Fire finger

The book consists of a large, small and medium tales dedicated to Ancient Russia . Fragments of the 9th, 11th, and 13th centuries, respectively, are described. The theme is revealed on the example of the life of representatives of the same genus, marked by a minor birthmark on the forehead, and the names of the stories are the names of these spots ^[2] .

Fiery Finger

The events date back to the middle of the 9th century, when the Russian state did not yet exist, but on the Danapr River there is a Polyana city ​​where Kiy reigns. An optical telegraph is already operating in Byzantium , sending telegrams. The main character, Damianos Lekas, is the son of a Slavic slave with almost supernatural powers as a ninja and a healer . After training in a kind of Byzantine Academy of Foreign Intelligence, using the latest achievements - a manubalist (crossbow) , an opticon (telescope) and two biorobots-tripokephals with the names Gog and Magog , it solves the problems of Byzantine geopolitics .

Before the high appointment, Damianos goes on a mission, in which he travels from the Greeks to the Varangians . The path is replete with adventures among the steppe, beast-like robbers, pagan Slavs and Varangians, calling themselves Rus - wild northern aliens led by Rorik ^[3] .

Damianos Lekas’s life is interrupted by a conflict of love triangle - he is poisoned by his subordinate, half-sister - a black woman and a professional heterosexual , who unexpectedly decided to end the career of the Byzantine spy.

Table of contents

• Water, fire, wind
• Smoke of the fatherland
• Day of miracles
• Satellites and companions
• The path to catharsis
• Catharsis
• Damianization. Stadium first
• Damianization. Second stage
• Trap trapped
• Way north
• Radoslava
• Lair of the snake
• Konung and Hovding
• Ordinary work in unusual circumstances
• Divide et impera
• To whom is earth, and to whom is heaven

Devil's Spit

Events date back to the middle of the 11th century. The rivalry of the prosperous under the leadership of Yaroslav the Wise Kiev and Constantinople under Constantine Monomakh is shown . The deteriorating Byzantium is trying to fawn in front of Russia ^[3] . Against this background, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Svyatoslav, is born the firstborn, who turned out to be a dead freak. However, the Greek eunuch , nicknamed Kut, succeeds in discreetly replacing the freak with another son, Svyatoslav. He, simultaneously with the first, is born of a two-humped killer - a recidivist nicknamed Kikimora , whom the prince raped while arguing while intoxicated. To keep the secret of birth, the eunuch poisons Kikimora with sweet wine.

Table of contents

• Agafodor
• Svyatoslav
• Zhivka
• Kikimora
• Kut

Prince Cranberry

The action takes place at the beginning of the XIII century. Russia is fragmented and weak. In the center of events is a young prince, the youngest son of his father, whose elder brother had already fled with the treasury before his father’s death to seek adventure. It is sometimes called Cranberry for a small birthmark on the forehead, similar to a trace of a crushed berry. The Principality is small and is located dangerously close to the Polovtsian steppe . They live poorly, but the prince is not discouraged, ahead of his time, he successfully uses the gifts of progress - they rewrite the population , lead the three-field , although despite this they are forced to borrow money from the Jews under the heel ^[1] . An unexpectedly appeared older brother, a renegade crusader from the Latin Empire, makes turmoil - forces him to pay an optional ransom, undermines the prince’s authority, squanders money and provokes the hated but tolerant Polovtsy neighbors, although Cranberry and his governor win the battle with the Polovtsian khan , and the “knight” himself, at the beginning of the battle, ingloriously falls from the killed horse, using the cranberries and the death of the governor, he appropriates the spoils and leads the best part of the squad, despite the danger of the Polovtsy’s revenge and without any hesitation Niya. ^[3] .

In a volatile life, sympathy arises between Cranberry and the daughter of a neighboring prince. From feelings they can not hold back tears at meetings. They cry together with a love explanation ^[1] , and with a discussion of a French love affair. Despite the fact that the princess’s parents are inclined towards a more upbeat older brother, the princess insists on marriage with Cranberry ^[1] .

At the end of the story, Prince Cranberry, smiling knowingly, looks to the west, where the sunset ends. He hears the whisper of God. Voicing this whisper, the prince answers the question of the conscientious brother about overcoming future hardships: “Nothing. I will manage somehow, with God's help. I have nowhere to go from here ” ^[1] .

Table of contents

• About arithmetic
• About the miracles of book reading
• About long journeys
• About Cain's Seal
• About the horrors of abuse
• About God's whispering

• The release of the book caused the appearance of reader reviews in the blogosphere ^[4] :

- Boris Akunin creates books like Dr. Frankenstein , making up an inanimate living object. Not a single fresh idea, only a combined body from previous creations. The hero of the Fiery Finger is a clone from the Diamond Chariot . However, it is surprising that reading is still a pleasure. A beautiful syllable and marvelous descriptions give the impression that the author knows the realities of the time. All this, with a very subtle hint of parody, for example, the production of zombies in Byzantium.

- We have practically no interesting fascinating books about Ancient Russia. Akunin somewhat corrects the situation. His novels show the period of the emergence of the Russian state. Geographically covered are the main points of the “from the Varangians to the Greeks” route significant for our history - Constantinople, Kiev, Rurik's camp. Good atmospheric immersion, playing out curious historical hypotheses and "Fandorin" adventures. All this contributes to the assimilation of history with interest.

- The book depicts some kind of bondian in a pseudo-historical surroundings with a simple plot and unconvincing characters. The only consolation is that Akunin did not lose the ability to write beautifully and the text is easy and pleasant to read, despite all the shortcomings described above. In addition, we note that Akunin is often accused of unpatriotism and dislike for everything Russian. With regard to these stories, the reproach is clearly groundless, since the Russians themselves are absent there. There are only one of our many ancestors.

The audio versions of the stories that were published simultaneously with the book were recorded by Boris Plotnikov , Alyona Babenko and Maxim Sukhanov ^[5] .