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RUSSKI DREAD: A Collection of Short Horror Stories Set in Russia
The voices coming from an old apartment below conspire to kill you.
The flood in a small village brings something wicked from the forbidden forest.
A game cartridge for a pirated Russian gaming console is not what it seems.
"RUSSKI DREAD" brings you short horror stories set in Russia. Stories that could happen only in one place, where the otherworldly terrors are just another layer of dread that looms over the endless state. Whatever kind of horror you desire, from paranormal tales of suspense to brutal slasher flicks - Russia has them all.
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The flood in a small village brings something wicked from the forbidden forest.
A game cartridge for a pirated Russian gaming console is not what it seems.
"RUSSKI DREAD" brings you short horror stories set in Russia. Stories that could happen only in one place, where the otherworldly terrors are just another layer of dread that looms over the endless state. Whatever kind of horror you desire, from paranormal tales of suspense to brutal slasher flicks - Russia has them all.
LIMITED PRE-ORDER PRICE!
- GenresShort StoriesHorror
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 26, 2019
15 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 12, 2019
Russki Dread is a collection of short horror stories set in Russia. As the author's notes state in the introduction of the collection, there's a bit of a hole in the horror genre for stories set in post-USSR countries, countries that are arguably perfectly situated in one way or another for horror stories. Artyom Dereschuk has attempted to contribute to a plug of this hole via this collection, which ranges in very short stories to almost novella length. In his attempt, he has not only been able to beautifully capture and express societal horror (i.e., the kind of thrill that one can only get from real life) but also uses horror tropes and topics in creative new ways.
The collection consists of seven stories. Each of them is quite different from the last. Among the stories, the three that stood out for me were "Nadezhda", "Project 'Lydiya'" and "What kind of 'Dendy' do you have?" in plot and in writing.
In "Nadezhda", for example, Dereschuk describes a scene from a domestic violence incidence in such incredible detail that I became quite uncomfortable. I am no stranger to domestic violence and, based on the writing in this story, I imagine neither is Derechuk. The ending is the kind of ending I would describe as neither sad nor happy, but left me satisfied nonetheless. It evinces Russian cynicism.
"Project 'Lydiya'" explores what it might have looked like if Russia had their own version of the HeLa cells, immortal cells derived from cancer cells. It's one of the shorter stories, but it packs a punch.
However, the story that has had the most impact on me has to be "What kind of 'Dendy' do you have?", a story which deals with addiction and mental illness in a truly horrific way. I had a hard time sleeping after reading this one, and my dear husband has kindly endured listening to me rave about this story to everyone I know over the past few days.
Artyom Dereschuk is a fantastic storyteller with a knack for writing stories that comment and critique on societal issues facing post-USSR countries in a way that doesn't feel like the reader is getting beat over the head with it. While I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and voluntary review, I ended up buying it. I want Dereschuk to continue to give us more and, thus, I will do anything I can to support that endeavor.
Thank you to Artyom Dereschuk and Booksirens for allowing me to access a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. As always all opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The collection consists of seven stories. Each of them is quite different from the last. Among the stories, the three that stood out for me were "Nadezhda", "Project 'Lydiya'" and "What kind of 'Dendy' do you have?" in plot and in writing.
In "Nadezhda", for example, Dereschuk describes a scene from a domestic violence incidence in such incredible detail that I became quite uncomfortable. I am no stranger to domestic violence and, based on the writing in this story, I imagine neither is Derechuk. The ending is the kind of ending I would describe as neither sad nor happy, but left me satisfied nonetheless. It evinces Russian cynicism.
"Project 'Lydiya'" explores what it might have looked like if Russia had their own version of the HeLa cells, immortal cells derived from cancer cells. It's one of the shorter stories, but it packs a punch.
However, the story that has had the most impact on me has to be "What kind of 'Dendy' do you have?", a story which deals with addiction and mental illness in a truly horrific way. I had a hard time sleeping after reading this one, and my dear husband has kindly endured listening to me rave about this story to everyone I know over the past few days.
