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Untraceable
In 2018, a former Russian secret agent and his daughter were poisoned with a lethal neurotoxin that left them slumped over on a British park bench in critical condition. The story of who did it, and how these horrendous contaminants were developed, captivates and terrifies in equal measure. It has inspired acclaimed author Sergei Lebedev’s latest page-turning novel. At its center is a scheming chemist named Professor Kalitin, obsessed with developing an absolutely deadly, undetectable and untraceable poison for which there is no antidote. He becomes consumed by guilt over the death of his wife, the first accidental victim of his Faustian pact to create the ultimate venom, and the deaths of hundreds of test subjects. After he defects from the Soviet Union to spend his “retirement� years in the West, two Russian secret agents are dispatched to assassinate him. In this fast-paced, genre-bending novel, Lebedev weaves tension-filled pages of stunningly beautiful prose exploring the historical trajectories of evil. From Nazi labs, Stalinist plots, the Chechen Wars, to present-day Russia, Lebedev probes the ethical responsibilities of scientists supplying modern tyrants and autocrats with ever newer instruments of retribution, destruction and control. Lebedev, one of Russia’s most important and exciting writers, has never been better.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published November 17, 2020
178 people are currently reading
1356 people want to read
About the author
Sergei Lebedev
14books44followersSergei Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981 and worked for seven years on geological expeditions in northern Russia and Central Asia. Lebedev is a poet, essayist and journalist. His novels have been translated into many languages and received great acclaim in the English-speaking world.
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March 23, 2024
”Страховитата, празна тавтология на злото� е великолепно определение в текста и изчерпва сърцевината на “Дебютант�. Лебедев споделя в послеслова, че това е роман за романа между науката и тоталитарната власт, които раждат чудовища. Тези чудовища живеят в абсурд, изведен до крайност, просмукал се във всеки аспект и изграждащ своя собствена, установена, господстваща реалност. В нея обитават призраци на минали злини, които обаче съвсем не се смятат за призраци, и така сътворяват зловещо бъдеще. Наука в името на абсолюта, търсеща пряк път през трупове. Дълг в името на абсолютната родина, без въпроси, търсещ пряк път през трупове. (Изобщо, всички преки пътеки към светло бъдеще, изглежда, минават оттам).
Лебедев умело си служи с реализъм, историчност и психологизъм. Наслагва пластове върху още пластове, всичките в несекващ диалог (праистория-фашизъм-сталинизъм-съвремие; изток - запад; старо - ново; млади - стари; родители - деца; палач - жертва). Всеки крие неизбродими дълбини, които не бива нехайно да се оставят на невежеството и забавата. Защото никой не може да избяга от хватката на историята и собствената си психология. Може само да ги променя донякъде с цената на титанична борба.
Сюжетът е като химическа формула с две смъртоносни съставки, които го правят съвършеното оръжие, насочено към читателя.
Първата смъртоносна съставка е Калитин. Високопоставен “пенсиониран� съветски учен в необозначено на картите тайно съветско градче, той се изживява като творец с фаустовски дух. В действителност е фанатик на смъртта. Обаче смърт рационална и прицелена, не исторически предхождащата проста, първобитна, неподбираща и безсмислена смърт от революционните чистки и сталинизма. Калитин е майстор на единичната, така да се каже - уникална авторска - смърт от химическо оръжие, останала “безприютна� след разпада на СССР и тихо креещата нейде в днешна Германия.
Втората смъртноносна съставка е Шершньов. Черноработник от Ада с нашивки, опит във военна и антитерористична обстановка. Винаги лоялен, винаги прецизен. Понякога допускащ разни неканени и неочаквани мисли, но бързо ги неутрализира с правилния идеен поглед към ситуацията. Изпратен на лов за стария химик в една днешна реалност, която прелива от исторически пластове и наслагвания, видима често само за тях двамата.
Отрицанието на живота не може да роди живот, дори и с най-добрите намерения, дори подплатено с всички душевни сокове и сили. В последния случай това е просто неописуема човешка трагедия. И е предвестник на мрачно бъдеще. Посланието е просто. И тревожно валидно.
