Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko — Maryna Y. Dyachenko (Shyrshova) and Serhiy S. Dyachenko are spouses and Ukrainian

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

 co-authors of novels and plays. They write in Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 and Ukrainian

Ukrainian language

Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....

 languages. The primary genres of their books are modern science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, and fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

s. They currently reside in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

.

Work

Maryna and Serhiy claim that the bulk of their work is "M"-realism (a possible guess is that "M" stands for magic

Magic (fantasy)

Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...

, but it was never confirmed by either author).

Their first work, The Gate-Keeper , was published in 1994. This novel received the "Crystal Table" prize at the book festival Zoryany Schlyach, the novel was awarded the title "Best Debut Work" during EuroCon competition in 1995. The Gate-keeper became the first novel in Dyachenko's fantasy tetralogy Wanderers ("Скитальцы"). With publishing of The Scar (1997), the sequel of The Gate-Keeper, Dyachenko established themselves as masters of psychological fantastic fiction. The Scar has received "Sword in the Stone" (1997) award as the best fantasy novel from 1995 to 1999.

In 1996 a new novel, The Ritual was published - a story about princess and the dragon. This work is very strange and unusual, since the dragon in this tale is a half-human. This novel did not receive much attention and was not awarded any prizes.

The novel Age of the Witch (1997) has a unique setting - it contains characters from various (mainly Slavonic) mythologies, creating a unique background. This novel received a literature award from the magazine Rainbow in 1997 and the "Zilantkon" - "Great Zilant" prize in Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

 in 1998.

The novel The Cave (1998) was awarded "Moon Sword" prize in 1999 for the best work in the genre of "mystical literature" in 1997-1999.

The novel Burned Tower (1998) received a prize at Interpresscon competition in 1999.

The novel The Frontier (1999) , written in co-authorship with A. Valentinov and H. L. Oldie , was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" prize at the festival "Star Bridge - 2000".

The novel The Execution (1999) received "The Wаnderer" award in 2000 and the Reader Appreciation award "Sigma-F" in 2000 as the Novel of the Year.

The novel Armaged-Home (1999) is a result of the long-term effort, written in the genre of social science fiction

Social science fiction

Social science fiction is a term used to describe a subgenre of science fiction concerned less with technology and space opera and more with sociological speculation about human society...

. The book describes different periods of the female heroine's life and the society she lives in. In the opinion of many critics and readers, it is one of the best Dyachenko's novels.

The Green card (2000) - this work is not a fantastic novel. It is a tale about people from Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, who have received an opportunity to immigrate to the United States. A screenplay was based on this book.

A variation on Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...

' classic, novel Last Don Quixote (2000) became a base for a theatrical play. The novel was awarded the "Bronze Snail" (2001).

The novel Magicians Can Do Anything (2001) was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" award at the "Golden Bridge - 2001" festival.

In 2001 Marina and Sergey Dyachenko were awarded the "Aelita" prize.

The novel Valley of the Conscience was awarded the following prizes: "Bronze Snail - 2002", "Russian science fiction - 2002", "Sigma-F - 2002", and the "Golden Caduceus" award at the festival "Golden Bridge - 2002".

The novel Pandem took the "Silver Caduceus" prize at the "Star Bridge -2003" festival.

The novel Varan was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the "Star Bridge -2004" festival.

The novel The Pentacle , in co-authorship with A. Valentinov and G. L. Oldi , was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" prize at the "Star Bridge - 2005" festival.

The novel Wild Energy. Lana (March 2006) - is a fantasy fairy tale, written under impression of the music of the Ukrainian singer Ruslana

Ruslana

Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko is a World Music Award winning and MTV Europe Music Award nominated artist, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004....

 . The book was dedicated to Ruslana as well. This novel is full of action, rhythm and energy. The novel was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the "Star Bridge - 2006" festival.

