SpousesMaryna Yuryivna Dyachenko[a] (néeShyrshova,[b] born January 23, 1968) andSerhiy Serhiyovych Dyachenko[c] (April 14, 1945 – May 5, 2022) are co-authors offantasy literature fromUkraine writing inRussian.[2] Three of their novels have been translated into English.[3][4] At the World and All-EuropeanScience Fiction Convention Eurocon 2005 in Glasgow, Marina and Serhiy Dyachenko were recognized as the best science fiction writers in Europe.
The Dyachenkos describe their work as "M-realism" with the 'M' "open to interpretation." Without defining the meaning of the "M", in 2014 Sergey Dyachenko explained it as "Marina's realism", expanding "that's where the romanticism comes from, and the stubborn humanism, and the hope for white magic and a better tomorrow."[6][13]
Their works have been subject to scholarly analysis.[14]
In a 2019 profile, Julia Meitov Hersey summarized their collaboration as follows: "It is thanks to Sergey’s skills of writing solid plots that Marina’s beautiful aethereal worlds have such a strong structure, a foundation built on the characters’ flesh and bone, their blood and tears. Their ideal fantasy is a story of a real person in a chimerical world."[13]
The Gate-Keeper (Russian:Привратник), their first novel, was published in 1994. It received the Crystal Table prize (Russian:Хрустальный стол) at the book festival Zoryany Schlyach, and the novel was awarded the title "Best Debut Work" at the EuroCon competition in 1995.The Gate-keeper became the first novel in the Dyachenkos' fantasy tetralogyWanderers ("Скитальцы"). With publishing ofThe Scar (Russian:Шрам) (1997), the sequel ofThe Gate-Keeper, the Dyachenkos established themselves as masters of psychological fantastic fiction.The Scar has received the "Sword in the Stone" award for best fantasy novel in 1997.[15]
The Ritual (Russian:Ритуал) (1996) is about a princess and a dragon, the latter half-human. The novel received little attention and was not awarded any prizes.
Age of the Witch (1997) (Russian:Ведьмин век) involves characters from a number of mythologies, most prominently Slavonic. It received a literature award from the magazineRainbow (Russian:Радуга) in 1997 and the "Zilantkon" -"Great Zilant"[16] prize (Russian:Зиланткон — Большой Зилант) inKazan in 1998.
The Cave (1998) (Russian:Пещера) was awarded the "Moon Sword"[15] prize in 1999 for the best work of "mystical literature" published between 1997 and 1999.
Burned Tower (1998) (Russian:Горелая Башня) received a prize at Interpresscon competition in 1999.
The Frontier (1999) (Russian:Рубеж), written with A. Valentinov (Russian:А.Валентиновым) and H. L. Oldie (Russian:Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the Golden Caduceus prize at the festival "Star Bridge - 2000".
The Execution (1999) (Russian:Казнь) received a "The Wаnderer"[17] award in 2000 and the Reader Appreciation award "Sigma-F"[18] in 2000 as the Novel of the Year.
Armaged-Home (Russian:Армагед-дом) (1999), a work ofsocial science fiction, takes place over a number of periods encompassing the life of its heroine and the society in which she lives. In the opinion of many critics and readers, it is one of the best of their novels.
The Green Card (2000) (Russian:Зелёная карта), later adapted into a screenplay, is a work of realist fiction about residents ofKyiv who have received an opportunity to immigrate to the United States.
Magicians Can Do Anything (2001) (Russian:Магам можно всё) was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" award at the 2001 Golden Bridge festival.
Valley of the Conscience (Russian:Долина Совести) was awarded the Bronze Snail,[19] Russian science fiction - 2002,[20] Sigma-F,[21] and the "Golden Caduceus" award at the Golden Bridge 2002 festival.
Pandem (Russian:Пандем) took the "Silver Caduceus" prize at the 2003 Star Bridge 2003 festival.
Varan (Russian:Варан) was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2004 Star Bridge festival.The Copper King, a fantasy novel loosely connected to it, was published in 2008.[22]
The Pentacle (Russian:Пентакль), co-written A. Valentinov (Russian:А.Валентиновым) and G. L. Oldi (Russian:Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" prize at the 2005 Star Bridge festival.
Wild Energy. Lana (March 2006) (Ukrainian:Дика Енергія. Лана) is a fairy tale influenced by the music of the Ukrainian singerRuslana (Ukrainian:Руслана), to whom the authors dedicated the work. It was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2006 Star Bridge festival.
The Key of the Kingdom (Russian:Ключ от королевства) and its sequelOberon's Word (Russian:Слово Оберона) appeared in 2006. The trilogy was concluded withEvil Has No Power (Russian:У зла нет власти) (2008).
Alena and Aspirin (Russian:Алёна и Аспирин), an unrelated psychological fantastic novel, was published in 2006. It was published in 2020 by HarperCollins as "Daughter from the Dark".
Vita Nostra was published in 2007. It was the first novel in the thematically related "Metamorphosis" cycle.[23] The book collected dozens of awards from readers and professionals.[24] Julia Meitov Hersey's translation of Vita Nostra was published by HarperCollins Publishers in November 2018.Digital, or Brevis Est, (2009) andMigrant, or Brevi Finietur, a work of science fiction, continue the cycle.
