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Ekaterina Sedia

Author of The Alchemy of Stone

41+ Works 2,395 Members 118 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Image credit: Tait Chirenje

Works by Ekaterina Sedia

The Alchemy of Stone (2008) 637 copies
The Secret History of Moscow (2007) — Author — 616 copies
Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy (2008) — Editor — 213 copies
Heart of Iron (2011) 184 copies
Running with the Pack (2010) — Editor — 147 copies
Moscow But Dreaming (2012) 88 copies
Bewere the Night (2011) — Editor — 77 copies
Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top (2012) — Editor — 67 copies
Bloody Fabulous (2012) — Editor — 40 copies
The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romance (2014) — Editor — 11 copies
According To Crow (2005) 10 copies
Clarkesworld: Issue 025 (October 2008) (2008) — Editor — 5 copies

Associated Works

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (2012) — Introduction — 225 copies
Haunted Legends (2010) — Contributor — 183 copies
The Future is Japanese (2012) — Contributor — 168 copies
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2011 Edition (2011) — Contributor — 121 copies
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010 Edition (2010) — Contributor — 113 copies
Magic in the Mirrorstone: Tales of Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 112 copies
The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women (2014) — Contributor — 110 copies
Clockwork Phoenix: Tales of Beauty and Strangeness (2008) — Contributor — 104 copies
Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales (2013) — Contributor — 92 copies
The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012) — Contributor — 84 copies
The Best of World SF: Volume 1 (2021) — Contributor — 76 copies
Dark Faith (2010) — Contributor — 73 copies
Realms: The First Year of Clarkesworld Magazine (2008) — Contributor — 71 copies
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2013 Edition (2013) — Contributor — 63 copies
Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends (2019) — Contributor — 55 copies
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings (2012) — Contributor — 50 copies
Shotguns v. Cthulhu (2013) — Contributor — 39 copies
Clarkesworld: Year Three (2013) — Contributor — 38 copies
Fantasy (2007) — Contributor — 35 copies
Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition (2008) — Contributor — 32 copies
Horrors Beyond 2: Stories of Strange Creations (2007) — Contributor — 23 copies
The Lone Star Stories Reader (2008) — Contributor — 23 copies
Japanese Dreams: Fantasies, Fictions & Fairytales (2009) — Contributor — 22 copies
Gods, Memes and Monsters: A 21st Century Bestiary (2015) — Contributor — 17 copies
Descended From Darkness: Apex Magazine Vol. I (2009) — Contributor — 17 copies
Spicy Slipstream Stories (2008) — Contributor — 14 copies
Text: Ur (2007) — Contributor — 14 copies
Not Our Kind (2015) — Contributor — 13 copies
The Lion and the Aardvark: Aesop's Modern Fables (2013) — Contributor — 13 copies
Dark Futures: Tales of Dystopian SF (2010) — Contributor — 12 copies
Exotic Gothic 4 (2012) — Contributor — 12 copies
Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 10 • March 2011 (2011) — Contributor — 11 copies
Descended From Darkness: Apex Magazine Vol. II (2010) — Contributor — 11 copies
Jabberwocky (2006) — Contributor — 11 copies
Poe's Progeny (2005) — Contributor — 10 copies
The Elastic Book of Numbers (2005) — Contributor — 9 copies
Mythic 2 (2006) — Contributor — 9 copies
Schemers: Betrayal Knows No Boundaries (2013) — Contributor — 9 copies
Zombies vs Robots: Women on War! (2012) — Contributor — 8 copies
Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 14 • July 2011 (2011) — Contributor — 8 copies
Apex Magazine 17 (October 2010) (2010) — Contributor — 7 copies
Exotic Gothic 3 Strange Visitations (2009) — Contributor — 6 copies
Strange Little Girls (2016) — Contributor — 6 copies
Medicine Show (The Liquid Laughter Project) (2006) — Contributor — 5 copies
Under the Rose (2009) — Contributor — 5 copies
Clarkesworld: Issue 070 (July 2012) (2012) — Contributor — 4 copies
Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy (2013) — Contributor — 3 copies
Walrus Tales (2012) — Contributor — 3 copies
Clarkesworld: Issue 018 (March 2008) — Contributor — 2 copies

