- Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date: August 6, 2013
- Print length: 400 pages
- ISBN-10: 0-374-10787-4
- ISBN-13: 978-0-374-10787-1
- Author: Toby Barlow
Babayaga by Toby Barlow doesn’t really know what kind of book it is. Sometimes it is a supernatural thriller. Sometimes a murder mystery. Sometimes a romance, Sometimes a spy story, and a few other things as well. This could be a messy mishmash, but Barlow makes it work. He turns these multiple story lines into a tapestry with the different genres and characters interwoven into a really fun, amusing and interesting story.
In 1959 Paris, Will is an American working for an advertising agency and occasionally feeding information to the CIA. Zoya is a beautiful ‘young’ woman who has to abandon her old life after the grisly murder of her former lover. Elga is the ancient crone who was Zoya’s mentor, and has turned into her adversary. Inspector Vidot is investigating the murder and continues, even when he finds himself too small for the task. Oliver is the fun-loving American ex-pat who has various questionable connections with some questionable characters. Then there are the assorted priests, drug dealers, pharmaceutical leaders, etc.
I did not know what to think when I started Babayaga, and after finishing it, I am still not sure. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but am at something of a loss for what to say of it. It is a surreal story where literally just about anything can and does happen. One of the endearing qualities of the book is how the characters within it stay nonplussed at some of the most incredible happenings. From physical transformations to mental interconnections to spy networks and animal familiars, the story continues on without apologies.
Sometimes horrible, sometimes exciting, and often humorous, Babayaga is just is what it is, and what it is, is fun to read.
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Read the latest by Matt Truxaw
Matt Truxaw’s newest book is Monster, which released on 1/12/2026. This urban fantasy, horror, thriller will keep you turning the pages.
He is also the author of the hard science fiction thrillers: “Plastiphobia/Plastivore” and “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale”
You can find them all on Amazon in Paperback, Hardback, Kindle and/or free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read any of them, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets MANY of his books out of the library/Libby so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
Monster: A Novel by Matt Truxaw
