13 best books of Boris Akunin
Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili is known under the literary pseudonyms Boris Akunin, Anatoly Brusnikin and even Anna Borisova. This is an outstanding public figure and literary critic, a connoisseur of Japanese culture. Writer Boris Akunin gave life to novels with a detective character, creating them in literary genre combinations: historical, romantic, high society, political and others. Almost all the works have been filmed, films and series have been made. We present a rating review of the 13 best books of the author, compiled on the basis of reader ratings.
The rating of the best books by Boris Akunin
| Nomination | a place | Name of product | Rating |
| 1 | Azazel (1998) | 4.9 | |
| 2 | Diamond Chariot (2003) | 4.8 | |
| 3 | Leviathan (1998) | 4.8 | |
| 4 | Provincial Detective or Sister Pelagia's Adventures (2001, 2003) | 4.7 | |
| 5 | State Counselor (1999) | 4.7 | |
| 6 | Turkish Gambit (1998) | 4.7 | |
| 7 | Jade Beads (2007) | 4.6 | |
| 8 | Mistress of Death (2001) | 4.5 | |
| 9 | Peak Jack (1999) | 4.5 | |
| 10 | Cemetery Stories (2005) | 4.5 | |
| 11 | Black City (2013) | 4.4 | |
| 12 | Spy novel (2005) | 4.4 | |
| 13 | Altyn-Tolobas (2000) | 4.4 |
Azazel (1998)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.9
B.Akunin's most famous novel, Azazel. This is an exciting conspiracy detective, the first in a series about the talented tracker Erast Fandorin, with whom the reader can get to know in the subsequent works of the author. Another title of the work is “Winter Queen” (translated into English), according to the hotel name of one of the chapters.
The story unfolds at the end of the XIX century in Moscow, Erast is still 20 years old and it is full of youthful maximalism. In the course of work in one police department, he is faced with an interesting and complicated case - the suicide of a student, the heir of a multi-million dollar state. In the course of untangling the circumstances, Fandorin gets on the trail of a large illegal organization where conspiracies and politics are involved.
In addition to the investigation line, Akunin gives Erast Petrovich the opportunity to experience the gamut of feelings from finding to losing his love, and leads him through dangerous trials.
Diamond Chariot (2003)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.8
In the second place in the rating is a two-volume novel, The Diamond Chariot, placed in one book binding. The first part of the "Dragonfly Catcher" "tells the story of two main characters - Good Fandorin, a railway official, and Bad Rybnikov, a spy from the Japanese islands. The focus of attention is the events of the Russian-Japanese war of the beginning of the 20th century, the origin of grievances preceding the events of the national history of 1917. So, Bad is developing a plan for the explosion of railway tracks leading to Moscow. As in the classic of the genre, the Japanese have Good on their way and hinder the realization of their plans.
The second part, “Between the Lines,” brings the action to an earlier period - to Japan in 1878, where the famous Akuninsky detective conflict with samurai, falls in love with a woman of easy virtue, faces everyday and professional difficulties. It is interesting to read about the doctrine on the topic "Killers and thieves - buddhose lucky ones", which was visited by a detective story. Boris Akunin is an avid Japologist, so the subject of the country slips in many of his works.
Leviathan (1998)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.8
Leviathan is the name of a cruise liner sailing to Calcutta, where policeman Gustave Gauche is looking for the alleged killer of a major antique collector and his family. The crime was committed in the French capital, except for the four lords, even his servant lost his life. The purpose of the massacre was strange — the abduction of one golden Shiva and the embroidered shawl of the Brahmapur rajah Bagdassar. The only clue for the commissioner is the cruise liner passenger icon on which to look. Gosh finds all the tourists who have no icon, and tries to figure out a criminal among them. Among them is the well-known reader Erast Petrovich Fandorin, who subsequently completed the detection of the crime.
Later, there is golden Shiva at the bottom of the Seine. The scarf, as it turns out, indicates the place where its former owner had buried his wealth.
Leviathan is the third novel about Erastha Fandorin. The work has such an unusual plot that it is simply impossible to predict the development of events and the ending.
