What genre is Babushka: Echoes of Immortality?
Babushka: Echoes of Immortality is a cyberpunk sci-fi novel that explores themes of immortality, advanced AI, political intrigue, and societal power dynamics. It's perfect for readers who enjoy gritty, dark, and philosophical science fiction with deep world-building.
Is Babushka a dystopian cyberpunk thriller?
Yes. Babushka is a dystopian cyberpunk thriller set in the frozen city of Gred, where immortality has become a political weapon. The story mixes surveillance, faction warfare, black-market neural work, rebellion, and a city built around technology that has outlived the people who tried to control it.
Is Babushka AI dystopian science fiction or immortality science fiction?
It is both. The series is AI dystopian science fiction about machine intelligence, memory, and power, and it is also immortality science fiction about what happens when aging can be stalled but social inequality, grief, debt, and authoritarian control keep accumulating.
Does Babushka include female hacker cyberpunk, virtual reality, and transhumanist themes?
Yes. Dunya Bocharov is a cryptographer and mindgraft specialist, which puts female hacker cyberpunk at the center of the story. Her work inside forbidden neural spaces gives the series a virtual reality thriller edge, while cyborgs, altered bodies, artificial intelligence, and engineered immortality make it strongly transhumanist science fiction.
Is Babushka post-apocalyptic cyberpunk?
Yes. Babushka is post-apocalyptic cyberpunk in the sense that Gred exists after global catastrophe, plague, war, ecological collapse, and social breakdown. Instead of following wasteland survival alone, the series focuses on the high-tech city that rose from that ruin and the people trapped inside its immortal regime.
Who would enjoy reading Babushka: Echoes of Immortality?
Fans of cyberpunk classics and thought-provoking sci-fi will find Babushka deeply engaging. If you enjoyed William Gibson's Neuromancer, Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, or Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem, this series will captivate you.
Readers who appreciate the dystopian complexity of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, the technological philosophy of Hugh Howey's Wool, or the dark futures explored in Justin Cronin's The Passage will find themselves at home in Gred's frozen streets.
It's perfect for those drawn to advanced AI, immortality ethics, political intrigue, Slavic mythology, and richly layered dystopian worlds where technology and humanity collide.
Readers who appreciate the dystopian complexity of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, the technological philosophy of Hugh Howey's Wool, or the dark futures explored in Justin Cronin's The Passage will find themselves at home in Gred's frozen streets.
It's perfect for those drawn to advanced AI, immortality ethics, political intrigue, Slavic mythology, and richly layered dystopian worlds where technology and humanity collide.
Is this book part of a series?
Yes, it is a quartet: Echoes of Immortality, Rain of Silence, Shadows of Betrayal, and Hall of Reflections. Additionally, there are several novellas and short stories that expand the world. Available now: the prequel novellas Ghosts of Praxis and Heroes of Praxis, which continues Ika's story immediately after Ghosts of Praxis; the interlude novella Sundown Protocol, set between Books One and Two; the short story collection Borrowed Time; and Ashes of Arrival, Book One of the Broth & Bullets prequel trilogy.
What's the recommended reading order?
The two main series — the Babushka quartet and the Broth & Bullets trilogy plus epilogue — can be read in either order. Within each series, the books should be read in sequence. Outside those two arcs, the novellas and short story collections are much more flexible. Here's how I'd guide a new reader through it.
The Babushka Saga. The main quartet runs Echoes of Immortality, Rain of Silence, Shadows of Betrayal, and Hall of Reflections. Echoes is the first book, following Dunya Bocharov, the DATA ANGELS, and Doctor Anastasia Zakharovna in a mature Gred. You can start here, or start with Broth & Bullets instead — both work as entry points.
Ghosts of Praxis can be read either before or after Echoes. It's set about fifty years earlier, covering the period where Babushka was created in the domed city of Praxis. I wrote it after Echoes, and it digs into a lot of the hard sci-fi explanations behind the Babushka AI and the technology, where Echoes leaned much more on plot. That said, Ghosts is action-packed in its own right, following Ika, her dog Zora, and their descent into Praxis, as well as the origins of Dr. Lev Rozhkov.
If you're invested in Tatyana Romanova's ultimate fate, you might want to read Sundown Protocol right after Echoes — though it isn't required to understand anything in the quartet.
After Shadows of Betrayal, you may elect to follow up with Ika in Praxis by reading Heroes of Praxis. Again, it's not required reading for the quartet — neither are any of the short story collections or novellas — but it will broaden your understanding of Gred's systems in general and fill in any gaps. Hall of Reflections is the last book of the saga.