4,5⭐️
—�
Самият край на последната една-две страници леко снижи нивото на предхождащото повествование. Сякаш Лебедев не е успял да открие достоен завършек на “формулата�, и намеси случайностите.
От друга страна, искрено се забавлявах с част от недоволните англоезични ревюта (в опит да разбера ниската оценка в тази платформа), които са очаквали “стандартен�, прилежно етикетиран трилър. Ами не, точно в това е чарът - етикети няма. Нито фиксиран, пазарноориентиран жанр. Никой не спасява света с юнашките си две ръце в рамките на 24 часа от планетарната заплаха. Това все пак е нашият свят, а не сладко обезопасен джънк фуд за лека нощ.
***
▶️ Цитати:
💉 “…� защо в онези години не са могли просто да съберат хората, да ги разстрелят и да ги закопаят? Защо са водили следствия, писали са протоколи, съблюдавали са формалностите, ако са били наясно, че всичко е лъжа? � И сега, като гледаше стареца, разбра: заради изпълнителите. Това е било опора за тях, за да не се побъркат и да не престанат да се подчиняват.�
💉 “Схван� логиката на календара: есенни грехове, пролетни, зимни, летни; грехове на бедността и богатството, на порока и уязвената добродетел; на миналото и бъдещето, грехове на силата и слабостта, на властта и робството, на надеждата и отчаянието, на любовта и отсъствието и.�
July 17, 2020
Reading authors from around the world often leads to interesting reads. Lebedev's "Untraceable" is no exception. This Russian author presents an unusual novel that traces that explores the development of chemical and biological weapons such as used by the Russians to assassinate a diplomat in London or used nearly without limit by Assad in Syria. Who has in them the cruelty to develop such weapons? Under what circumstances were they allowed to experiment on test subjects? In what secret Soviet city were such scientists isolated from nearly anything but their work. Dr. Frankenstein, what have you created?
This story traces one such scientist who took great pride in his achievement and eventually defected to a quiet spot in Eastern Europe. But the past always catches up and on his heels are Russian officers, battle-hardened and haunted by years of torture in the Chechen theater of operations, a war that post-Soviet Russia endured.
The prose is often brilliant, dark, foreboding. A fascinating exploration of the nature of what survived the remnants of the Soviet Empire.
This story traces one such scientist who took great pride in his achievement and eventually defected to a quiet spot in Eastern Europe. But the past always catches up and on his heels are Russian officers, battle-hardened and haunted by years of torture in the Chechen theater of operations, a war that post-Soviet Russia endured.
The prose is often brilliant, dark, foreboding. A fascinating exploration of the nature of what survived the remnants of the Soviet Empire.
February 23, 2021
Based on the trend for Russia to poison its enemies, Untraceable follows a scientist who developed an untraceable poison as he flees the country he used to serve. It's a novel but feels like non-fiction, and that first scene is really great, and pulls you right in to the story. It probably didn't hurt that we were watching at the same time!
I had a copy from the publisher (New Vessel Press) through NetGalley. It came out February 2nd. I was surprised to find this was the first novel I'd read by this author as I recognize his other works by their covers!
I had a copy from the publisher (New Vessel Press) through NetGalley. It came out February 2nd. I was surprised to find this was the first novel I'd read by this author as I recognize his other works by their covers!
October 21, 2021
In my childhood, there was a French comedy "Umbrella Prick" with Pierre Richard. The details have been erased from my memory, I only remember that it was hilariously funny and I did not think about the unfortunate fate of someone doomed to instant death from an injection. And for sure - I didn't think about those who created this spy accessory. That is, when I did give myself the trouble to reflect on the topic, then a laboratory with flasks, retorts and microscopes, located almost behind the door of the room where Richard's hero was equipped, somehow naturally appeared before my eyes. And there's a scientist in a white coat, a cap, and flesh-colored rubber gloves, also wearing glasses and a mask (the usual one, as we all wear now).
I didn't think about a chemical protection suit or a respirator at all. In order to represent, it was necessary to see at least once, and I did not see people in such attire in those days. And, of course, I could not imagine a whole closed city in the taiga thicket, surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire: either a zone, or an island of a socialist paradise for the elite. Hundreds of people work on the most sophisticated equipment, thousands of others serve them and guard them (and what did you think, carriers of strategic secrets).
