Contemporary Ukrainian literature continues to develop. Personally, I am pleased that we have young fantasy authors whose books definitely deserve to be read. I’m also glad that various Ukrainian publishing houses are increasingly taking on novice authors, and they are publishing more and more fantasy. Today we’re going to talk about the fantasy novel «Wolf Lands» by Natalia Zarudniuk, a student from Zhytomyr, published by «Vihola». In various reviews and criticisms, this work is often compared to «The Witcher» by Sapkowski, and the author herself makes references to these works, so at least for this reason it is already worth paying attention to this book. But after reading it, I both agree and disagree with this statement. And why and how this happens, read the article below.
Author Natalia Zarudnyuk
Publisher «Vihola»
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 440
Cover Soft with valves
Year of publication 2024
Size 145×200 mm
Website vikhola.com
A young man named Niran is being sought throughout the human kingdoms, but he doesn’t know why because he has lost his memory. Pursued and cornered, he flees to the Boundary — the border between the human kingdoms and the lands of the Alvah. Here he is imprisoned by the Alvah, a blind witch who rules the Boundary. The woman has to hand the boy over to the authorities, and she is going to do so. But she gradually realizes that Niran has been deliberately deprived of his memory to hide not only his past, but also a great crime. Alvah sets out to find out and does not realize that she and Niran will have great adventures and serious problems ahead.
As I said above, «Wolf Lands» by Natalia Zarudniuk can really be compared to the «Witcher» series by Andrzej Sapkowski. The presentation is similar, at least to the first books, but there were short stories united in one book, and here is a complete novel with many separate stories-adventures-investigations, united by a common storyline. In other words, Alvah and her prisoner-assistant-pupil Niran go to a town or a village where people disappear or die, and all of this is connected to otherworldly creatures: mermaids, drowned people, etc.
From the first pages until about halfway through, the novel «Wolflands» most closely resembles the quests in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Only instead of Geralt, it’s Alvah, and instead of Ciri — Niran.
There are also battles, but not many, clashes with the same otherworldly creatures, some political games, conflicts over land, frightening secrets and a detective component, a soft, and not even intrusive, love story. Not without a lingering atmosphere of impending doom, which strangely resonates with this lampshaded fantasy.
«Wolf Lands» by Natalia Zarudnyuk cannot be called an action or epic fantasy at all. On the contrary, this is a local, almost personal story that gradually unfolds into something bigger. But this «more» is waiting for us in the sequels because this is not a solo novel, but a future cycle of «On the Other Side». So if you’re looking for a quick, bright read, you won’t find it here. On the contrary, the novel reads slowly and measuredly. It’s a thoughtful story with a lot of events, but the plot develops at will, without rushing.
The world of the novel is interesting and relatively well written, but there is still a lot left out «frame». In my opinion, this is right, because the author did not dump tons of exposition on the reader, as beginners usually do, but gradually revealed this world and I think she left a lot more for the next books.
As for the general setting, we have a cool mix of classic Western fantasy, Central and East Slavic fantasy in the spirit of the same «Witcher», Scandinavian and Ukrainian mythology. The latter is the least present here, but it immediately catches your eye as soon as it pops up at certain points in the book.
I liked that the author went her own way. She did not write classic fantasy in the Western style, did not succumb to the fashion for Asian fantasy, but did not go purely into Ukrainian themes. I guess, in my opinion, the writer just took different elements of cultures, mythologies, and genres that she likes and made something of her own. The final result is a really interesting world that I’m sure will blossom further. For now, it is only slowly revealing itself to the reader.
The similarities and differences with «The Witcher» also speak of its path. I have already mentioned similarities more than once, and now I will talk about differences. This is not a classic dark fantasy like Sapkowski’s novels. There is no sex, excessive violence, etc. But at the same time, it is not a classic fantasy with Good and Evil, where children are brought by storks. It is something in between, something of its own.
The main character Alvah is the novel’s greatest jewel. The blind witch is a powerful character, but in moderation. She can fight and move in the shadows, she is smart, witty, cruel when necessary, and empathetic when needed. She can make a joke, kill a water-boy, protect a king, and watch over the Boundary.
Niran also turned out to be relatively voluminous and interesting. However, he still lacks the brightness and vigor of Ciri, but perhaps this character doesn’t need it, or he will be revealed further. The other characters are relatively interesting, but some are still flat and faded. However, there are not many of them here, and there was no time for them, so perhaps such things have nothing to do with the novice author, and perhaps they will also be revealed more in the next books.
The novel is written well and simply. The author knows exactly how to handle words, she has a delicious language and a pleasant style. It’s long and unhurried, thoughtful, but not bright. Some people may find it lacking in spice and the action I mentioned. But in my opinion, it’s just the kind of idea, the kind of story where you don’t have to rush. I accepted it, got into the rhythm, and got a meditative reading, and most importantly, I enjoyed it.
I liked the main theme of the novel. At least that’s how I understood it. Through her work, Natalia Zarudnyuk tells us, the readers, that home — is not a specific place, but rather your family and friends, and that it is worth fighting for them.
Is there anything directly bad about the novel «Wolf Lands»? Definitely not, but I will note certain shortcomings. The book’s structure is a bit lame. There is a strange prologue, which then echoes the second part, but you forget about it, so you don’t understand much and have to strain. There are also certain events from the characters’ past that could, in my opinion, be presented differently. And sometimes I lost track of the course of events in some investigations and certain moments in political games.
The edition of the novel «Wolf Lands» is made in the classic style by «Vihola». This is a high-quality paperback with flaps, high-quality yellow paper, and a convenient font. And the main thing is that it opens properly in the middle and does not interfere with reading itself, as sometimes happens with the paperback format in other publications. It’s also cool that you can literally tear out a stylish bookmark from one flap.
I like the design of the main picture, but we still really lack covers that immediately tell us what genre they belong to. It is still something universal and abstract to attract the attention of the widest range of readers. I understand this edition, but you, as a reader and fan of fantasy, will also understand me. We need to find a middle ground somehow, so that swords, monsters and other heroes finally appear on the covers, but at the same time it could attract the widest possible range of potential buyers.
