I have yet to read a book by a Russian author that has all that many nice things to say about Russia or Russians. Something in the character of their artists just seems to provoke statements in the genre of, "You know what wrong with this place?" Having never been to the country, I'm uncertain what colors that world view.

Anyhoo....

It's strange after reading a sword n' horses fantasy for me to actually encounter a book that could have used more pages.

"The Secret History of Moscow" is a book about a woman who's sister turns into jackdaw and flies away. In her search for her sibling, she travels to the underworld beneath Moscow and encounters many of the fables and outcasts who have built a civilization beneath the regular world.

Have you ever reached the 2/3rds point of a book, noticed how few pages were left, and said, "There's no way in hell they're wrapping this up satisfactorily." This book had that feeling at the halfway mark.

Too much time is wasted on flashbacks and oddly the characters while rich in history are kind of weak in characterization even after knowing their back story. Again, this could have been resolved with more space and time.

There's enough going on in this universe to fill a book three times this novel's 300 pages, but it doesn't feel like it even has a third act. They discover the underworld. They figure out the crime. And then it ends.

The ultimate source of villainy isn't even all fleshed out or exciting. I was expecting Baba Yaga or some other terrifying creation to be working with the Russian gangsters in the story, making the reveal rather underwhelming.

Yet I recommend this book, and I'm willing to give it three stars for the great set up and the good pacing. More than anything Sedia's first novel just comes off as a little green, a bit inexperienced in crafting a tale so massive.

I will definitely be checking out, "The Alchemy of the Stone", which just came out in paperback.