Tagged

(25) 2008 (23) alchemy (21) alternate history (26) anthology (547) C (27) collection (26) ebook (163) fairy tales (31) fantasy (687) fiction (497) free sf reader (21) goodreads (22) goodreads import (24) horror (145) Kindle (49) literature (21) magazine (18) magical realism (26) Moscow (31) non-fiction (22) novel (37) paperback (18) read (53) Russia (62) science fiction (327) Science Fiction/Fantasy (18) sf (122) sff (48) short fiction (51) short stories (373) signed (31) speculative fiction (92) steampunk (217) to-read (695) unread (68) urban fantasy (112) werewolves (20) wishlist (55) young adult (18)

Common Knowledge

Other names
Sedia, E.
Sedia, Kathy
Birthdate
1970-07-09
Gender
female
Nationality
Russia
Birthplace
Moscow, Russia
Places of residence
New Jersey, USA
Moscow, Russia
Education
Moscow State University
Rutgers University-Camden
Occupations
fantasy writer
fantasy novelist
professor
magazine editor
Short biography
Ekaterina "Kathy" Sedia, née Holland, was born in Moscow, Russia and attended Moscow State University. She came to the USA to work as a research assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then enrolled for graduate studies at Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey, where she earned a Ph.D. in 2001. She is a professor of plant ecology and evolution at Richard Stockton College of NJ. She is best known as a fantasy novelist, her most famous work to date being The Alchemy of Stone (2008). Her other novels include The Secret History of Moscow, According to Crow, and The House of Discarded Dreams. She has also written short stories, poems, and nonfiction books. She was the editor of Jigsaw Nation and the World Fantasy Award-winning Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy.

Members

Discussions

The Secret History of Moscow in Fans of Russian authors (January 2016)

Reviews

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed a copy of this on ebook from my library.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this book but found the plot to be a bit messy and poorly paced. The story follows Mattie, an intelligent automaton who has gained independence from her maker to become an alchemist. Mattie is approached by the gargoyles to help them find a cure to their slow demise. Then Mattie is unfortunately drawn into a political conflict between the gargoyles, the alchemists, and the mechanics that is tearing the city of Ayona apart.

I enjoyed Mattie as a character, she was unique with a very unique set of concerns. Watching her struggle between hating her creator and still wanting to obey and support him was both tough and intriguing. She also wanted to form connections with other humans but her dreams would be dashed when the humans didn't recognize her need for connection.

I really loved the gargoyles who built this stone city and watching them try to adjust to the changes in their world. The city of Ayona itself was another aspect I loved about this

Where the story fell short was the plot. There are a few different plot threads going on here. Mattie's search for an alchemical cure for the gargoyles, Mattie's struggle to leave her creator behind, and then the turmoil between the different factions of the city. These storylines weren't woven together very well and would get dropped and then picked back up. It made the story feel fractured.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It was heartfelt, unique, and engaging. I loved Mattie, the city, and the gargoyles. I did struggle with how fractured the storyline felt. It is hard to find decent steampunk reads and this is one I would definitely recommend if you enjoy reading steampunk themed books. I do plan to check out additional books by Sedia in the future; there were some very unique ideas in here.
… (more)
 
Flagged
krau0098 | 34 other reviews | Feb 29, 2024 |
Not the best, not the worst, good, but frustrating. Just enough to get interested in the various characters, but only enough to be satisfied with regard to one.
 
Flagged
IsraOverZero | 30 other reviews | Sep 23, 2023 |
Just about anyone who loves to read is familiar with the great Russian writers of the 19th century like Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, Gogol, Ckekhov, etc. But how many of us are familiar with the writers of modern day Russia ? While spending a lot of time watching the Sochi Olympics and hearing about Russia I decided it was time I looked into some current Russian literature, and wound up being really pleased with this selection. The Secret History of Moscow is a real gem. It has so many elements. It's part Russian history, part fairy tale, part horror, part fantasy. And for good measure there's even a bit of romance thrown in. Will definitely have to explore more modern day Russian fiction.… (more)
 
Flagged
kevinkevbo | 30 other reviews | Jul 14, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
41
Also by
56
Members
2,395
Popularity
#10,719
Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
118
ISBNs
38
Languages
5
Favorited
5

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