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The Turkish Gambit
A Novel
by Boris Akunin
Popular Russian mystery writer Boris Akunin (born Grigory Chkhartishvili) set his latest novel (the third featuring his character Erast Fandorin) during the 1877 Russian-Turkish conflict.
Random House, 224 pages
03/08/2005
$22.95
ISBN: 1400060508
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
NOTES:
Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield.
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Margaret Cannon
Readers who haven't already discovered this brilliant series featuring diplomat-detective Erast Fandorin, and set in 19th-century Russia, won't find a better starting point than this.
Daily Telegraph David Robson
As a solver of riddles, [Fandorin] is not in the Holmes league: his closing exposition of the facts is positively tedious. But his humanity shines brightly amid the horrors of war, which he heartily detests. It is not hard to see why the character has achieved such popularity.
Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown
An exquisitely filigreed thriller set during the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, The Turkish Gambit condenses the thicketed politics and monstrous bureaucracies of 19th-century Europe into a lively, compact yarn.
Library Journal Barbara Hoffert
A complex and cutting tale, with a surprise villain, that should appeal to the international thriller crowd. [1 Mar 2005, p.74]
The Guardian Andrey Kurkov
Andrew Bromfeld's excellent translation is as enjoyably dynamic as the original.
Flak Elizabeth Kiem
Readers new to Akunin will find in The Turkish Gambit the same light touch, quick tempo and graceful wit that distinguish his earlier books.
The New Yorker
And although some references may prove challenging to Americans, the wealth of period detail—about tactics in battles fought with cavalry and cannon, for example, and the gruesome outcomes—is impressive.
Kirkus Reviews
Solid historical background and a dryly jaundiced view of the rivalries among military heroes and wannabes don't elevate this period piece or its stock characters to the realm of Fandorin's remarkable retro puzzler "Murder on the Leviathan."
Publishers Weekly
A plot more complex than some West Point battle plans.
Boston Globe Clea Simon
Because of this background and because often we lack direct access to Fandorin, The Turkish Gambit bogs down at times under its own weight. Unlike the slam-bang events of ''The Winter Queen," which left this reader breathless, The Turkish Gambit is a slower and more cynical book.
Daily Telegraph Andrew Martin
Akunin can certainly write, but all his facility is here lost in the fog of war, and a blizzard of dates and proper nouns. There is no tension, no sense of anything whatsoever at stake, and Fandorin obstinately persists in his wooden, sub-Sherlock Holmes mode.
The Independent Rebecca Pearson
Unfortunately, it's a bit disappointing.
The Independent Jane Jakeman
Sadly, Akunin seems to have lost the main principle of the historical novel, which is that it should stand as good fiction. People and action are overwhelmed here by indigestible slabs of information. I love History Lite, but this is history as boggy mire.
The Spectator Andrew Taylor
Not a good example of [Akunin's] work. The narrative is often swamped by the historical background. The intrigues confuse rather more than they intrigue. The cast list is so large that first you lose track of who’s who and then you stop caring.
 The average user rating for this book is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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