“Under the River”, Asya Demishkevich. ed. Alpina.Prose
The story centers on the daughter of a maniac from Divnogorsk who fears that the gene for aggression might pass to her. At first glance it reads like a crime tale, yet a few pages in reveals a much deeper texture. In this completely realistic narrative, Demishkevich intertwines mythological water motifs with the protagonist’s panic and visions—rivers, flooded villages, and drowning figures. These elements act as a bridge between what is “real” and what lies beyond ordinary perception, a transition between consciousness and the subconscious. The work transcends stenographic concerns about maniacs or social issues to probe the inner world of a person and the struggle between different spiritual levels. In Jungian terms, it explores not the act of fighting one’s shadow but learning to accept it and master its force.
“Happy awakening day”, Anastasia Kalyuzhnaya. ed. MYTH
The neo-Gothic sensibility meets a modern twist in a tale that reads like Frankenstein under contemporary lights, aligned with the aesthetics of The Lost and the Lost film. The plot follows a twelve-year-old artificial monster and the doctor who created him. In Kalyuzhnaya’s hands, the story of fatherhood, lineage, and the search for immortality becomes timeless. Yet even with Gothic trappings—grumbling servants, a grand mansion, and eerie experiments—the prose remains distinctly modern and morally engaged. It raises ethical questions about biomechanics and genetic engineering. Grounded in a robust scientific framework, Happy Awakening remains a compelling novel with investigative threads. The central question persists: what does it mean to be human, and can a being engineered as a monster still experience humanity?
“The Willows of Babylon” by Maria Sparrows. ed. sage brush
This tale follows the priestess Shekhmet as she witnesses the fall of ancient Babylon and endures personal losses despite sacred prohibitions. The narrative offers a careful reconstruction of Sumerian-Akkadian canon, weaving myths and legends with historical detail. Maria Vorobyi handles both stylistic and semantic layers with deft precision. The Willows of Babylon unfolds as a medley of rhythm and melody, drawing on the imagery, metaphors, and vocal inscriptions found in the ancient texts. It tells a bittersweet story of survival in a collapsing world, a struggle to protect personal memory and homeland even as a culture crumbles around it.
“Stain”, Anna Pestereva. ed. Alpina.Prose
Pestereva’s debut harnesses dynamic modern magical realism in a spirit reminiscent of a familiar tale about a girl trapped in a village hut with a mysterious entity—the Stain. The novel doubles as a social meditation, sharpening its subtexts about dying villages and a stubborn silence that often shrouds problems among Russians. This is the world of Cthonic Russia, where inner states shape outward reality, and literal magic never fully masks the underlying insecurity—both psychological and social. The refrain Do not take this out of public view underscores the rhythm of the story and serves as a key to uncovering the work’s true essence.
Ekaterina Zvontsova, “Yellow flowers for the yellow emperor.” ed. exmo
A long-awaited entry from a leading figure in modern Russian-language fantasy, this novel borrows from Chinese and Japanese history while nodding to popular culture, including classic anime. Yellow Flowers for the Yellow Emperor centers on political and magical turmoil surrounding a Magic Cherry, ambitious warriors, and weary rulers. Gods and heroes appear, yet the work purposefully avoids a simple epic reimagining. It is a deeply personal exploration built on political, philosophical, and sociological threads, rendered in a world that feels lived and plausible. The richness comes from the interplay of people facing hard situations, more than from grandiose myth alone.
“Pagan”, Alexander Kuznetsov-Tulyanin. ed. MYTH
This ethnographic novel turns its lens on Kunashir, one of the Kuril Islands, continuing the Reading Russia series by MIF and LiveLib. Readers will encounter a high-quality example of prose rooted in the regional, social landscape. The author presents wild, remote spaces with stark immediacy, prompting reflection on whether the differences witnessed there truly exist or are only perceptual. The islanders’ life, filled with simple pleasures and stark realities, is shown in a way that makes readers question what normal means in a distant corner of the world. Dark and serious, Pagan invites contemplation on every page, challenging assumptions about difference and similarity.
“Ruthless”, Anastasia Khudyakova. ed. sage brush
The central figure is a Norwegian lawyer-murderer threatened by a mysterious revealer of his crimes. The narrative narrows its focus to the psychological weather inside the protagonist as much as to external events. Grim energy pervades the book, which blends Scandinavian detective vibes with a fantastical premise. It is a stark, moody, compulsively readable psychological thriller where mysticism colors the plot and life in the legal world feels claustrophobic. Loneliness saturates the killer’s experience, shaping every turn of the investigation and inner realization.
“The Four Horsemen”, Anton Mamon, Nikolai Obodnikov, Andrey Polyakov, Hector Schultz. “Litre” book service project
A bold multimedia venture reimagining the four horsemen of apocalypse through mysticism, horror, detective fiction, and social drama. The authors craft a collaborative narrative that includes comics, illustrations, a custom soundtrack, and voice performances. Readers are invited to guess which writer hides under each rider’s guise, while the work promises high energy, social resonance, and a chilling atmosphere. Dynamic, provocative, and visually rich, it aims to captivate until the final page, regardless of the reader’s preferred author. The project will be published digitally on Liters.
The authors acknowledge that their views may not align with editorial positions, reflecting a diversity of perspectives across the collection.