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Death Hath No Dominion
Mar. 31st, 2011 12:02 pmIn case you hadn't heard, Catherynne M. Valente's new book, Deathless has come out! According to Valente, Deathless is the culmination of several years' work, and the end result is a lush novel that meshes well with Valente's other works but stands out from the pack quite well.
Valente herself has a post on all things Deathless, including reviews, where to buy it, icons, a book trailer, and a contest. You should check it out.
Now about the book! Deathless is a modern take on Koschei the Deathless and Marya Morevna. The traditional story is fairly standard, a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy regains girl formula. Deathless is anything but standard. The book begins in St. Petersburg with Marya Morevna, a child of the Revolution, who has seen past the cover of the world. Marya grows up knowing that magic exists, that birds can turn into handsome young husbands, and that the domovoi have enthusiastically adopted Communist ideals and formed a committee of house spirits. And she knows that Koschei is coming for her. Throughout the story Marya struggles to find herself as she is willingly spirited into a world of devils, fairly tales, and an endless parade of Yelenas. Though the relationship between Marya and Koschei is vibrant and brutal, there is always an Ivan to lure her away. In Deathless, Marya is torn between Koshei and the fey world she has come to love, and Ivan and her birthplace in St. Petersburg. Nothing is as it seems, and no one choice is right.
I bought Deathless on the day it came out, and I finished it that evening. I literally could not put the book down until I had read the story to its end. If you're interested, go check out Valente's post about it. She included links to the first few chapters as well as a preview comic. If you liked any of Robin McKinley's fairy tale retellings, or Neil Gaiman's, please give Valente a try. You won't regret it.
Valente herself has a post on all things Deathless, including reviews, where to buy it, icons, a book trailer, and a contest. You should check it out.
Now about the book! Deathless is a modern take on Koschei the Deathless and Marya Morevna. The traditional story is fairly standard, a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy regains girl formula. Deathless is anything but standard. The book begins in St. Petersburg with Marya Morevna, a child of the Revolution, who has seen past the cover of the world. Marya grows up knowing that magic exists, that birds can turn into handsome young husbands, and that the domovoi have enthusiastically adopted Communist ideals and formed a committee of house spirits. And she knows that Koschei is coming for her. Throughout the story Marya struggles to find herself as she is willingly spirited into a world of devils, fairly tales, and an endless parade of Yelenas. Though the relationship between Marya and Koschei is vibrant and brutal, there is always an Ivan to lure her away. In Deathless, Marya is torn between Koshei and the fey world she has come to love, and Ivan and her birthplace in St. Petersburg. Nothing is as it seems, and no one choice is right.
I bought Deathless on the day it came out, and I finished it that evening. I literally could not put the book down until I had read the story to its end. If you're interested, go check out Valente's post about it. She included links to the first few chapters as well as a preview comic. If you liked any of Robin McKinley's fairy tale retellings, or Neil Gaiman's, please give Valente a try. You won't regret it.
