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The Zemnian #1-2
The Midnight Land: Complete Omnibus Edition
Love First Lessons or The Bear and the Nightingale? Try both books of this award-winning epic fantasy adventure in one omnibus edition!“A bold beginning to a series that explores gender, empathy, and the frozen north”--Kirkus“A riveting saga”—Midwest Book ReviewWomen rule in Zem’. Krasnoslava Tsarinovna is the second-most powerful woman in Zem’. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a lot of power.Krasnoslava (Slava to her friends, if she had any) is the younger sister to the Empress of Zem’. She lives in luxury in her sister’s kremlin, eats at her sister’s rich feasts, and sits on her sister’s council. She has everything any woman could want—except respect. Instead, she is the bearer of her family’s double-edged gifts of clairvoyance and empathy. Knowing what other people feel about you is difficult at the best of times. In the Imperial court, it’s torture.When an adventurer comes asking for Imperial support to explore the Midnight Land, the far North where the sun never rises all winter, Slava is so desperate to leave the kremlin that she asks to come with her. To her surprise, her request is granted.Slava’s journey is supposed to take her to the very edge of Zem’ and the Known World, and maybe help her learn more about her gifts. But as she travels North, she finds herself drawn into the center of a plot that could bring down her family. Slava would do anything to protect her family—except what the gods call upon her to do. Everyone has always considered Slava a coward. Will she learn to become a hero in order to save the people she loves?This high fantasy saga set in a magical Slavic world infused with Russian myths and fairy tales contains elements of metaphysical and visionary fantasy, ecofiction/ecofantasy, noblebright (or maybe a touch of nobledark), and hopepunk.
- GenresFantasy
1140 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2020
48 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
E.P. Clark
24 books116 followersI started making up stories before I could read or write. Most of them are, blessedly, forgotten. But eventually I started writing things down, and after a few decades I decided they were worth putting out into the world. "The Midnight Land" was inspired by some reading I was doing for a medieval Russian literature class I was taking in grad school. Now that it's out, I'm starting work on the next book in the series!
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 4, 2021
The names of characters are very similar so can get confusing as to what character is who
January 20, 2022
Very SLOW. Very charming. Good.
I have read "War and Peace" at least three times in my life. I have also enjoyed several classic (dead) Russian authors as well as enjoying other slow read, mostly classic books. E.P.Clark is a thoroughly American (living) author who has written a fine tale giving respect for some classic writers, capturing a great deal of the charm and authenticity, but at a price. The russian influence on using full, long, and somewhat alliterative names often multiple times within a paragraph, can bog down the reader. I found myself frequently wishing to skim the text and hurry along. The magical and twisty tale was not just charming but held my interests (barely at times) through this long read.
The world-building is fantastic. Full Stop. I want so much more of this universe!
It is the writing style that gives me reason for cautioning perspective readers. This is a book series that should be savored and cherished, but must be approached with the right expectations.
>>> unauthorized short excerpt as an example <<< >>>no spoiler <<<
>>>Princess Malolesnaya, practically quivering with pride and joy, then left Slava to her own devices in order to show the others to their rooms, but returned shortly after that with Vladislava and a troubled look on her face. It seemed that Princess Malolesnaya had assumed that “the little princess Vladislava,” who was clearly too young to be left in a strange room by herself for the night—she might have nightmares, poor thing!—would of course wish to stay with her dear Aunty Olga, only Aunty Olga had said, somewhat grumpily, that Vladislava should stay with the Tsarinovna instead. Princess Malolesnaya had found this lack of aunt-like feeling to be quite shocking, and also feared that the Tsarinovna would not wish to be bothered with a young girl like dear little Vladislava, which would hurt dear little Vladislava’s feelings, although the gods knew that Princess Malolesnaya would consider it both an honor and a delight to have dear little Vladislava spend the night in her chambers, but... “Vladislava Vasilisovna should of course spend the night with me,” Slava managed to cut in. “She is coming to Krasnograd as my ward, and Olga Vasilisovna was right to send her to me. I was most remiss not to say something earlier.” <<<
I believe that a differently edited version would fit a broader audience. Faster pacing and more focus on the plot would suit more.of my reading friends. I was more frustrated at my impatience than the writing. I did not enjoy this book as much as I would have liked in this first reading, but I have learned that my mood has a lot to do with my pleasure in reading, often more than the writing does. Knowing that the second reading (when I am better prepared for a long slow read) will undoubtedly be worthwhile and obsessive deep dive, is enough to raise the rating.
I am following this writer and will explore other works, it may be that Omnibus editions are not my best versions. I just want more, though perhaps not longer stories from this world.
I have read "War and Peace" at least three times in my life. I have also enjoyed several classic (dead) Russian authors as well as enjoying other slow read, mostly classic books. E.P.Clark is a thoroughly American (living) author who has written a fine tale giving respect for some classic writers, capturing a great deal of the charm and authenticity, but at a price. The russian influence on using full, long, and somewhat alliterative names often multiple times within a paragraph, can bog down the reader. I found myself frequently wishing to skim the text and hurry along. The magical and twisty tale was not just charming but held my interests (barely at times) through this long read.
The world-building is fantastic. Full Stop. I want so much more of this universe!
