8.2 /10 1 Votes
Language English Media type Paperback Originally published 29 March 2011 Genre Fantasy Country United States of America | 4.1/5 Goodreads Publication date March 29, 2011 Pages 352 pp ISBN 0765326302 Publisher Tor Books | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Works by Catherynne M Valente, Fantasy books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deathless is a fantasy novel by Catherynne M. Valente, combining the Russian fairy tale the Death of Koschei the Deathless with the events and aftermath of the Russian Revolution. The novel follows the life of Marya Morevna as she transforms from a young child witnessing the revolution to her newfound position as bride after her marriage with Koschei, Tsar of Life. The book is divided into six parts and is told primarily through the third person perspective of Marya Morevna, however, it does feature other characters such as Ivan Tsarevich.
Reception
The A.V. Club complimented Valente's prose, comparing it favorably to her previous works — in particular, her 2009 novel Palimpsest — and said that thematically, Deathless "does for Russia what Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell does for England".
Strange Horizons similarly praised Valente's use of language, but said that the novel as a whole was "problematic", "ambivalent", and "strangely colorless", that "at a macro-level", the novel is "something of a mess," and that ultimately, what the novel "has in loveliness, it lacks in direction."