Commentaires client les plus utiles
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2 internautes sur 2 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
5.0étoiles sur 5
The Assessor confronts the Assassin, Aoû 22 2008
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]
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1 internautes sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
5.0étoiles sur 5
A wonderful yarn, Juil 8 2009
Boris Akunin, the pen-name of the Georgian novelist, editor and critic Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili, is a gift to the world of historical mysteries. His two chief creations, Erast Fandorin (a dandyish civil servant of the Imperial government) and Sister Pelagia (a rural Orthodox nun) are wildly popular in Russia and deservedly so. In "The Death of Achilles", the fourth in the Fandorin series, Akunin gives us both a political thriller and a portrait of a soulless killer. Fandorin must track down the murderer of a beloved general who was involved in a dangerous nationalist conspiracy. This hunt will lead him to a professional assassin with whom our hero has crossed swords before. The killer's conscienceless career of death contrast brilliantly with that of the deeply moral Fandorin. I highly recommend this book and, indeed, any other by Boris Akunin.
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