Master of the Forest

by Artyom Dereschuk

Listening Length: 7 hours and 56 minutes

A Horror Novel Set in Siberia

At the edge of the world, unknown and unseen, he endures and survives even in our digital era...

★★★★★ "This was an incredible book! The characters are well-described, the action is consistent, and the imagery, specifically the personification, is wonderful! There were moments I could feel the forest around me, breathing down my neck. Remarkable!" [Lana Mowdy, a Professional Editor]

A young man leaves his backdoor Russian town and heads to Moscow, never to be poor again. With each day, he grows more and more desperate until he meets an old geologist with an intriguing and surprisingly profitable offer: to join him on his trip to the depths of Siberia, the largest forest on the planet, and become a "black digger" - one of those who find and excavate mammoth tusks with the purpose of selling them as ivory to the highest bidder.

With nothing much to lose, our hero agrees, venturing to the edge of the Earth, beyond the borders of civilization and into the untouched wilderness. There, thousands of miles from home, in a race against the clock before the cold seals the ground, he has to face nature, other diggers, his inner demons and, most importantly, the enigmatic "Master of the Forest" - a prehistoric creature and the origin of all local legends, who ferociously protects his domain.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Audiobook, Russia

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to love this book more then I did. It still was quite enjoyable and fun but wasn't quite the exciting horror creature book that got me on the edge of the seat. But decent nevertheless

[Steve Stred · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Edited as review now live on Kendall Reviews! **

To be frank – I got this book for three reasons. #1 – it was offered up as a freebie on Amazon. #2 – look at that freaking cover! #3 – Siberia.

I’d never heard of the author or the book before, but the cover and saying it was a horror novel set in Siberia had me hooked, and of course with it being offered up as a Kindle freebie sweetened the pot.

I’ve always been drawn towards Russian and Siberian based stuff; movies, TV shows and books. For me at least, the vast, unexplored realms of these areas are intriguing, lending itself to be ideal settings for the ‘unknown.’ There was a pseudo-reality show a few years back entitled Siberia that I enjoyed greatly. The acting wasn’t top notch, but the premise was fantastic and as the story evolved and unfolded it drew you in deeper and deeper. Alas, it only aired for one season, then was cancelled, leaving us with a massive cliff-hanger.

Luckily for us, Dereschuk doesn’t leave any cliff-hangers here.

Now – to warn you all – this book will be a struggle for some because a good portion of it reads as though it was put through Google translate. I’m not sure if this was originally released in Russia and then the author translated it, but there are many paragraphs that don’t read smoothly and it’s either because English is a language newer to Artyom, or the translation didn’t do it any favours. If you can look past that, you’re in for a treat.

The first 25% of the book is a slower start. Dereschuk builds the basis nicely as too why our main character goes from a small town to the big city of Moscow then abandons everything to head off into the Siberian wilderness in search of buried Mammoth tusks. They want to excavate the tusks and sell them on the black market, making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Once he makes the decision to leave his corporate job behind and head to the wilderness, that’s where the story really picks up.

Dereschuk does a great job of introducing the interpersonal relationships between our main character, his geologist partner and the other diggers at the camp and once a discovery is made, the action ramps up.

I loved the descriptions of the titular Master of the Forests and blood, gore and carnage ensue. This was a really fun creature-feature and I think deserves to be read by fans of the genre. If you live for Severed Grin Press releases, you’ll definitely want to check this one out!

[Dustin]

Now $.99!😊

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Forest-...

"At the edge of the world, unknown and unseen, he endures and survives even in our digital era...

★★★★★ "This was an incredible book! The characters are well-described, the action is consistent, and the imagery, specifically the personification, is wonderful! There were moments I could feel the forest around me, breathing down my neck. Remarkable!" [Lana Mowdy, a Professional Editor]

A young man leaves his backdoor Russian town and heads to Moscow, never to be poor again. With each day, he grows more and more desperate until he meets an old geologist with an intriguing and surprisingly profitable offer: to join him on his trip to the depths of Siberia, the largest forest on the planet, and become a "black digger" - one of those who find and excavate mammoth tusks with the purpose of selling them as ivory to the highest bidder.

With nothing much to lose, our hero agrees, venturing to the edge of the Earth, beyond the borders of civilization and into the untouched wilderness. There, thousands of miles from home, in a race against the clock before the cold seals the ground, he has to face nature, other diggers, his inner demons and, most importantly, the enigmatic "Master of the Forest" - a prehistoric creature and the origin of all local legends, who ferociously protects his domain.

