Rusalka
core novel 1989 Rusalka
Record
| First published | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.52 (1,546 ratings, collected 2026-09-23) |
| Page count | 374 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345359537 |
Synopsis
Fleeing their village, stable boy Sasha and townsman Pyetr take shelter with an old wizard, Uulamets, whose daughter drowned and returned as a rusalka -- a restless water spirit sustaining herself by drawing life from everything nearby. Drawn into Uulamets's search to restore her, the two young men journey into an enchanted forest thick with Slavic folklore's spirits and dangers, confronting a vengeful magic they barely understand. Cherryh's Del Rey debut blends folk myth with themes of grief, obligation, and the uneasy line between wizardry and love.
Where it sits
- Universe: Rusalka
- Series: Rusalka core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: C.J. Cherryh
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1990: nominated
Notes
- From the series record (Rusalka): Also published collectively as The Russian Stories.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Rusalka: position 1 of 3: next Chernevog (1990)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Russian Stories (C. J. Cherryh)
- Wikipedia: Rusalka (novel)
- FantasticFiction: Rusalka
- Worlds Without End: Rusalka
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