His best known work of this time is the novel The Iron Flood (1924) set during the Russian Civil War and based on a real incident of the Red Taman Army escaping encirclement by the enemy Whites.

[3][4] He also wrote a stage adaptation of The Iron Flood, which was produced by Nikolay Okhlopkov at the Realistic Theatre [ru] in Moscow and was the subject of several film proposals by Sergei Eisenstein.

Maxim Gorky especially appreciated his talent, introducing him into the Sreda group in Moscow and publishing his works in the Znanie collections.

The Nobel Laureate Mikhail Sholokhov said of him: "Serafimovich was a great man, a real artist whose stories are near and dear to us; he was one of that generation of writers from whom we learned in our youth.

"[7]Vladimir Korolenko said of Serafimovich's first story On the Ice (1889):"Splendid language, full of imagery, terse and powerful, the descriptions bright and lucid.