Something strange is killing people in The Pale of Settlement—the strip of Western Russia where the Czars let Jews live.
When military hero Sergei looks up from the kid’s body on the street of the captured Polish town under his charge, he’s met with the most terrifying thing he’s seen in years: a flea-bitten orthodox Jew who looks just like him and knows his true name.
When Yankev of Vishanev—down on his luck demon hunter, once powerful kabbalist—looks into the eyes of the brother he thought dead half a lifetime, he’s certain he’s finally back on the path God laid out for him.
When the monsters attack, when the angels speak, when something darker than human violence threatens the Jews of the town with extinction, will these two have what it takes to find their way back to being a family? Will they have what it takes to stop what’s coming?
The Pale, the debut novel by Alex Shifman, was published June 1, 2026.
I discoverd Alex through his Substack page and his interviewing other authors. I was curious to see what his own writing was like.
This novel is incredibly rich with its worldbuilding elements and characters. Alex combines elements of Russian history, religion and fantasy into a beautiful tapestry. Every person we meet along this journey is fully-formed, struggling through their lives while we, the reader, are evasdropping.
Then there is the action: supernatural, metaphysical, lives-on-the-line action. The conflicts are cinematic in scope and delivery. I could visualize this as a mini-series. All together, it is a very immersive experience from an author with eye for effective narration, and an ear for authentic and very often humorous dialogue. Clearly, Alex enjoys the rich history of the comedic arts as his story features echos of vauldeville, of the Borscht belt comedians, and even modern comedy with callbacks and more.
If you're looking for a different kind of fantasy tale, Alex has got you covered with The Pale.
No comments:
Post a Comment