Read it a long time ago and fell in love with the compelling protagonist Erast Fandorin. Since then followed him through many other Akunin's books. Superb writing, especially if you read it in its original language. ( )

An entertaining mystery lacking the stress of most Russian mysteries. ( )

Entertaining enough, although for my jaded tastes a little more carnality would have been welcome. However, only so much pleasure can be derived by watching the author yanking his main character around the way a puppy does his chew toy. ( )

This one has its ups and downs. From an entertainment perspective, the hero, Fandorin, and his boss throughout most of the book, Brilling, are very interesting, as are some of the minor characters we come across. However, the novel suffers from its deliberately old-fashioned story telling, which comes off merely as cute (and overly melodramatic) rather than Dostoevskyan as was probably intended. Don't know if this is the case with the original Russian or if it is the translator's fault. The other problem is that when it is all over, it's pretty difficult to unravel what Brilling was doing sending Fandorin all over the place to begin with. So while the book has some truly delicious scenes, it isn't as effective as a whole.

However - I am intrigued enough to follow Fandorin down the road of at least one more adventure. He is good company. ( )

Watch out, Archie Goodwin - Erast Fandorin could easily replace you in the favourite detective stakes! A chance discovery, swapped for one of my own books, 'The Winter Queen' is one of the most intriguing, original, attractive novels of its genre I have come across recently. Fandorin has been described as part Sherlock Holmes, part James Bond, but in this debut, he is far too innocent and trusting to fall into either category (the cruel and devastating ending will no doubt change him in the next book, but hopefully not too much). He is very young, good-looking, intelligent and lucky, but also rather a tragic figure, which makes him a compelling character - fortunately, there are many more Erast Fandorin mysteries to read!

Boris Akunin's style - or perhaps the translation of it - adds to the enjoyment. The conspiracy plotline itself is difficult to keep track of, with new twists and traitors uncovered in practically every chapter, but the writing is very jaunty and nostalgic of old cosy detective novels. The dialogue is necessarily dramatic, but always tongue in cheek - 'American roulette' is claimed by the Russians after the notorious suicide in the park which begins the mystery, for example. Some of the Russian names can be difficult to grapple with at first, particularly the polite terms of address, but it's easy enough to skim over and get the gist. An understanding of the country's history might also be helpful, but knowing nothing about nineteenth century Russia does not detract from the story. Time and place are presented naturally in the telling, making this an informative as well as entertaining read. ( )

I’ll offer a single comment on the novels of Russian author Boris Akunin. Both series, the Erast Fandorin and Sister Pelagia stories, are set in pre-revolutionary Russia. They’re not only great fun — imagine a late 19th Century James Bond or Mrs. Marple — but historically fascinating as well. ( )

Global conspiracy novels are a dime-a-dozen these days. However, Boris Akunin has managed to put together one that is different enough to be quite enjoyable to read. Set in 19th century Russia, The Winter Queen chronicles the first adventure of Moscow policeman Erast Fandorin as he moves from trying to understand the illogical suicide of a wealthy student to unraveling the tentacles of a mysterious, and murderous, international organization.

Wisely, the focus of the book is not on this secret organization (which would be more than a little ho-hum), but on the character of Fandorin as he starts to mature from a novice police clerk into an investigator of a bit of skill and a greater amount of intuition. The villains of the piece are not hard for the reader to deduce. However, true to his tyro status, Fandorin is not able to spot them quickly enough, and the reader is taken along a fast-paced and light-hearted ride of adventures and betrayals until the final climax.

The closest analogy I can find for this novel is in Fleming's character, James Bond: the same recklessness and bravado, the same lone-agent-against-the-super-villain literary format. It turns out that this works well, even set almost a century earlier in history.

The ending of the book, also surprisingly Bondian, changes the whole tone of story and, I think, augers well for a series that will keep its spark. ( )

i really didn't like this. i listened to it. sometimes this is a problem, i could not tie anything together. why did the men/man commit suicide? why did he go to london? who was the woman he married? who was the nutty dame at the end? i never like russian books. ( )

I'll admit that is not the first sentence of The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin. It's the first chapter heading -- but isn't it amazing? You don't even have to get past the chapter title to experience the fantastic writing of this book.

After giving up on The Mill on The Floss for now, I decided to go back and read The Winter Queen for a second time. It had been a while since I first read it (Amazon says I bought it in February 2005) which usually means that I can't remember much about it. It turned out that I remembered most of it but it was still throughly enjoyable this time through. Akunin is a fantastic writer and I also give credit to the translator of this book, Andrew Bromfield. He does an admirable job of translating this book from its native Russian.

