Moscow, May 1876. What would cause a talented student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public? Decadence and boredo...
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May 03, 2011
Tatiana
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I don't know if the charm of this novel translates well into English, but in its original (Russian) language this short historical mystery is delicious.
The Winter Queen (or as it was originally titled, Azazel) is the first book in a series of detective stories whose main character is Erast Fandorin. In this novel (set in 1870s Russia) Erast is a 20-year old wide-eyed youth who accidentally comes to investigate a strange case of public suicide. In spite of his naivete and innocence, Era More...
The Winter Queen (or as it was originally titled, Azazel) is the first book in a series of detective stories whose main character is Erast Fandorin. In this novel (set in 1870s Russia) Erast is a 20-year old wide-eyed youth who accidentally comes to investigate a strange case of public suicide. In spite of his naivete and innocence, Era More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Jill
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I discovered Boris Akunin last year and immediately fell into his prosaic style. His novels are full of humor and suspense and there are parts that made me laugh aloud. These books are a fun, riotous read that you don't want to put down until you've completed each and every one of them.
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Mar 08, 2008
Nancy
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Absolutely and totally fun novel, reminiscent of those old cliffhanger series things. I would recommend this book to readers who like what I would call "literary" mysteries, rather than the more fast-food type of reads (although, I must say, some of the ffrs (fast-food reads) are pretty good so I'm not slamming them -- I have read hundreds in my time). Anyway, this one demands a little more of your patience & time, but you will be rewarded in the long run.
brief plot review More...
brief plot review More...
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Dec 19, 2008
Neil
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What a delightful mystery/adventure! Set in 1876 in Russia (and other parts of Europe) it follows an energetic but naive young man who has just begun a career as a minor functionary in the Moscow police. Erast Fandorin is something new (or perhaps something old made new again), a character who succeeds not through his abilities, although he is not without talents, but because fate seems to be on his side.
Akunin catches the tone of Victorian adventure very well. Plotwise, this remind More...
Akunin catches the tone of Victorian adventure very well. Plotwise, this remind More...
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Mar 12, 2008
Corinne
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This is a brilliant book. The plot is clever and full of those "no way!" moments that I love in mysteries. I laughed out loud more than once - Fandorin is such a silly and unassuming hero, and his use of the "male corset" was absolutely divine. I did see a few things coming - but the writing was such fun to read, that it didn't spoil the book for me.
I appreciate it as a work of Russian literature (excellently translated) - of course, the ending was incredibly Russ More...
I appreciate it as a work of Russian literature (excellently translated) - of course, the ending was incredibly Russ More...
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Apr 20, 2010
Joyce
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First in the Erast Fandorin sieries.[return][return]This is a delightful romp in the mystery genre, set in 1876 Russia. It has everything: murder, suicide, spies, international conspiracies, terrorists, beautiful women, handsome men, bad mustache disguises, transcontinental train trips you think of it, it s probably there. It also has some very sly take-offs on language.[return][return]Erast Fandorin is a 20 year old 14th rank (you can go no lower in the Russian civil service) civil servant
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Feb 16, 2009
Carrie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 12, 2011
astried
rated it:
Another BBC WBC influenced read, the birth of Erast Fandorin the great Russian police.
It' funny how I adjust my standard on each type of book. It seems that I don't exactly insist on realism or fantasy or whatever, but only that a story stays consistent.
Take Wallander for example, it showed from the beginning its strong flavour of realism which made the story's heavy handed luck streak at the last part annoying to me.
With Erast though, it was pretty clear it would More...
It' funny how I adjust my standard on each type of book. It seems that I don't exactly insist on realism or fantasy or whatever, but only that a story stays consistent.
Take Wallander for example, it showed from the beginning its strong flavour of realism which made the story's heavy handed luck streak at the last part annoying to me.
With Erast though, it was pretty clear it would More...
Oct 08, 2011
The descriptions of this book I saw before reading suggested it was a "mystery." That's a bit misleading, I think, since although the plot does mostly center on a mystery, or rather series of mysteries (first a strange suicide, then a murder, then an ever-widening conspiracy), it's really more of an adventure or even fantasy story. It includes, for instance, not only the obligatory scene where the hero scales the wall of a house by using a drain pipe and ivy, but also a scene where h
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Sep 26, 2011
Arthur
rated it:
Erast Fandorin, in this first outing of a series, is a junior detective in imperial Russia of about 1875. He's tasked with investigating the apparent suicide of a student. The task puts him on the trail of a mysterious terrorist ring, who kill or die with the cry "Alzalzel."
Fandorin is described by one character in the book as someone with a halo, who survives despite numerous scrapes with certain death. Given that this is the first of about ten books, it's no surprise that More...
Fandorin is described by one character in the book as someone with a halo, who survives despite numerous scrapes with certain death. Given that this is the first of about ten books, it's no surprise that More...
Aug 08, 2011
SwensonBooks
rated it:
May 1876. Moscow. Lizanda and her chaperone sitting on a bench near the Grotto on the Promenade witness a young student from a wealthy family use a revolver to shoot himself. Was the death really a suicide? Or a game of American roulette?
