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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin #1) in Books

Nov 28, 2019  
The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin #1)
The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin #1)
Boris Akunin | 1998 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Erast Fandorin is a low level civil servant in nineteenth century Russia. An orphan with no real friends or prospects he has been assigned to the police department as a clerk simply because he has to be somewhere. But following a bizarre suicide Fandorin reveals that under his unassuming exterior is a keen mind and he soon uncovers sinister goings on both at home in Russia and abroad in London.

This is the first appearance of Akunin's master detective. Lacking the arrogance of either Holmes or Poirot but easily their equal in terms of deduction and intelligence he makes a good hero. Each of Akunin's novels is designed to represent a different type of novel and this is closest to spy novels with Fandorin spending much of his time going undercover to infiltrate a secret society or staking out and sneaking into houses. There are also plenty of physical scenes for the young hero to endure.

The plot is suitably obscure and opaque with each clue removing another layer and moving both the reader and Fandorin closer to finding out what is going on.

There is also fascinating detail of life in Tsarist Russia although as with any novel set during that time the seemingly endless Russian names - so hard to pronounce for my Anglophone brain - are sometimes a little overwhelming.

Special mention to the translator who does a fantastic job. Some Russion idioms are left intact for authenticity but others are rendered into English. This may have been originally written in Russian but it reads as if Akunin is a native English speaker.

This wasn't my first Fandorin novel and to be honest I'm not sure it's the best one to start with, despite it being the genesis of the character. To me the complexities of having to understand the Tsarist Russia (and the names) and the plot would be frustrating. But nevertheless a good and interesting read.
  
    Romans et Nouvelles

    Romans et Nouvelles

    Book and Education

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    Romans et Nouvelles A library of books in french language - The best novels of french and foreign...

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Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Man in the High Castle in Books

Jan 8, 2018  
The Man in the High Castle
The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick, Eric Brown | 1962 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.5 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great idea, not very well executed
I was sorely disappointed on this book. I’ve never seen the tv show either, so had nothing whatsoever to bias my views. On paper this is a fantastic idea for a dystopian future, I just felt that it wasn’t very well excecuted or, I’m ashamed to say, very well written either.

I found that I cared very little for the characters, and the plot itself seemed very plodding and boring at times. I read to the end as it was only short and I kept hoping for more, but it never delivered. Yes the ending was good, but could’ve been so more much more. I’m actually very frustrated as this is such a great idea, i love dystopian future novels and this could’ve been so much better than it is. I like Philip K Dick, but I keep imagining how differently this story could’ve been told in the hands of another author.