Let the Dead Bury the Dead

by Allison Epstein

An urgent, immersive alternate history set in an imperial Russia on the brink of disaster, following a surprising cast of characters seeking a better future as Saint Petersburg struggles in the wake of Napoleon's failed invasion.

Saint Petersburg, 1812. Russian forces have defeated Napoleon at great cost, and the tsar's empire is once again at peace. Sasha, a captain in the imperial army, returns home to Grand Duke Felix, the disgraced second son of the tsar and his irrepressibly charming lover, but their reunion is quickly interrupted by the arrival of Sofia, a mysteriously persuasive figure whose disruptive presence Sasha suspects to be something more than human. Felix, insisting that Sasha's old-fashioned superstitions are misplaced, takes Sofia into his confidence--a connection that quickly becomes both personal and political. On her incendiary advice, Felix confronts his father about the brutal conditions of the common people in the aftermath of the war, to disastrous results, separating him from Sasha and setting him on a collision course with a vocal group of dissidents: the Koalitsiya.

Meanwhile, the Koalitsiya plan to gridlock Saint Petersburg with a citywide strike in hopes of awakening the upper classes to the grim circumstances of the laboring people. Marya, a resourceful sometimes-thief and trusted lieutenant of the Koalitsiya, also falls under Sofia's spell and, allied with Felix and her fellow revolutionaries, she finds herself in the middle of a battle she could never have predicted. As Sofia's influence grows and rising tensions threaten the tsar's peace, Sasha, Felix, and Marya are forced to choose between the ideals they hold close and the people they love.

Allison Epstein combines cleverly constructed plot with unforgettable characters in this exuberant historical page-turner, intercut with fractured retellings of traditional Eastern European folk stories that are equal parts deadly dark and slyly illuminating. Vividly written and emotionally intense, Let the Dead Bury the Dead reminds us that the concerns of the past aren't quite as far behind us as we like to believe.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, LGBT, Queer, Russia, Adult

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2023

About the author

Allison Epstein earned her M.F.A. in fiction from Northwestern University and a B.A. in creative writing and Renaissance literature from the University of Michigan. A Michigan native, she now lives in Chicago, where she enjoys good theater, bad puns, and fancy jackets. She is the author of A Tip for the Hangman, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, and Fagin the Thief. You can find her on Substack at rapscallison.substack.com.

(Goodreads Note: I use this site as a tracker of what I read in a year. I either rate books 5 stars or I don't rate them. Many books I don't rate, I enjoyed very much!)

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someday I'll read a book set in my beloved St. Petersburg that does it justice. Alas, today is not that day.

I didn't care about one of these characters, the romances weren't built up enough, and if this is supposed to be realistic, I can promise you and this author that not ONE Tsarevitch in history acted anything like Felix. The writing wasn't half bad, but the rest was bad.

[Siavahda · Rating 4 out of 5]

'a historical novel in which the arrival of a mysterious woman at the 19th-century Russian court divides the second son of the tsar and his lover, a captain in the imperial army, when one of them believes her to be a creature out of myth, setting all three on a collision course with revolution'

Actual review:

Let the Dead Bury the Dead is a stunningly written historical novel, a story of a fictional attempted-revolution inspired by some of Russia’s real history. Epstein is, frankly, a word-wizard; her prose is absolutely gorgeous, and she knows exactly how to spin language into a spell that’ll make you ache for the beauty of it. Case in point: I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, and I definitely don’t read historical fiction about brutally cold places – not at all my favourite kind of setting! – but my gods, I just couldn’t resist Epstein’s writing.

Or the sheer amount of yearning in this book, all of which is queer, all of which cuts like a blade of crystallized honey. If there were awards given out for Feels, Epstein would take home the gold. My gods!

My favourite parts were the rewritten (or completely original?) fairytales Epstein included, which more or less divided the book into Parts. I adored those – some of them were even queer! – and I would happily devour a short story collection, if Epstein decided to write one. Especially if she wanted to write a collection of folklore-ish stories. Honestly, I would say Let the Dead Bury the Dead is worth it just for those handful of fairytales, but pretty much everything else about this book is also fantastic.

