The Witch and the Tsar

The Witch and the Tsar

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Publication date: September 20, 2022 by Berkley Publishing Group, Ace

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Rating: 4 👢👢👢👢

Summary: In this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible—and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men.

As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia—now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness—arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia’s. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves.

As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan—soon to become Ivan the Terrible—grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman.

My thoughts: This book is truly Russian folklore reimagined. Gilmore took aspects of well known traditional Russian stories and combined them to give the reader a single feminist heroine. There is true mastery in how Gilmore wove the tale through the historical accounts of Ivan the Terrible' s early reign. 

One might be inclined to believe that this is a good versus evil story but it is so much more than that. It is a clash of traditions and beliefs. It is the struggle to move forward when all you want is the comfort of the known. Ivan's reign saw the transformation of Russia from a medieval state to an empire under one ruler, the tsar. Yaga wanted to protect the Russian people from the destruction Ivan was causing. A myriad of unknown forces were seemingly contributing to the systematic havoc that was being reaped upon the land. Yaga understood that while Christianity was the religion of the land the beliefs of old would be the only way to save the people. Although conscious of the risks to her safety, Yaga combines forces with both humans and gods to save her beloved Russian people. 

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.