Kuzynki (Womenfolk) is a fantasy novel for young adults by Andrzej Pilipiuk; the first part of a series about the fates of the Kruszewska cousins, Monika Stiepankovic, and Master Sendivogius.
[1][2] The story follows three women: the first, Princess Monika Stiepankovic, is a vampire; the second, Stanisława Kruszewska, possesses the philosopher's stone; the third, Katarzyna Kruszewska, a computer scientist and Central Investigation Bureau of Police agent, is a distant cousin of Stanisława and the youngest of the three heroines (although Monika appears younger, as she is frozen at the age of sixteen as a vampire).
Despite resigning from the Central Investigation Bureau of Police, Katarzyna maintains contact with the general – her former boss – and uses the "company" database to find Sendivogius for Stanisława.
The reviewer criticized the book, describing it as a hodgepodge of overused ideas painstakingly scavenged from the trash by the author and forcefully set in contemporary Polish realities.
[6] Dunin-Wąsowicz also criticized historical errors which he found egregious given that Pilipiuk considers himself an independent historian, citing two examples: a kapo in a camp is not a functional prisoner, but an uniformed Nazi (!
Segit commended the engaging plot and characters, which he found vivid and lively but criticized the minor details – the mixing of narrative times and a somewhat overly journalistic style, the excessive use of ellipses, and occasional factual errors (such as locating the city of Tula in Siberia).
[7] Dzierżek praised the descriptions of Kraków and the well-measured pace of the captivating action but criticized the occasional flood of the author's personal views.
The reviewer also praised the adventurous dimension, considering the book full of... amazing plot twists [and] extraordinary [and] amusing... intrigues and conspiracies.
He appreciated the author's personal reflections, or critique of contemporary civilization, which was, according to the reviewer, intelligently and gracefully written, as well as the various historical curiosities in the book, especially those concerning the history of Kraków.