New Release: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

New Release: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente by Alexandra Kroeger - Sunday, Apr 03, 2011 at 11:04am

In Deathless, Catherynne M. Valente retells the story of Koschei the Deathless and Marya Morvena in the context of Communist Russia.

Deathless... 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 and of love and death. It brings Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.

I've always been a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and the prospect of reading one in Valente's lush prose makes me so excited. As a bonus, this is not a tale that is widely known in the West, much less retold. You can read the first three chapters for free here. It looks as though young adults would enjoy this as well, but from some reviews that I've seen, this might be more suitable for ages 15+.

Deathless should arrive at McNally Robinson any day now. Just remember: in Soviet Russia, the fairy tale reads YOU.

Categories: Reviews, New Releases