Review
★★★★★ - "There were moments I could feel the forest around me, breathing down my neck. Remarkable!" - Lana Mowdy, a Professional Editor

[Konstantin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a genuinely captivating book. At first I was skeptical as the title reveals the main plot twist about presence of a monster, but I was irreversibly hooked when started reading. At the beginning it is mostly descriptive and psychological, but later it throws you into scenes so unexpected I actually had adrenaline in my blood while reading. I haven’t finished a book that quickly in a long time, I was so invested in the story I’ve been reading it at work. For me an interesting angle is the setting – an untouched Siberian forest which I imagine very clearly – I was born and raised in Siberia. So the story really touched my feelings, had a great time.

[Clint Walker Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

My phone glitched during my review the story gets really good and it's hard to put the book down. Many thanks to the author for this good read!

[Red Tide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This is a real horror story but it's a Russian one. This includes characters that only exist in Russia and its filled with a uniquely Russian perspective. There are no heroes, only survivors.

There are one or two spots where editing might have been off but I'm not sure. This may have been written in Russian but if not it's written by a writer who understands modern Russia. This is a well written thriller set in a landscape that very few americans will ever visit outside of the pages of a book like this.

[nelson mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kill or be killed

Very much like a Russian fairytale. Characters travel from modern world into a primeval wilderness. Quest leads characters into conflict with their humanity. Is man Master of the Forest?

[Samantha Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4/5

[Silviah Colombara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing. Brutal. Just the way I wanted it to be.

Kind of The Predator meets King Kong.

I guess the story is part of a well-established saga of centuries old monsters, inhabiting inhospital parts of the world; and when men, generally pushed by greed and the desire to make a fortune and change their lives for the better, disturb them, they get really, royally pissed off, and kill everyone.

Still, apart from The Predator book, I had never read anything like this before. And I really enjoyed it.

The most amazing reflection in this book is the ever-present question: who is the beast? The prehistorical monster who breaks men into pieces, or the men who invaded the monster's world without a more decent reason than just money and profit?

The story of the Russian boy who desperately wants to give himself a chance to start living, instead of simply surviving, is well told, full of details and the fair amount of gore.

I have to signal though that this edition was unexpectedly full of spelling mistakes, sentence construction mistakes and omissions.
Because this book is apparently independently published - not sure if by Amazon directly, I was wondering if they are new to this thing and might need to improve on it. I am sure they will very shortly.

Overall a very dark, bloody and powerful story.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always excited to read a book that has any type of cryptid in it. And this one teaches us some valuable lessons.


1. This is why we don't take short cuts in life.



2. This is why we shouldn't trespass.



And #3 my personal favorite




Honestly I almost gave up on this read because the beginning of the book starts out extremely slow as we follow out narrator on his journey that leads him out into the wilderness in the middle of nowhere. I am glad I kept reading though because once we got into the wilderness things quickly picked up.


There was a lot more happening in this book then just a run in with some pissed off creatures.





It's also about humanity, and how uncaring and monstrous it can be. When what we view as monsters have better reasoning behind their actions then people do we are in serious trouble.

[Beatrix Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Masters are 4m tall creatures (yeti? Bigfoot?) that haunt the Siberian woods silently. Humans, that enter their world despite the local folklore warnings do it so at their own risk.
Large portion of the book is character based, and our characters are deplorable shady men that argue and fight and steal without prejudice.
Despite its slow start (past 30% before the first creature sighting) it's never boring, though i would have loved more pages on the creatures.
My second book by Dereschuk, i think i loved Matryoshka more.

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. Not great but not bad. Very interesting concept of some people In the Siberian forest searching for mammoth bones but instead disturb and become hunted by a bigfoot. I felt like there was too much focus on the humans and in fighting then the actual presence of bigfoot which is more what I'm after In a bigfoot horror/thriller.

[Zechy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the words Russian horror intrigue you, I recommend it.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, one of the most captivating reads I've had in a long time. While the base concept of the book is fairly familiar (a monster in the woods) it has enough unique elements that make it feel fresh. It has characters you don't know whether to root for or not, an unusual setting of Siberia, and even the way the plot is kickstarted feels interesting. Even the titular Master has that flair of mystery that makes you question his true nature.
I loved it.

[John Hollow · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great storytelling, great writing, great characters, and great horror.
I will be reading more by this author.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siberian Bigfoot


It started off a bit slow and I wondered if I had misread the description, but that quickly changed. This book clearly shows mankind's desire to do whatever it takes to get ahead. The main character !eaves his hometown to go to Moscow for a better opportunity and ends up working as a telephone marketer, though not very well. One day he talks to a man who offers him the opportunity to engage in an endeavor that will make them both rich. So he steals the money from an investors account and heads back into Siberia, from whence he came to become a tusk finder. What, you ask is a tusk finder? A tusk finer is someone who gives job, hoe and money to go to Siberia to dig up Mammoth tusks and sell to the Chinese for boat lodes of money. Think gold rush and the people who went west to make their fortunes. He and his partner go off in search of mammath tusk,but instead find the ancient skeleton of the master of the forest. They dig up the remains but it infuriates the current masters of the forest. They attach the diggers work camp and one-by-one, the masters mill off all of the members of the mining camp. In the end only the thief is the on!y survival of the work k?c