And aviaries with animals. In this capacity, we habitually imagine white mice, rabbits at most, we are confused about dogs, we do not imagine monkeys, and meanwhile, primates are closest to humans on the evolutionary ladder, therefore, the results of bench tests on them will be more reliable. Then I stop talking, it's unethical to talk about people as an object of experiments, and probably unsafe, but Vika reports that the test site was located in the Uzbek city of Nukus.
Фаустово проклятье
- Вы слышали о Кларе Иммервар?
- Нет.
- О Фрице Габере?
Он помнил это имя, Габер. Отец азотных удобрений - и отец газовой войны, дедушка «Циклона Б», изобретенного в его лаборатории.
- Клара была его женой. И тоже химиком. Пыталась отговорить его. А когда узнала, что он едет на фронт руководить газовой атакой, выстрелила себе в сердце. Из его пистолета. Иногда нужно просто не соучаствовать.
В моем детстве была французская кинокомедия "Укол зонтиком" с Пьером Ришаром. Подробности стерлись из памяти, помню только, что было уморительно смешно и не думалось о несчастной судьбине обреченного на мгновенную смерть от укола. И совершенно точно - не думалось о тех, кто создавал этот шпионский аксессуар. То есть, когда я все-таки давала себе заботу порефлексировать на тему, то перед глазами как-то естественно возникала лаборатория с колбами, ретортами и микроскопами, расположенная чуть ли не за дверью того помещения, где героя Ришара экипировали. А там ученый в белом халате, в шапочке, и резиновых перчатках телесного цвета, еще в очках и маске (обычной, как мы все сейчас носим).
О костюме химзащиты, о респираторе не думала вовсе. Для того, чтобы представлять, нужно было хоть раз увидеть, а людей в подобном облачении в те времена не видела. И, конечно, представить не могла целого закрытого города в таежной чаще, обнесенного высоким забором с колючей проволокой: не то зона, не то островок социалистического рая для избранных. Сотни людей работают на сложнейшем оборудовании, тысячи других обслуживают их и охраняют (а как вы думали, носители стратегических тайн).
И еще вольеры с животными. Мы в этом качестве привычно представляем белых мышей, максимум - кроликов, о собаках смущенно думаем, обезьян не представляем, а между тем, приматы ближе всех к человеку на эволюционной лестнице, следовательно и результаты стендовых испытаний на них будут более достоверными. Дальше я умолкаю, говорить о людях в качестве объекта экспериментов неэтично, и наверно небезопасно, но вот Вика сообщает, что тестовый полигон располагался в узбекском городе Нукус.
Вы уже поняли, что "Дебютант" о химическом оружии, и даже наверняка догадались, какой именно, препарат скрыт за этим названием. Ассоциация по смыслу, правильно, "Новичок", о котором так много говорили после дела Скрипалей, что не услышать невозможно было, даже если ты абсолютно далека от разного рода политических скандалов. Я в подробности не вникала, но помню, что некоторые благонамеренные граждане тогда говорили, что.если бы наши спецслужбы хотели отравить, так уж довели бы дело до победного конца, не оставили недотравленных.
Ну вот в книге Сергея Лебедева примерно об этом. О том, что иногда словно бы само мироздание ополчается против тех, кто хочет применить особенно жестокое оружие, срывая отлично подготовленную и хронометрированную до секунды спецоперацию. Глупость, конечно, особенно если вспомнить несчастных, в Первую Мировую переживших применение замана, зарина, иприта или узников концлагерей убитых Циклоном В, или зрителям НордОста. Но будем оптимистами, Стивен Пинкер говорит, что человечество уходит от особенно лютого насилия, хотелось бы верить.
