It also provides an intriguing, involved narrative as readers accompany Sasha on her journey to unravel the Institute’s secrets, a journey that culminates in an intense, suspenseful climax. While Vita Nostra is a fantasy novel, its themes and discussion of real-world issues, such as freedom and free will, make it an engaging read. Sasha soon faces a dilemma: will she accept her fate, succumb to the power of the Institute, or resist and risk the consequences of defying its will? Along with her fellow students, Sasha fights to unravel the mysteries of the Institute and choose her own destiny in an attempt to keep the Institute’s secrets hidden and ultimately save her own life.

But as Sasha delves deeper, she begins to uncover horrifying secrets about the Institute and its practices, and the dangers of its power grow evermore present. She discovers its ability to alter and manipulate the reality of its students and faculty, creating a world in which it can keep its secrets away from outsiders. With guidance from her teacher, Sasha has to learn to use these magical equations to communicate difficult and abstract thoughts while also fighting the voices in her head she knows to be the Institute’s mysterious, powerful force.Īs Sasha’s studies progress, she learns more about the Institute and the powers it holds.

She dives into its magical language, which involves producing a tattoo that translates into a mathematical equation. As her studies progress, Sasha discovers darker truths about the Institute, its powerful students and faculty, and the practices it wishes to remain hidden from the outside world. Sasha soon learns the rules and expectations of the Institute, becoming a part of its mysterious world and coding language. Sasha arrives at the Institute and meets a small group of other students, all of whom are from remote, rural areas and have been selected under unknown criteria.

It follows Sasha, a teenage girl from a small Ukrainian town, as she is inexplicably accepted into the renowned Institute of Special Technologies, where she begins to unravel the secrets of its powerful and mysterious magical practices.

Vita Nostra is a fantasy novel by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, originally written in Ukrainian and Russian and translated into English in 2018.

Vita nostra marina and sergey dyachenko