The Death of Achilles
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 Recent Russian language edition |
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| Author | Boris Akunin |
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| Original title | Смерть Ахиллеса |
| Translator | Andrew Bromfield |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| Series | Erast Fandorin |
| Genre(s) | Historical, Mystery, Novel |
| Publisher | Zakharov (Russia), Random House (U.S.) |
| Released | 1998 (Russia), 2005 (U.S.) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7538-2097-8 |
| Preceded by | Murder on the Leviathan |
| Followed by | Special Assignments |
The Death of Achilles (Russian: Смерть Ахиллеса) is the fourth novel in the Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin. Its subtitle is детектив о наемном убийце ("detective of the hired killer"). It was originally published in Russian in 1998; the English translation was released in 2006.
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[edit] Plot
Moscow, 1882. When Fandorin returns from Japan with his manservant Masa, he enters the service of Moscow governor Prince Dolgoruki. Later that day, the White General Mikhail Sobolev, nicknamed the Russian Achilles and an old friend of Fandorin's, is found dead in the same hotel. Officially, he died of a heart attack, but Fandorin becomes suspicious when he talks with the body guards of the general. Fandorin had befriended these cossacks when he rooted out a Turkish spy during the siege of Pleven (see The Turkish Gambit). But the same cossacks now treat him with hostility.
Fandorin finds out the reason for their hostility as he discovers that the general had not really died in the hotel, but was moved there from the apartment of his mistress. Found dead in a compromising situation, the cossacks tried to prevent a scandal and protect the reputation of the general. But Fandorin looks even deeper and finds out that a large sum of money is missing. He learns that Sobolev is trying to raise funds to begin a political campaign, and Fandorin begins to suspect foul play. He finds that the general has been poisoned in a very clever manner, and the killer anticipated the cover up, which would ensure his safe getaway. Fandorin further discovers that the plot leads up to the highest levels of the Tsar's government, and that he himself is now viewed as an enemy of the state for his efforts to catch the killer.
The killer is Achimas Welde, a hired assassin, who has only failed three times in his career. One of those times was his assignment to kill Fandorin, when he just managed to kill Fandorin's wife, as Fandorin himself was chasing him (see The Winter Queen). The second half of the novel is told from Achimas' point of view and recounts his life story, up to the plot to kill Sobolev and the investigation. By chance, Achimas discovers that the man who hired him to kill Sobolev was Grand Duke Kirill Alexandrovich, the younger brother of Tsar Alexander III. In the concluding chapters of the novel, Fandorin kills Achimas, and prepares to flee Moscow (believing himself to be a target of the plotters), but Prince Dolgurukoi's assistant meets him at the train station and tells him that everything has been covered up and he can continue in the service of the state.
[edit] Structure
The Death of Achilles is unusual in the sense that the story is told twice; halfway through, the point of view switches from Fandorin to his antagonist, and the latter's life history is told. When the two stories reach the same time, they merge in two final, concluding chapters. This is highly reminiscent of some of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, such as A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear. The first half of The Death of Achilles is also the first Fandorin story since The Winter Queen to be told from Fandorin's point of view.
The novel features a cameo appearance by Sister Pelagia, heroine of her own series of three Akunin mystery novels, demonstrating that the Fandorin and Pelagia books occur in the same fictional universe.
[edit] Historical context
The figure of general Sobolev was based upon the White General Mikhail Skobelev. Skobelev died suddenly of a heart attack in 1882. Conspiracy theories state that he was poisoned by order of Tsar Alexander III.
The governor of Moscow, Prince Dolgoruki, shares his surname with the founder of Moscow, Yuri Dolgoruki. Grand Duke Kirill Alexandrovich, the Tsar's brother, is a fictional character, although he could be modeled after Alexander II's real younger brother, Vladimir Alexandrovich.
[edit] External links
- Complete online text of The Death of Achilles, in Russian, at Boris Akunin's official website.
- Interview with Boris Akunin, with references to The Death of Achilles
- Review by Sam Allis in the Boston Globe.
| Books by Boris Akunin |
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Erast Fandorin Series: The Winter Queen | The Turkish Gambit | Murder on the Leviathan | The Death of Achilles | Special Assignments Nicholas Fandorin Series: Altyn Tolobas | Out-of-School Reading | F.M. Sister Pelagia Series: Pelagia and the White Bulldog | Pelagia and the Black Monk | Pelagia and the Red Rooster Series Genres: Children's Book | Spy Novel | Science Fiction Other works: Comedy/Tragedy | Fairy Tales for Idiots | The Seagull |
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