Echoes of Immortality

This book is so well written that reading it feels like listening to a classical music. Very well put together and thought out. The adventures of the characters are very engaging and you don’t want to put the book down till you finish. Story is so well crafted that you fall in love with it right away. 🥰 Highly recommend. It’s an 11/10.

that are tired of reading about surface-level female protagonists pining for questionable men. In Babushka we have complex characters navigating a futuristic world where immortality is possible thanks to an anti-age serum. I commend this novel for its unique blend of plot elements, impressive world building, and writing that feels philosophical at times.

I’ll admit, I went into my brother’s book expecting to skim a few pages, nod politely, and move on. Sci-fi has never really been my thing. Instead, I ended up sucked into these heavy, almost unsettling layers of his imagination. The way he weaves his thoughts about family and legacy into the story hit me harder than I expected. One scene that stuck out was Dunya Bocharov whispering a prayer before a priest who basically calls her bluff and tells her to rise above her bloodline. You can feel that he knows more than he is saying, which made the whole moment eerie and powerful. And then there was the part where Pavel Kirov shows up to help Zakharovna ascend into her final form. Yes, that Pavel Kirov is inspired by me. Apparently my brother sees me as the dependable guy who helps people reach divinity. I will take that.

I'll be straight up: I almost skipped this because I thought it'd be some heavy-handed feminist thing that wouldn't speak to me as a guy. But man, was I wrong. Yeah, the main characters are all women, but these aren't one-dimensional 'girl boss' archetypes. They're people. Flawed, driven, morally complicated people dealing with real philosophical questions about power, mortality, and what we owe each other. I found myself relating to Doctor Zak's struggle with leadership and the weight of impossible choices more than I've related to most male protagonists. The book doesn't preach at you; it just tells a damn good story about human nature. If you're on the fence because of the cast, trust me. These are characters, not agendas.

Okay, let's get one thing straight: I have NEVER laughed this hard reading science fiction in my life. The whole idea of 'BabaChain'? GENIUS. Literally a blockchain powered by babushkas gossiping? It’s like someone hacked my childhood, took all the stories my parents used to tell about 'the old country,' then turbocharged them with quantum grandmas spreading juicy rumors across the city! The plot’s wild, but every time the babushkas start chain-rumoring some pure nonsense and it propagates through Gred like wildfire, I could hear my own grandma cackling in the kitchen. My family now keeps threatening to mint NFTs of their inside jokes just in case digital babushkas take over Chicago. 10/10, would invest in BabaCoin, send it to my prababushka, and let the gossip games begin.

Y'all... I had to put this book down THREE times because it was just too much. Not because it was bad but because it was TOO GOOD. Like, I'd read a chapter and then need to go for a walk and process what just happened to my soul. The emotional weight of these characters is HEAVY. Anastasia carrying all that guilt and responsibility? Vesna trying so hard to prove she's not just some tool to be used? I was SOBBING. And the ending... it hit even harder because of everything she struggles with. Literally had to explain to my roommate why I was crying over a sci-fi book at 2am. Worth every tear though.

Babushka’s world is so intricate that it feels like you’re stepping into a fully realized future. Every scene, every piece of tech, and every character has a role in making Gred feel alive. The anti-aging serum’s impact on society, the city’s isolation, and the use of VR as escapism are handled so well. This book made me want to dive deeper into Gred and its secrets.

Okay, listen, the book is technically 'about' Dunya and Anastasia but I just need to talk about Nadia. You know, Nadia? The allegedly minor character who I’m 99% sure is the secret heart of the entire narrative. Whenever Nadia was on the page, I found myself rooting for her like she was my fantasy football team, except instead of touchdowns I wanted her to get more awkward banter scenes with Vesna. Seriously, those two have the weirdest, spikiest chemistry and every single time they argued I thought 'Vesna just kiss her already!!!'. Meanwhile, Dimitra’s a chaotic war machine who terrifies me in a way that makes me want to hide under the couch and peek out occasionally. Yana? Annoyingly brilliant, i.e., me but with a functional sleep schedule. Look, the University vs. Board thing is cool but I would literally read 400 pages of Nadia explaining logistics to Vesna while they slowly realize they're in love and then get interrupted by a robot goose or whatever. If you like books where the side characters are main-character-ing harder than the main character, this is your book. I await the Nadia spin-off. 13/10, would petition for Vesna/Nadia endgame.

Gred’s society is so hauntingly realistic that it feels like a warning about where we might be headed. The old babushkas clinging to power, the younger generation struggling to have a voice. It all feels disturbingly familiar. Anastasia’s internal struggle mirrors society’s. This book is more than just a story; it’s a look at our world through a dark lens.