Erast Fandorin, clerk and civil servant fourteenth class, reports for duty to Brilling with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police. He's sent out to investigate. He quickly discovers this is no ordinary suicide when Fandorin witnesse More...
Erast Fandorin, clerk and civil servant fourteenth class, reports for duty to Brilling with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police. He's sent out to investigate. He quickly discovers this is no ordinary suicide when Fandorin witnesse More...
Jul 10, 2011
Rafal
rated it:
Jestem kompletnie oczarowany, zarówno kwiecistym, stylizowanym na dziewiętnastowieczną narrację, nieco gawędziarskim stylem powieści Akunina, jak i misternie opracowaną intrygą.
Autor sprawnie przechodzi od wydarzenia do wydarzenia, zręcznie myli tropy, a ilością zwrotów akcji, które występują w "Azazelu" dałoby się obdzielić z dziesięć innych powieści kryminalnych. Prowadzący dochodzenie Fandorin, to postać na tyle sympatyczna, że zupełnie nie przeszkadzało mi jego nietuzinko More...
Autor sprawnie przechodzi od wydarzenia do wydarzenia, zręcznie myli tropy, a ilością zwrotów akcji, które występują w "Azazelu" dałoby się obdzielić z dziesięć innych powieści kryminalnych. Prowadzący dochodzenie Fandorin, to postać na tyle sympatyczna, że zupełnie nie przeszkadzało mi jego nietuzinko More...
Jan 31, 2011
Richard
rated it:
The Book Report: Young, orphaned Erast Fandorin has landed a comparatively cushy job for one whose comfortable future in czarist Russia was snatched away by the machinations of capitalists, beggaring and causing the suicide of his father: Erast is a fourteenth-class state functionary, serving a police official as amanuensis and errand-boy. It leads him into some odd alleyways, serving his about-to-retire master; his wit, his proficiency with language, his unquenchable curiosity lead his boss to
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Dec 06, 2010
rainbow3
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 13, 2010
Mary
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This was interesting from a cultural/historical point of view. It was suggested to me by a Russian friend; Akunin is a popular author in Russia.
The protagonist is a young Russian (Erast Fandorin) working in the office of the Moscow Police. He becomes involved in an apparent conspiracy, and (through absolute luck) manages to survive several near-death situations. This was a book I had no problem reading down off and on; I was in no real hurry to find out the 'whole story' as there were so More...
The protagonist is a young Russian (Erast Fandorin) working in the office of the Moscow Police. He becomes involved in an apparent conspiracy, and (through absolute luck) manages to survive several near-death situations. This was a book I had no problem reading down off and on; I was in no real hurry to find out the 'whole story' as there were so More...
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Feb 22, 2011
Annette
rated it:
Finally finished after a long hiatus!
This is a detective story, but one set in 19th century Russia, so I was pretty favorably predisposed to start off. The conspiracy is actually good - which I assume must be hard to pull off, since they must either have been done already (anarchists!) or be so over the top that they are entirely implausible. This one was probably more on the implausible end, but it pulled out fun details about the political and social context. This was a "if Be More...
This is a detective story, but one set in 19th century Russia, so I was pretty favorably predisposed to start off. The conspiracy is actually good - which I assume must be hard to pull off, since they must either have been done already (anarchists!) or be so over the top that they are entirely implausible. This one was probably more on the implausible end, but it pulled out fun details about the political and social context. This was a "if Be More...
May 27, 2011
Jill
rated it:
I loved the first book I read by Akunin, Murder on the Leviathan: a Novel but this one didn't appeal to me quite as much. I think it was because it was too much of a "spy thriller" which is not my favorite genre. This is the first appearance of the continuing character of Erast Fandorin who is in the first days of his career as a detective for the Russian police and is finding his legs as he goes in search of a group of anarchists. The story gets complicated as clues lead in many direc
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May 12, 2011
Bev
rated it:
Begining with a bang (literally), this story has lots of intrigue, suspense, beautiful women, suspects in high places, and secrets galore. Fandorin as an engaging main character and I enjoyed the author's writing style. It was very smooth and easily carries the reader along on Fandorin's adventures. Fandorin is absolutely entertaining in his interactions with Moscow's upper crust and the book is worth it for his adventures in Amalia's house. Amalia is a fine character in her own right. The myste
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Jan 23, 2011
wally
rated it:
Akunin’s story begins like a parody of all those long-dead Russian masters, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, George Eliot. Too, I was comparing it to Peter Sellers in his role as Inspector Clouseau, in The Pink Panther. There’s shades of Sherlock Holmes w/the give and take of Erast and Ivan Franzevich. It doesn’t stop there though, as there are scenes reminiscent of Bond, James Bond, but Erast is not the lady-killer that Bond, James Bond is….Erast is a kind of….well, he’s his own man, an original, and
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Nov 18, 2011
Margo
rated it:
The Winter Queen, in which our naive hero accidentally unmasks an international terrorist organization single handedly.