Broth & Bullets is the other main arc. Ashes of Arrival is now live — read it first, followed by War of Formation (pending) and Whispers of Destiny (pending), in that order. Save Tides of Oblivion for the very end, after you've read everything else: the full Babushka quartet and the main Broth & Bullets books. Technically it's the fourth Broth & Bullets book, but it works best as the epilogue to the entire series, not as something to read immediately after the first three prequel books. It contains a few things that are better left until after Hall of Reflections, so if you want the cleanest experience, treat Tides as the last stop. It's the last time we see Admiral Lagunov and the crew of the Sovereign Tide, and it canonically occurs during Hall without changing Gred or the world they left behind.
The Broth & Bullets trilogy is a prequel to Babushka, but it isn't necessary to understand anything happening in the main saga — and vice versa. In the course of writing Babushka, though, I realized that since many of the characters are very old, they carry very long histories — and inevitably the relationships and memories of the past intertwine and shape the characters we meet in Babushka. It's still not necessary reading to appreciate Babushka and Gred (the trilogy was intended as standalone history), but you'll see characters like Dunya's father, Anastasia's dead twin brother, and Lev and Mina's journey when they were younger, in their fifties and sixties, all before the immortality serum. It shows how the institutions in Petropavlovsk hardened into the institutions of Gred, including the founding of the Black Wolves. Think of it almost like Fire & Blood to Game of Thrones — with the caveat that it includes many of the same characters, but from a time when they were effectively different people.
The Babushka Saga. The main quartet runs Echoes of Immortality, Rain of Silence, Shadows of Betrayal, and Hall of Reflections. Echoes is the first book, following Dunya Bocharov, the DATA ANGELS, and Doctor Anastasia Zakharovna in a mature Gred. You can start here, or start with Broth & Bullets instead — both work as entry points.
Ghosts of Praxis can be read either before or after Echoes. It's set about fifty years earlier, covering the period where Babushka was created in the domed city of Praxis. I wrote it after Echoes, and it digs into a lot of the hard sci-fi explanations behind the Babushka AI and the technology, where Echoes leaned much more on plot. That said, Ghosts is action-packed in its own right, following Ika, her dog Zora, and their descent into Praxis, as well as the origins of Dr. Lev Rozhkov.
If you're invested in Tatyana Romanova's ultimate fate, you might want to read Sundown Protocol right after Echoes — though it isn't required to understand anything in the quartet.
After Shadows of Betrayal, you may elect to follow up with Ika in Praxis by reading Heroes of Praxis. Again, it's not required reading for the quartet — neither are any of the short story collections or novellas — but it will broaden your understanding of Gred's systems in general and fill in any gaps. Hall of Reflections is the last book of the saga.
Broth & Bullets is the other main arc. Ashes of Arrival is now live — read it first, followed by War of Formation (pending) and Whispers of Destiny (pending), in that order. Save Tides of Oblivion for the very end, after you've read everything else: the full Babushka quartet and the main Broth & Bullets books. Technically it's the fourth Broth & Bullets book, but it works best as the epilogue to the entire series, not as something to read immediately after the first three prequel books. It contains a few things that are better left until after Hall of Reflections, so if you want the cleanest experience, treat Tides as the last stop. It's the last time we see Admiral Lagunov and the crew of the Sovereign Tide, and it canonically occurs during Hall without changing Gred or the world they left behind.
The Broth & Bullets trilogy is a prequel to Babushka, but it isn't necessary to understand anything happening in the main saga — and vice versa. In the course of writing Babushka, though, I realized that since many of the characters are very old, they carry very long histories — and inevitably the relationships and memories of the past intertwine and shape the characters we meet in Babushka. It's still not necessary reading to appreciate Babushka and Gred (the trilogy was intended as standalone history), but you'll see characters like Dunya's father, Anastasia's dead twin brother, and Lev and Mina's journey when they were younger, in their fifties and sixties, all before the immortality serum. It shows how the institutions in Petropavlovsk hardened into the institutions of Gred, including the founding of the Black Wolves. Think of it almost like Fire & Blood to Game of Thrones — with the caveat that it includes many of the same characters, but from a time when they were effectively different people.
What about the events before the main novel?
Absolutely! There are standalone prequel novellas and an interlude novella available now, plus the Broth & Bullets prequel trilogy.
Ashes of Arrival, Book One of the trilogy, is available now. Set 20-30 years before the main novel, it chronicles the rise of Gred's most influential figures, including Anastasia Zakharovna, Yelena Petrova, and Colonel Olega Orlov. Books Two and Three — War of Formation and Whispers of Destiny — are coming soon.
