Bulgarian/Balkan myth comes alive (or undead) in Foul Days by Genovena Dimova, which is the first part of her Witch’s Compendium of Monsters duology and her debut novel. A fire witch by the name of Kosara lives in Chernograd, a walled city where she fights monsters. The Foul Days of the novel’s title refers to the dozen days after New Year’s Day when a storm of monsters erupts. Unfortunately, Kosara makes a bad deal and loses her shadow, which is the conduit to her magical powers.
As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice treating lycanthrope bites, bargaining with kikimoras, and slaying bloodsucking upirs. There’s only one monster she can’t defeat: her ex, the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. She’s defied him one too many times and now he’s hunting her. Betrayed by someone close to her, Kosara’s only choice is to trade her shadow—the source of her powers—for a quick escape.
Unfortunately, Kosara soon develops the deadly sickness that plagues shadowless witches—and only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To find it, she’s forced to team up with a suspiciously honorable detective. Even worse, all the clues point in a single direction: To get her shadow back, Kosara will have to face the Foul Days’ biggest threats without it. And she’s only got twelve days.
But in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the biggest monster from her past?
The title of the book comes from the 12 days following New Years and this time around, our protagonist Kosara finds herself stuck in a bar as the monsters come out to “play.” The meanest monster of them all, The Zmey; however, has a rather human appearance. All the people of the walled city of Chernograd know the Zmey so when he comes knocking demanding entrance into the bar so he can get her, Kosara makes a snap decision. She gives up her powers so she can be transported to Belograd the land outside the walls of the city, a place she’s only heard about and has its own preconceived notions about people from inside the walled city.
Kosara soon gets paired up with Detective Bakhorav, who has his own agenda and thinks Kosar can help him meet those goals. Unfortunately with her shadow severed from her, Kosara is afflicted with what amounts to a wasting disease and unless she can find her shadow and bring back to her, she will die in a only a matter of days.
Dimova was born in Bulgaria and this novel is rich with the mythology of her heritage. Many of the monsters are informed by that mythology, which lends an extremely refreshing and authentic feel to the novel. There’s a little bit of anachronistic element to the story too, it initially feels like Chernograd could be a pre-industrial setting, but then trains are commonplace in Belograd. A nice blend of magic and technology living in the world simultaneously adds to the felt that the world is nearly a character in its own right.
In the depiction of Kosara and The Zmey, Dimova presents an abusive relationship and how difficult it is to not only leave a relationship like that, but the pain of dealing with the abuser still trying to make his presence felt. The Zmey has a history of abusive relationships and Kosara has the distinction of being the only one to escape his clutches. Where Dimova also does a great job with The Zmey building the fear that so many people in the world have for the character. His presence looms when he isn’t on the page and it is very effective.
The opening scene centered in a bar on a card game to me resonated classic opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the drinking competition set in a claustrophobic, candle lit bar in Nepal. The world itself felt a bit like the world of the Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo. Dimova’s take on witches/witchcraft is reminiscent of Sapkowski’s The Witcher (as the promotional copy indicates) since Kosara is a very much a monster hunter, but Dimova’s story and take on that idea is her own.
Foul Days is a fun, immersive, novel that is the first of a duology. Dimova hints at a richly realized world and I’m looking forward to finishing off this story with the second installment, Monstrous Nights.
Recommended
© 2024 Rob H. Bedford
Tor Books | Trade Paperback
June 2024 | 357 Pages
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Excerpt: https://ift.tt/LVZ5gHn
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
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