Provincial Detective or Sister Pelagia's Adventures (2001, 2003)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.7
We present a cycle of stories about a woman-detective and nun Pelagia, whose worldly name is Polina Lisitsyna. She has a keen mind, sensitive intuition and search talent, so she is sent to investigate 3 cases: the first in the novel “Pelagia and the White Bulldog”, where the attackers of the tribal dogs of the aunt Mitrofania are targeted by the attackers; the second is the exposure of a certain ghostly Black Monk on the New Ararat (“Pelagia and the Black Monk”); the third, described in the novel “Pelageya and the Red Rooster”, about the murders of members of a motley company.
Akunin himself spoke warmly about the trilogy, with an emphasis on the complexity of its creation, because the detective story is a woman, and the course of her thoughts is fundamentally different from the men's investigation. In the works of many religiosity, there are elements of fiction, mysticism. Mixing genres in the spirit of the author makes reading especially fascinating to such an extent that it becomes sad to say goodbye to the heroine on the last pages of the third book, judging by the responses of readers and even literary critics.
State Counselor (1999)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.7
A political detective story from the “Erast Fandorin Adventures” series with the participation of the detective already known to readers as the “State Counselor” may seem documentary - the author takes the plot back to 1981, describing the details of the life and atmosphere of that era. A youth group called “B. G. ”, coolly liquidates the Governor-General. The perpetrator of the crime is Fandorin and presents documents in the name of Erast Petrovich. But the 35-year-old detective from whom the name was “stolen” cannot pass by and takes on the unraveling of the case. He will have to find out what kind of organization “B. G. ”why these people became terrorists and commit murder in the ruling circles. At the same time, he needs to have time to get ahead of Prince Pozharsky, who arrived to solve the crime.
Boris Akunin reveals the theme of revolutionary movements and immerses in the theme of political "unrest", where people of the government have connections with criminals. All characters have their own historical prototypes, which are easy to declassify - their names are consonant with the originals.
Turkish Gambit (1998)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.7
The next in the rating is a detective about war and spies "Turkish Gambit". The action takes place in 1877, during the Russian-Turkish conflict. Varvara Suvorov goes from St. Petersburg to the front line to the soldier-groom, but on the way, almost reaching the destination, loses money and remains alone in some kind of pub. She comes to the aid of Erast Petrovich Fandorin, who won his freedom from the captivity of the Turks. As a dice player, he got a donkey, and the heroes set off on a journey in search of the groom of Barbara, get into the location of the Russian troops.
In the history of many actions related to the war: the unraveling of crimes on the battlefield, exposing the colonels, intelligence, the choice between their own benefit and the safety of other heroes and much more.
The heroes of the novel have real historical prototypes, Akunin created the work, took as a basis the events that really happened that took place in wartime.
Jade Beads (2007)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.6
Boris Akunin dedicated a collection of stories and stories “The Jade Beads” to Erast Fandorin, his beloved and bright character. The works cover the life of a detective outside of his main work, but he deals with solving problems even on holiday, in other countries. Each story is also devoted to Akunin's colleagues from all countries of the world whose works formed the basis of literary compositions.
"Sigumo" (1881) tells about the times when Fandorin served as consul in Japan. Then he faced the mysterious death of a colleague because of the alleged attack of the mythical Shimugo. The story “Table-Talk of 1882” takes the reader to Moscow. Lydia Nikolaevna Odintsova recently her husband died, and 6 years ago one of her twin daughters mysteriously disappeared, no one managed to find her. Erast Petrovich unravels the case of many years ago in a few hours and finds evidence of his own conclusions on paper. In the story "From the Life of Slivers" (1883), the detective unravels the death from the poisoning of the tycoon-owner of the railway company. The eponymous collection entitled “Jade Beads” (1884) will reveal why and from where Fandorin has beads, a detective will solve a case of petty theft with murders in a jewelry store. "Skarpei Baskakovs" (1888) introduces the public to Fandorin's assistant Anisiy Tulpanov, who will have to figure out the death of a whole family of Baskakovs. The plot resembles the story of C. Doyle, The Dog of the Baskervilles, interpreted in the Russian manner. “One tenth of a percent” (1890) is a fascinating novel without an ending about the accidental or deliberate murder of Prince Borovsky in a hunt. In the Tea Party in Bristol, the action takes place after the State Counselor in 1891, Fandorin was expelled from his native country, he settled in Bristol and is investigating the disappearance of Miss Palmer's family value. In the "Valley of Dreams" in 1894, the detective finds popularity as a specialist in the United States (the plot recalls "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"). "Before the end of the world" in 1897 during the preparation of the census of souls in the Arkhangelsk region there are several cases of self-digging, which Fandorin secretly returned to Russia becomes an eyewitness. The collection ends with a story “The Prisoner of the Tower, or the Short, but Beautiful Way of the Three Wise” (1890-1891), in which the famous Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lyulen and Dr. Watson participate. Great trackers and one crook collide in one investigation.
