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Fireweed
If he is caught, he will be executed as a spy.
Ivan Lukin is the mixed-blood son of the Russian America Company's most renowned fur trader. He speaks five languages and knows the subarctic forest, its Native inhabitants, and the Alaska fur business like no one else. As a young man he was destined for great things, but when famine and mutiny brought his world crashing down he was demoted, reassigned, and made to taste the shame of his own mistakes. Then in 1862 the Company sends him on a mission as delicate as it is Travel alone up the River Kwifpak to spy on the British fur traders who have built an outpost illegally on Russian soil.
Buried in debt, vexed by insomnia, and followed upriver by a monster who devours human souls, he has no choice but to accept. But as he lines his canoe up the broad river into the blank spaces on the map, fate hands him the most unexpected of gifts.
Based around real events in Alaska's past, Fireweed is Book One of the series Seasons of Want and Plenty.
Ivan Lukin is the mixed-blood son of the Russian America Company's most renowned fur trader. He speaks five languages and knows the subarctic forest, its Native inhabitants, and the Alaska fur business like no one else. As a young man he was destined for great things, but when famine and mutiny brought his world crashing down he was demoted, reassigned, and made to taste the shame of his own mistakes. Then in 1862 the Company sends him on a mission as delicate as it is Travel alone up the River Kwifpak to spy on the British fur traders who have built an outpost illegally on Russian soil.
Buried in debt, vexed by insomnia, and followed upriver by a monster who devours human souls, he has no choice but to accept. But as he lines his canoe up the broad river into the blank spaces on the map, fate hands him the most unexpected of gifts.
Based around real events in Alaska's past, Fireweed is Book One of the series Seasons of Want and Plenty.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 7, 2022
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Kris Farmen
7 books7 followersI'm what is sometimes referred to as a critically acclaimed author, which is to say critics have on occasion said nice things about my books. I write both contemporary fiction and historical fiction, often with a fabulist twist, but for me there's not a lot of daylight between the past and the present. As far back as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with history, but for me it’s just the aggregate of every human life that has come and gone upon the earth. Each one of those lives is a story, and history keeps happening all around us, just as it always has. As William Faulkner famously said, the past is never dead. It's not even past.
My books generally involve Alaska and the circumpolar North, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. In fact, I don't really write books about Alaska, I write books about people. It just so happens that most of those people either live in Alaska or are somehow connected to the Far North. I’ve used fiction as a tool to explore the “shadow society” of people of color in Alaska’s gold rush past, the world of mixed-race Russian and Native residents of Alaska during its time as a Russian colony, and the dismal history of Native boarding schools. I’ve also examined the effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome and how it changes the lives of people afflicted by it.
I live in Fairbanks, Alaska with my wife, daughter, and rescue dog. When I’m not writing, reading, or editing, I’m usually in the woods, foraging for food or just rambling around looking at birds and flowers. I’m also a surfer, though these days I really have to work and plan to get my water time. My website www.krisfarmen.com has more information about my books and my upcoming projects.
My books generally involve Alaska and the circumpolar North, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. In fact, I don't really write books about Alaska, I write books about people. It just so happens that most of those people either live in Alaska or are somehow connected to the Far North. I’ve used fiction as a tool to explore the “shadow society” of people of color in Alaska’s gold rush past, the world of mixed-race Russian and Native residents of Alaska during its time as a Russian colony, and the dismal history of Native boarding schools. I’ve also examined the effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome and how it changes the lives of people afflicted by it.
I live in Fairbanks, Alaska with my wife, daughter, and rescue dog. When I’m not writing, reading, or editing, I’m usually in the woods, foraging for food or just rambling around looking at birds and flowers. I’m also a surfer, though these days I really have to work and plan to get my water time. My website www.krisfarmen.com has more information about my books and my upcoming projects.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2024
Fireweed follows Ivan Lukin on a journey through Alaska back when it was Russian America. Previously demoted in the Company, he must leave his family to follow a new assignment to spy on the British, the other colonial power vying for the land and its resources.
He interacts with his teammates, Indigenous communities, and a siren (my favorite fantastical element in any book, i.e. The Pisces) who is following him along the river.
As someone who grew up in Alaska, I appreciated that this historical fiction was based on real events! I’m always a little intimidated by far-away historical fiction, times and places where I have no grounding, but Farmen writes in a way that makes this environment approachable and even familiar.
I would recommend to any historical fiction lover, and especially to fellow Alaskans! I’m excited to get to the next book in the trilogy :)
He interacts with his teammates, Indigenous communities, and a siren (my favorite fantastical element in any book, i.e. The Pisces) who is following him along the river.
As someone who grew up in Alaska, I appreciated that this historical fiction was based on real events! I’m always a little intimidated by far-away historical fiction, times and places where I have no grounding, but Farmen writes in a way that makes this environment approachable and even familiar.
I would recommend to any historical fiction lover, and especially to fellow Alaskans! I’m excited to get to the next book in the trilogy :)
March 4, 2024
Hot dang, I sure enjoyed Fireweed. Historical journey exploration natural magical fiction is absolutely one of my favorite multi-genres. I’m a slow reader, and Fireweed was rewarding with rich natural descriptions, compelling plot, enjoyable (and occasionally detestable) characters, and a pretty unique view of Russian Alaska as experienced by some of the people who lived it.
April 9, 2025
I love everything Kris writes, but this one is a little bit more difficult to read - all the names of places I know are changed (they called things differently back then). Still very well written and very interesting.
August 19, 2024
I love discovering new books, and this was a really good find. It’s set in 19th century Russian America shortly before Alaska was purchased by the U.S. The Russians (followed by the British and Americans) are in the region for the fur trade, part of a long and consequential but sadly neglected history. Ivan Lukin is an interesting main character with personal baggage that includes a seductive demon. The demon’s magic is actually an effective way to show Ivan (and us) the region’s violent past. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.
November 28, 2024
Can’t help comparing this to Eowyn Ivey’s book, although the differences are bigger than the similarities. The stronger point here is the detailed knowledge of the Russian period in Alaska, and the viewpoint of the Creole protagonist. Ivey’s book probably is stronger on plot and writing. That said, this is book 1 in a series and I’ll see how the plot and characters develop.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews