It is the year 1882, and Erast Petrovich Fandorin, detective and diplomat in Tsarist Russia, has returned to Moscow after six years of foreign adventures, ready to commence a new role assigned to the Governor General of Moscow. Hardly has he settled into his new environment that the news spreads that his former mentor and friend General Michel Sobolev, known as "Achilles" by the adoring Muscovites, has been found dead. Fandorin, however, is suspicious of the circumstances of the death: the thirty eight year old General, fit as can be, does not die from a heart attack while sitting in an armchair in his hotel suite...This, the fourth installment of Boris Akunin's Fandorin detective stories (in English translation, there are more in the Russian original) is, without doubt, one of his best. Fans of the series will recognize some characters from previous volumes, including Achilles and ...well, an enemy who might turn out to be more dangerous than anybody else involved in the conspiracies centred around the Russian Royalty and governing class and the ongoing power struggle between Moscow and St. Petersburg.What makes it one of Akunin's best novels? His characters are very vividly drawn, Fandorin has "matured" even though he is still only in his late twenties, and his four years in Japan has equipped him with a few extraordinary skills and martial art tools. He has also acquired a Japanese sidekick, Masa, 'manservant' in name only. Last but not least, Fandorin has found an opponent of equal intelligence, sharp and cunning. Just over half-way through the novel, Akunin introduces this adversary, starting with the description of childhood and upbringing. The reader ends up almost liking the man. The author succeeds in developing this other central character, without losing any of the tension that has been built around Fandorin's investigation. We see two sides of the coin, we can make connections that neither of the characters can... Not satisfied with focusing on his central characters, Akunin paints a comprehensive picture of Moscow's class society of the day, and expertly evokes the underbelly of the city and the people who try to survive there - by any means. Readers new to Akunin and Fandorin, will nevertheless enjoy the book, however, it would be preferable if they started at the beginning with The Winter Queen: A Novel (An Erast Fandorin Mystery). Their enjoyment will be enhanced.
I will note that while you could feasibly read this as a stand alone, you really want to go back and read the entire series in this order (not necessarily in the published order): the Winter Queen The Turkish Gambit Murder on the Leviathan If you haven't met Erast Fandorin, then you definitely need to go back to the Winter Queen where he gets his start. This book: Our young hero has literally just returned to Russia from Japan after his duties there are completed. He comes to Moscow, where he is supposed to work under the auspices of one Prince Dolgoruski, who happens to be Moscow's governor. I believe the year is 1882. Fandorin is accompanied by his latest sidekick (he seems to have a different one in each story!) Masa, his Japanese companion. No sooner does Erast report for duty than he learns of the death of General Sobolev (who we met in The Turkish Gambit), beloved hero of Russia. The government orders an autopsy, finds no foul play, but of course, Erast thinks much differently. As he begins to investigate, he discovers that the bad guys (and there are many in this one) seem to be one step ahead of him; his work will draw him into conspiracies that threaten to put an end to his short but distinguished career. Each book further develops Fandorin's character, and in this one is added a bonus of the character of Masa. In many ways, Masa adds a bit of comic relief when the tension starts building, and I hope this character stays for a while. I highly recommend The Death of Achilles! Go get started on the others so you can read this one!
What do You think about The Death Of Achilles (2006)?
Was turned off this author; my own fault as I picked a Sister Pelagia volume which is not a character that appealed in the least.Will order #1 of this series in the cold months - the title will fit in with my season quest.
—Carey Combe
L'atmosfera è ben descritta senza essere un romanzo storico e forse senza nemmeno dare verità storica al tutto: ci si trova immersi, leggendo, in quelle sensazioni da grandi cappelli piumati, divise immacolati, biechi tramatori nell'ombra ma anche loro superiori alla massa. E' un'atmosfera da guanti bianchi e grandi musiche, ma è stato un vero piacere esservi catapultati.I protagonisti sono un po' quello che ti aspetti, anche se il tentativo di umanizzarli li rende a volte più ridicoli che umani e non so se questo sia stato il desiderio dell'autore.Però alla fine si corre legati alle corde di questo omicidio che è molto di più, che è molto umano, che è vittima del destino e della politica oppure di tanto altro?Alcune scelte stilistiche mi hanno lasciata perplessa perché a mio parere rompono il buon ritmo di buona parte del libro.Recensione completa: http://amacadieuterpe.wordpress.com/2...
—M.Eloisa
It's the second book in the series I've read and I have to say that I enjoy them a lot, more for the atmosphere than for the mystery, however. They have this vivid, funny, sparkling sense of humor which is a trademark of the better Russian literature (Gogol, Chekhov and the like). The main character is nice enough (nice, for lack of a better word), strong, honest and invincible and all that - I don't care for him that much, but he's all right. The ladies, I noticed, are always the same, passionate, strong-willed and mysterious. The sidekick Masa is, I don't know, probably a caricature. The author supposedly knows Japan and Japanese, and still he calls Yokohama "Yokahama", and don't get me started on the weird mixing of ninja, samurai and yakuza stuff. These things have nothing to do with each other and a guy who was supposedly a "yakuza boy" (whatever that means) is not what you would call "a good man of Japan". The Japanese references are just too silly to be taken seriously, but whatever.I didn't like the villain at all. I guess I'm just tired to death of calculating, cold, psycho/socio/beat-your-dog-and-steal-your-breakfast-pathic guys as villains. Bo-ring. And rare, but, not in fiction. In fiction I get these guys delivered in buckets. Always so menacing, always as intelligent as the hero, and always setting boring traps. I'm rambling here, but I'm done with these suave dudes, really. Don't care. Shrug-shrug don't care.One star down for the lame exploitation of the Dutroux case. I happen to have read the court documents - fragments that is. This stuff made me want to die. I don't want to talk about this, but yeah - one star down.
—Tocotin
