The Russian Stories, also known as the Russian Series or the Russian Trilogy, are a series of fantasy novels by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. The stories are set in a fictional alternate history of Kievan Rus', a predecessor state of modern day Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The three books in the series are Rusalka (1989), Chernevog (1990), and Yvgenie (1991). Rusalka, the first of the three novels, was nominated for a Locus Aw...
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The Russian Stories, also known as the Russian Series or the Russian Trilogy, are a series of fantasy novels by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. The stories are set in a fictional alternate history of Kievan Rus', a predecessor state of modern day Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The three books in the series are Rusalka (1989), Chernevog (1990), and Yvgenie (1991). Rusalka, the first of the three novels, was nominated for a Locus Award in 1990.
The stories draw heavily from Slavic mythology. For example, a "Rusalka" is a type of life-draining slavic fairy that haunts a river or lake. And "Chernevog" is an alternate spelling of Chernobog, a mysterious Slavic deity. Other creatures in the books derived from Slavic folklore include Bannik, Leshy and a Vodyanoy.
How magic operates in these books sets them apart from other Cherryh works of fantasy. Wizards are presented as especially dangerous in these novels because even their most casual desires, if expressed, may set into...
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