''Rusalka'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

by American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and fantasy author

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels '' Downbelo ...

. It was first published in October 1989 in the United States in a hardcover edition by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

under its

Del Rey Books Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...

imprint. ''Rusalka'' is book one of Cherryh's three-book '' Russian Stories'' trilogy set in medieval Russia in forests along the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

river near

Kyiv Kyiv (also spelled Kiev) is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the List of ...

in modern-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The novel draws on

Slavic folklore Slavic folklore encompasses the folklore of the Slavic peoples from their earliest records until today. Folklorists have published a variety of works focused specifically on the topic over the years.See, for example, Kononenko 2007. See also * ...

and concerns the fate of a girl who has drowned and becomes a

rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

. It is also an exploration of magic and the development of a young wizard. ''Rusalka'' was nominated for the

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by ''Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards. Winners References External links The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries o ...

in 1990 and was a third-place runner-up. Cherryh

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

a revised edition of ''Rusalka'' in e-book format in October 2010 at Closed Circle Publications.

Plot summary

:"A rusalka is a wish. A wish not to die. A wish for revenge." — ''Rusalka'', page 226 Sasha is a 15-year-old downtrodden stable boy living with his aunt and uncle at an inn they run in the town of Vojvoda. Sasha's parents had been killed in a house fire that he was accused of starting through

wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing g ...

. Pyetr is one of the town's audacious young men, and one day he is attacked and wounded by old Yurishev for having a liaison with his young wife. Pyetr escapes, but later learns that Yurishev is dead, and that he has been accused of murdering him by

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

. Pyetr hides in the stables at the inn, and Sasha helps him leave the town. With no future for himself in Vojvoda, Sasha accompanies the wounded Pyetr. Pyetr and Sasha walk for days through fields and into a dead forest. Sasha does not believe he is a wizard, but finds he sometimes has the ability to successfully wish for things. Pyetr does not believe in wizards at all, and laughs at Sasha's wishing. Exhausted and without food, the pair find a cottage by a river. Its occupant, a wizard named Uulamets, heals Pyetr and agrees to let them stay on condition that they help him find his daughter, Eveshka, who had drowned when she was 16 and is now a

. Pyetr is suspicious of Uulamets and does not believe in rusalkas. Later, while the three of them are searching for Eveshka, she makes herself visible to Pyetr, overpowers him, and leads him into the forest. Rusalkas are renowned for drowning men they have chosen, but Eveshka abandons Pyetr and disappears again. Uulamets and Sasha find Pyetr unharmed, but are attacked by Hwiuur, a

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...

vodyanoi In Slavic mythology, vodyanoy or vodyanoi ( rus, водяно́й, p=vədʲɪˈnoj; lit. ' efrom the water' or 'watery') is a water spirit. In Czech and Slovak fairy tales, it is called ''vodník'' (or in Germanized form: ), and it is consider ...

, known to drown people who go too close to the water. Uulamets traps Hwiuur and threatens to kill it. The creature pleads for its life and admits to drowning Eveshka, but blames Chernevog, a former student of Uulamets. Eveshka had fallen in love with Chernevog and run off with him, but Chernevog had used his newly acquired wizardry to control her, and then handed her over to Hwiuur. Even as a rusalka Chernevog still controls Eveshka and will not let her return to her father. Uulamets agrees to let Hwiuur go on condition that he helps them find Chernevog. While searching for Chernevog, Pyetr spots Eveshka and chases after her. Sasha wants to follow Pyetr to protect him, but Uulamets wills Sasha to stay. Uulamets had recognised Sasha's potential for wizardry and taught him how to use his talents, but stressed the dangers of unchecked wishing and the importance of considering their consequences first. Pyetr, who now has feelings for Eveshka, and is slowly accepting this new world of wizards, rusalkas and river creatures, finds her and together they locate Chernevog's house in the forest. Chernevog immediately takes control of Pyetr and instructs Hwiuur to guard him. As Uulamets and Sasha approach the house Chernevog starts sending lightning bolts at them, but Uulamets is able to redirect them back at the house, setting it ablaze. In the chaos, Pyetr breaks free of Hwiuur and overpowers a weakened Chernevog. Uulamets then casts a wizard's once-in-a-lifetime spell and commands Eveshka to "live!". This final wish kills the wizard but resurrects Eveshka. Sasha discovers that that spell also bestowed on him all of the wizard's knowledge and abilities. Chernevog is unconscious, but Sasha cannot kill him and instead puts him into a long, deep sleep. Hwiuur has disappeared, and

leshy The Leshy (also Leshi; rus, леший, p=ˈlʲeʂɨj; literally, " efrom the forest", pl, borowy, leśnik, leśniczy, lasowik, leszy) is a tutelary deity of the forests in pagan Slavic mythology. As the spirit rules over the forest and huntin ...

s, woodland spirits, appear and celebrate the downfall of Chernevog. They put him on a stone in a circle of trees and agree to guard him. With Eveshka flesh and bone again, she and Pyetr finally unite, and Sasha, now a wizard, has new responsibilities to attend to.

Reception

In a review in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', science fiction and fantasy writer

Roland J. Green Roland James Green (September 2, 1944 - April 20, 2021) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer and editor. He wrote as Roland Green and Roland J. Green; and had 28 books in the Richard Blade series published under the pen name 'Jef ...

called ''Rusalka'' "one of 1989's better fantasies". While he was critical of Cherryh's "occasional lapses of narrative technique", he said that she excelled in her "characterization, command of the language, world-building, and background in anthropology, linguistics and folklore". A reviewer in

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

said that ''Rusalkas plot was "pretty good", but complained about it being "plodding, uncompelling, and ... overlong", and that it lacked "atmosphere, tension, chills and thrills".

Notes

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