Ghosts of Praxis is set almost 50 years before the main events and serves as a deep origin story about Babushka and the series of events that led the AI to land in Kamchatka. It is available now.
Its direct sequel, Heroes of Praxis, is another prequel novella and is also available now. Set immediately after Ghosts of Praxis, it follows Ika as she struggles to hold the wounded domed city together while factions fracture and something beyond the reef begins probing Praxis's defenses.
The trilogy will explore Dunya's father Nikolai in his prime, Colonel Orlov in her early days, the mythic "Vatraliyna," Arkadya Borisova alongside the founding of the legendary Black Wolves, and the tragic exile of Gari Zelengor and the Strangers. Readers will also witness Yelena Petrova's rise from shadow to power alongside her father Mikhail Petrov, and dive into the notorious Tarasov family legacy in what became the Derge.
Where the main quartet examines life under Gred's established immortal regime, Broth & Bullets reveals the violent birth pangs of the city itself, chronicling the power struggles, betrayals, and alliances that transformed a frozen wasteland into humanity's last sanctuary.
Ashes of Arrival, Book One of the trilogy, is available now. Set 20-30 years before the main novel, it chronicles the rise of Gred's most influential figures, including Anastasia Zakharovna, Yelena Petrova, and Colonel Olega Orlov. Books Two and Three — War of Formation and Whispers of Destiny — are coming soon.
Ghosts of Praxis is set almost 50 years before the main events and serves as a deep origin story about Babushka and the series of events that led the AI to land in Kamchatka. It is available now.
Its direct sequel, Heroes of Praxis, is another prequel novella and is also available now. Set immediately after Ghosts of Praxis, it follows Ika as she struggles to hold the wounded domed city together while factions fracture and something beyond the reef begins probing Praxis's defenses.
The trilogy will explore Dunya's father Nikolai in his prime, Colonel Orlov in her early days, the mythic "Vatraliyna," Arkadya Borisova alongside the founding of the legendary Black Wolves, and the tragic exile of Gari Zelengor and the Strangers. Readers will also witness Yelena Petrova's rise from shadow to power alongside her father Mikhail Petrov, and dive into the notorious Tarasov family legacy in what became the Derge.
Where the main quartet examines life under Gred's established immortal regime, Broth & Bullets reveals the violent birth pangs of the city itself, chronicling the power struggles, betrayals, and alliances that transformed a frozen wasteland into humanity's last sanctuary.
What genre is Broth & Bullets?
Broth & Bullets is post-apocalyptic political science fiction — a prequel to the Babushka Saga set on the frozen Kamchatka Peninsula in the decades after the collapse. Where Babushka is neon cyberpunk, Broth & Bullets is the grinding story of rebuilding: ration ledgers, electrical grids, sealed submarine bases, fledgling ministries, and armed taiga expeditions. It's a war-and-reconstruction saga about how a frozen wasteland hardened into the immortal city of Gred.
Who would enjoy reading Broth & Bullets: Ashes of Arrival?
Fans of post-apocalyptic reconstruction stories and thought-provoking political science fiction will find Broth & Bullets: Ashes of Arrival deeply engaging. If you enjoyed Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, Hugh Howey's Wool, Dmitry Glukhovsky's Metro 2033, or James S. A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes, this opening volume is for you.
Readers who appreciate the institutional world-building of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future, the survival politics of S. M. Stirling's Dies the Fire, or the slow rebuilding of civilization in Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz will feel at home in a frozen Kamchatka cut off from the dying world.
It's perfect for those drawn to frontier survival, political intrigue, scarce-resource dilemmas, emergent AI, and richly layered ensemble stories about how rescue, infrastructure, and necessity harden into power.
Readers who appreciate the institutional world-building of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future, the survival politics of S. M. Stirling's Dies the Fire, or the slow rebuilding of civilization in Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz will feel at home in a frozen Kamchatka cut off from the dying world.
It's perfect for those drawn to frontier survival, political intrigue, scarce-resource dilemmas, emergent AI, and richly layered ensemble stories about how rescue, infrastructure, and necessity harden into power.
What does Broth & Bullets focus on?
Broth & Bullets focuses on political survival, reconstruction, and state-building after global collapse. Supply lines, fuel depots, radio relays, and the electrical grid matter because they determine who holds power and which communities survive. Against the frozen expanse of Kamchatka, every decision about infrastructure and scarce resources helps shape the institutions that will become Gred.
Is Broth & Bullets post-apocalyptic rebuilding fiction?
