They Call the Place Wild

By Rae Mariz

Richard Powers' The Overstory meets the Brothers Grimm and Slavic folklore in this lush dark fantasy about the stories we're told and the stories we make for ourselves.

Two young Belarusian sisters live near the Bialowieza Forest, the last of the great primeval forests that once covered Europe. Dasha is the shadow sister: dark in nature and demeanor, unlovable to all but Natalya, the sister of bright laughter and generous heart who Dasha will follow anywhere.

So when Natalya is taken away across the forest by a man who promises her everything but intends only nightmares, Dasha does what she's always done: she follows.

However, deep in the woods she meets the folk, refugees of the industrialized world whose tales were once told across Europe and beyond. Displaced and sequestered in the shrinking old-growth forest, their stories have been distorted or forgotten.

Dasha needs to rescue her sister, but a strange and powerful force would rather keep her in the forest, reweaving her into a longer story of the world and stealing her inner voice. To find her path out, she must learn who to trust, reclaim her voice, and forge her own story.

They Call the Place Wild is a masterfully woven tale that spirals outward, growing like rings on a tree and rippling with shadow and light. It is a love letter to refugees, the natural world, and folklore.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1955765588
• ISBN13: 9781955765589
• Release Date: February 2027
• Publisher: Violet Lichen
• Length: 180 Pages