Product Description

'A winning combination of crime fiction and adventure story as if Flashman were frisking through a tale by Dostoevsky' Independent Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow after an absence of six years, only to find himself instantly embroiled in court politics and scandal. His old friend General Sobolev - the famous 'Russian Achilles' - has been found dead in a hotel room, and Fandorin suspects foul play. Using his now-famous powers of detection - powers that belie his twenty-six years - Fandorin embarks on an investigation, during which the political and the personal may become dangerously blurred. With the assistance of some formidable martial arts skills, acquired whilst Fandorin was in Japan, our eccentric and ingenious hero must endeavour to discover not so much whodunit, as why ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143099 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

EVENING STANDARD (14.8.06)
'The fourth Fandorin adventure is a delight. How wonderful to think there are seven more waiting to be translated.'

Review
'The fourth Fandorin adventure is a delight. How wonderful to think there are seven more waiting to be translated.' (EVENING STANDARD (14.8.06) )

'[a] hugely entertaining, cunningly plotted novel.' (SUNDAY TIMES (27.8.06) )

'The fourth Fandorin adventure is a delight. How wonderful to think there are seven more waiting to be translated.' (THE SCOTSMAN (23.9.06) )

Joan Smith, SUNDAY TIMES (11.12.05)
'...the latest in Akunin's excellent series of novels featuring Erast Fandorin.'

Customer Reviews

The Assessor confronts the Assassin
Erast Fandorin's return to Moscow is marred by the death of his war-hero friend, The White General - Mikhail Sobolev. Although the apparent cause is an unexpected heart-attack, Fandorin, exercising his unusual observation skills suspects foul play. As he investigates the circumstances, it seems he's correct, but nobody is willing to acknowledge the reality. Fandorin, in fact, sees any support for his seeking the truth not only whither away, but become outright hostile. This is a very political crime, indeed. In an excruciatingly twisted and seemingly endless story, Akunin has again demonstrated the skills that have made him one of Russia's most popular contemporary writers.

Unlike some of the Fandorin books, such as "The Turkish Gambit" where our hero often seems limited to almost cameo roles, the "collegiate assessor" - his innocuous-sounding official title - is more present and accounted for in this story. He even demonstrates his skills at disguise to enter one of Moscow's less salubrious evening entertainment establishments in search of information for his quest. Although the politicians fail to provide Erast with any support, the "registrar's" time in the Orient enabled him to gain a helpmeet. Masahiru, who bears an interesting resemblance to Peter Sellers' "Kato" in the Inspector Clouseau films, has interesting tastes in both food and women. A samurai, he's taught Erast much, but is seriously challenged in adapting to the West. Still, it's a team with amazing potential. Akunin has a talent for giving us only a partial view of Fandorin. Even after four introductions, we remain uncertain of with whom we are dealing. Which certainly doesn't detract from the story.

In this tale, a new prose style and an unexpected element appear as a departure from the rest of the series. The style is slightly more open and there are flashes of humour rarely present in Akunin's work - if you set aside ironies. In many ways, this is the most "readable" of the Fandorin tales. Subtle differences from the rest of the series - it is less "imitative" than the previous books -providing it with a characteristic flavour. The element is to set aside over a third of the book to a [seemingly] new character - Achimas. Akunin develops this man in exquisite detail, weaving a compelling, if disturbing narrative around the forming of a dedicated killer. Known as Aksahir - the "White Wizard" - Achimas moves through Russia and into Europe building a reputation. With so much space dedicated to Achimas' story, it's clear that a confrontation with Fandorin is inevitable. Its resolution, of course, will have surprising twists. After all, this is Akunin! [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Head Over Heels
Erast Fandorin's detective stories are my idea of perfect escapism. All the books are set in the later half of the 19th century - mostly in Russia - and feature a young, stuttering hero who is a mixture between Hercules Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. In this fourth book of the series, Fandorin returns to Russia in 1882 after years of adventure in Turkey and Japan. He brings with him a loyal, if stubborn, sidekick and manservant called Masa who provides the novel's comic relief. By coincidence, Fandorin's old friend and Russian hero, General Sobolev (the "Russian Achilles") drops dead in the hotel they are staying in. Fandorin is not convinced that such a young and strong military man would die from a heart attack; he promptly begins an investigation against the wishes of many powerful men, unravelling a web of intrigue that links the government with the most vicious criminals in Moscow's underworld.

What I admire about Akunin's writing is the ease in which he conjures atmosphere from a bygone age while at the same time dishing out a page-turner. 19th century Moscow comes alive effortlessly, with its aristocratic salons, its cabarets and expensive escorts, its political intrigue. If you wish to escape reality for a while, you can't go wrong with this novel or any of the ones preceding it.

Too many coincidences
A little disappointing. Several elements stretch belief to the limit - and coincidence is a too frequent contributor.
I did enjoy earlier Fandorin outings but this is starting to get a little formulaic.
The best character is the villain - and there 'Akunin' managed to provide some serious interest.
The 'in-jokes' - like the price of re-building the Cathedral in Moscow and several references to 'England' I'm sure will be lost on most people.
Worth a read, but not a repeat.