This novel, set in Moscow during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, transforms an obscure, fresh-faced clerk, forced to work in the police because his father’s gambling debts made college out of reach, into a Russian hero with a vendetta. The reader clearly sees poor Erast Petrovich Fandorin’s mistakes as he stumbles through the story. We watch the “bad gu More...
This novel, set in Moscow during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, transforms an obscure, fresh-faced clerk, forced to work in the police because his father’s gambling debts made college out of reach, into a Russian hero with a vendetta. The reader clearly sees poor Erast Petrovich Fandorin’s mistakes as he stumbles through the story. We watch the “bad gu More...
Jul 20, 2010
Christina Stind
rated it: 
This started out so well. A young man commits suicide in a park, right in front of a bench where a young lady and her chaperone are sitting. Young Erast Fandorin of the Criminal Investigation Department is eager to prove himself so he investigates the suicide and discovers that it was more of a suicide pact - or actually, a feud over a woman where two young men takes turn playing American roulette - and joking about how it will be re-named Russian roulette because of them.
So far, so good. More...
So far, so good. More...
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Jan 01, 2010
El
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Boris Akunin is actually a pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili (bless you), according to the "About the Author" section in the back. "Akunin" is Japanese for "villain", a rather fitting pen-surname for someone who is apparently legendary in Russia for his crime novels. The Winter Queen is one of three mysteries featuring the detective Erast Fandorin. I understand all three of them were made into big Russian blockbuster movies. I think I might like the better movi
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(6 people liked it)
Nov 29, 2010
Scott
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Making sense of the myriad plot lines of Akunin's The Winter Queen was challenging. This, I believe had nothing to do with the translation, because I very much enjoyed the story and found the mechanics of it very readable. The pacing is quick, the smokey atmospherics of late 19th Century pre-industrialized Russia (Europe) was beautifully drawn, the dialogue exchanges sharp, and the quirky web our hero Erast Petrovich Fandorin becomes entangled in is a joy to read. No, the confusion for me became
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(1 person liked it)
May 17, 2011
Shauryashaurya
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 16, 2010
Jacqie
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Boris Akunin has a wry sense of humor that comes through even in translation. His naive young detective Fandorin blunders along, yet always seems to end up on his feet somehow. One character in the book tells him that he has a "halo", an aura which seems to mean he can do no wrong. Don't mistake me- Fandorin trusts all the wrong people, bulls his way through danger on instinct, and makes several bad mistakes. I like that the author isn't afraid to chronicle Fandorin's less noble in
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Dec 17, 2009
Jest
rated it: 
I have no idea why this series is so popular. It fails as historical fiction. It fails as detective fiction. It fails in pretty much every way imaginable.
I did enjoy the part where the hero was saved by his own vanity in the shape of a 'Lord Byron' corset.
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Nov 26, 2008
Anna
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Erast Fandorin's first case and loads of trouble hot-headed recruit gets into. Public suicide of son of wealthy indrustrialist is not so simple as it looks like. Fandorin travels between Moscow and London to solve the case. And he does it in brilliant way.
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Feb 25, 2010
Marfita
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My opinion on this went up one point when I got to the discussion questions at the end. I had searched in vain through the review blurbs on the back for any mention of humor. Now I am willing to accept that the author meant for some of this to be funny, not just naive.
The lead character, Erast Fandolin, is young, credulous, and, while intelligent, he jumps to conclusions and acts impulsively without thinking things all the way through. Lucky for him that he has trained himself to hold h More...
The lead character, Erast Fandolin, is young, credulous, and, while intelligent, he jumps to conclusions and acts impulsively without thinking things all the way through. Lucky for him that he has trained himself to hold h More...
Mar 02, 2011
Gloria
rated it:
How to create a quirky but brilliant sleuth extraordinaire: a recipe
• take about half of Prince Myshkin (Dostoyevsky's gentle, unassuming, naive and ever so slightly nutty all round good man)
• add a large dose of Pechorin (Lermontov's Byronic tortured hero)
• mix in a pinch of each of Colonel Nai-Turs (the honourable colonel from Bulgakov's White Guard who sacrifices himself to save his soldiers), Agent Cooper (of the Twin Peaks fame) and Andrei Bolkonsky (anot More...
• take about half of Prince Myshkin (Dostoyevsky's gentle, unassuming, naive and ever so slightly nutty all round good man)
• add a large dose of Pechorin (Lermontov's Byronic tortured hero)
• mix in a pinch of each of Colonel Nai-Turs (the honourable colonel from Bulgakov's White Guard who sacrifices himself to save his soldiers), Agent Cooper (of the Twin Peaks fame) and Andrei Bolkonsky (anot More...
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May 11, 2011
Andrea
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More espionage than murder mystery, this book is highly reminiscent of certain Christie and Conan Doyle books which deal more with international conspiracies than classic crime. Overall I enjoyed the read, and liked the main character of Fandorin, who brings a charming combination of naivety, intelligence, and luck. The plot had a wait for it...wait for it style of development where the reader waits for the revelation that they've spotted rather sooner than Fandorin, but this can be accepted a
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