[blembop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monumental really. This sasquatch creature feature does everything it needs to and more. Horrifying, visceral imagery to no end in this one. The characters are lovable with just enough backstory to spark interest but without dragging. The descent into distrust between the diggers is so amazingly described as well, and each death quite impactful. The climax didn't at ALLLLL let up either, oh boy. Too many books lately I've read seem to fall short on the peak of the story after an impactful build-up, but this one's, thankfully, an exception to that. I will 100% be reading more by Dereschuk.

Also, I will mention that there were only a few points I had noticed, as other readers pointed out that the translation seemed confusing. Some reviewers made a pretty big deal about it, but I personally felt it pretty inconsequential to the experience. Still was an amazing story.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alas, I couldn’t go on. Almost nothing of note has occurred by chapter nine, there’s a huge amount of grammatical and even vocabulary-choice errors, and the story seems to be going nowhere. I finally got to a ‘yellow-barked’ dog, just after someone had pointed to the ‘crone’ of some trees, realised yet another of the characters was going to ramble on for a page or so in a vain attempt to painfully ratchet the plot along another millimetre, and found it was time to give up.

I wouldn’t have left a review, being content merely to star rate the book, but I’m genuinely mystified by the myriad 5-star reviews on here for what is an enthusiastically self-published but ultimately very poor novel that’s simply crying out for an editor.

I wouldn’t, and indeed don’t, recommend this book.

[Michelle Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow Starter, Amazing Ending

This book is very slow at first, but if you stick with it the payoff is amazing. The ending is exactly what it needs to be. When the action starts, you won't want to put it down.

The author gives you a clear and detailed look into the lives of the diggers and beautifully crafts their pain, terror, and desperation.

[Kevin Geoffroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm split. The first half of the book is a slog and spends too much time setting up the situation, but then the second half of the book is written rather well and maintains a great sense of dread and tension while the party is being hunted by the creatures. It also skips out on the typical bombastic ending, which I found much more realistic.

[Sabrina Bright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be the most boring monster book I’ve ever read. The first half was a snooze fest. The part with the monster held no tension at all. I never felt this story, the mark of a poor book! Find a better monster story! This could have been so good!

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

The monsters themselves were not as interesting to me as the characters Dereschuk portrays. His descriptions of poverty and desperation in modern Russia were fascinating and compelling--I don't know what it's like in modern Russia, but the way Dereschuk portrayed it made me want to believe him--as were the desperate circumstances his characters were eventually forced into. Dereschuk convincingly portrays how some people would behave and feel when fighting for their life as prey against an overwhelmingly superior predator, down to the lactic acid building up in your legs from running, constantly, for what feels like days. Reading this book was physically exhausting, in a very good way.

Dereschuk also, to his credit, makes the Masters feel overwhelmingly powerful and intimidating, but the enemies are ultimately giant proto-humans, which doesn't particularly grab me as all that interesting. Ultimately, even the Masters seem in service to displaying the desperate drama between the characters, creating an environment where we could see his characters at their absolute worst.

Still, the book falls into the typical survival drama tropes -- the traitor, the weakling, the liar, etc. -- yet what I think makes this book a bit more interesting than the typical fare is that ultimately the protagonist isn't any better than the other members of the group simply because he's the one whose head we're stuck in. He lies, rationalizes his own bad decisions, and ultimately makes selfish choices all for the sake of survival. I don't find the "Are we any different than the Masters?" theme all that gripping or necessarily convincing, but it's certainly made more convincing by how Dereschuk conveys it through the mind of the protagonist.

I'd say the book feels short, but it's 300 pages, so clearly I just got through it fast, which I think is compliment to it. I wanted to know what happened next, right up to the last page.

[Mickey Tompkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun creature feature.

It's about a young man in Russia who is struggling to survive with his meek job of being a broker like a Wolf Of Wallstreet type.

He has a call one day to someone who tells him he is a "black digger" meaning he digs for Mammoth tusks for wages. He asks him if he's happy with his life and if not to speak to him, his writes down the #, hides it away and calls this stranger at a later date.

The stranger tells him about being a black digger and asks if he's interested, he tells him he is and the stranger tells him that he is leaving shortly by train to Siberia and this is what he needs.

The young man comes up with the means, meets the stranger and they set out on their adventure.

They meet up with 8 other diggers. The expectation is that any team who digs up a tusks shares their wages with their partner.

One day the one man and the stranger dig up a skull of a giant and decide this is worth more than tusks and agree to hide it from the others.

They also eventually dig up the skeleton of an entire giant.

