Buy it from Amazon
| Subtitle | The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin |
| Translator | Andrew Bromfield |
| First Written | 2000 |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Origin | Russia |
| Publisher | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
| My Copy | library hardback |
| First Read | February 22, 2017 |
The State Counsellor
Another mostly fun pulp mystery / detective / crime / period / adventure piece from the Fandorin series (my ongoing thanks to Emil Musabaev for the recommendation). As always, I'm totally operating in the dark here, but it's interesting to look at these popular mystery novels and try to guess at what it implies about the contemporary Russian reader today.
Noted on February 28, 2017
'This is not the kind of war in which any rules apply,' the prince countered with equal conviction. 'It is not two European powers who are fighting here. No Erast Petrovich, this is the savage, primordial war of order with chaos, the West with the East, Christian chivalry with Mamai's horde. In this war no peace envoys are despatched, no conventions are signed, no one is released on his word of honour. This is a war fought with all the relentless cruelty of Asiatic science; molten lead is poured down men's throats and they are flayed alive, innocents are slaughtered... How do you like that for a war?'
'And you, the custodian of society, are prepared to wage war on those kind of term - to reply with the same methods?' asked Fandorin, stunned.
'What would you have me do - capitulate?'
Quoted on February 28, 2017
Lobastov wouldn't answer in any case. He was a meticulous man, with that dense ochre colour that comes from great internal strength and unshakeable self-belief.
Quoted on February 28, 2017
There was a lot of malicious, stupid injustice around. The juvenile Green had agonised over it earlier, but so far he had managed to pretend that he had more important things to do: justify his father's hopes, learn a useful trade, search within himself and grasp the reason why he had appeared in the world. But now that the inexorable locomotive of malicious stupidity had come hurtling down the rails straight at Green, puffing our menacing steam and tossing him aside down the embankment, it was impossible to resist the inner voice that demanded action.
Quoted on February 28, 2017