Artyom Dereschuk is a fantastic storyteller with a knack for writing stories that comment and critique on societal issues facing post-USSR countries in a way that doesn't feel like the reader is getting beat over the head with it. While I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and voluntary review, I ended up buying it. I want Dereschuk to continue to give us more and, thus, I will do anything I can to support that endeavor.
Thank you to Artyom Dereschuk and Booksirens for allowing me to access a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. As always all opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 5, 2019
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
Artyom Dereschuk came onto my radar innocently enough, last year.
I had recently received a Kindle as an early father’s day gift and as I was cruising through the free Amazon horror listings, a stunning cover caught my eye. ‘Master of the Forest’ still has one of my favourite covers ever, and once I read it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From there, I snagged ‘Hate The Sin’ from Netgalley, and while the book was decent, I was left wanting a bit more.
Then out of the blue – I received a message from Dereschuk himself on Goodreads. Was it cryptic? You be the judge.
I opened up my inbox to this as the subject line; “How about round three?”
We chatted and he kindly sent me his newest collection – ‘Russki Dread.’
Look, I’ve waxed about it before in my reviews and on social media, just how much I love winter/wilderness/Siberia/Russian based horror stuff – there was no chance I was going to pass this up.
‘Russki Dread’ tackles a lot in a short page count. Dereschuk himself opens up the collection with a brief foreword mentioning how this collection is based on everyday life as well as a lot of the fears that many people dealt with in Russia in the ’90s.
I absolutely enjoyed this collection. Dereschuk’s writing has improved significantly with each release, and while I found some of ‘Master of the Forest’ stumbling on some English phrases, Dereschuk has eliminated any of those issues.
The collection opens up with ‘The Housing Issue’ a creepy story about a man living in a complex. One day his friends simply move without telling anyone. The individuals who move in – not so nice. This thing unfurls into a fantastic occult based-type story and Dereschuk delivered a powerful ending.
Next up we are treated to the story ‘The Cellar.’ This one had a very Mike Mignola-BPRD feeling to it and once again I was floored with how the story continued to twist and turn.
‘Nadezhda’ was a horrific story about an amulet and a pregnant woman, which was followed up by the masterful ‘Project Lidiya.’
Probably my favourite story in this collection was ‘What kind of Dendy do you have?’ I’d never heard of a Dendy machine before and with the help of Google, I found it was exactly as Dereschuk described – a cheap, Nintendo knock off that was manufactured to fill that gaming gap in Russia. The story follows some friends who are given a mysterious game for their console and from there, things take a dark turn.
Two final stories wrap up the collection; one about a man who has been trying to publish his poetry for decades and one about a town that gets flooded. Both of these were fantastic and while the one following a man who tries to get published was creepy, the town getting flooded was a straight-up creature feature, which was a great way to end things.
I’ve really grown to love Dereschuk’s style. He has a very unique perspective, which we don’t see a lot of – from the wilderness of Russia. I’m excited to see where he goes from here, so far he’s continued to surprise.
Artyom Dereschuk came onto my radar innocently enough, last year.
I had recently received a Kindle as an early father’s day gift and as I was cruising through the free Amazon horror listings, a stunning cover caught my eye. ‘Master of the Forest’ still has one of my favourite covers ever, and once I read it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From there, I snagged ‘Hate The Sin’ from Netgalley, and while the book was decent, I was left wanting a bit more.
Then out of the blue – I received a message from Dereschuk himself on Goodreads. Was it cryptic? You be the judge.
I opened up my inbox to this as the subject line; “How about round three?”
We chatted and he kindly sent me his newest collection – ‘Russki Dread.’
Look, I’ve waxed about it before in my reviews and on social media, just how much I love winter/wilderness/Siberia/Russian based horror stuff – there was no chance I was going to pass this up.
‘Russki Dread’ tackles a lot in a short page count. Dereschuk himself opens up the collection with a brief foreword mentioning how this collection is based on everyday life as well as a lot of the fears that many people dealt with in Russia in the ’90s.
