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Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin
 
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Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Hardcover)

by Boris Akunin (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Price: £12.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin + The Death of Achilles (Erast Fandorin 4) + Murder on the Leviathan
Price For All Three: £23.47

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  • This item: Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin by Boris Akunin

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 328 pages
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First UK Edition First Impression edition (11 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0297848224
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297848226
  • Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 159,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #60 in  Books > Fiction > World > Russian

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Product Description

Omer Ali, TIME OUT (10-17 January)

'a double treat for fans.'


Review

'Intricate, incredible, pleasurable.' (Jessica Mann LITERARY REVIEW )

'Fandorin is a delightful creation - a quirky gentleman sleuth who cuts an impeccably groomed dash through the courts and political intrigues of 19th century Russia...With an eccentric cast of supporting characters and a fleeting romance, Akunin's whodunit formula is irresistible.' (EASY LIVING (February) )

'a double treat for fans.' (Omer Ali TIME OUT (10-17 January) )

'Akunin brilliantly ratchets up the tension...and Fandorin's unveiling of the clues will keep you enthralled.' (Richard Mead FQ (January/February) )

'an excellent read.' (Laura Wilson GUARDIAN (13.1.07) )

'This...demonstrates Akunin's underlying seriousness of purpose in writing the Fandorin novels, whose clever devices and mischievous tricks disguise a determination to strip bare the extremes of human behaviour.' (Joan Smith SUNDAY TIMES (14.1.07) )

'The perfect Sunday afternoon read.' (Kath Murphy SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY (21.1.07) )

'ingenious and craftily plotted exploits.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE (February) )

'this elegantly written book is fast-moving, witty and compulsively readable...The story packs a surprisingly powerful emotional punch, proving there's more to Akunin than jolly pastiche. Highly recommended.' (GLOSS MAGAZINE (March 2007) )

'Whether in skittish or sombre mood, Akunin is immensely readable (and excellently translated by Andrew Bromfield); the beguiling, super-brainy, sexy, unpredictable Fandorin is a creation like no other in crime fiction.' (Marcel Berlins TIMES (10.2.07) )

'Fandorin [is] a debonair combo of Sherlock Holmes, D'Artagnan and most of the soulful heroes of Russian literature...Andrew Bromfield's translation is key to maintaining the entertaining period pastiche...Fandorin is very much a figure from the time of his creation: an all-knowing yet taciturn functionary with a past in espionage and a love of Japanese martial arts working in a Russia beset by internal division.' (Roger Perkins SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (19.2.07) )
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Minor Fandorin adventures, 8 Jun 2007
By Keris Nine - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Special Assignments consists of two shorter stories where Akunin's detective Court Counsellor Erast Fandorin is called upon to solve two very different cases that threaten to cause grave embarrassment to the Russian Royal Court of the late nineteenth century. The novella format suits the stories, rounding out the background of the special investigator, his personal life and acquaintances and expanding on his abilities while still leaving the author room for some flashes of humour, literary referencing and light philosophising. Showing some variety in style and content, the two detective stories however are minor pieces, neither of them particularly fresh or original in the genre.

The Jack of Spades is an entertaining adventure of a cat-and-mouse chase between Fandorin and a clever conman and master of disguise who is not only making fools of the general public in Moscow, he has even taken in some prominent government officials with his schemes, leaving behind his calling card and causing major embarrassment for all concerned. It's an entertaining light romp, Akunin capturing the wonder of the detective's methods from the admiring viewpoint of a new assistant Tulipov who has been assigned to him.

