History Literature / Deathless

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The struggle between Koschei and Viy and the values of the citizens of their kingdoms are incomprehensible to humans, as human values are incomprehensible to them.
* BreakTheCutie: Marya is slowly broken over a period of years, beginning in her childhood when she witnesses birds transform into men who marry her sisters and take them away. No one believes her, forcing her to keep this a secret. By the time Koschei comes for her, between the magic she has witnessed and way her home life and Russia degrade over those years, she is already in trouble. Things only get worse for her when she marries Koschei.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Koschei and Baba Yaga were apparently a thing once upon a time.

* DefectingForLove: Marya abandons Koschei and his war when she falls in love with Ivan.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Everyone is dead in the end, but death is no worse than life, and there are hints that a reconciliation between Marya and Koschei is in the works, as at the very end of the book Marya is trying to return to Koschei, on what will probably be more equal terms this time.]]

* AntiVillain: Koschei the Deathless, a well-known villain of Russian fairy tales is instead portrayed sympathetically.

** Although it only becomes actual cheating (Koschei knows about Marya's affairs and doesn't mind) when she [[spoiler: leaves for the mortal world with Ivan, and later locks a pining Koschei up in her basement without telling Ivan about it.]]

* LoveMartyr: I think [[spoiler: allowing oneself to be tied up in one's wife's basement while she has a life with her lover in the house above and uses you for sex and submission for years on end counts as pretty damned martyrish, wouldn't you agree, Koschei?]]

* EndlessWar: Between Life and Death. The war is going badly, but then, the war is always going badly.

** Although it only becomes actual cheating (Koschei knows about Marya's affairs and doesn't mind) when she [[spoiler: leaves for the mortal world with Ivan, and later locks a pining Koschei up in her basement without telling Ivan about it]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Marya is in love with both Koschei and Ivan.

* GrayAndGreyMorality: Koschei and Viy are constantly opposed to each other. Neither is good, but neither is evil, either.

* FourIsDeath: Marya is the fourth daughter in her family, and the daughter who ends up marrying Koschei the Deathless.

* ShoutOut: Marya and her sisters have the same names as Tsar Nicholas II's daughters: Olga, Tatyana, Marya, and Anastasia. The only difference is Marya is the youngest of her own family

* WarIsHell: War permeates the novel, and it is never depicted as being in anyway righteous or glorious. Ultimately, everyone suffers for it. The characters even lampshade this by talking about how the war is going badly, but then, the war is always going badly.

''Deathless'' is a 2011 historical fantasy novel by American speculative fiction author Creator/CatherynneMValente. The novel retells the [[RussianMythologyAndTales Russian folk tale]] of ''Marya Morevna and the Death of Koschei the Deathless'', set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Communist Party.

* BigFancyHouse: Marya's family home, at least initially. Because it's so big it's made into a dwelling for twelve families under the communist regume, hence Marya's twelve mothers.

Young Marya Morevna, daughter of twelve mothers, watches as three birds turn into men and come to wed her sisters, and wonders when one will come for her. But Marya is claimed by someone greater: Koschei the Deathless, Tsar of Life, a menacing figure locked in eternal battle with death. Marya must learn to navigate the treacherous borders between life and death as war comes for her, for life, and for all of Russia.

* GloriousMotherRussia: The book is the tale of the Russian Revolution combined with an iconic Russian folktake.

* TsaristRussia: The novel begins here and ends in SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn. The period of years is described through Marya's older sisters growing up and getting married to the officers of different armies.

''Deathless'' is a 2011 historical fantasy novel by American speculative fiction author Creator/CatherynneMValente. The novel retells the Russian folk tale of ''Marya Morevna and the Death of Koschei the Deathless'', set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Communist Party.

* ActionGirl: Maryaas she is an officer in Koschei's army. Later grows into a LadyOfWar. This is keeping in line with the original tale, in which Marya Morevna is a warrior-princess.

* DeadPersonConversation: [[spoiler:With Lebedeva.]]

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* ActionGirl: Marya. Later grows into a LadyOfWar. This is keeping in line with the original tale, in which Marya Morevna is a warrior-princess.
* AllJustADream: Marya's time in Yaichka.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Maybe. The happiness of the ending is debatable.

%%* GloriousMotherRussia

%%* ShownTheirWork

* VainSorceress: Madame Lebedeva plays with this trope, being both vain and a sorceress. As she clearly explains, however, her preening is not mere vanity, it is an exercise of her will, and therefore an act of magic.

* TruthInTelevision: Much of the depiction of the Siege of Leningrad, up to and including cannibalism.

-->“That's how you get deathless, volchitsa. Walk the same tale over and over, until you wear a groove in the world, until even if you vanished, the tale would keep turning, keep playing, like a phonograph, and you'd have to get up again, even with a bullet through your eye, to play your part and say your lines."

''Deathless'' provides examples of the following tropes:

%%* BreakTheCutie

* DeadPersonConversation: [[spoiler:With Lebedeva]].

%%* ActionGirl: Marya. Later grows into a LadyOfWar. This is keeping in line with the original tale, in which Marya Morevna is a warrior-princess.
%%* AllJustADream: Marya's time in Yaichka.
%%* AntiVillain: Koschei.

%%* BrokenBird: Marya, by the time Ivan enters her life.
%%* ByronicHero: Koschei again.
%%* DarkActionGirl
%%* DeadPersonConversation: With [[spoiler:Lebedeva]].
%%* DefectingForLove
%%* DespairEventHorizon: The Siege of Leningrad.
%%* DevotedToYou: This is Koschei's curse.
%%* [[spoiler:DownerEnding]]
%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: Maybe.

%%* LonersAreFreaks

%%* TruthInTelevision: Much of the depiction of the Siege of Leningrad, up to and including cannibalism.

%5* DeadPersonConversation: With [[spoiler:Lebedeva]].

* ActionGirl: Marya. Later grows into a LadyOfWar. This is keeping in line with the original tale, in which Marya Morevna is a warrior-princess.
* AllJustADream: Marya's time in Yaichka.
* AntiVillain: Koschei.
* BreakTheCutie
* BrokenBird: Marya, by the time Ivan enters her life.
* ByronicHero: Koschei again.
* CoveredWithScars: Leading Koschei's armies has left Marya scarred both mentally and physically.
* DarkActionGirl
* DeadPersonConversation: With [[spoiler:Lebedeva]].
* DefectingForLove
* DespairEventHorizon: The Siege of Leningrad.
* DevotedToYou: This is Koschei's curse.
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Maybe.
* GloriousMotherRussia
* LonersAreFreaks

* ShownTheirWork
* TruthInTelevision: Much of the depiction of the Siege of Leningrad, up to and including cannibalism.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Marya thinks she understands how the world of magic works. She is very wrong.

''Deathless'' is a 2011 historical fantasy novel by American speculative fiction author CatherynneMValente. The novel retells the Russian folk tale of ''Marya Morevna and the Death of Koschei the Deathless'', set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Communist Party.