На самом деле, книга о многом. Это и экскурс в семидесятые-восьмидесятые с описанием жизни в одном из закрытых городов, где вещество разрабатывалось. И сюрреалистичная картина его неудачного испытания на приматах, загнанных в пещеры. И описание жизни перебежчика, который живет с новым именем, с измененной внешностью, в благополучной западной стране, постоянно ожидая покушения. Но самая удачная, на мой взгляд, линия - рассказ о священнике, который проповедовал свободу в социалистической Германии под неусыпным надзором штази, а после был отравлен одним из подобных веществ, выжил, хотя остался изуродован.
Неплохая книга. Шпионский триллер с философским подтекстом.
I didn't think about a chemical protection suit or a respirator at all. In order to represent, it was necessary to see at least once, and I did not see people in such attire in those days. And, of course, I could not imagine a whole closed city in the taiga thicket, surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire: either a zone, or an island of a socialist paradise for the elite. Hundreds of people work on the most sophisticated equipment, thousands of others serve them and guard them (and what did you think, carriers of strategic secrets).
And aviaries with animals. In this capacity, we habitually imagine white mice, rabbits at most, we are confused about dogs, we do not imagine monkeys, and meanwhile, primates are closest to humans on the evolutionary ladder, therefore, the results of bench tests on them will be more reliable. Then I stop talking, it's unethical to talk about people as an object of experiments, and probably unsafe, but Vika reports that the test site was located in the Uzbek city of Nukus.
Фаустово проклятье
- Вы слышали о Кларе Иммервар?
- Нет.
- О Фрице Габере?
Он помнил это имя, Габер. Отец азотных удобрений - и отец газовой войны, дедушка «Циклона Б», изобретенного в его лаборатории.
- Клара была его женой. И тоже химиком. Пыталась отговорить его. А когда узнала, что он едет на фронт руководить газовой атакой, выстрелила себе в сердце. Из его пистолета. Иногда нужно просто не соучаствовать.
В моем детстве была французская кинокомедия "Укол зонтиком" с Пьером Ришаром. Подробности стерлись из памяти, помню только, что было уморительно смешно и не думалось о несчастной судьбине обреченного на мгновенную смерть от укола. И совершенно точно - не думалось о тех, кто создавал этот шпионский аксессуар. То есть, когда я все-таки давала себе заботу порефлексировать на тему, то перед глазами как-то естественно возникала лаборатория с колбами, ретортами и микроскопами, расположенная чуть ли не за дверью того помещения, где героя Ришара экипировали. А там ученый в белом халате, в шапочке, и резиновых перчатках телесного цвета, еще в очках и маске (обычной, как мы все сейчас носим).
О костюме химзащиты, о респираторе не думала вовсе. Для того, чтобы представлять, нужно было хоть раз увидеть, а людей в подобном облачении в те времена не видела. И, конечно, представить не могла целого закрытого города в таежной чаще, обнесенного высоким забором с колючей проволокой: не то зона, не то островок социалистического рая для избранных. Сотни людей работают на сложнейшем оборудовании, тысячи других обслуживают их и охраняют (а как вы думали, носители стратегических тайн).
И еще вольеры с животными. Мы в этом качестве привычно представляем белых мышей, максимум - кроликов, о собаках смущенно думаем, обезьян не представляем, а между тем, приматы ближе всех к человеку на эволюционной лестнице, следовательно и результаты стендовых испытаний на них будут более достоверными. Дальше я умолкаю, говорить о людях в качестве объекта экспериментов неэтично, и наверно небезопасно, но вот Вика сообщает, что тестовый полигон располагался в узбекском городе Нукус.
Вы уже поняли, что "Дебютант" о химическом оружии, и даже наверняка догадались, какой именно, препарат скрыт за этим названием. Ассоциация по смыслу, правильно, "Новичок", о котором так много говорили после дела Скрипалей, что не услышать невозможно было, даже если ты абсолютно далека от разного рода политических скандалов. Я в подробности не вникала, но помню, что некоторые благонамеренные граждане тогда говорили, что.если бы наши спецслужбы хотели отравить, так уж довели бы дело до победного конца, не оставили недотравленных.
