this book wasn't bad. it was similar to neverwhere except set in moscow (neil gaiman does the byline on the cover and says as much) and i liked it for the same reasons i like neverwhere. it felt like a lot of the other russian lit i've read-- a little stark, a little spare, but darkly interesting. i also enjoy the changing points of view, giving us a bit of backstory on everyone. i know as the reader i was meant to sympathize with galina, but honestly the populace of the underground were my favorites. david the never-aging, koschey of legend, elena the decemberist's wife; these were the ones i wanted to know more about, the ones on whom i wished the story had focused. but all in all it was a fun read.