The Decorator is a much darker prospect. After the first Erast Fandorin novel Azazel/The Winter Queen, the reader will be accustomed not to expect Fandorin's investigations to run along too smoothly or without some serious consequences, and here his adversary is one of the most deadly - none other than Jack the Ripper himself. Akunin presents a strong and convincing psychological portrait of an intelligent and quite mad serial killer, but the appropriation of Jack the Ripper feels lazy, the investigation lacks focus and urgency, and some of the deaths that occur feel unnecessarily manipulative, the whole thing leaving a rather bitter taste in the mouth - and not in a good way.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Multitalented Detective in Tsarist Russia Performs Sleuthing Miracles, 17 Mar 2009
By Feanor (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Erast Fandorin 5) (Paperback)
Boris Akunin's Special Assignments (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) narrates two episodes in the life of that talented detective and stammerer Erast Fandorin. The first, Jack of Spades, is a mad-cap and rollicking cat-and-mouse adventure, with Fandorin pitting his wits against a clever swindler, who appears to be able to con enormous amounts of money even from the most cynical, such as Fandorin's boss, Prince Dolgorukoi. Accompanied by a trusting sidekick, Fandorin gets involved with beautiful women who may or may not be entirely genuine, dons several disguises, and has Inspector Clouseau-like fights with his Japanese servant Masa. The second story, The Decorator, is altogether darker and pitiless. Fandorin suspects Jack the Ripper has returned to Russia to continue his murderous spree, and has to go undercover to unearth the killer. But the tables are quickly turned on Fandorin when the killer realises he is being chased, and suddenly Fandorin's friends and loves are targeted in a bitter vendetta. The gore escalates and mood of the book becomes ever darker, and there is no redemption at all for anyone at the end. Akunin has stated several times that he intends to cover every genre of crime writing in his Fandorin series, and in this tale, he executes the serial killer motif superbly.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A misstep in an excellent series, 16 Jun 2008
By Davywavy2 - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Erast Fandorin 5) (Paperback)
Boris Akunin's 'Erast Fandorin' sries are amongst my few must-buy reads. Akunin is a tremendous writer who has managed to create an extremely interesting and likable character in Fandorin, the Russian State Investigator. Special Assignments sticks to the formula of the previous books in the series by writing the story from the point of view of a minor character - in this case, Fandorin's new secretary, Tulipov. By keeping the stories to reportage, Fandorin's methods are kept mysterious but not inaccessible and he makes enough mistakes in his investigations that he retains his likable humanity.
There are two short novellas in this book. The first - The Jack of Spades - introduces a fearless theif who plagues Moscow's high society with a string of audacious crimes and it is a highly enjoyable romp. The second is where Akunin makes his error.
There seems to come a time in the career of any writer of period fiction when they suddenly feel compelled to introduce Jack the Ripper as an antagonist to their hero. It's a compulsion which should be fought, as the mention of one of the most over-used plot devices in fiction just makes me slap my hand to my face and mutter 'Oh, no, not again.'. Here the ripper makes his way from London to Moscow in order to taunt Fandorin and, well, you just wish that he hadn't. It's a great, well written and surprisingly sad story which loses a lot of it's punch by the inclusion of the Ripper. It doesn't need him, he detracts from the suspension of disbelief and enjoyment of the narrative, and he should't be there.
So - five stars (as usual) for the writing, but docked a full star for the includion of one of the biggest cliches possible in writing. 4/5.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant entertainment - 'That is two'!
In general, I'm not keen on novellas, but prefer full-length novels that you can get your literary teeth into. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Friendlycard

5.0 out of 5 stars I just didn't want it to end
Although this consists of two shorter books, The Jack fo Spade and The Decorator, the two stories follow the introduction of the Tulipov character who blossoms as a character over... Read more
Published 21 months ago by K MClure

5.0 out of 5 stars Shades of Black and White
Unlike some other reviewers, I found 'The Decorator' to be a literary triumph. I'm not giving the game away by saying that it references the Jack the Ripper case to some extent -... Read more
Published 22 months ago by AG Stephenson

5.0 out of 5 stars Extra-special assignments
If you've loved the preceding instalments of the Erast Fandorin adventures, as I have, then you'll not be disappointed with these two. Read more
Published 22 months ago by possiblejersey

4.0 out of 5 stars A Real Treat
Hmm, Russia, Tsarist days, special investigator, translated from the Russian, I was hesitant to take this book. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Laura D

5.0 out of 5 stars More faces of Akunin
Akunin keeps trying out new styles and new genres as he shoehorns two completely different stories into one tidy package. Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2007 by SM

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