Ну вот в книге Сергея Лебедева примерно об этом. О том, что иногда словно бы само мироздание ополчается против тех, кто хочет применить особенно жестокое оружие, срывая отлично подготовленную и хронометрированную до секунды спецоперацию. Глупость, конечно, особенно если вспомнить несчастных, в Первую Мировую переживших применение замана, зарина, иприта или узников концлагерей убитых Циклоном В, или зрителям НордОста. Но будем оптимистами, Стивен Пинкер говорит, что человечество уходит от особенно лютого насилия, хотелось бы верить.
На самом деле, книга о многом. Это и экскурс в семидесятые-восьмидесятые с описанием жизни в одном из закрытых городов, где вещество разрабатывалось. И сюрреалистичная картина его неудачного испытания на приматах, загнанных в пещеры. И описание жизни перебежчика, который живет с новым именем, с измененной внешностью, в благополучной западной стране, постоянно ожидая покушения. Но самая удачная, на мой взгляд, линия - рассказ о священнике, который проповедовал свободу в социалистической Германии под неусыпным надзором штази, а после был отравлен одним из подобных веществ, выжил, хотя остался изуродован.
Неплохая книга. Шпионский триллер с философским подтекстом.
August 4, 2022
„Дебютант“� най-новата книга на руския писател Сергей Лебедев, излязла от печат през 2020 г. и пряко вдъхновена от отравянето на бившия разузнавач Скрипал в Солсбъри през 2018 г. Появата ѝ на български език именно сега, когато Русия води пълномащабна война в Украйна, добавя допълнителни нюанси в усещането, което предизвиква темата. Защото книгата, за разлика от „Предел на забравата�, е не за миналото, а за настоящето.
Лебедев ни въвежда в един свят, забулен от тайни и класифициран с най-високо ниво на секретност. На един остров в СССР, на територията на бивш манастир, функционира тайна лаборатория за химическо оръжие. Там работи химикът Калитин, който в продължение на дълги години разработва отровни препарати. Венецът в короната на неговите открития е веществото, което нарича „Дебютант� � изключително силна, но нестабилна субстанция, способна да убие мигновено без да остави следи.
„� Калитин осъзна, че по самата си природа смъртта е мръсна работа и това не е метафора. Смъртта винаги оставя улики, най-многообразни естествени следи, по които би тръгнал умният следовател; така е устроен светът, законите му. И да заобиколиш, да излъжеш тези закони, да направиш така, че смъртта да идва незримо, да прониква под всякакви покрови, без да оставя следа � това е висша власт, възможност пряко да управляваш битието�.
Разпадът на съветската империя тласка Калитин да избере пътя на изгнанието. Избягал на Запад под чужда самоличност, той живее в постоянно подозрение, че може би те ще дойдат за него, че ще го застигне възмездието. И „те� наистина тръгват по петите му, много години след бягството, когато един случай ги насочва по следите на укриващия се химик. Подполковник Шершньов, ветеран от войните в Кавказ, нагледал се на цялата мръсотия, кръв и тиня, съпътстваща руските „специалн� операции�, е натоварен с мисията да открие и обезвреди Калитин. Със собственото му произведение. Дебютанта.
Лебедев ни въвежда в един свят, забулен от тайни и класифициран с най-високо ниво на секретност. На един остров в СССР, на територията на бивш манастир, функционира тайна лаборатория за химическо оръжие. Там работи химикът Калитин, който в продължение на дълги години разработва отровни препарати. Венецът в короната на неговите открития е веществото, което нарича „Дебютант� � изключително силна, но нестабилна субстанция, способна да убие мигновено без да остави следи.
„� Калитин осъзна, че по самата си природа смъртта е мръсна работа и това не е метафора. Смъртта винаги оставя улики, най-многообразни естествени следи, по които би тръгнал умният следовател; така е устроен светът, законите му. И да заобиколиш, да излъжеш тези закони, да направиш така, че смъртта да идва незримо, да прониква под всякакви покрови, без да оставя следа � това е висша власт, възможност пряко да управляваш битието�.