The main character in The Winter Queen is a 20 year old clerk in the Moscow department of detectives in 1876. Erast Fandorin begins his adventure when he is assigned some investigatory work into the mildly suspicious suicide of a college student. This small and seemingly simple case leads Fandorin straight into the middle of a worldwide conspiracy. His life is constantly in danger but his intelligence and self-control help him to perserve in the most treacherous of situations.

http://webereading.com/2008/08/chapte... ( )

Boris Akunin's novel "The Winter Queen" sounded very promising when I read the amazing statements it had received. The summary on the fourth of cover would surely have had the same impact on me, had I read it first. Therefore, I bought the book and started reading in, enthusiastic with the idea of the story I was about to be told. My waiting was indeed not long as a very strange "public" suicide occurred as the opening of what would be an exhausting and dangerous quest for young detective Erast Fandorin.

The tone was set and I avidly read on. However, my expectations were not at all fulfilled. It is not a thick book, so the mystery should go as fluently as possible... so, when the hundredth page did not satisfy my appetite to see the action move forward, I simply closed the book in frustration. Do you know... I find it very unpleasant (maybe because I am an author as well) to behave in such manner with an unread book. Unfortunately, when I am promised a thrilling story that is barely delivered the way I wish it to be, I tend to loose patience. Nonetheless, the next day, I picked up the book again and continued reading... if not for the story, at least to honour the author.

The story is actually extremely good and quite disturbing at times, and I am still thinking of the ideas exposed by Boris Akunin (which might tell more than I can ever write about the book, but humour me if you please). I felt that the potential of the story was not reached and found the book to resemble a giant teaser. Now and again, the story telling slipped into what I call nonsense, which "bugged" me immensely.

No matter what I felt while reading, I believe The Winter Queen to be a very good and entertaining novel. The plot was appealing and the period in which it was set remains very interesting. However, I feel that it did not match my taste when it comes to that particular literary genre (detective fiction).

Should you read The Winter Queen? Absolutely. You may in fact enjoy it more than I did. After all, literature is an art and art is very subjective... therefore, my review of Boris Akunin's work becomes it as well. You never know, perhaps you'll enjoy it so much that you'll read the entire collection of Erast Fandorin Mysteries.

Maybe in a few years, I will pick it up and read it again.

http://couleurwords.wordpress.com/200... ( )

Well written (or at least translated), and slick with humour, style and great characters, The Winter Queen is one of the most entertaining pieces of historical crime fiction I've picked up. ( )

First in the Erast Fandorin sieries.

This is a delightful romp in the mystery genre, set in 1876 Russia. It has everything: murder, suicide, spies, international conspiracies, terrorists, beautiful women, handsome men, bad mustache disguises, transcontinental train trips—you think of it, it’s probably there. It also has some very sly take-offs on language.

Erast Fandorin is a 20 year old 14th rank (you can go no lower in the Russian civil service) civil servant in a police precinct in Moscow. Thanks to his eagerness to be a detective, he practically manufactures an investigation into what seems like an open-and-shut case of suicide. But before long, Erast finds himself in the middle of a puzzling web of intrigue that leads him across Europe to England (and not inconsequentially, to a rank 5 grades higher than his original), using his intuition and wits to solve the mystery.

You can’t imagine a more picaresque mystery story than this one. Faced innumerable times with certain death, Erast manages to avoid his untimely demise by a combination of cleverness, luck, and sheer ignorance.

The style is light-hearted, the plot ingenious and full of surprise twists and turns, the characters joyously undeveloped, and it’s great fun. Highly recommended. ( )

A good read which incorporates culture and humor. The main character while smart isn't all knowing and at first gets things right as much by chance as by wits. Anyone who likes historical fiction this should be your next stop! ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1SP3J01... ( )

Boris Akunin introduces Erast Fandorin in 'The Winter Queen', a murder mystery, yes, but much more, 'The Winter Queen sprawls across Europe from Moscow to London and back to St. Petersburg. Set in 1876, the book starts with a 'bang!' - literally, a university student blows his own brains out in the Alexander Garden.

This apparent suicide is the string upon which Fandorin begins to tug and an international conspiracy unravels revealing layer-upon-layer of delicious characters mostly of evil intent. Akunin's characters rarely are quite whom they seem to be at first.

