So, according to the author, the long story of Erast Fandorin has come to an end. He was “buried” before, like in Black City when he was supposedly shot in the head. But now, Boris Akunin has officially declared that it’s over—no more adventures. And it’s true; fifteen full novels have been released (or more, depending on how you count).
It all started with The Winter Queen, where an enthusiastic young man was fatefully drawn into a global conspiracy. Honestly, when the Erast Fandorin craze began, I was hesitant for a long time, since I don’t like following trends. But then the movie came out, and I finally decided to read it. And I was completely hooked. I binge-read everything that was available at that point and then eagerly devoured each new book as soon as it was published.
It truly is one of the best series of the past twenty years. That’s why it’s such a shame that the story of such a colorful hero has come to an end. And even more disappointing that the final book leaves much to be desired.
This trend was noticeable earlier on—the closer the protagonist gets to “old age,” the more the books shift from detective stories to adventures. Not Saying Goodbye is no exception.
There aren’t really any detective stories here. There are a couple of investigations in the background, but they remain just that—background, with no intrigue, no real investigation with different theories being explored, and no deductive elements. Even Fandorin himself spends most of the book offstage.
This book is more about the sorrow for the lost country that Fandorin served faithfully his whole life, defended as best he could, yet ultimately couldn’t save.
Just as the book is the last about Erast Fandorin, it can just as easily be considered the eleventh book in the Death to Drink on Bruderschaft series, since Alexei Romanov (the main character of that series) plays as much, if not more, of a role in Not Saying Goodbye than Fandorin himself.
Yes, the book ties together everything that was directly or indirectly hinted at about Fandorin’s fate in other works. But there’s no satisfying aftertaste. As I said, Fandorin isn’t really present here; there’s only a shadow of him, a pale semblance of the man I grew fond of over all these years.
Maybe this is how his story was supposed to end, but while I’ve reread several of the earlier books many times, this one is definitely not something I’ll return to. Sadness permeates the pages, and sadness is what lingers after closing the final page of this book.
My rating: 3/5
[…] still good, but they no longer sparked the same excitement as the earlier ones. The final novel, Not Saying Goodbye, where Erast Petrovich finally leaves, brought more sadness and melancholy than anything else. […]