The characters are so believably complex, as is the situation; Epstein perfectly captures the need for and passion of revolution, and how easy it is for that to go wrong, or be misled – or maybe it would be better to say, how easy it is for that to be poisoned, by forceful personalities. By which I really mean Sofia, the maybe-maybe-not vila (a kind of nature spirit/faerie analogue from Slavic mythology), who burns like ice at the heart of this novel. Usually I find it frustrating when authors won’t commit to confirming whether or not the fantastical elements are in fact fantastical…but a) I was pretty satisfied that Sofia wasn’t human, and b) even if she was, she’s still a powerfully compelling character, drawing everyone and everything into her web of manipulation. She’s charismatic in a way that characters are often described as being, but often doesn’t come through to the reader; here, Epstein absolutely pulled it off. Sofia’s the kind of character you can’t look away from, even when your smarter self is screaming to get the hell away from her!

My one real hesitation with this story was with Marya’s sexuality; in the beginning, she seemed to be on the ace spectrum (and in a happy sapphic relationship despite that, which delighted me!) Obviously, there are plenty of ace people who still enjoy sex, but it’s made pretty clear that Marya is not one of them. And yet, she has several intensely sexual encounters with Sofia. I wasn’t really sure how to take that – is it more proof that Sofia isn’t human, and is seducing Marya magically? Did Epstein mishandle her asexual rep? Or can we just hand-wave it as ‘sexuality is complicated’, which is, after all, perfectly true? I’m ace myself, and just…wasn’t sure what the takeaway was supposed to be.

Regardless, this is a seriously great book that I strongly recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction in this time period/setting, especially if they’d also like complicated queer love and yearning.

[Olesya Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my endorsement!: Epstein weaves a sweeping love story set against the backdrop of a cleverly reimagined Imperial Russia, glittering, gritty, and pushed to the very edge of rebellion by a dark creature of legend, a delightfully powerful femme fatale that will seduce anyone who meets her--or destroy them.

[Rachel McMillan]

from endorsement:


"There is no writer in the world quite like Allison Epstein. Her imagination and keen eye for historical detail, as well as the broad canvas on which she paints humane characters altogether recognizable and altogether larger-than-life is an entire universe. Breathtaking and luminous, part folklore and part cultural mirror, Let the Dead Bury The Dead is a beguiling read as genre-defying in its immersive universe and deft research as it is in its singular storytelling. Epstein is a master."

[Paulette Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweeping, eloquent historical fairytale set in an alternate imperial Russia after Napoleon's failed invasion. Epstein has composed an intriguing counterpoint between the privileged, yet emotionally scarred, second son of an imaginary tsar and the band of passionate revolutionaries whose cause he comes to champion. And then there's Sofia-whose machinations will entrance you as surely as they transfix the other characters in this grand theatrical parable of love, belonging, political fervor, and fate. I was beguiled from beginning to end.

[Sydney Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page-turning alternate history novel with magical elements based in folklore. The power of this novel is its ability to make the reader see and feel the heart and anguish of the people who stood up and protested, in the time following Napoleon's defeat. One could, in fact, imagine the struggle still persisting today, as leaders continue to make their own ways. Vivid and gripping, this was a world easy to inhabit.

[Isa · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I can say is that this was an incredibly frustrating read. I really really wanted to like this, and I thought the writing was good and the potential was definitely there – which just made it all the more frustrating. I keep coming back to how none of it felt really earned: not the emotional moments, not the relationships, not the payoffs, nothing. About halfway through, this story started to weigh itself down, and I started skimming a lot despite myself.

[Scott Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the backdrop of St. Petersburg. However, having enjoyed A Tip for the Hangman, I had hoped for more. Ultimately, I found no character had any real arc over the course of the story… and I didn’t like any of them!

