Free from the authors via KDP Select @
Amazon:
Age of Witches by Ukrainian fantasy authors Sergey & Marina Dyachenko
(ISFDB,
ISFDB,
Wikipedia), an English translation of their 1997 Russian-language novel
Ведьмин век. The Dyachenkos have won a number of European literary awards (the blurb says that this one in particular won some best-book-of-the-year Ukrainian and Russian and Polish prizes), and have had a few releases translated into English by Tor Books. In fact, there's a
freebie Tor novella from them still available in multiple venues.
Is it easy to be a witch? Who can, and more importantly, who would want to understand her: this evil otherworldly creature, the symbol of promiscuity and whimsy? The symbol of the Woman?
Is it easy to be the Great Inquisitor? Who can, and more importantly, who would want to understand him, a heartless executioner, carrying out the will of the Inquisition? What would happen if the souls of these two, as incompatible as ice and fire, come into contact?
The novel THE AGE OF WITCHES contains several winningly rare combinations: that of a thriller, detective and melodrama, Western traditions and Eastern European textures. The epic scope of events and tension go hand in hand with the intense psychological twister representing the characters’ inner lives. An element of mystery allows for a new approach to the ancient questions.