This book came out near the end of 2017. I tried to read it then but was too nauseated by the saturation of Trump/Russia coverage so I set it aside. Last summer, I saw it in a used book store for $2 and figured “What the heck?” So I picked it up. I’m glad I did. Even though much of the information feels dated (especially considering today’s Manafort revelations on his dealings with Kilimnik), it will likely remain as one of the central works to […]
It’s 90 degrees here. This made it feel like winter.
I read TheShitWizard’s review and immediately bought this book, read it, and loved it. I am all about some adult-level fairy tales. This is right up my alley. Vasya is a wild child, the fifth in her family, in Northern Russia. She inherited her mother’s and grandmother’s second sight – the ability to see and interact with the invisible guardians, or chyerti. A battle is brewing, though, between the Bear and the Frost-Demon. Konstantin, a compelling and pious priest arrives in the village and introduces […]
If aliens landed, we’d still be idiots.
Reading ideas come from all sorts of places. While I’m a big sci-fi fan, I’d admittedly never heard of the Strugatsky brothers until I read an article about European dystopian games in a recent edition of Game Informer magazine. (For you cool people who don’t know about Game Informer, it’s the magazine you get an automatic subscription to when you sign up for a rewards card at GameStop stores. It’s pretty good!) I found out that the influential S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game was based on a […]
A guide on how to cram every known stereotype in one single book
When my bookclub chose a thriller taking place in Russia for the month of June, I was ecstatic. I am a big fan of crime procedurals and I love Saint Petersburg, so I was sold – until I realized it was actually written by a Brit. Now, I’m not saying people cannot write books in whichever culture they’d wish to, I was just apprehensive because when you tackle something like this, you better do a superb job of it – otherwise it will feel like […]