The Starry Raven

The adventures that began in the story "Shishkin Root" continue. But now they happen not to Seryozha Shishkin, but to his friend Grishka Skovoroda. By a ridiculous coincidence, he is transported from Nizhny Novgorod at the end of the 19th century five centuries back in time and finds himself in ancient Siberia. Grishka dreams of finding the treasure of Khan Tokhtamysh. But instead, he has to shoot a bow, learn the Selkup language, get used to harsh shamanic customs, fight a bear, and even battle the Tatar-Mongols…

The writer Alisa Streltsova, drawing on numerous legends, placed the characters in the ancient land of Lukomorye, which once was located in Siberia. Its trading center—the mysterious city of Grustina—was situated where modern Tomsk is now. The narrative sometimes diverges from the official versions of historians, which does not prevent readers from following the fate of the characters across medieval Siberia with excitement.

Will Grishka manage to find the treasure? Will he gain shamanic power? Will he save the mysterious city from destruction and return to his own time?

The first book of the cycle—"Shishkin Root"—is a winner of the V. Krapivin Prize.