Uladzimir Karatkevich

This is an eerie tale. The whole story creates a creepy, dreary atmosphere and you can feel the oppressive weight hanging over these people and see the effect that constant fear has had on them. It’s wonderful how it keeps you unsure of what is real or imagined, what is supernatural and what is the conniving of man. It is a mystery and a ghost story and you are never sure what is going to happen next. There is the quiet, slow horror of noises and apparitions in the hallways and the heart stopping terror of chasing (and being chased by) phantoms in the dark, dangerous marsh. And Nadzeya’s belief and acceptance of the fact that she is doomed and there is nothing she can do starts to infect the reader as everything seems to go against her would-be savior. The haunted and spooky environment will have you hearing footsteps when no one else is home. It is a dark and creepy tale, but that’s what makes it fun. In a read it with all the lights on sort of way.… (mehr)

Young Andrey, lost within the remote swamps of a Belarusian territory, comes upon the grand, forgotten castle of Marsh Firs.

There, he meets his high-born hostess, Lady Nadzeya Yanovsky, the last remaining heir to the Yanovsky line. She is deeply frightened of the all-too-real phantoms that exist inside and outside of the castle walls.

"It was fright, chronic, horrible fright. Not the fright that makes one's hair stand on end for a moment, but the fright that finally becomes a habitual state impossible to get rid of even in one's sleep."

It is not long before Andrey himself becomes cognizant of a supernatural force. Thus, he becomes engaged in the dangerous game of King Stakh's Wild Hunt.

"What's fated must die... You are a stranger here, these cursed generations are no business of yours. King Stakh's Hunt comes at midnight. Await it."

Uladzimir Karatkevich (November 26, 1930 - July 25, 1984) created a profoundly macabre and emotive story.

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Bookend Chronicles… (mehr)