Sergey & Marina Dyachenko Books In Order

Publication Order of Vita Nostra Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Sergey and Marina Dyachenko are the husband & wife pair of popular Ukrainian writers. They are well known for writing fantasy, science fiction, and adult novels and short stories. All of their original works are in Russian. The couple also publishes some of their books in Ukrainian. Hailing from Kiev, the Dyachenkos currently live in California. In most of their interviews, Marina and Sergey describe their work as M-realism, but they have never explained what ‘M’ means. Some of the most popular books penned by them include The Gate-Keeper, The Ritual, The Cave, Vitro Nostra, Pandem, Possessed, The Green Card, and several others. In 2001, the Dyachenkos were awarded the Russian Aelita prize for their contribution to literature. Additionally, they have received many other prestigious literary awards for their work in science fiction.

Practically, each of their novels and short stories has received an award from the Commonwealth of Independent States. During the 2005 Eurocon, the Dyachenkos were honored as the Best Writers of Europe by ESFS. The translations of their books have taken place into numerous foreign languages such as English, Polish, German, Chinese, Dutch, Spanish, etc. Their first book to become a major publication in the US was The Scar. It was released under the banner of Tor Books in 2012. Other than writing independently, the Dyachenkos have also undergone collaborations with other authors for writing some of their books. Their maximum number of collaborations have happened with author A. Valentinov and H.L Oldie.

The Dyachenkos are credited for creating some unique fictional objects and creatures in their novel. They include Glaive, The Yellowmore, The Devourer, Calidons, Mryga, Nav, Chugaister, Elfoush, Housekeeper, etc. The Glaives are the larvae of deadly dalphins that resemble actual dolphins. Calidons are giant white birds living near dragons. The Devourer is depicted as the trap of a wizard, while Mryga is a periodically happening apocalypse. Nav or Navka are magical creatures that take their form from recently died humans. Likewise, Chugaisters are also magical creatures that look like humans. A Housekeeper is mentioned as a small house demon that resembles a man and has legs similar to that of spiders. Marina Dyachenko is a former actress, while Sergey Dyachenko is an ex-psychiatrist.

After spending years working in their former professions, the spouse pair decided to quit and settle down as full-time writers of science fiction/fantasy genre stories. Altogether, they have penned over 28 books and numerous screenplays and short stories. During the course of their career, they have lived in many places, such as Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Both of them were born in Kiev, Ukraine, and met each other while undergoing their studies. They have now taken shelter in Marina Del Rey, California, where they spent most of their time creating stories and editing them. The couple entered the field of novel writing together in 1994 with the co-written novel called The Gate-Keeper. This book won many national awards followed by winning the title of the Best Debut Work at the 1995 Eurocon competition.

The novel formed the first installment of the fantasy tetralogy series of the Dyachenkos, called the Wanderers. In 1997, the Dyanchenkos came up with its sequel called The Scar. With the worldwide success of this book, the Dyachenkos were able to establish themselves as the masters of psychological/fantasy fiction. Later, many other successful novels followed in their career. Both Sergey & Marina claim that they are inspired by the creative process. They consider it their highest reward. Another inspiration that they have in their life is in the form of their beautiful daughter named Anastasia. The couple always expresses its gratitude to all the leading critics in Ukraine and elsewhere for giving genuine reviews to its novels and helping them become successful. They are also thankful to readers all over the world for enjoying their stories and motivating them to write more. Now, the Dyachenkos are looking forward to finishing their latest novel and publishing them for their eagerly waiting fans. They hope to achieve much more success among the English audience in the years to come.

An excellent novel written by authors Sergey and Marina Dyachenko is entitled ‘The Scar’. It was released in 2012 by Tor Books after its first release in 1996. The primary characters appearing in this book include Dinar, Egert Soll, Luayan, Toria, etc. This novel reaches far beyond sorcery and sword and tells the story of 2 people shattered by a disaster. The Dyachenkos have shown how their descent turns into despair and later, they undergo reemergence through courage and love. There is a mixture of dramatic scenes with action, wit, and romance. Written in an artistic way, the novel follows the life of a person driven by his feverish demons in an attempt to achieve redemption and the lady who comes forward to save him.

Egert Soll is introduced as a confident and brash elite guard member. He indulges in a duel with an innocent student and kills him, after which he faces a challenge from a mysterious man called ‘The Wanderer’. When Egert faces him, he gets his face slashed by his sword. Egert is left with a scar that appears to be a symbol of his cowardice. When he is unable to stop suffering even after trying very hard, Egert decides to embark on a journey for undoing the terrible damages caused by him as well as the curse. Egert knows that the journey is going to be a long and painful, but he makes up his mind to do whatever it takes and face every challenge with the courage to finish the journey and get rid of his suffering.

Another exciting novel of the Dyachenkos’ career is called ‘Doorman’. It was re-released by the SuperNowa publication after its initial release in 1994. This novel revolves around people who wander on the border between the supernatural and real worlds. When a great wizard loses the love of his life and his magical powers, he gets attracted to a diabolical, sinister power that tries to enter the world of humans. The wizard is asked to open the doors for the evil in exchange for regaining his powers. He wonders if it would be a good decision to take the deal and risk the lives of many innocent people or to reject it and wait for the right time to get his powers back.