In 2006 they published first part of the fantasy series named The Key of the Kingdom and its sequel Oberon's Word ; trilogy was concluded with Evil Has No Power in 2008. Alena and Aspirin - a psychological fantastic novel was published as well in 2006.

Vita Nostra was published in 2007, first novel in associative "Metamorphosis" cycle. The book collected dozen of professional and readers national awards.

The Copper King, fantasy novel loosely coonected to Varan, was published in 2008.

Digital, or Brevis Est, modern take of "world power" seduction theme, became the second novel in "Metamorphosis" cycle in 2009, and Migrant, or Brevi Finietur, extraterrestrial science fiction novel, became the third in 2010.

Possessed, modern urban fantasy, was published in 2011.

Literary Awards

Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko are recipients of the most prestigious literary awards in the science fiction in the Commonwealth of Independent States

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

. Practically every novel they have written, in addition to several short stories, have received various awards.

They were honored as the ESFS's Best Writers of Europe in Eurocon

Eurocon

Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike...

 2005.

List of Publications

Some of their novels have also been translated into other languages (ex. Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

). The Scar will become their first major book publication in USA in February, 2012 from Tor Books

Tor Books

Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...

.

Novels

• The Gate-Keeper
• The Ritual
• The Scar
• The Bondage
• The Successor
• Age of the Witch
• The Cave
• The Execution
• Armaged-Home
• The Adventurer
• Everything is allowed to the mags
• Valley of the Conscience
• Pandem
• The Pentacle (novel with a series of the short stories; co-authors A. Valentinov, G. L. Oldi)
• Varan
• Alena and Aspirin (published in Russian and Ukrainian)
• Wild Energy. Lana (published in Russian and Ukrainian)
• The Key of the Kingdom (published in Russian and Ukrainian)
• Oberon's Word (published in Russian and Ukrainian)
• Vita Nostra
• The Copper King
• Evil Has No Power
• Digital, or Brevis Est
• Migrant, or Brevi Finietur
• Possessed

Novellas

• Bastard
• Stone's Roots
• Burned Tower
• Last Don Quixote
• Green card
• Wolfs' Land
• Emma and the Sphinx
• The Well Master
• Kon
• Miseracle
• Zoo
• Two
• My Noble Knight Has Left Me...
• The Sail Bird
• Vesnars' Land

Short Stories

• Virlena
• Outside
• The Throne
• Oskol
• Horde's man
• A Tale about Golden Rooster
• The Spell
• Blind Basilisk
• The Hamlet
• Mackler and Magic
• The Wing
• Dark side of the Moon
• Basketball
• Hair
• The Bloom
• The Promise
• Lunar Landscape
• Marta
• Visit to a Paediatrician
• 'Churrem' - means 'The One Who Smiles'
• Ataman

With A. Valentinov, H. L. Oldie

• The Frontier
• Bashtan
• Fights with no Rules
• Devil's Expedition
• The Potato
• Werewolf in the Uniform
• Bursak
• Senatorium
• The Neighbor
• Venus Mirgorodus
• Day of the Dead in the Community Center
• Sold Soul
• Bazaar
• Rescuers
• Kolobrod
• Kvarteronka
• Dress Shoes
• Charisma Nuyrki Gavrosh
• Monte-Carltown
• Let's go to the Basement?
• Nespokiy
• Scary M.
• Bogdana
• The Serdolick Perl
• The Attraction
• The Pan's Orchid
• Cossack's Blood
• The Flaming Motor
• The Competition
• The Bequest Stone
• Five Dead-ends Street

Children's Books

• Flying Hat (with A. Bondarchuk and I. Malkovich) Published in Ukrainian.
• Tales for Stevo
• Adventures of Masha Michailova ; also published in Ukrainian .
• Search of Masha Michailova
• Flying fish Published in Russian, Ukrainian an English
• Giraffe and Panda Published in Russian and Ukrainian.
• Fairy Tales: About the old woman, About the barrel, About the river, About the chicken, About the chicken-2, About the cricket
• Gabriel and The Steel Lumberjack Published in Ukrainian.

