of breaking up the story with mini-bios of characters which is a pet peeve of mine. All in all though, this was a very enjoyable book. Her second novel "The Alchemy of Stone" was even better. I look forward to whatever she brings us next!."
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