British author Smith returns to post revolution Russia with a bleak tale in which a Red Army desertor returns to his village to find it devastated and his family gone. Is the work of men or the devil? His chase for the truth takes him across snowy plains and forests while he holds his own secrets back. Impressively atmospheric, and on a par with his wonderful, earlier Russian-snow-set THE CHILD THIEF, this will keep you awake at night.
It is 1920, central Russia. The Red Terror tightens its hold. Kolya has deserted his Red Army unit and returns home to bury his brother and reunite with his wife and sons.
It is 1920, central Russia. The Red Terror tightens its hold. Kolya has deserted his Red Army unit and returns home to bury his brother and reunite with his wife and sons.
But he finds the village silent and empty. The men have been massacred in the forest. The women and children have disappeared.
In this remote, rural Russian community the folk tales mothers tell their children by candlelight take on powerful significance and the terrifying legend of Koschei, The Deathless One, begins to feel very real. Kolya sets out on a journey through dense, haunting forests and across vast plains as bitter winter sets in, in the desperate hope he will find his wife and two boys, and find them alive. But there are very dark things in Kolya's past.
And, as he strives to find his family, there's someone or something on his trail...
'a superbly shivery atmosphere' -- Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Once again Dan Smith has produced a first class historical thriller that will satisfy the most demanding of crime fans, while exploring the consequences of unchecked military might and the persistence of the human spirit. Smith's prose is crisp, his sense of pace flawless and his appreciation of the mundane terrors of warfare nothing short of masterly' CRIMEFICTIONLOVER (blog)
'Showing the same skills that he exercised in his previous novel, Smith has fashioned a story of page-turning intensity that simultaneously possesses real depth of characterisation' Sunday Times
Author
About Dan Smith
Dan Smith's first 18 years were spent following his parents across the world to Africa, Indonesia and Brazil. He has been writing short stories for as long as he can remember and has been shortlisted for the Royal Literary Fund mentor scheme and the NORTHERN WRITER'S AWARDS. DRY SEASON is inspired by the four years he spent living in the interior of Brazil. He lives in Newcastle with his wife and two young children.
