The State Counsellor
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"Fandorin delights with his silken ironies and smart manoeuvres... this latest case shows a crime star of all the Russias still blazing bright" -- Boyd Tonkin INDEPENDENT "Boris Akunin really brings his characters alive in this cat-and-mouse story set in the heart of Russia... a thoroughly compelling read" TELEGRAPH & ARGUS "All the usual Akunin fingerprints are here -- wonderful period settings, delirious plotting and that wry, understated sense of humour" GOOD BOOK GUIDE
Product Description
General Khrapov, newly appointed Governor-General of Siberia and soon-to-be Minister of the Interior, is murdered in his official saloon carriage on his way from St Petersburg to Moscow. The killer, disguised as Fandorin, leaves a knife thrust up to the hilt in his victim's chest and escapes through the window of the carriage. Can Fandorin escape suspicion? A battle of wills and ideals, revolutionaries and traditionalists and good versus evil.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the "State Counsellor" Akunin once again hits the target squarely in the middle. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, terrorists (nationalists, socialists, anarchists and just plain crazies) hunted and killed not just Monarchs and Generals, but Politicians and anyone in authority. At the beginning of this novel a man disguised as Fandorin murders the new Governor General of Siberia, in a train that is packed with soldiers. The knife has the letters "CG" for Combat Group etched into the blade. The CG is the militant arm of the Socialist Party and the successor to the "People's Will".
Fandorin's job is to find not only the killer but also the CG. Unknown to Fandorin (at least at the beginning), there is a 'leak' in the Police Department/ Internal Security. The leak (under the initials "TG") is supplying the CG with information to be used to eliminate high state officials. An officer from St. Petersberg (an aide-de-camp) of the Tsar, is sent to Moscow to take over the investigation. It appears that the Governor General of Moscow (and Fandorin's mentor) is about to be 'retired', leaving Fandorin without a 'patron'.
As always, under Akunin's deft hand, Fandorin is able to triumph over all sorts of plots and counter-plots, not to mention some unlikely turncoats. The one weakness in this story is the authors heavy handed treatment of three romances that go on as a backdrop to the story which seem to be superfluous. As in many Russian stories, there appears to be a level of anti-semetism in the book, but it's hard to tell whether Akunin means for this to be an accusation of the society at that time or an indictment of current Russian society.
There is an interesting epilogue, which to mention would be a huge spoiler. You will though, see a major change to Fandorin's character in the next book.
Zeev Wolfe
Fandorin's job is to find not only the killer but also the CG. Unknown to Fandorin (at least at the beginning), there is a 'leak' in the Police Department/ Internal Security. The leak (under the initials "TG") is supplying the CG with information to be used to eliminate high state officials. An officer from St. Petersberg (an aide-de-camp) of the Tsar, is sent to Moscow to take over the investigation. It appears that the Governor General of Moscow (and Fandorin's mentor) is about to be 'retired', leaving Fandorin without a 'patron'.
As always, under Akunin's deft hand, Fandorin is able to triumph over all sorts of plots and counter-plots, not to mention some unlikely turncoats. The one weakness in this story is the authors heavy handed treatment of three romances that go on as a backdrop to the story which seem to be superfluous. As in many Russian stories, there appears to be a level of anti-semetism in the book, but it's hard to tell whether Akunin means for this to be an accusation of the society at that time or an indictment of current Russian society.
There is an interesting epilogue, which to mention would be a huge spoiler. You will though, see a major change to Fandorin's character in the next book.
Zeev Wolfe
Format:Paperback
El problema con los libros de Boris Akunin, al menos los de esta serie, es que siempre pone a un narrador ajeno a Fandorin, y este tarda en aparecer, cuando para mi es el primer aliciente de estas novelas, lástima que no lo traduzcan al castellano
Format:Paperback
Many such series begin to flag well before this point, but Akunin is maintaining the standard at a high level. It's probably the fact that while he is clearly a very competent writer and creates an entirely believable background for the action, he doesn't take the rest of it at all seriously. This is tongue-in-cheek in the extreme and therefore its implausability does not detract from one's enjoyment.
If I have a complaint it is that this is actually over-plotted; he could easily have lost the 'Diana' sub-plot without detracting from the book at all.
If I have a complaint it is that this is actually over-plotted; he could easily have lost the 'Diana' sub-plot without detracting from the book at all.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Slightly flawed, but still terrific!
"The State Counsellor", the sixth book in the Erast Fandorin series, sees the beloved gentleman sleuth investigating the murder of the Governor General of Siberia by terrorists. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by THE Music Enthusiast
Boris Akunin does it again!
I have now purchased all of this series' books since I found them in Russia in January 09. if you like nice detective work, full of descriptions of 19th century Russia, this is for... Read more
Published on 10 April 2009 by Mrs. C. Birdthistle
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