As someone who typically gravitates toward lighter sci-fi, I found myself both challenged and rewarded by this novel. The author doesn't hold your hand, there's an expectation that you'll keep up with the intricate political machinations and scientific concepts. Gred feels lived-in, authentic in its decay and complexity. The rich narrative detail creates incredible depth in both character development and thematic exploration. This isn't beach reading; it's literature that happens to be set in the future.

So here’s my pitch: imagine if "The Expanse" (all ships, politicking, class struggle, and hard-ass Newtonian reality) had a wild night with Russia’s literary tradition (somewhere between Oblomov’s loafing and Dostoevsky’s doom), got seduced by Asimov’s Foundation (because, why not), and—after a deeply philosophical custody battle—produced a child that obsesses over the price of turnips, the ethics of immortality drugs, and the mixing ratio of a proper borscht in the Siberian deep freeze. That’s what Babushka is like. I expected cyberpunk, but this thing veers dangerously close to hard sci-fi. The author actually seems to care about how the serum works: there are side effects, tissue rejection, people who nightmares so they seek bootleg batches from the black market, and you get whole chapters debating if living forever just means perpetuating generational traumas forever too. This book is bonkers, but its world makes so much grim sense you almost believe Gred is a short train ride from Luna. Also, bonus points: the jokes are dry as a breadline and twice as sharp.

This book is going to divide readers, and honestly? Good. We need more fiction that takes risks. Some people are going to bounce off the dense prose and moral ambiguity. Others (like me) are going to devour every uncomfortable truth it serves up. The violence isn't gratuitous but purposeful. The politics aren't black and white but messy and human. If you want your protagonists morally pure and your endings tied up with a bow, skip this. If you want to be challenged, disturbed, and ultimately changed by what you read, dive in.

Reading Babushka felt like joining a secret club where your membership card is a jar of quantum pickles and the rules are explained by a babushka on roller skates. At one point I was sure the plot was gaslighting me, or maybe my grandma hacked the story and started remixing Slavic mythology with memes I’m not cool enough to understand. I’m still not sure if Gred runs on immortality serum or spicy gossip, but I accidentally shouted 'Zhaba!' at my Alexa and now she only responds in cryptic riddles. Highly recommended if you want your cyberpunk to go off its meds in the best possible way.

Exovegeta, the immortality drug in this story, instantly made me think of Vegeta, that kitchen spice from the Balkans by Podravka. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's based on that! I loved sprinkling that stuff on everything growing up. But in the book, it's way darker: these women have to take it daily, forced to stay perpetually old or else risk being sentenced to a virtual prison for eternity. The stakes are haunting, and Gred is a dystopian masterpiece that really makes you question freedom and control. The moral dilemmas and psychological twists are unforgettable. Highly recommended if you want a story that lingers long after the last page.

Okay, real talk? This book DESTROYED me emotionally. Like, I went in thinking it'd be some cool cyberpunk adventure and came out questioning my entire existence lol. Anastasia is such a mess (in the best way) and watching her spiral while trying to save everyone is absolutely brilliant. Fair warning: it gets DARK. But if you're into books that make you stare at the ceiling at 3am thinking about mortality and power structures, this is your jam.

Babushka doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Anastasia isn’t a clear-cut hero. You can’t help but wonder who’s really in control here. Is it Babushka, the Board, or the Syndicate? Every character, even the minor ones, is dealing with some moral dilemma. It makes you question your own beliefs.

Babushka dives into ethics and science in a way I didn’t expect from a cyberpunk book. The tension between the characters and their loyalty to Gred vs. their own ambitions kept me hooked. I loved the layers in the plot. From the mysterious AI Babushka to the drug trade scandals. Each chapter added a new twist, making it a challenging but rewarding read.

The AI, Babushka, only appears in one chapter, but that chapter left such an impression. Babushka isn’t just a tool; it feels almost alive, with a mysterious agenda of its own. Its brief interaction with Maria brought up so many questions about control and evolution. Even though we don’t see Babushka much, the way it has subtly influenced society and the ethical questions it raises stuck with me long after. I only wish there was more!

