Deathless

A glorious retelling of the Russian folktale Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless from Catherynne M. Valente, set in a mysterious version of St. Petersburg during the first half of the 20th century

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.

Catherynne M. Valente's first book, The Orphan's Tales, was released when Cat was twenty-seven. In the Night Garden won the James Tiptree Jr. Award and was nominated for the World Fantasy Award. Her next novel, Palimpsest, was nominated for the Hugo Award and is a Locus Award finalist, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a New York Times bestseller that earned starred reviews from all three major review outlets. Valente lives on a small island off the coast of Maine with her partner, two dogs, and one cat.