Assassin of Reality: A Novel (Russian:Работа над ошибками,lit. 'Correcting Errors') was published in 2021. It is the sequel to 2007 novelVita Nostra. The English translation was published in 2023.
Last Don Quixote (2000) (Russian:Последний Дон Кихот), a variation onMiguel de Cervantes' novel, became a base for a theatrical play. The novel was awarded the "Bronze Snail" (Russian:Бронзовая Улитка) (2001).
Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko are recipients of the most prestigious literary awards in the science fiction in theCommonwealth of Independent States. Practically every novel they have written, in addition to several short stories, have received various awards.
They were honored as theESFS's Best Writers of Europe inEurocon 2005.[25]
Adventures of Masha Michailova (Russian:Приключения Маши Михайловой); also published in Ukrainian (Ukrainian:Пригоди Марійки Михайлової).
Search of Masha Michailova (Russian:Сыск Маши Михайловой)
Flying fish (Russian:Воздушные рыбки) Published in Russian, Ukrainian an English
Giraffe and Panda (Russian:Жирафчик и Пандочка) Published in Russian and Ukrainian.
Fairy Tales:About the old woman, About the barrel, About the river, About the chicken, About the chicken-2, About the cricket (Russian:Про старушку, Про бочку, Про реку, Про курицу, Про курицу-2, Про сверчка)
Gabriel and The Steel Lumberjack (Ukrainian:Габріель і сталевий лісоруб) Published in Ukrainian.
Fictional creatures and objects created by writers
This section lists unique objects and creatures, which were never used in any other works, or in very obscure works, such as "Chugaister" (Russian:Чугайстер).
"Glaive" (from the bookArmaggedon-Home) - These are the larvae ofdalphins that emerge during the apocalypse. They are deadly to all living creatures. They are extremely resilient, resistant to high temperatures, do not need shelter and are able to survive an apocalypse without taking cover.Dalphins in this novel resemble realdolphins. They have evolved to survive an apocalypse in the following way: females lay eggs once every twenty years, right before the apocalypse. Critical changes in the environment, and sometimes just the warning signs, stimulate development of the larvae. The creatures migrate back to the ocean when seismic activity is over. The next stage of their development is the cocoon. ADalphin spends one to two months inside the cocoon before emerging as an adult. In the world of this book, mentioning of the glaives is a taboo, probably from the fear of them. The wordglaive means an edged weapon that was used in the medieval times.
"The Yellowmore" (Russian:Желтомар) (from the bookBastard) is a wizard's trap. It looks like an old man carved out of a tree. This old man smokes a pipe that emits yellow smoke. Smoke kills living things, by homing on the body heat.
"The Devourer" (Russian:Зажора) (from the bookBastard) is a wizard's trap. It is a hole in the ground that attracts its victims with a children's cry for help. Approaching victim gets sucked in by a whirlwind.
"Calidons" (Russian:Калидоны) (from the bookThe Ritual) are gigantic white birds, which live near the dragons. They pluck their own soft white feathers in order to hatch their chicks.
"Mryga" (Russian:Мрыга) (from the bookArmaggedon-Home) is an apocalypse, that comes periodically, approximately every twenty years. During this period "The gates" are formed: objects of the unknown nature, that look like a stone arch with a mirror inside. People who enter the mirror are safe from the apocalypse and are able to return after it is over. "Minor gates" are formed as well, these are used by the animals and can not be employed by humans. There are enough gates formed, so every person has an opportunity to be saved if he/she enters the nearest one. These gates are transmitting some kind of signal, but humans were not able to determine what it is.
"Nav", "Navka", "Nyavka" (Russian:Навь, навка, нявка) (from the bookAge of the Witch) is a magic creature that takes its form after a person who has recently died. It is brought to life if someone loved that dead person and wished for him/her to come back. Nav is using deception to kill a person who brought it to life. Nav, as well as Chugaister, are taken from Ukrainian mythology, but differ from the source material in many ways. For example: in the classic Ukrainian novelThe Forest Song (Ukrainian:Лісова Пісня) byLesya Ukrainka, the main characte is a Navka, a spirit of the forest or sprite.
"Chugaister" (Russian:Чугайстер) (from the bookAge of the Witch, probably taken from a book "The Forest Song" by Lesya Ukrainka ) are magical creatures that are very similar to the human. Chugaisters, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in a group, destroy Navs (see above), by dancing around them. By doing so they make Navs to dance with them until they collapse dead. Chugaister was taken from the Ukrainian mythology, but is somewhat different from the original creature.
"Elfoush" (Russian:Эльфуш) (from the bookThe Well Master) is a little flying somewhat intelligent creature, which resembles anelf. Little children and people who are in love can understand what elfoushes say, thus becoming their prey.
"Housekeeper" (Russian:Домохранец) (from the bookThe Well Master) is a little house demon, looks like a little man with spider's legs.
^Лауреати Національної премії [National Award Winners].Committee for the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved13 June 2025.
^Генри Лайон Олди; Валентинов А.; Дяченко М.; Дяченко С. (2013).Пентакль. Пять авторов в поисках ответа (in Russian). Проспект.Я себя иденти… идентифи… короче, я считаю себя носителем русского языка, живущим в Украине. По-украински говорю и пишу свободно, но книги сочиняю – на родном.
Media related toMaryna and Serhiy Dyachenko at Wikimedia Commons