Zastupa: All Shades of Carrion

In Russia, the “Manuscript of the Year” Grand Prix and the “New Horizons” award take place, with the country’s main horror anthology participating.

The plot unfolds in Novgorod lands in the seventeenth century—an undeveloped region where terrifying legends and tales have become reality. Here demons buy souls, werewolves break gates, and sorcerers create creatures from pieces of human bodies; rumors say that war is near. The forests are teeming with the unclean, abandoned cemeteries come alive, and roads are soaked in blood. From the sky, a hideous moon glares down, bringing death and plague.

And this insane world needs a suitable hero. Meet Rukh Buchila: a killer, a scoundrel, a rascal—and a little bit of a saint. He protects monsters and hunts widows. He becomes the last hope before the fallen darkness and the cursed God and people.