[- ̗̀ jess ̖́- · Rating 2 out of 5]

i confess myself disappointed ... i preface this by saying that the prose was skilled and gorgeous but i found the characters flat and the conceit of the vila did not work for me at all. i do understand the author's rationale for a supernatural creature guiding the politics of russia, but while reading, i found myself really disliking the concept.

[Alison FJ]

It’s hard for me to articulate why this book didn’t work for me. I chose it after enjoying Fagin, thinking I would likely appreciate anything written by Allison Epstein. But this felt like it was written by a different person altogether.

Set in an alternate version of Russian history at the tail end of the war against Napoleon. There is still a Winter Palace and a tsar, but he’s a “Komarov,” not a “Romanov.” Instead of Decembrists, there’s a Koalitsiya. And instead of genuine character development, there’s a vila (kind of like a Slavic witch) who enchants people into doing her will.

Wooden characters, an omniscient third person narrator who tells us what they are thinking and feeling, overwrought sex scenes, and a weird combination of serious research and careless ahistorical nonsense (describing the ritual of Petersburg imperial funerals as centuries old in a story set only 100 years after Petersburg became Russia’s capital) - all this combined for a frustrating read. I never cared about a single character in this whole novel.

“It sounded like freedom. And freedom was the kind of song that carried.”

I do, however, recommend Fagin!! I just can’t fathom how both these books were written by the same person.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very well written, but your enjoyment of it will likely depend on how specifically interested you are in the subject.

I tend to like Russian history so I thought that I would be very enthralled by this, but I had trouble getting into the story. Perhaps because it’s speculative, or perhaps just because when you get slow moving novels, it’s tough to stay engaged if you’re not extremely invested as a reader.

I really liked Epstein’s A Tip for the Hangman, and while I think this is just as well-conceived and written, I thought that Hangman made a better story. I was expecting something more atmospheric and felt that Sofia’s character was a missed opportunity for something decidedly witchier, but I loved the relationship between Sasha and Felix, and Epstein’s writing is always a delight.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rep: bi mc, gay mc, lesbian mc, Jewish characters

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Marya from Let the Dead Bury the Dead is asexual!

https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...

[cailin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, then Marya showed up...

[lainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I applaud the ambition here but the rotating perspectives made it hard to grab onto anything so by the end I just didn’t care. Damn

[Dee Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written during Israel's genocide of Palestinians and another oil war genocide in S.Sudan, and as the U.S. indiscriminately bombs whoever irritates the felon this week:

"Her eyes glinted like embers in the dark. “You think it doesn’t change a country when it decides it can afford to shed the blood of thousands? It changes everything. Nothing wholesome can grow from a place like that. Twisted trees, withered crops, riverbeds that give way to flood and unbury the shallow graves of the dead. A country like that can’t be expected to recognize the truth of what’s happening. To hold itself responsible.” Of course not.

"'Picture a family, Felix,' she interrupted, the dance now more like the movements of a swordsman.
'Poorly dressed and terrified, the mother balancing a newborn on one hip as she runs. Behind them,
their house burning, and soldiers swarming the ruins, taking everything left worth owning. Picture a
woman starving in the streets, because the French blocked shipments of food from the countryside and the tsar hasn’t lifted a finger to help. Picture a man standing against a stone wall, cloth bound around his eyes, and the mouths of six soldiers’ rifles taking aim at his chest. Picture a man dragged from his bed at night by soldiers, hauled to prison for the crime of protesting his own misery. Picture it all, and know that this is Russia, and that men like you made it this way.' It could be the U.S., now.

