Maria Vasilyevna Semyonova (, also spelled Semenova; born November 1, 1958, in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) is a Russian writer of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

and a poet. Most of her books are based on

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

, as well as on Russian and Norse pagan traditions. She's best known for ''Wolfhound'' (''Volkodav'' in Russian) fantasy series, that was adapted into 2007 film '' Wolfhound of The Grey Hound Clan'' and the 2006 video game '' Requital''. Semyonova is also known for her numerous translations of western fantasy books into the Russian language.

Biography

Semyonova graduated from Leningrad State University of Aerospace Instrument Making and worked as a computer specialist in the 1980s in a research institute. From her childhood, Maria was interested in Medieval Rus, its traditions and mythology, as well as

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

. Her early books, written in Soviet era, were historical fiction about Vikings, medieval Russians and Finns, usually set in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. She wrote about such historical persons as

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Aella of Northumbria,

Rurik Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik; ; ; died 879) was a Varangians, Varangian chieftain of the Rus' people, Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in the year 862. The ''Primary Chronicle' ...

Oleg Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus. Origins ''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blessed". The feminine equival ...

and Vadim, among others. However, most of these books were not published until 1996, as Perestroika-era publishers were not interested in historical fiction. After the fall of Soviet Union, Semyonova abandoned her computer work and became literary translator from English, working for Severo-Zapad. She translated several books by

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

, Robin Hobb,

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...

and

Tracy Hickman Tracy Raye Hickman (born November 26, 1955) is an American fantasy author and designer of games and virtual reality (VR) experiences. He co-authored the original ''Dragonlance'' novels with Margaret Weis as well as numerous other books. He also ...

, among others. This is where she discovered Western fantasy and became fond of it. However, she was disappointed with a wave of Russian fantasy writers becoming copy-cats of their Western colleagues. Semenova decided to write a fantasy novel based exclusively on Russian tradition and mythology. "If you wanted fantasy, you get it. But why do you prefer the chewed-out

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

-esque sandwich, while our richest native tradition stays forgotten?" - she would recall. In 1995, ''Wolfhound'' was released. The book, published by Severo-Zapad, was an immediate success, it spanned a series of sequels, a multi-author project, a film and a TV series. Often compared to

'' Conan'' series, Wolfhound was intended as Conan's counterpart: a protector of the weak rather than adventurer.

Mir Fantastiki ''Mir Fantastiki'' (), officially abbreviated as ''MirF'', is a Russian monthly science fiction and fantasy magazine. The name also refers to the website run by the magazine, Mirf.ru. ''Mir Fantastiki'' literally translates from Russian as ''Wor ...

Conan vs Wolfhound, a comparison of two famous barbarians
/ref> The books also included a large amount of poetry by Semenova, each chapter was accompanied by a verse. Several other Semenova books, including ''Dark Grey Wolf'' series, are set in the same universe with ''Wolfhound''. Success of her fantasy novels allowed Semenova to publish her earlier historical books as well. Maria Semyonova also wrote several lesser-known political detective books, together with Felix Razumovsky and various other co-authors. She also wrote a

popular history Popular history, also called pop history, is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in con ...

encyclopedia "We, Slavs!" about the culture and traditions of Russian paganism. Semyonova is an amateur

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

fighter.