Разпадът на съветската империя тласка Калитин да избере пътя на изгнанието. Избягал на Запад под чужда самоличност, той живее в постоянно подозрение, че може би те ще дойдат за него, че ще го застигне възмездието. И „те� наистина тръгват по петите му, много години след бягството, когато един случай ги насочва по следите на укриващия се химик. Подполковник Шершньов, ветеран от войните в Кавказ, нагледал се на цялата мръсотия, кръв и тиня, съпътстваща руските „специалн� операции�, е натоварен с мисията да открие и обезвреди Калитин. Със собственото му произведение. Дебютанта.
March 4, 2021
Untraceable is a fact meets fiction intellectual thriller inspired by the Russian government's proclivity to poison its political enemies and in particular by the near-fatal poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 2018. At its centre is a ruthless 70-year-old chemist named Professor Kalitin, obsessed with developing an absolutely deadly, undetectable and untraceable poison for which there is no antidote. When he was younger, his father had been under the employ of a mysterious figure known only as Uncle Igor in a city now known officially as Sovetsk-22, where a top-secret scientific facility was based and in which important and highly covert projects would take place. Owing to Igor, Kalitin becomes a chemist and his most devoted disciple. The remote laboratory was situated in the depths of gloomy dungeons dug under the massive citadel of a former monastery. The monks were expelled after World War I and the Revolution, and the Island became the ideal site for a secret military range where Soviet and German scientists could conduct joint chemical weapons testing. It becomes Kalitin’s mission in life to find a drug that can kill instantly and perfectly, leaving no trace. After much trial and error, he ends up developing Neophyte, a deadly neurotoxin and his biggest accomplishment as a chemist. In 1991, Kalitin decided to defect to the West carrying the Neophyte in a special container disguised as a bottle of cologne hoping to be able to carry on his laboratory work in the former German Democratic Republic as the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse.
He settles down in a house on the outskirts of a small town and works as a chemical weapons investigator having been given a whole new identity. Meanwhile, one fine summer day, an elderly gentleman, a Russian émigré, dies in the garden of a bustling restaurant in a small European town. Regular customer Vyrin, or Mr Mikhalsky according to his passport, has always avoided areas where the view is impeded. On that day, however, the only place free was an end table by the hedging. The sudden injection feels just like a bee sting, but Vyrin turns round to see a man getting into a car with a non-local number plate. He realises that after almost thirty years the avenging sword of the Russian secret services has finally caught up with the fugitive traitor. From his days working in intelligence, he knows how many documents will have been filed away, capturing every movement, the entire life of a surveillance target. His total change of appearance, the reclusive lifestyle, the plastic surgery and the new biodata have clearly been of no avail. They have managed to track him down. In his final minute of life, Vyrin manages to whisper to the waiter, "This is an assassination. They've poisoned me." The case would have been closed without further investigation had the waiter not been an ex-police officer. Much to the chagrin of the two Soviet-era generals following the events from Moscow, the pathologists find traces of a mysterious highly toxic poison.
Three of the international chemical warfare experts called in to investigate are well-known to the generals. But as for the fourth... Was it not that same scientist Kalitin, inventor of the deadly chemical agent codenamed Debutant? A defector, traitor and a dangerous enemy who knew too much. It was high time they got rid of him. The present-day Russian regime sets its sights on him. Lieutenant Colonel Shershnev, a war-battered special forces operative, is tasked with taking Kalitin out in his German exile, eventually setting out with a colleague, technician Major Grebenyuk, in what turns out to be an overly elaborate plan to get to the man who abandoned his motherland. The narrative seamlessly shifts back and forth between fascinating protagonist Kalitin and his story and that of Shershnev and Grebenyuk before the two threads converge and an exhilarating and enthralling game of cat and mouse ensues between the hunters and the hunted. I enjoyed the amalgamation of historical fact embellished with fictional characters, and I was riveted from beginning through to denouement. Untraceable is undoubtedly a tour de force and up there with the likes of le Carré for solid, believable and exceptionally thrilling literary spy fiction. It moves at a rapid pace and the ever-mutating story keeps you intrigued and excited throughout with a breezy effortlessness. Written in exquisite prose it hurtles along building up the suspense until palpable and showcases a complex, timely and multilayered plot � almost akin to Matryoshka dolls. Highly recommended.