Sophia always speaks the truth, but she has an agenda. She is a revenant of Serbian folklore, a vila or forest spirit, a changeling whose alternate form is a white owl. Her agenda is chaos. She wants Russia returned to its ancient forests with very few people--a time altogether before human civilization. On the other side is Isaak, a Jew escaped from the shtetl called the Pale, whose message is peaceful resistance, whose voice resonates and inspires. He seeks reform through strikes:

"'Imagine it,” Isaak said. 'The sun rises on another day in Piter, and the people, as one—do nothing. No shops open their doors. No servants cater to their masters. No bakers bake, no butchers sell, no soldiers raise their arms. What can the tsar in all his majesty do then? What can any of them do? They told the city what they thought of us, what they reckoned our value to be, but what if the city, with one voice, in one moment—what if the city said no? What if we showed them they need us to survive, and we expect to be valued accordingly? We’ll work, we’ll tell them. As soon as they let us have a life worth working for.'

His city is Petersburg, but it could be L.A., or any American city besieged by masked thugs disappearing people to concentration camps--or to the absolute monarchy of tiny African Eswatini, which sounds to most of us like nothing more exotic than a pasta dish.

The cold facts are that, "'Unless [the tsar] thinks we can fight back, we’re not a danger, we’re an inconvenience. And he’ll think nothing of destroying every last one of us.'” That's precisely how the head of our criminal regime is thinking; its as far as he's capable of thinking.

"Understanding dawned like a bloodied sunrise. Stories through the ages spoke of people elevated beyond reason, chosen by someone greater than they. The witches of the wood chose their companions. Saints chose their holy warriors. The vila chose their princes, their future kings. In none of those stories had the natural order of succession ever mattered. If there was an obstacle in the way, that obstacle would be removed, so that beings with supreme power could shape the future they wanted."

In her afterword, the author details the historic events from which she took inspiration for her plot. And she writes of the Slavic folktales I'd read as a child-- thanks to some unknown but beloved librarian at the NYC Library (the one with the lions), who prepared a pack of books every Saturday for my father to pick up, from my 3rd birthday through my 14th. That lady MADE me.

"The figure of an outsider with alarming power whispering in the ear of the tsar’s family is a familiar
one, whether in the person of the Siberian holy man Grigori Rasputin or the religious mystic Baroness
von Krüdner, who exerted a powerful shaping influence on Tsar Aleksandr I after the Napoleonic Wars. Sasha’s inherent distrust of Sofia is reflected in historical reactions to both Rasputin and von Krüdner. Given that the tsar was seen as God’s emissary on earth, any person able to exert an undesirable influence on him was often seen as beyond God, beyond the earthly. I’ve leaned into this notion by embracing the Slavic folktale, examples of which I’ve adapted and reimagined throughout this book. The vila herself is a figure primarily found in Serbian folklore, though I’ve also drawn on other sinister women from pan-Slavic folktales: the rusalka, Baba Yaga, the warrior queen Marya Morevna, and others." Of course I read very book mentioning Baba Yaga, too.

I also highly recommend Epstein's novel, A Tip for The Hangman, based on historical events in the life of pre-Jacobean playwright Christoper Marlowe, who was also a street brawler and spy for Queen Elizabeth I. He packed in some magnificent plays and lived a full life in his 29 years. ANd don't miss her latest: Fagin The Thief. Better than Dickens!

[Anne (eggcatsreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Doubleday Books for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a historical fiction in 1812 Russia, Let the Dead Bury the Dead is a tale that perfectly blends folklore with reality, making you unsure which is which as the story unfolds. Told with three perspectives - Felix (the grand duke of Russia), Sasha (an imperial soldier with a relationship with Felix), and Marya (a member of the Koalitsiya, a revolutionary) - this story blends together all sides of the unrest stirring in Russia, and the choices each person makes that led to the ending of this novel.

Helped by the enigmatic Sofia to achieve their goals, as the novel unfolds we remain unsure what her goal truly is. Does she wish to help the revolution for a better Russia for the people, or watch it burn to the ground? She is the hand guiding this story, and the only one who knows what resolution her actions will bring.

This story was a beautiful take on Russian history, and made you truly feel like you were living in these times with these people. The stakes slowly rise higher as the novel continues, until eventually you are unable to see how this can end without bloodshed.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let the Dead Bury the Dead by Allison Epstein is a great historical fiction set in 19th century Russia.

