ninabrown's review
4.0
This is my third book by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. I've read their Vita Nostra in original Russian, and The Scar in English translation. Reading in Russian is slow for me, so I was very glad to see that another English translation became available - Age of Witches.
I could not believe how terrible this translation is. Not only numerous typos, but glaring grammatical errors, and there are parts of text that look like if the translation was automated. I know this is not how the Dyachenkos write. Their style is rich, lyrical and poetic. Very beautiful. There is no translator name on the ebook I bought from amazon.com.au but Goodreads tells me that the book has been done by Andrew Bromfield, who's translated dozens of other books from Russian and who is, according to Wikipedia, a "British editor and translator of Russian works". I don't want to judge him by this book alone so I'll stop right here.
So, I have finished reading, then bought the original Russian text. It begins with the prologue that is missing from the English version. I've checked some random scenes, mainly Ivga's visions from the last chapter, and there are quite big differences there too. So if you plan to read in English, be warned.
The Scar has been translated by Elinor Huntington and is very well done.
Now for the book. Level one: dark, grim fantasy. Witches and the undead (not zombies, not revenants, there is a hint in the missing prologue as to what they are) and their hunters. Level two: a story of love (but not a love story!), duty and damn hard choices. Level three: the thin line of balance between chaos and order, and what can happen when the line is unhinged. Good diggers will find more :-) and considering that one of the Dyachenkos is a psychiatrist by profession, this shouldn't be a surprise.
The cover may suggest that this is a YA book. Maybe... but there are some quite adult concepts there. Well, at worst, they will be missed :-) Read and enjoy.
I could not believe how terrible this translation is. Not only numerous typos, but glaring grammatical errors, and there are parts of text that look like if the translation was automated. I know this is not how the Dyachenkos write. Their style is rich, lyrical and poetic. Very beautiful. There is no translator name on the ebook I bought from amazon.com.au but Goodreads tells me that the book has been done by Andrew Bromfield, who's translated dozens of other books from Russian and who is, according to Wikipedia, a "British editor and translator of Russian works". I don't want to judge him by this book alone so I'll stop right here.
So, I have finished reading, then bought the original Russian text. It begins with the prologue that is missing from the English version. I've checked some random scenes, mainly Ivga's visions from the last chapter, and there are quite big differences there too. So if you plan to read in English, be warned.
The Scar has been translated by Elinor Huntington and is very well done.
Now for the book. Level one: dark, grim fantasy. Witches and the undead (not zombies, not revenants, there is a hint in the missing prologue as to what they are) and their hunters. Level two: a story of love (but not a love story!), duty and damn hard choices. Level three: the thin line of balance between chaos and order, and what can happen when the line is unhinged. Good diggers will find more :-) and considering that one of the Dyachenkos is a psychiatrist by profession, this shouldn't be a surprise.
The cover may suggest that this is a YA book. Maybe... but there are some quite adult concepts there. Well, at worst, they will be missed :-) Read and enjoy.
More...