I absolutely enjoyed this collection. Dereschuk’s writing has improved significantly with each release, and while I found some of ‘Master of the Forest’ stumbling on some English phrases, Dereschuk has eliminated any of those issues.
The collection opens up with ‘The Housing Issue’ a creepy story about a man living in a complex. One day his friends simply move without telling anyone. The individuals who move in – not so nice. This thing unfurls into a fantastic occult based-type story and Dereschuk delivered a powerful ending.
Next up we are treated to the story ‘The Cellar.’ This one had a very Mike Mignola-BPRD feeling to it and once again I was floored with how the story continued to twist and turn.
‘Nadezhda’ was a horrific story about an amulet and a pregnant woman, which was followed up by the masterful ‘Project Lidiya.’
Probably my favourite story in this collection was ‘What kind of Dendy do you have?’ I’d never heard of a Dendy machine before and with the help of Google, I found it was exactly as Dereschuk described – a cheap, Nintendo knock off that was manufactured to fill that gaming gap in Russia. The story follows some friends who are given a mysterious game for their console and from there, things take a dark turn.
Two final stories wrap up the collection; one about a man who has been trying to publish his poetry for decades and one about a town that gets flooded. Both of these were fantastic and while the one following a man who tries to get published was creepy, the town getting flooded was a straight-up creature feature, which was a great way to end things.
I’ve really grown to love Dereschuk’s style. He has a very unique perspective, which we don’t see a lot of – from the wilderness of Russia. I’m excited to see where he goes from here, so far he’s continued to surprise.
November 20, 2019
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Russki Dread is composed of seven unsettling tales. Each story contains a strange supernatural element and a lot of enticing imagery of what horrors exist beyond the natural mortal plane but it’s really what this author did with those elements that impressed me while reading. The depth of human nature and the ideology behind it was creative, sometimes more creative than the story itself. But you could feel passion in each story and what Dereschuk tries to embody within the horrors. He uses a hypnotizing video game to explore the depth of addictions and cravings, a monstrous enemy to show that sometimes a monster can come from each of us by the choices we make, each tale a symbol of the darker sides of human nature. I believe the complexity of what each story has underlying is really what made this book special and creative. The stories themselves are also pretty entertaining. I like the authors “campfire story” telling and how each narrator had a personality. Overall I thought it was thought provoking, interesting and mildly disgusting at times. I think if some of these stories were just slightly more inventive with the creations in them, or a little less predictable, it would have been a full 5 stars but I adored this and I think for a collection of short horror, it really hits its mark.
Russki Dread is composed of seven unsettling tales. Each story contains a strange supernatural element and a lot of enticing imagery of what horrors exist beyond the natural mortal plane but it’s really what this author did with those elements that impressed me while reading. The depth of human nature and the ideology behind it was creative, sometimes more creative than the story itself. But you could feel passion in each story and what Dereschuk tries to embody within the horrors. He uses a hypnotizing video game to explore the depth of addictions and cravings, a monstrous enemy to show that sometimes a monster can come from each of us by the choices we make, each tale a symbol of the darker sides of human nature. I believe the complexity of what each story has underlying is really what made this book special and creative. The stories themselves are also pretty entertaining. I like the authors “campfire story” telling and how each narrator had a personality. Overall I thought it was thought provoking, interesting and mildly disgusting at times. I think if some of these stories were just slightly more inventive with the creations in them, or a little less predictable, it would have been a full 5 stars but I adored this and I think for a collection of short horror, it really hits its mark.
October 27, 2019
For the second time I was asked by the author to be part of his ARC team and deliver an honest review of his book.
He never disappoints.
I generally do not go for short stories collections, but this one is very varied and shows all of Artyom's creativity.
I LOVE the constant referring to Russian society and words and habits, it makes the stories weel established in the particular scenery of Russia. (Though to me, the perfect craft of Master of the forest is still unparalleled, with its Siberian ice and ungodly creatures).