I just adore Russian history, and this historical fiction fully immerses the reader into the heart of the land in the early 19th century. So many changes, upheavals, unrest, and instability are growing and festering within Her people. The author does an excellent job portraying the difficult balance of political, social, and societal changes wrangling with the rich and storied culture and mythological histories and past.

There is drama, history, folklore, intrigue, action, suspense, and rich immersive storytelling throughout. I was fascinated and found myself getting lost within the past several different times.

A beautiful and intricate book for anyone that loves Russian culture and history.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Doubleday for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 10/17/23.

[Kate K · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars! This story had a lot of potential and as a historical fiction lover I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately I did not find myself invested in any of the main characters and was constantly frustrated by the decisions they made. I was confused why some people were tricked by Sofia and others weren't. However, I did enjoy the writing and style of the book and was definitely invested in finding out what happened for all the characters in the end.

[Nhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

bodyguard/royal lovers AND radical revolutionaries lovers AND a witch?!? 🫡🫡🫡 so happy to have more historical fiction before the World Wars. it isn’t swoon worthy but something about the resoluteness of love during a brewing toppling of an empire. or maybe I’m just Vietnamese and that’s the blueprint for love

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic historical magical LGBT romance alternate history (that's a lot of genres but trust me they're all important) by an author who writes so well I added one of her other books to my wishlist before I was even halfway done with this one.

[L. Cooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRILLIANT! Great story with compelling characters.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, that was a bad plot. The character choices and their decision making, described in such a painful detail, in the context of pseudo historical novel were just so convoluted and insanely naive that nothing could have saved this book, really, but the final chapters somehow made it even worse.

[Burnettkw · Rating 2 out of 5]

The vila - a witch-like character - seemed to control most of the characters in the book, but for an unclear purpose. It made it hard to understand the characters' motives or care about them. Some of the writing was beautiful, which made the occasional sloppy writing all the more jarring.

[Rebecca]

The writing in this book just did not work for me. It was so much telling and not showing, and I could never connect to the characters and their motivations. It’s super disappointing because I wanted to like this so much and I’m so sad I didn’t. It also definitely felt like the author went to St Petersburg and wanted you to know that she went there and knows whet every famous building looks like. The writing and descriptions created almost no atmosphere, and was dry to read. As an example, during the assassination of the tsar, the author stops to describe the assassin’s appearance, the assassin who we immediately know who it is because she’s pregnant so we don’t need extra details about her freckles.

In terms of character motivation not making sense, in this same scene, Sasha is saying how “oh it’s a woman’s voice, women aren’t dangerous,” as if the whole beginning sequence with Sofia never happened. And it felt like this the entire book, just no internal consistency in the characters’ actions and their relationships. As another example, it was killing me that the soldier who experienced the utter devastation of the Napoleonic war isn’t going to question anything. But the prince, who’s been coddled his whole life and is a party boy at the beginning, is just going to completely change in two paragraphs and run away to join the resistance movement??? None of it made sense! Marya and her group were the only ones that at least had some semblance of understandable motivation.

I also never bought Sasha and Felix’s relationship. I think it could have been interesting, but we were just thrown in and supposed to care as their relationship is falling apart, with a few weak flashbacks to maybe make us care. It needed so much more to work. And again, the dynamics that should make it interesting aren’t there. Like it’s a huge power differential and it’s never addressed, instead Sasha is evil because he doesn’t immediately join a rebellion.