By doing this they unknowingly bring about another Giant who is upset that they desecrated the grave of one of their own and the story takes off from there.

This was a fun read, but it was more of a buddy camping exploration than creature feature. Oh sure once the giant shows up it's pretty intense and edge of your seat reading, but it does take awhile to get there, but I was OK with this. The way the author writes the story is like watching a movie that sucked me in.

If you're in the mood for something different I recommend this book.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Master of the Forest" by Artyom Dereschuk presents a compelling narrative that delves deep into the intricacies of its protagonist's psyche, effectively establishing a strong foundation for the ensuing events. Contrary to some critics' opinions on the initial sections' pacing, I found the exposition to be rich and evocative, akin to the detailed style often associated with Lovecraftian literature. As the story unfolds, the threats to the characters' survival unveil the darker facets of human nature, contributing to the narrative's depth and complexity.

While the tale didn't evoke a strong sense of fear in me, being an avid reader of the horror genre, I appreciated the author's adept storytelling and the unorthodox setting that added a distinctive allure to the storyline. The resolution, while largely satisfying, left a few loose ends, demonstrating the author's deliberate attempt at cleverness. However, the final line of the book, seemingly intended as a poignant conclusion, failed to resonate with me, potentially owing to linguistic nuances that might not have been impeccably captured in the translation. Despite this minor setback, "Master of the Forest" offers an engaging narrative, particularly appealing to enthusiasts of Lovecraftian and enigmatic horror, featuring an unusual and captivating setting that sets it apart from conventional tales in the genre.

[M. Larose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing & Well-done

This is a very engaging story, that held my interest to the point that I was late for work one morning as I read the ending. The russian author writes very good english that is, for most of the book, easy to understand, but with an authentic russian-sounding voice (the language occasionally has that mixed-up word-order that russian english-speakers fall into). That just adds to the ambience of the story, which is set in modern Siberia. I will say that in the last half of the book the english language got a little too sloppy in places, and the book would benefit from some editing in those sections, so that the english would flow more smoothly. But the story is still clear enough, and exciting enough, to hold the reader's interest to the end.
The character-development is very good, and the main character is likeable. You will be rooting for him. I found the ending to be satisfying, also. If you like stories set in nature, with mysterious creatures lurking about, you will enjoy this. The story also provides some insight into the psyche of a modern russian young man. I will definitely read another book by this author. Well done!

[Connie Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent with a very different, refreshing style. Since the author is Russian this from that point of view. A young guy from a small village escapes to Moscow dreaming of a better, richer life. There he gets an offer to make mega-bucks in Siberia harvesting mammoth tusks out of the permafrost. Since Moscow doesn't turn out as expected he goes. The author weaves a really rich tapestry -very descriptive story building up to What is the Master of the Forest? I don't generally get scared( after all it's only a book) but with this one I had to stay up all night to finish it because I was not going to be able to sleep until I did. It was a nightmare on steroids. I loved this book.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle promises horror in Siberia, and the book delivers at a reasonable price. The prose is awkward and garbled, but that might be a function of the translation, and in the best moments of "Master of the Forest" the inelegant rush of language feels like an authentic non-authorial voice. The prologue pretty much tells you the entire story, which you could probably guess anyway from the fact that it's about a bunch of fortune-seeking losers braving the wilderness. But they're doing it in Siberia, and we're early enough in the era of Siberian chic (courtesy of Julia Phillips' "Disappearing Earth") that the setting still has some novelty value.

[Jessica D Kaufman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not terrible, just not good

A bit lame. Not very noteworthy. The story wasn't bad, could have been really interesting, but the writing didn't make it. I kept finding myself unpleasantly jarred by the words chosen. There was nothing in this story to really warm to, poor and uncompelling character development, uninteresting descriptions. Nor was it particularly scary. Lots of telling. Very little showing. I had to quit 2/3 through, though i skimmed the last pages to find out how it ends. Predictably.

[J.M. Northup · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Intriguing Read

I love archaeology and enjoyed the inclusion of fossil hunting. It gave a unique depth to the story that added to the overall appeal for me. It added an interesting link between ancient myth and modern life.
The cast of characters were diverse and unexpected. The take on this legend was fascinating and not one I've encountered yet. It was fresh and thought-provoking.
I think the author did a good job drawing the reader into the atmosphere of the tale and setting. The oppressive undertone added to the horror elements.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid creature feature set in Siberia with some great atmosphere and ferocious monster attacks. The author does a good job of developing our protagonist, a young man who initially comes across as an amoral loser, into a flawed but likable hero. Misses a higher rating due to some editing issues and the fact that it takes a while for the story to really get moving. Once it jumps into high gear, though, the narrative transforms into a fantastic thriller. Fans of monsters and cryptids should have a good time with this one.