The Secret History of Moscow
THE SECRET HISTORY OF MOSCOW (Ekaterina Sedia) - Two Stars
The Secret History... is a story about disaffected 1990s Russia citizens who discover an alternate-dimension/underworld underneath the streets of Moscow. A place where all of the old Russian fairy tales actually exist, as do some people who had to escape tragedy on the surface. Father Frost, rusalki, domovoi, Napoleonic soldiers, Decembrists' Wives and many other inhabit this strange underworld of black water and glowing trees.
The plot, what there is of one, involves a Russian mobster who has discovered a way to trap people's souls and send them to the underworld (the "whys" and "hows" are never gone into in great detail). The story is primarily about a handful of surface world denizen's adventures in the underworld as they try to find out while people have been turning into birds But the plot meanders and the pacing is uneven.
A few of the characters are pretty well fleshed-out, but the cast of the story is quite large and most are barely more than cardboard cutouts or plot contrivances. The various sub-plots are handled in a similar fashion: some are quite ingenious, some are aborted barely after being started, and several more fade into the background and are left unresolved.
I dunno. It was an easy read and mildly enjoyable, just not terribly fulfilling. In a way I feel bad for giving it two stars, but it's warts are plentiful and evident. Plus, I look at the list of three-star books and it's not as good as any of those.
The Secret History... is a story about disaffected 1990s Russia citizens who discover an alternate-dimension/underworld underneath the streets of Moscow. A place where all of the old Russian fairy tales actually exist, as do some people who had to escape tragedy on the surface. Father Frost, rusalki, domovoi, Napoleonic soldiers, Decembrists' Wives and many other inhabit this strange underworld of black water and glowing trees.
The plot, what there is of one, involves a Russian mobster who has discovered a way to trap people's souls and send them to the underworld (the "whys" and "hows" are never gone into in great detail). The story is primarily about a handful of surface world denizen's adventures in the underworld as they try to find out while people have been turning into birds But the plot meanders and the pacing is uneven.
A few of the characters are pretty well fleshed-out, but the cast of the story is quite large and most are barely more than cardboard cutouts or plot contrivances. The various sub-plots are handled in a similar fashion: some are quite ingenious, some are aborted barely after being started, and several more fade into the background and are left unresolved.
I dunno. It was an easy read and mildly enjoyable, just not terribly fulfilling. In a way I feel bad for giving it two stars, but it's warts are plentiful and evident. Plus, I look at the list of three-star books and it's not as good as any of those.
posted by Kevin at 9:40 PM
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