Dunya is such a well-written character, with a dark and troubled past that many women can deeply relate to. Her journey is raw and genuine, full of self-doubt and moments of vulnerability, yet she never comes across as a Mary Sue. Instead, her strength feels earned, and the obstacles she faces only make her growth more powerful. Watching her push through her struggles kept me captivated, and her story continues to resonate with me even days later.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a sci-fi book that feels this immersive. The city of Gred is so vividly described that I could almost feel the chill and weight of its history. The anti-aging serum is fascinating, but honestly the tension with the Board when Yelena goes absolutely apeshit on Zakharovna and gets her impeached is hilarious. This book goes beyond typical cyberpunk, really digging into what it means to preserve power and who actually comes out on top.

I'll be honest, I almost DNF'd this around page 50. The pacing felt deliberate, and I was immersed in the rich details of Gred's history and political structure. But something made me push through (probably stubbornness), and I'm SO glad I did. Once the pieces start clicking together, it's like watching a master chess player reveal their strategy. The payoff is incredible. Anastasia's arc from the flashbacks to present day is absolutely perfect. Now I'm that person recommending it to everyone while telling them to trust the process.

I’ve read a lot of cyberpunk, but Babushka stands out for its depth. The level of detail in the tech and social systems in Gred is phenomenal. The use of virtual reality as a form of control, the anti-aging drug market, and the intense firefights make it thrilling but also meaningful. It’s gritty, real, and brilliantly written.

Look, I've been reading sci-fi for thirty years. Gibson, Dick, Stephenson, the whole canon. This book sits comfortably alongside the masters while carving out its own unique territory. The philosophical underpinnings aren't just window dressing; they're integral to the plot mechanics. When Anastasia grapples with the ethics of immortality, it's not abstract, it's visceral, immediate, consequential. The author trusts their readers to engage with complex ideas without dumbing them down. Rare to find that level of intellectual respect in genre fiction these days.

From a technical standpoint, this is exceptional work. The author has clearly done their homework: the political systems, the technology, the social hierarchies all feel internally consistent and believable. You can trace the logical progression from our current world to Gred's dystopian reality. The attention to detail, from architecture to slang, is remarkable. I especially appreciated how the gender-skew ratio in society is explained. Unlike something like Y: The Last Man (I think that one was adapted for Netflix or something), here the shift doesn't feel like a gimmick; it's rooted in real biology, a bacteria that already exists in lobsters jumps to humans, and the collapse unfolds in the prologue across 60 years, so when the story starts, several generations have grown up with mostly female births and the consequences are fully baked-in to society. As someone who writes fantasy myself, I found myself taking notes on how to create a world that feels this lived-in and authentic. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the craft of speculative fiction.

I’ll admit, I finished it anyway, but mostly out of spite. The language and style didn’t work for me at all. I found it distracting and hard to get fully engrossed, and I felt like I was slogging through it half the time. But I gave it a 4 star review because I did actually finish it, and nothing made me put it down completely. To be honest, I don’t really think it fully lived up to the promise of 'Bladerunner meets Golden Girls.' There are quite a few younger POV characters alternating between Doctor Anastasia, Yelena, and Tatyana Romanova (who tragically only gets one POV chapter). That being said, the switch between young and old perspectives across the whole city is what makes it worth reading, and rest assured, there’s at least one babushka in every scene, even when they’re not the main POV characters. The world-building, especially how Gred and the anti-aging serum warp society, is so well-crafted it kept me going to the end, even if the writing wasn’t my favorite.

Okay, so everyone keeps calling this 'Bladerunner meets Golden Girls,' but that's only half true. I went in expecting pure slapstick and maybe a bizarre cult book about grandmas launching nuclear cabbages outta rocket launchers or something (honestly, take my money for that too). Instead, it's way more nuanced. The humor is there in unexpected places, but it's mostly a layered, serious book with some genuinely funny moments. There ARE many older women in the cast (Klara turning out to be built like a tank in her mid-60s made my day), and there's even a parody of a real Golden Girls episode which cracked me up but overall, I found the POVs to skew a bit younger than I was hoping. (Dunya, Maria—though being a cyborg confuses the age thing—and Yana all feel more '30s-40s' than full-on babushkas.) That said, the writing is superb and the worldbuilding blew me away, so I can’t complain much. I peeked at some sequel summaries online, and I'm happy to see the really old POVs (like 70+) seem to increase in later books. There are so few stories with genuinely old female perspectives in sci-fi, so I’ll definitely stick with the series.

There’s no doubt that Babushka is a unique story. The themes of loyalty, power, and technology are fascinating, and I loved how it made me question what immortality would really mean for society. Some of the tech terms and scientific details got a little overwhelming for me, which made it hard to keep up in some parts. But the plot is so intense and the characters feel real. They’re messy and flawed, just like real people. It’s worth the read if you’re okay with a challenge.