Fictional Creatures and Objects Created by Writers

This section lists unique objects and creatures, which were never used in any other work, or very little know ones, such as "Chugaister" .

• "Glaive" (from the book Armaggedon-Home) - This is a dalphin's larva that emerged during the apocalypse. It is deadly for all living objects. Extremely survivable, resistant to high temperature, they need no shelter and are able to get through the apocalypse without taking cover. Dalphins in this novel resemble real dolphin
  Dolphin
  Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
  
  s. They have evolved to survive the apocalypse in the following way: females lay eggs once every twenty years, right before the apocalypse. Critical changes in the environment, and sometimes just the warning signs, stimulate development of the larvae. Creatures migrate back to the ocean when seismic activity is over. Their next stage of the development is the cocoon. Dalphin spends inside the cocoon from the one to two month, an adult species emerges afterwards. In the world of this book, mentioning of the glaives is a taboo, probably from the fear of them. The word glaive
  Glaive
  A glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata and the Chinese Guan Dao....
  
   means an edged weapon that was used in the medieval times.
• "The Yellowmore" (from the book Bastard) is a wizard's trap. It looks like an old man carved out of a tree. This old man smokes a pipe that emits yellow smoke. Smoke kills living things, by homing on the body heat.
• "The Devourer" (from the book Bastard) is a wizard's trap. It is a hole in the ground that attracts its victims with a children's cry for help. Approaching victim gets sucked in by a whirlwind.
• "Calidons" (from the book The Ritual) are gigantic white birds, which live near the dragons. They pluck their own soft white feathers in order to hatch their chicks.
• "Mryga" (from the book Armaggedon-Home) is an apocalypse, that comes periodically, approximately every twenty years. During this period "The gates" are formed: objects of the unknown nature, that look like a stone arch with a mirror inside. People who enter the mirror are safe from the apocalypse and are able to return after it is over. "Minor gates" are formed as well, these are used by the animals and can not be employed by humans. There are enough gates formed, so every person has an opportunity to be saved if he/she enters the nearest one. These gates are transmitting some kind of signal, but humans were not able to determine what it is.
• "Nav", "Navka", "Nyavka" (from the book Age of the Witch) is a magic creature that takes its form after a person who has recently died. It is brought to life if someone loved that dead person and wished for him/her to come back. Nav is using deception to kill a person who brought it to life. Nav, as well as Chugaister, is taken from the Ukrainian mythology, but it is different in many ways. For example: in the classical Ukrainian novel The Forest Song by Lesya Ukrainka
  Lesya Ukrainka
  Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka better known under her literary pseudonym Lesya Ukrainka , was one of Ukraine's best-known poets and writers and the foremost woman writer in Ukrainian literature. She also was a political, civil, and female activist....
  
  , main character is Mavka, which is a sprite, spirit of the forest.
• "Chugaister" (from the book Age of the Witch) is a magical creature that is very similar to the human. Chugaisters, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in a group, destroy Navs (see above), by dancing around them. By doing so they make Navs to dance with them until they collapse dead. Chugaister was taken from the Ukrainian mythology, but is somewhat different from the original creature.
• "Elfoush" (from the book The Well Master) is a little flying somewhat intelligent creature, which resembles an elf
  Elf
  An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
  
  . Little children and people who are in love can understand what elfoushes say,thus becoming their pray.
• "Housekeeper" (from the book The Well Master) is a little house demon, looks like a little man with spider's legs.

External links

• Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko, fantasy writers from Ukraine
• Marina and Sergey Dyachenko - biography, Paweł Laudański, Marina i Siergiej Diaczenko, Esensja, 9 July 2003, Paweł Laudański, Wywiad z Mariną i Siergiejem Diaczenko, Esensja, 9 February 2005