Mistress of Death (2001)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.5
The decade's detective story “The Mistress of Death” is a story about a community of the same name, whose philosophy is life is suffering, so they settle accounts with life one after another when Death gives a sign - you cannot make a decision about suicide yourself. Masha Mironova, who arrived in the capital from the provinces, at the invitation of a friend, joins the community, changes the external image and gets a little horror. Erast Fandorin, who wants to stop a series of deaths of young club members, falls into the same company.
In the detective story there is a mystic, the obvious contradiction of an adequate investigation, journalistic and political views on one situation.
Peak Jack (1999)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.5
The fraudsters of the gang, who call themselves "The Peak Jack", commit criminal acts in Moscow and are not at all afraid of punishment, hiding carefully from it. The scale of frauds is striking in scope, but there is no control over the grouping - there is not a single clue at the crime scene.Anisia Tulipanova, a young 20-year-old agent of the Gendarme Office, who was demoted to the post of a messenger, did not justify the hopes of the authorities, fate brings the case with the famous detective Erast Fandorin to investigate the complicated case in Peak Valet.
Cemetery Stories (2005)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.5
The cemetery stories is a collection of world cemeteries: Donskoy in Moscow, the Patriarchs' Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Highgate in London, Per-Lachaise in Paris, Green-Wood in New York, and Yokohama Foreign Cemetery. Each story is a separate chapter of the collection, in turn divided into 2 parts - introductory-historical and detective. They seem to be written by two authors: the narrative - by Grigory Chkhartishvili, and the investigation - by Boris Akunin. For this reason, "Cemetery Stories" is called the creation of two writers, although in fact one person worked on them for 5 years.
The history of the collection is not similar to other detective works, they are full of sincerity, mystics, superstitions of different nationalities.
Black City (2013)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.4
Another detective story in the ranking is about Erast Petrovich Fandorin, already a solid detective at the age of 60, who this time will have to catch a revolutionary terrorist in the city of oil and mafia Baku. The action takes place on the eve of the First World War. The work has many diverse stories and characters - crimes, filming a movie, betrayal and parting, Japanese culture and much more. The book "Black City" just will not get bored while reading. The ending of the novel will be unexpected. Will Fandorin win his opponent?
Spy novel (2005)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.4
The plot of “Spy novel” develops in 1941 on the eve of the attack of German troops on the Soviet Union. Abwehr scouts organize and carry out the most complicated operation to convince the leadership of the Soviet country - there will be no attack for at least another two years to rule out the state’s preparation for defense. The mission is entrusted to an extra-class agent with the call sign "Wasser". Boris Akunin confronts the German and Soviet intelligence agents in the novel and will keep the intrigue to the end, will the Union's counterintelligence forces, exhausted by repression, succeed in uncovering the enemy’s plan and taking action.
Altyn-Tolobas (2000)
Book author: Boris Akunin
Rating: 4.4
The rating is completed by the novel “Altyn-Tolobas” with an unusual plot. The Master of Historical Sciences and the grandson of Erast Petrovich Nicholas Fandorin arrives from Great Britain in Moscow in order to solve the riddle of the document left by his ancestor Cornelius von Dorn, who lived 300 years ago. He at one time also visited the Russian capital. The plot unfolds simultaneously in our days, where Sir Nicholas meets post-Soviet Moscow, and Cornelius von Dorn - pre-Peter the Great. Boris Akunin reveals the mysteries of the Russian city and shows what has changed in it over the centuries, and what remains the same.
Attention! This rating is subjective, is not advertising and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you should consult with a specialist.
