It is quite possible that were I a student of Russian history and mythology I would have enjoyed this book more than I did. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but I did have the distinct feeling that I wasn’t getting it all. But that aside, Sedia’s descriptions of Moscow and it’s unusual underworld, coupled with the book’s relatively short length, make this story an easy one to enjoy and ponder. Who knows, it might even make you want to learn an area of history we Westerners know little about.