The book also ends with another 'bang!' to fortunately spoil what looked to be an all-too-happy ending.

Hurrah for Boris Akunin! He has now produced something like 11 Fandorin mysteries as well as the Sister Pelagia series and other novels. Akunin's fame has finally spread from Russia to the US. Very highly recommended. ( )

19th Century Russia and young policeman Erast Fandorin gets a lucky break in a case which gets him entangled in a conspiracy which crosses the continent, allows him to travel, gamble and use guns - indeed it nearly gets him killed several times, and he meets and loses the love of his life. A 19th century Bond? - In this first novel, I see him more as an Indiana Jones type, but I'm sure he'll mature into a more suave, cynical and hardened special agent.
As with almost all novels set in 19th century Russia, the sense of place and sheer 'Russian-ness' makes them so attractive. This is a fab novel, brilliantly translated, can't wait to read the others now. ( )

http://lespalabres.blogspot.com/2007/... ( )

Interesting beginning of the series featuring Erast Fandorin. Having read some of the later books, I found the plot lines a little awkward but was still intrigued by the situations and people. ( )

Thoroughly enjoyed this - the hero is everything he should be and the villains are equally brilliant. I am turning into a thorough fan of Erast Fandorin's adventures. ( )

For me, Akunin has been one of the great finds of the last few years. The novels so far available in English (all superbly translated by Andrew Bromfield) provide great entertainment and variety, and it's a nice cosy feeling to realise that there are quite a few more still to be translated and to look forward to. These are basically crime / mystery novels set in the mid to late nineteenth century in Russia and other places. These books are written with great wit and energy, are populated with interesting characters, and feature often complex but well-paced plots - sheer reading pleasure.

Akunin uses language exquistely! ( )

First in a series of nine according to Amazon.com as of 2006. The Winter Queen is the first adventure featuring Fandorin. The young man is wet behind thie ears; at only twenty, he holds the lowest position in the police force in Moscow. However, Fandorin has a very sharp mind especially suited for the kind of work he does. The suicide of a young student by "American roulette" (in other words, Russian roulette) leads the young detective to believe that it was not, in fact, a suicide after all, and that there is a lot more going on that meets the eye. But isn't there always? Things become much more serious when a young student acquainted with the "suicide" is murdered, his lat word before dying "Azazel." The appearance of a very beautiful (but very dangerous) young woman throws Fandorin off the track, and he heads to London to persue a clue. It appears that this young woman, persued by half the young men in Moscow, has been recieving a series of mysterious letters in London care of an address at the Winter Queen Hotel. These letters are from men suspected to be a part of a large, extensive terrorist group that might possibly have designs upon killing the tsarevich. Linked to the case, but not suspected straight away, is a place called the Astair House, a house set up by an English woman set upon finding brilliant young men to cultivate. Lady Astair has houses set up in all parts of Europe and the Americas, too. What does this house have to do with the case, if anything? It soon turns out that Erast can no longer trust even his closest confidantes, and it is up to the detective to set store by his own wits (and extremely good luck).

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/jjones/ent... ( )

Absolutely and totally fun novel, reminiscent of those old cliffhanger series things. I would recommend this book to readers who like what I would call "literary" mysteries, rather than the more fast-food type of reads (although, I must say, some of the ffrs (fast-food reads) are pretty good so I'm not slamming them -- I have read hundreds in my time). Anyway, this one demands a little more of your patience & time, but you will be rewarded in the long run.

brief plot review w/o spoilers

Set in Moscow in the czarist Russia of 1876, the novel opens with a young man (a student named Kokorin) standing in front of a bench in a square full of people. The man takes out a revolver, puts it up to his head, and informs a young girl sitting there with her governess that unless she kisses him, he's going to blow his brains out. She doesn't and he does. Of course, the police are called in, and it turns out that on that same day, there were other public suicide attempts, all using the same method, all over town. The police are left baffled, but one enterprising young man, Erast Fandorin, sees that there must be more under the surface. Erast is just a newbie in the police department, but he is sharp. What follows keeps Erast on the edge of danger, and leads to a crime so vast it spills out of Russia's borders.

I could say more, but I'd wreck the story and I HATE when people do that!

Considering that this is the first in a series, the main character comes off very strong, enough to where I found myself rooting for him the entire way. You might agree with some reviewers that it's a stretch to believe that a relative newbie to the police department would be the one to be put on this case, and that a joe nobody would rise up so quickly, but hey...it's fiction. No one says this must be believable. And it's a fun story. ( )