Daughter from the Dark

November 18, 2019
An unlikely duo is at the heart of this alluring fantasy about the power of music from the Dyachenkos (Vita Nostra). Walking home from the club one night, DJ Aspirin encounters 10-year-old Alyona wandering alone in the dark with nothing but a teddy bear. Aspirin ushers the girl to the safety of his apartment only for Alyona to reveal that she is a visitor from another world searching for her brother, who will only be revealed to her if she masters a grueling composition on his violin. Aspirin doesn’t know what to believe, but he knows he wants Alyona gone so that he can return to his womanizing life as a minor celebrity. Alyona refuses to leave until she’s found her brother. Aspirin begrudgingly pretends to be Alyona’s father, but the longer she stays with him, the more Aspirin’s sense of responsibility for the otherworldly girl grows as dangerous pursuers from her homeland attempt to hunt her down. The change Alyona enacts in her reluctant caregiver is wholly satisfying. Fans of found family tropes will be pleased with this strange, ethereal tale.

January 15, 2020
A playboy learns a life lesson from a supernatural waif in the latest fantasy from a prolific, Ukrainian-born husband-and-wife writing team. When Alexey Igorevitch Grimalsky--DJ Aspirin to fans of his radio show and disco nights--finds a 10-year-old being menaced by bullies in a dark alley, he thinks he can rescue her, turn her over to her parents or the authorities, and go on his way. But the Dyachenkos (Vita Nostra, 2018, etc.) have other plans for their protagonist. Willful Alonya insists on staying with Aspirin, offering two different stories to account for herself. Is she Aspirin's daughter, the product of a long-forgotten love affair? Or is she an immortal being from another plane who has come to Earth looking for her missing brother? Neither sounds especially plausible to Aspirin, but there's evidence to back up both. A mysterious visitor produces a birth certificate listing Aspirin as Alonya's father; and Alonya's teddy bear comes to life when the little girl is menaced, tearing her attackers to pieces. Alonya's brother, she explains, is an artist, but true art is impossible in their perfect home, so he has come to imperfect Earth, taken on human form, and forgotten his true self. To rescue him she must learn to play a magical tune on enchanted violin strings; when her brother hears it, he will remember himself. This reverse-Orpheus setup is intriguing, but the Dyachenkos offer only glimpses of the mythology behind it, preferring to focus on the much less interesting Aspirin. As taking care of his supernatural "daughter" increasingly interferes with Aspirin's hard-drinking, womanizing routines, the relationship slowly (and not very convincingly) transforms him into a responsible man who's ready for love and parenthood. The authors bring a refreshing perspective that avoids the genre's clichés, but this is not the best example of their work.

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December 1, 2019
On his way home late one night, shallow party boy DJ Aspirin encounters a mysterious and apparently abandoned ten-year-old girl who seems to be in some peril. Against his better judgment, Aspirin steps in to protect her and ends up taking her home. The girl, Alyona, is cagey about herself, hinting only that she is from some otherworldly place that she has run away from in search of her brother. Aspirin also learns that Alyona is being pursued by equally mysterious and very dangerous agents from this faraway place. Skeptical at first, Aspirin begins to be convinced when he learns that the little stuffed animal Alyona clings to can transform into a deadly protective beast whenever she is threatened. Despite his efforts to rid himself of his young charge, Aspirin gets drawn into the enigmatic girl's quest, to his great peril. The Dyachenkos' latest (after Vita Nostra, 2018) is billed as a dark fantasy, though it has much in common with the horror and thriller genres. The story's prose does not flow always naturally, but this novel will appeal to those who like dark fantasy quests.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)