Zastupa: The Coming Darkness

The first full novel about Rukh Buchila, a character from the book cycle “Zastupa.”

Evil has come to the quiet, peaceful town of Vyshny Volochek. In remote corners, they find traces of sadistic witchcraft rituals; crops burn; wells are poisoned; mavkas rebel; and even the ever-present evil spirits are hiding in fear, as if sensing a great misfortune approaching.

A detachment of Novgorod Forest Guards and Rukh Buchila arrive on Lysa Hora for advice in this tangled matter. Rukh Buchila, a modest and reclusive hermit, spends eternity in posts, prayers, and unspeakable misdeeds, and agrees to help them out of old friendship—without yet knowing that there will be no way back, that help cannot be expected, and that fate has already passed sentence. Somewhere ahead, beyond the bend of the black forests, the sky will soon turn the color of blood—and everyone will be left alone with their nightmares.