Not my usual reading material but set against the backdrop of 1877 and the Russo Turkish War this was always going to be attractive to me!
Today saw the family visit the local, once a month indoor boot sale up in the town. It is small, inevitably crowded and always very stuffy but has the virtue of being a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so - especially if you are able to score any bargains as I did this morning.
Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin is, I believe, the third in the series of books featuring Erast Fandorin, the reluctant gentleman sleuth and is set, as mentioned by the picture above, against the backdrop of the Russo Turkish War. The book is the hardback first edition and cost me the princely sum of 50p and needless to say, I shall look forward to this.
A very nice model and one that will be used to supplement my collection of souvenir type building once painted.
The second acquisition, which also cost me 50p, is a small die case metal model of the 'Basilique Du Sacre-Couer De Montmatre'. It stands around three inches tall and so would fit in very nicely with my collection of ceramic Eastern Mediterranean buildings once it has had a coat of paint (and the lettering covered!). My plan for this is to turn it into a rather ornate Mosque, complete with a green central dome. I apologise in advance if this has unintentionally offended anybodies religious sensibilities in any way but there is a historical precedent for this - think Constantinople 1453!
All in all then, not a bad start to the boot sale season for the year - £1 spent in total.
Turkish Gambit - in fact all the Akunins are worth looking at.
ReplyDeleteHi Mr Kinch,
ReplyDeleteI had been meaning to get around to these at some point and certainly for 50p it was far too good to turn down. I shall have to look the others out in due course.
All the best,
DC
I agree that all the Fandorin books are worth reading although I didn't care for Akunin's Sister Pelagia series. I think that Turkish Gambit is the second in the series although possibly it was the third to appear in English. There is an element of the set up of the novel coming from the end of Anna Karenina which one might not fully appreciate unless one had read the first in the series; and of course Anna Karenina. Akunin's trick of writing each of the novels in a different prose style is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteI only wish that it was possible to buy a copy of the DVD that was made of the book. It has some great battle scenes and these can be seen on YouTube. If you haven't seen them yet, you must do so ASAP.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AHgK3QdByeQ
All the best,
Bob
Hi Epictetus,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the background information - it looks like I will now have to dig out the other titles in the series. I suppose I should hold fire reading this then so they are not out of sequence.
All the best,
DC
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteIn a word - WOW! ery impressive and I liked a lot of the little touches as the troops advance - passing the drink around and the grizzled NCO steadying the 'lads'. One to loo out for methinks.
All the best and many thanks for the heads up,
DC
Looks an interesting read???
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to find bargains, and ones that can be used for gaming are even better.
ReplyDeleteHi Ray,
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does - and I hope to do just that very soon!
All the best,
DC
Hi Sean,
ReplyDeleteThe thing I love about boot sales is the fact that even the most unlikely objects can be found and pressed into service for gaming purposes - and usually very cheaply as well!
All the best,
DC