Ok and what was the point? The theme? Sofia maybe was a vila, who just wanted to sow chaos? Or did she actually want to bring about change? Either way, the message felt muddled. Is it that a monarchy is bad, or only if there’s a bad monarch who doesn’t care about the people? Do you need violence or not for a successful revolution? Because Sofia did sow violence, but nothing would have changed without violence, but then Marya stops the violence by killing (maybe) Sofia, and that’s the end of the rebellion. It all felt so bleak? And I like dark stories, but there was no catharsis at all. (I felt this way about Irina’s death and motivation as well re: the assassination of the tsar. I understand she was grieving, but she was also 6 or 7 months pregnant and you’re going to convince me she threw away her and her unborn child’s life? Sofia’s potential influence is not well done enough to convince me anyone in reality would do this. If she wasn’t pregnant, sure. But not when she’s pregnant! With no scene showing Sofia influencing her, or her giving some motivation for deciding to kill her baby too? Like if she was feeling, I can’t bring my child into this bleak world and make them face it. But she had hope previously for change, and you’d think her friends would be like, hey you’re grieving, probably not making the best choices right now so let’s not have you be the assassin. But we’re given n.o.t.h.i.n.g and are just supposed to feel sad about it, I guess.)

Finally, if I’d liked this more, maybe I wouldn’t want to complain about the next thing, but where were the patronymics? Why were some people using diminutives and some their full names? Like why was Sasha constantly calling Felix Felix and not Felya, and Sasha was basically never called Alexander even when it would make sense to. Same with Marya never being called Masha. Whatever, I gotta get over it and I have to stop being drawn in by books taking place in Russia not written by Russians/Eastern Europeans.

[Jeffrey Reider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough book to review. I began this book on November 30th of last year, so it’s taken me almost two months to get through it. Often, during that time, I thought about giving up and reading another book. The story simply didn’t draw me to it. I couldn’t stand the characters, and the plot just wasn’t for me.

On the other hand, Let the Dead Bury the Dead is written well. Epstein’s descriptive manner is on point, and when she paints a scene, she does a great job in placing the reader there. She manages to subject the reader to the decadence of the life lived by Felix, and the hardships faced by Marya.
The book takes place in Russia, just after the Russian defeat of Napolean in 1812. It’s an alternate history piece, and notably I wasn’t interested in this historical period myself. Since I have a great desire to read more about things with which I’m not familiar, I decided to buy this book and give it a try.

The book starts out with Marya fleeing Russian soldiers trying to capture her and a male companion, Isaak, who later turns out to be the leader of a rebel movement. While the characters in the book are well crafted, they are boring to me personally. There were a lot of tropes I felt were forced to make way for them in the story. In addition to that, sometimes these characters made incredibly stupid decisions that are hard to grasp.

I didn’t give up on this book because I wanted to like it. If not for the story, for the writing and what I could learn from it personally. It was torturous at times to be torn between the need to finish the story, and the job of reading the story. I had considered buying the audiobook to get through it that way while working on other things but couldn’t bear to supply the author with another sale as if in reward for a bad story.

All that changed about a week ago, and I finished the last 60% of the book during that time. The story becomes compelling, and it makes you not want to put the book down. With that being said, this book carries despite the loathsome characters. I think Marya was the only character I could somewhat identify with, and even she had deeper flaws that what can generally be justified for a fallible character. Keep in mind, with the book being alternative history, these characters are poetically licensed from real people and events that transpired at one point or another during Russia’s history.

Overall, Let the Dead Bury the Dead is predictable. If the author was going for a plot twist, it’s unfortunate that I saw it coming a mile away. The author’s style in the third person narrative is to follow the protagonists of the story, so it’s easy to quickly determine who the antagonists are, and who the more insignificant characters are.

In the end, I’m glad that I allowed the author to take me on this journey. I have no desire to further research the real history behind the plot, so if that was her intention, I hope she was able to inspire others to do so. For reread ability, I think this book is average. I will not be rushing to pick it up again (especially owing to my indifference and struggles to continue reading it), but maybe one day I can read it again and come away with a different point of view of the characters themselves, perhaps understanding their decisions throughout the novel with the knowledge already implanted on how the story ends.

As a final compliment to the author, she is great at compelling emotions from the reader. There were times I was angry with the Tsar, and there were times I was sad for the rebels, their plight, and their tragedy. The betrayal peppered throughout the story sometimes had me whispering “idiot” to myself. Depending on who was carrying out the betrayal, and who was being betrayed and whether I felt like they should have known better.

