Nine Layers of Sky

Rating:
Summary: A Fortunate Find
Review: This was one of those books where the cover caught my eye, the blurb intrigued my mind, and the book fed my soul. As I was reading it, I thought to myself, "I'm enjoying this one just the same way I enjoy Charles deLint's stories". It's one of those books that takes you out of your normal reading rut and makes you want to explore various topics raised in the book and see the places mentioned.

It's an urban fantasy with an unusual setting - the new republics in what was formerly Soviet Central Asia. I loved the protagonists too - a former Soviet astrophysicist now reduced to office cleaning for Mobil Oil, and a heroin-addicted, 900 year old hero from Russia's mythic past. The developing romance between them was done quietly and beautifully. The story is an interesting blend of modern-day reality, scifi and mythology. The setting itself was just so interesting - the various republics that are only names in the news when something horrible happens, post-Soviet society, the changes that have been engendered, and the reactions to those changes. For all that the Soviet system was the Big Bad Thing in Western eyes, this book shows that some good was also lost when the system collapsed.

I read Liz William's "The Poison Master" and enjoyed that one, and now I enjoyed this book by her too. I'm adding her to my list of must-buy authors. I hope you'll give this book a try.