Not Akunin's best, but still very good
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I've read all of Erast Fandorin's adventures, and in order, but I was ever so slightly disappointed with this latest one. There were so many characters that I really had to concentrate hard to keep up with who was who and how they fitted into the story. I was also slightly disappointed because Fandorin's investigation seemed not to be progressing at all and then suddenly with only a few pages to go we learn who the guilty party is and why they did it. It wasn't as satisfying as his other adventures where I felt more involved. I felt like a bystander to this escapade and Fandorin looked far more vulnerable and human. But Akunin writes so wonderfully that, notwithstanding my confusion, I was still entertained. I look forward to the seventh book.
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Another Akunin Ace
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Its hard to think of yet more superlatives for Akunin - either in his Fandorin novels or those featuring the equally mesmerising Sister Pelagia. Here, once again, Fandoring is thrown into the melting pot of a plot to topple the existing Tsarist monarchy in White Russia. Akunin weaves the plot in a masterful manner, letting Fandorin drift slightly from the centre of proceedings just long enough to make the reader wonder how he will re-establish himself. If some of the Russian names are slightly confusing on occasions this is more than compensated for by the wonderful slight, almost impeceptable, touches that Akunin builds into the storyline that provide the insights into Fandorins character that make him such an enigma. A terrific read. Such a shame we have to wait a whole year for the next one. But Sister P will be with us in June..... Can't wait.
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Tsarist Intrique
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Fandorin is back after a hiatus of over a year. As all Fandorin fans know, each edition of the series follows a different genre. This one's most similar to the Winter Queen. It follows Tsarist intrigue in a snowy Moscow with anarchists and nihilist terrorists trying to overthrow the autocratic order. A lot more titillation than earlier books as well.
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