Yes — but it is about reconstruction. After the sky goes silent over Kamchatka, Petropavlovsk survives by restoring infrastructure, rationing mercy, and deciding who gets saved first. Broth & Bullets is post-apocalyptic reconstruction fiction about institutions hardening into power: the founding of the ministries, factions, and military orders — including the Black Wolves — that will one day govern Gred.
Is Broth & Bullets political science fiction?
Yes. Broth & Bullets is political science fiction about power vacuums and state-building. Rival factions fight over roads, fuel, and sealed depots; every rescue becomes a future claim; and the simple labor of keeping people alive slowly hardens into rule. It examines how authority, law, and legitimacy are manufactured from scratch when the old world's institutions are gone — the political DNA the Babushka Saga later inherits.
Are there any standalone novellas or short stories?
Absolutely! The short story collection Borrowed Time is available now on Amazon and in full in the site's e-reader. Five stories are also free on the excerpts page; All Bodies Are Provisional and What the Spine Remembers are reserved for the full e-reader collection.
Two prequel novellas and one interlude novella are also available now:
Ghosts of Praxis — the first prequel novella, set almost fifty years before the main saga on the Croatian coast and inside the domed city of Praxis.
Heroes of Praxis — the second Praxis prequel novella, picking up immediately after Ghosts of Praxis as Ika fights to keep the wounded domed city alive.
Sundown Protocol — the only interlude novella, set between Books One and Two, following Marshal Tatyana Romanova into the afterlife after her death at the Grand Mariner's Cathedral, and into the corrupted bridge that was meant to let the dead pass in peace.
Two prequel novellas and one interlude novella are also available now:
Ghosts of Praxis — the first prequel novella, set almost fifty years before the main saga on the Croatian coast and inside the domed city of Praxis.
Heroes of Praxis — the second Praxis prequel novella, picking up immediately after Ghosts of Praxis as Ika fights to keep the wounded domed city alive.
Sundown Protocol — the only interlude novella, set between Books One and Two, following Marshal Tatyana Romanova into the afterlife after her death at the Grand Mariner's Cathedral, and into the corrupted bridge that was meant to let the dead pass in peace.
What inspired the city of Gred and its unique setting?
Gred is a futuristic city on the Kamchatka Peninsula, designed as a sanctuary where death has been conquered, but at a cost.
Once the story took shape, it needed a setting distant enough—and strange enough—to stand entirely on its own.
Kamchatka offered everything the narrative demanded: abundant geothermal energy to power an advanced civilization, deep water coves for maritime access, complete isolation from the rest of the world, and a wild, unforgiving landscape. It's a place where survival depends on both technological mastery and the ancient wisdom of those who came before.
The peninsula's remoteness creates a natural crucible for how immortality might reshape power, obligation, and identity when generations no longer turn over as they once did—the lines between protection and control, guidance and influence, blur when the stakes never end.
Once the story took shape, it needed a setting distant enough—and strange enough—to stand entirely on its own.
Kamchatka offered everything the narrative demanded: abundant geothermal energy to power an advanced civilization, deep water coves for maritime access, complete isolation from the rest of the world, and a wild, unforgiving landscape. It's a place where survival depends on both technological mastery and the ancient wisdom of those who came before.
The peninsula's remoteness creates a natural crucible for how immortality might reshape power, obligation, and identity when generations no longer turn over as they once did—the lines between protection and control, guidance and influence, blur when the stakes never end.
What are the content warnings for this book?
This book includes themes and scenes that may be disturbing for some readers. Content warnings include: sexual encounters (not explicit but mature), swearing, instances of misgendering, transphobia, xenophobia, violence, sexual assault, suicide, and other dark themes. It is not recommended for readers under 18.
Please note that these perspectives reflect the flawed worldviews of complex characters, not the author's beliefs. The narrative employs third-person limited perspective, immersing readers in the minds of morally ambiguous protagonists who carry deep-seated biases and prejudices. As their stories unfold, most characters confront and grow beyond these limitations, though their journey toward redemption is neither simple nor guaranteed.
Please note that these perspectives reflect the flawed worldviews of complex characters, not the author's beliefs. The narrative employs third-person limited perspective, immersing readers in the minds of morally ambiguous protagonists who carry deep-seated biases and prejudices. As their stories unfold, most characters confront and grow beyond these limitations, though their journey toward redemption is neither simple nor guaranteed.
Where can I purchase Babushka: Echoes of Immortality?
You can purchase Babushka: Echoes of Immortality on Amazon. You can also read free sample chapters right here on the website. For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, check out the Babushka Book Substack.