Works

Novels

* ''Ведун'', ''Vedun'' (1985). Novella - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''Орлиная круча'', ''Orlinaâ kruča'') (1989). Novella - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''Pelko and Wolves'' (''Пелко и волки'', ''Pelko i volki'') (1992) - Historical fiction, set in Medieval Rus * The Wolfhound series: - Fantasy fiction *# ''Wolfhound'' (''Волкодав'', ''Volkodav'') (1995) *# ''Wolfhound: The Right for a Fight'' (''Волкодав. Право на поединок'', ''Volkodav. Pravo na poedinok'') (1996) *# ''Wolfhound: Stone of Rage'' (''Волкодав. Истовик-камень'', ''Volkodav. Istovik-kamenʹ'') (2000) *# ''Wolfhound: Sign of the Way'' (''Волкодав. Знамение пути'', ''Volkodav. Znamenie puti'') (2003) *# ''Wolfhound: Emerald Mountains'' (''Волкодав. Самоцветные горы'', ''Volkodav. Samocvetnye gory'') (2003) * ''The Nine Worlds'' (''Девять миров'', ''Devâtʹ mirov'') (1996) - Fantasy fiction * ''Two Tempests'' (''Две грозы'', ''Dve grozy'') (1996) - Fantasy fiction * ''Valkyrie: The One I Always Wait For'' (''Валькирия: Тот, кого я всегда жду'', ''Valʹkiriâ: Tot, kogo â vsegda ždu'') (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''A Duel with Dragon'' (''Поединок со Змеем'', ''Poedinok so Zmeem'') (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''Swans' Road'' (''Лебединая дорога'', ''Lebedinaâ doroga'') (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia and in Medieval Rus * Skunk series: - Detectives *# ''The Same Men and Skunk'' (''Те же и Скунс'', ''Te že i Skuns'') (1997, with Ye. Milkova, V. Voskoboinikov) *# ''The Same Men and Skunk 2'' (''Те же и Скунс — 2'', ''Te že i Skuns - 2'') (1999, with V. Voskoboinikov, F. Razumovski) *# ''Order'' (''Заказ'', ''Zakaz'') (1999, with K. Kulchitski) * ''Sword of the Dead'' (''Знак Сокола'', ''Znak Sokola'', AKA ''Меч мёртвых'', ''Meč mërtvyh'') (1998, with Andrey Konstantinov) - Historical fiction, set in Medieval Rus * ''Преступление без срока давности'', ''Prestuplenie bez sroka davnosti'' (1999, with F. Razumovski) - Detectives * ''Вкус крови'', ''Vkus krovi'' (1999, with Ye. Milkova) - Detectives * ''Магия успеха'', ''Magiâ uspeha'' (2000, with F. Razumovski) - Detectives * ''Дядя Леша'', ''Dâdâ Leša'' (2000, with Ye. Milkova) - Detectives * ''Окольцованные злом'', ''Okolʹcovannye zlom'' (2000, with F. Razumovski) - Detectives * Kudeyar series (with Felix Razumovsky): - Detectives *# ''Kudeyar: The Crimson Flower'' (''Кудеяр. Аленький цветочек'', ''Kudeâr. Alenʹkij cvetoček'') (2001) *# ''Kudeyar: The Tower of Babel'' (''Кудеяр. Вавилонская башня'', ''Kudeâr. Vavilonskaâ bašnâ'') (2006) * ''Привычка жить'', ''Privyčka žitʹ'' (2005) - sci-fi * Dark Grey Wolf series (with Dmitry Tedeyev): - Fantasy fiction *# ''Where Forest Doesn't Grow'' (''Там, где лес не растет'', ''Tam, gde les ne rastet'') (2007) *# ''Dark Grey Wolf'' (''Бусый Волк'', ''Busyj volk'') (2007) *# ''Dark Grey Wolf: Birch Bark Book'' (''Бусый волк. Берестяная книга'', ''Busyj volk. Berestânaâ kniga'') (2009) * Mistake-2012 series (with Felix Razumovsky): - Detectives *# ''Game For No Sake'' (''Игра нипочем'', ''Igra nipočem'') (2008) *# ''Joker'' (''Джокер'', ''Džoker'') (2009) *# ''New Game'' (''Новая игра'', ''Novaâ igra'') (2010) *# ''Rough Miser'' (''Мизер вчерную'', ''Mizer včernuû'') (2011)

Short story collections

* ''Swans Fly Away'' (''Лебеди улетают'', ''Lebedi uletaût'') (1989) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''With Vikings for Svalbard'' (''С викингами на Свальбард'', ''S vikingami na Svalʹbard'') (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''A Lame Smith'' (''Хромой кузнец'', ''Hromoj kuznec'') (2001) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''Новые легенды'', ''Novye legendy'' (2004, with V. Rybakov) - Fantasy fiction

Short stories

Uncollected short stories. * ''Два короля'', ''Dva korolâ'' (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia * ''Сольвейг и мы все'', ''Solʹvejg i my vse'' (1999) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia

Poems

* ''Кубик из красной пластмассы'', ''Kubik iz krasnoj plastmassy'' (2008). Collection

Nonfiction

* ''We, Slavs!'' (''Мы, славяне!'', ''My, slavâne!'') (1997) - a popular history encyclopedia

Adaptations

* '' Wolfhound of The Grey Hound Clan'' (2007) * '' Young Wolfhound'' (TV, 2007) * '' Requital'' (video game (Microsoft Windows), 2006)

Awards

* 1989 The best children's book for ''Swans Fly Away'' * 1996 for ''Wolfhound'' * 2005 Aelita Award * 2007

Best Fantasy Award for ''Where Forest Doesn't Grow'' * 2008 Roscon Award as Writer of the Year

References

External links

Official website

by

(Russian)
Article on Wolfhound universe
by

(Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Semyonova, Maria Russian fantasy writers Russian historical novelists 1958 births Living people