I recommend this book if you are interested in this era of history. If, like me, you have no interest in it; do yourself a favor and pass.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

An immersive, enchanting, engaging, atmospheric novel that honestly surprised me with the depth of feeling Epstein imbued in her characters. Yes its an alternate history (make sure to read the afterword) but in the broadest sense and you don't need to know what happened in Russia in 1812 to enjoy this because Epstein has created a world for Sasha, a Russian Army Captain who loves Grand Duke Felix, younger son the the Tsar, the revolutionary Marya, and Sofia. Sasha makes the biggest mistake of his life when he rescues Sofia from the snow on his way to Felix's palace because it turns out that she's a vila- a witch- who upends not only his life but the lives of everyone around her. Her story, the story of the vila, and others, is told in the Russian folklore that separates the chapters are critical points. This is very much about the class struggle in Russia during the time of the Tsars. Marya, Lena, Issak, and the others are part of the growing revolution and Sasha, who grew up in poverty, understands but has pledged loyalty to the Tsar, which becomes critical as things escalate. But is he more loyal to Felix? Their relationship, told from both their perspectives, is just, well, no spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I did not want this to end (although the ending was perfect) and can not recommend it more highly.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well done alternative history of post-Napoleon Russia. Sasha rushes back from the war to return to his regular position as bodyguard to his friend and lover, Grand Duke Felix. He finds a woman unconscious in the snow and carries her to the palace where Felix has been exiled because of opinions that outrage his father, the Tsar. Once the woman gains consciousness, Sasha sees what he has brought into the palace--a vila, a beautiful witch capable of entering people's minds.

And she's a busy vila. As well as captivating Felix, she captivates members of a revolutionary group. Initially Marya is enveloped by Sofia's extraordinary being but she comes to her senses and begins to wonder about her. Then Grand Duke Felix stumbles into the group's meeting.

Allison Epstein skillfully weaves Russian folk beliefs into "Let the Dead Bury the Dead," creating a a nice depth to the story. Although none of the royal family is based on historical fact, the dire social situation is spot on for Russia during that time period and a whole lot of others. It's an engaging read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy in exchange for a, honest review.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing itself is enjoyable, and I liked the short folk tales included. However, the story is too long, and it’s more descriptive than anything. It takes awhile to get where it’s going, and the Insertion of magical realism didn’t work for me.

Essentially combining various historical events in Russia to create a parallel world narrative; Felix, the Spare, has been banished by his father the Tsar & living his best life away from Imperial rules. His lover, Sasha, returning from the napoleonic wars, “rescues” a strange mystical woman, bringing her to Felix’s home. There are also secret revolutionaries because it’s Russia & there always have been.

The woman is a vila, a shape shifting witch, who goes on to whisper in the ears of revolutionaries & princes, encouraging more violence in an already fragile co- existence & thus results in assassinations of the tsar & two resistance leaders.

Essentially, Sofia is a supernatural anarchist who wants the world to burn; she literally flies away as an owl, injured but will return. Marya, a revolutionary, ends her part in the story rejecting Sofia’s hardline tactics and the hope that the cause will rise again non violently because it’s fair & just, and all wide eye optimism (ask the murdered Romanovs about that); and Felix & Sasha ride off into the sunset, destination Paris.

[Mint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let the Dead Bury the Dead tells an alternate history of Russia after the Napoleonic War, told through the POVs of a second prince who wants to make a difference, a soldier who can't leave the war behind, and a peasant girl who wishes for a better future, sprinkled with beautiful and dark folklore of a woman with silver hair who leaves pains and changes in her wake.

What I love most about this book is the tension between different kinds of desire. A desire to be someone. A desire to be with someone. A desire to protect someone or something, tangible or abstract. The story pulls every character taut, all their desires conflicting, all their decisions painful. Despite this being an alternate history with speculative elements, the story feels very real and humane. If you like Babel by R.F. Kuang or In Memoriam by Alice Winn, you'll find a similar kind of heartache and catharsis here.