I was kinda perplexed at the beginning, since the first story is the one that I felt worked less well compared to the others, but the following were totally engrossing and stuck me to the couch.
Well done Artyom.
The only suggestion I feel like giving, there are still some typos and mistakes in the English writing, the author should make sure the text is properly edited before publishing.
Now I CANT WAIT for the next glorious proper-lenght horror story by this amazing author.
He never disappoints.
I generally do not go for short stories collections, but this one is very varied and shows all of Artyom's creativity.
I LOVE the constant referring to Russian society and words and habits, it makes the stories weel established in the particular scenery of Russia. (Though to me, the perfect craft of Master of the forest is still unparalleled, with its Siberian ice and ungodly creatures).
I was kinda perplexed at the beginning, since the first story is the one that I felt worked less well compared to the others, but the following were totally engrossing and stuck me to the couch.
Well done Artyom.
The only suggestion I feel like giving, there are still some typos and mistakes in the English writing, the author should make sure the text is properly edited before publishing.
Now I CANT WAIT for the next glorious proper-lenght horror story by this amazing author.
November 17, 2019
Russki Dread is a series of short horror stories set in Russia, each reflecting some aspect of that country’s recent past, that start slowly and allow the horror to build to endings full of dread. The characters are interesting and their personalities fit the plots. In all cases the main characters develop fear and dread in measured steps. Fighting neighbors, an unexpected flood, manic poetry writing, forest demons, and a weird game cart are some of topics of the stories. This is a quick, but interesting and recommended read.
Note: I received this collection as an ARC and am freely providing this review.
Note: I received this collection as an ARC and am freely providing this review.
January 27, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed reading these short horror stories, the past few years I have been interested in horror stories that were based in Russia. I blame creepypasta and my kids for their interest in stories like The Russian Sleep Experiment, haha. But absolutely loved that they encouraged me to read some of those stories out loud to them at night. <3
There's a good selection of stories that don't follow the same routine or pattern in this collection, so that is refreshing. You just don't know what the story will offer and I appreciate that. I think after reading Russian literature from high school and college (as a US American) I tend to assume the mood as bleak even before a story has begun, I wonder if other readers feel the same?
I'm a bit surprised that it is hard to find a lot of "Russian" horror and was happy to have stumbled on this collection. I hope the author continues writing more. I definitely appreciated his efforts.
There's a good selection of stories that don't follow the same routine or pattern in this collection, so that is refreshing. You just don't know what the story will offer and I appreciate that. I think after reading Russian literature from high school and college (as a US American) I tend to assume the mood as bleak even before a story has begun, I wonder if other readers feel the same?
I'm a bit surprised that it is hard to find a lot of "Russian" horror and was happy to have stumbled on this collection. I hope the author continues writing more. I definitely appreciated his efforts.
August 5, 2020
Unnerving Horror Collection
These are all very good horror stories. The first one starts off a bit slow but once he sets the story up the rest of the book takes off.
There are descriptions in the stories to make you cringe in discomfort, to make you feel like you're with the characters, to feel for them. The narratives are so well written.
I can't wait to read more of his work
These are all very good horror stories. The first one starts off a bit slow but once he sets the story up the rest of the book takes off.
There are descriptions in the stories to make you cringe in discomfort, to make you feel like you're with the characters, to feel for them. The narratives are so well written.
I can't wait to read more of his work
May 19, 2021
Good stuff
I really like these stories they were short enough to read at 1 time and I like the variety I think this guy is a really good author. I really like the Russian point of view. It's a lot different than I expected.
I really like these stories they were short enough to read at 1 time and I like the variety I think this guy is a really good author. I really like the Russian point of view. It's a lot different than I expected.
November 13, 2019
Artyom Dereschuk breaches a reader's psychological defenses with Russki Dread: a Collection of Short Horror Stories Set in Russia. Per his stated goals, he offers a look into everything horrible that can happen in Russia. His work is not site specific, however, and this Ukranian - born author can tweek anyone's insecurities regardless of his or her culture.