It is the writing style that gives me reason for cautioning perspective readers. This is a book series that should be savored and cherished, but must be approached with the right expectations.
>>> unauthorized short excerpt as an example <<< >>>no spoiler <<<
>>>Princess Malolesnaya, practically quivering with pride and joy, then left Slava to her own devices in order to show the others to their rooms, but returned shortly after that with Vladislava and a troubled look on her face. It seemed that Princess Malolesnaya had assumed that “the little princess Vladislava,” who was clearly too young to be left in a strange room by herself for the night—she might have nightmares, poor thing!—would of course wish to stay with her dear Aunty Olga, only Aunty Olga had said, somewhat grumpily, that Vladislava should stay with the Tsarinovna instead. Princess Malolesnaya had found this lack of aunt-like feeling to be quite shocking, and also feared that the Tsarinovna would not wish to be bothered with a young girl like dear little Vladislava, which would hurt dear little Vladislava’s feelings, although the gods knew that Princess Malolesnaya would consider it both an honor and a delight to have dear little Vladislava spend the night in her chambers, but... “Vladislava Vasilisovna should of course spend the night with me,” Slava managed to cut in. “She is coming to Krasnograd as my ward, and Olga Vasilisovna was right to send her to me. I was most remiss not to say something earlier.” <<<
I believe that a differently edited version would fit a broader audience. Faster pacing and more focus on the plot would suit more.of my reading friends. I was more frustrated at my impatience than the writing. I did not enjoy this book as much as I would have liked in this first reading, but I have learned that my mood has a lot to do with my pleasure in reading, often more than the writing does. Knowing that the second reading (when I am better prepared for a long slow read) will undoubtedly be worthwhile and obsessive deep dive, is enough to raise the rating.
I am following this writer and will explore other works, it may be that Omnibus editions are not my best versions. I just want more, though perhaps not longer stories from this world.
March 3, 2022
wow, that is one of the most intriguing books i've read in a long time. The writing is superb. I do so love long epic tales about strong women where romance is NOT the focus and this is an epic tale indeed, not about different worlds but rather empires. From a female perspective - glorious!
I am a psychologist so the intense psychological focus fascinated me, altho i didn't give 5 stars because it also lost me a few times, feeling slow or repetitive. I was hoping the sequel told more about how this main character managed the huge shifts in her world, but alas it skips 18 years to her daughter. And tho i usually refuse to pay $8 for an ebook, i've read the sample & might just spring for it. The daughter sounds as complex as her mother tho much less likable so far.
i will definitely check out this author more fully. The few times i put the book down because it was going too slowly for me, i couldn't stop thinking about it and picked up again shortly. I still can't stop thinking about it! Now that's a good book. Highly recommended.
I am a psychologist so the intense psychological focus fascinated me, altho i didn't give 5 stars because it also lost me a few times, feeling slow or repetitive. I was hoping the sequel told more about how this main character managed the huge shifts in her world, but alas it skips 18 years to her daughter. And tho i usually refuse to pay $8 for an ebook, i've read the sample & might just spring for it. The daughter sounds as complex as her mother tho much less likable so far.
i will definitely check out this author more fully. The few times i put the book down because it was going too slowly for me, i couldn't stop thinking about it and picked up again shortly. I still can't stop thinking about it! Now that's a good book. Highly recommended.
March 19, 2022
DNF 39%
I quit. I just did what I should have done to start with, which is check some reviews for the later parts of the story/title/collection. I quite like a bit of high fantasy sometimes, and it's interesting to have one told from a female POV. However, this is too slow, too repetitive, and too not-driven by internal monologue for me. And considering what I now know about what happens farther along, I don't care enough to make the effort to keep going. I'm sure there are loads of readers who do/will love this. I'm not one of them.
I quit. I just did what I should have done to start with, which is check some reviews for the later parts of the story/title/collection. I quite like a bit of high fantasy sometimes, and it's interesting to have one told from a female POV. However, this is too slow, too repetitive, and too not-driven by internal monologue for me. And considering what I now know about what happens farther along, I don't care enough to make the effort to keep going. I'm sure there are loads of readers who do/will love this. I'm not one of them.
November 27, 2023
Slava
When a reader sees +1k pages, they get happy. Well, I did, anyway. I loved Slava's journey. The formality was a bit much, however, understandable. I was so relieved when she finally found her footing & confidence. I enjoyed the details on the people included. Too often they're skimmed over. I liked the twist of women in power. The ending with her sister was anticlimactic. I felt there should've been more to it, but, alas, there are 2 more books. More adventures to partake. Looking forward to Darya's story & what happens to Vladyslava!!
When a reader sees +1k pages, they get happy. Well, I did, anyway. I loved Slava's journey. The formality was a bit much, however, understandable. I was so relieved when she finally found her footing & confidence. I enjoyed the details on the people included. Too often they're skimmed over. I liked the twist of women in power. The ending with her sister was anticlimactic. I felt there should've been more to it, but, alas, there are 2 more books. More adventures to partake. Looking forward to Darya's story & what happens to Vladyslava!!
June 27, 2020
I received a arc and volunteer to review this book. Fantastic series and loved it so far. I highly recommend this book. ❤️ 📚 👍
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews