I did not enjoy reading the book Master and Man. In my opinion, the book had too many small events that did not build character or influence the story in any way. The book was also set in a time period I do not care much about. Russia during the ~1700s was not too interesting; though it was different, it was overall a very boring time. I also prefer longer novels instead of short novels like this one.
The book may have been good when it was released, as the books that people looked for were probably similar. The book does not hold up today. I also did not like that there was a lack of character arcs; given the book was short, I would still like some strong character arcs. The main storylineof the book also seems quite repetitive, with them getting in a snowstorm every single time and nothing else happening. I know this is not the author’s fault, but the English language has evolved, and some of the words are now not commonly used. There is also no exciting moment, like a plot twist or an exciting battle.
The characters were also not enjoyable. Vassili seems like a rich, ignorant noble, not listening to his guide. Evil characters can be good for a story, but bad characters like Vassili seem usually not useful to a story. If Vassili were a more interesting person, the story could perhaps be interesting. Other events would also be mandatory to make it up-to-date. Slow-paced stories like Master and Man are not fun to read.
Overall, too much of the story did not mean anything or develop character; the annoying characters did not help make it fun to read, but it may have been good when it was first released.