One theme that repeatedly emerges in his work is a breakdown in community spirit - a topic for which inspiration can readily be found in America as much as any other country. His agents of despair include bodysnatchers and something best described as a synthesis of distributed intelligence in a Cold War environment, On another topic, a dendie is something which just might be as effective as certain private propaganda news channels for sucking out peoples' souls (as this reviewer writes, a family member has just watched his sixth hour of daily hate talk, causing me to shudder at Dereschuk's capture of universals).
Dereschuk's writing style keeps his characters up close and personal with the reader. One has to step back from the text to focus on the themes he covers - neither an unexpected nor undesirable quality. The horror of his last story would make Peter Benchley proud, but more disturbing than anything Benchley may have written is found earlier in the book. The most intimate caste of community breakdown which Dereschuk covers is spousal abuse.
One theme that repeatedly emerges in his work is a breakdown in community spirit - a topic for which inspiration can readily be found in America as much as any other country. His agents of despair include bodysnatchers and something best described as a synthesis of distributed intelligence in a Cold War environment, On another topic, a dendie is something which just might be as effective as certain private propaganda news channels for sucking out peoples' souls (as this reviewer writes, a family member has just watched his sixth hour of daily hate talk, causing me to shudder at Dereschuk's capture of universals).
Dereschuk's writing style keeps his characters up close and personal with the reader. One has to step back from the text to focus on the themes he covers - neither an unexpected nor undesirable quality. The horror of his last story would make Peter Benchley proud, but more disturbing than anything Benchley may have written is found earlier in the book. The most intimate caste of community breakdown which Dereschuk covers is spousal abuse.
November 12, 2019
I don't recall ever reading a book based in Russia so jumped at the chance to read it. There are many Russion slangs, but mostly curses that, in the Epub edition, led you to the legend in the back, which was helpful to learn to curse and use bad words in Russian. The stories were intriguing and scary, and the characters were developed well.
Since I had received a copy from the author, actually two copies as he ended up changing the ending of the story, 'Nadezhda, for which I agree that the first one fell flat.
I also like reading short story collections because you can read at least one whole story per night and not leave anything hanging.
Since I had received a copy from the author, actually two copies as he ended up changing the ending of the story, 'Nadezhda, for which I agree that the first one fell flat.
I also like reading short story collections because you can read at least one whole story per night and not leave anything hanging.
December 2, 2019
So, I read this using the Kindle Unlimited program...and I'm glad I didn't pay for it, because if I'd spent money on it, I would have been...a little bummed. For essentially free (if you pay ten bucks a month for membership in Unlimited etc) stories, this is a solid collection overall. Want some night time horror reading before you drift off to sleep dreaming of forgotten villages getting possessed by a terror from beyond the stars? Great, read this. Want really groundbreaking horror? Maybe try Laird Barron or Livia Llewellyn first. Still, as horror I've read on Kindle unlimited (I've read a lot of the stuff on offer), this was a pleasant evening's read.
November 16, 2019
The cultural thrill for me aside (I love cultures other than my own), this book is a solid awesome!!! I love these short horror stories and yes, I loved them all. I tend to toss out one or two because a variety does not always have all of my favorite types of stories but this collection is awesome! I know you will like at least some of them!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 27, 2019
I received this book for an honest review. This book was very
interesting. The characters were very interesting. I would
recommend this book to others if you like horror stories.
Fast read. Look forward to reading more from this author.
interesting. The characters were very interesting. I would
recommend this book to others if you like horror stories.
Fast read. Look forward to reading more from this author.
October 27, 2019
The idea in this story would have made a great premise for a full length novel. There were points in the story I thought I had figured out but was always wrong. The ending was not what I expected either. If your like short story horror, read this.
February 3, 2020
Russian Horror
I loved this book. The author has the imagination of Stephen King. If you like horror this the book for you!
I loved this book. The author has the imagination of Stephen King. If you like horror this the book for you!
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