He settles down in a house on the outskirts of a small town and works as a chemical weapons investigator having been given a whole new identity. Meanwhile, one fine summer day, an elderly gentleman, a Russian émigré, dies in the garden of a bustling restaurant in a small European town. Regular customer Vyrin, or Mr Mikhalsky according to his passport, has always avoided areas where the view is impeded. On that day, however, the only place free was an end table by the hedging. The sudden injection feels just like a bee sting, but Vyrin turns round to see a man getting into a car with a non-local number plate. He realises that after almost thirty years the avenging sword of the Russian secret services has finally caught up with the fugitive traitor. From his days working in intelligence, he knows how many documents will have been filed away, capturing every movement, the entire life of a surveillance target. His total change of appearance, the reclusive lifestyle, the plastic surgery and the new biodata have clearly been of no avail. They have managed to track him down. In his final minute of life, Vyrin manages to whisper to the waiter, "This is an assassination. They've poisoned me." The case would have been closed without further investigation had the waiter not been an ex-police officer. Much to the chagrin of the two Soviet-era generals following the events from Moscow, the pathologists find traces of a mysterious highly toxic poison.
Three of the international chemical warfare experts called in to investigate are well-known to the generals. But as for the fourth... Was it not that same scientist Kalitin, inventor of the deadly chemical agent codenamed Debutant? A defector, traitor and a dangerous enemy who knew too much. It was high time they got rid of him. The present-day Russian regime sets its sights on him. Lieutenant Colonel Shershnev, a war-battered special forces operative, is tasked with taking Kalitin out in his German exile, eventually setting out with a colleague, technician Major Grebenyuk, in what turns out to be an overly elaborate plan to get to the man who abandoned his motherland. The narrative seamlessly shifts back and forth between fascinating protagonist Kalitin and his story and that of Shershnev and Grebenyuk before the two threads converge and an exhilarating and enthralling game of cat and mouse ensues between the hunters and the hunted. I enjoyed the amalgamation of historical fact embellished with fictional characters, and I was riveted from beginning through to denouement. Untraceable is undoubtedly a tour de force and up there with the likes of le Carré for solid, believable and exceptionally thrilling literary spy fiction. It moves at a rapid pace and the ever-mutating story keeps you intrigued and excited throughout with a breezy effortlessness. Written in exquisite prose it hurtles along building up the suspense until palpable and showcases a complex, timely and multilayered plot � almost akin to Matryoshka dolls. Highly recommended.
November 12, 2021
This may be a very good book for someone not-me. The prose (in translation, at least) is very brusque and full of exteriors. It felt something like reading a screenplay. Open any page and you get a sense of the style and if it appeals to you, for instance--
"Kalitan felt uncomfortable. The pushy women, the noisy, grumbling line, the obnoxious kids annoyed him. The boys suddenly ran off and whispered to the adults pointing at the car. Kalitin turned around and saw that the bouncing ride had loosened the tarp. The sun shone on the monkey's dead face, yellow teeth bared in the pink mouth; shiny chrome-green flies crawled over the black fur."
This book will probably work for those who like to read for plot and movement rather than for motivation and characterization.
"Kalitan felt uncomfortable. The pushy women, the noisy, grumbling line, the obnoxious kids annoyed him. The boys suddenly ran off and whispered to the adults pointing at the car. Kalitin turned around and saw that the bouncing ride had loosened the tarp. The sun shone on the monkey's dead face, yellow teeth bared in the pink mouth; shiny chrome-green flies crawled over the black fur."
This book will probably work for those who like to read for plot and movement rather than for motivation and characterization.
August 18, 2023
Van két férfi. Az egyikük vegyész, szupertitkos mérgek szülőatyja. A másikuk a rendszer büntető ökle, egyfajta hivatalnok-bérgyilkos. Mindketten a szovjet diktatúra csecsén nőttek nagyra, sokat köszönhetnek neki. De a vegyész a rendszer összeomlásakor megingott, és megpattant. A hivatalnok-bérgyilkos viszont ott maradt. Az első áruló, a második vadász. Mégis több bennük a közös, mint amit hajlandóak lennének elismerni.
Hm. Talán Szorokin meleg hangú ajánlása tévesztett meg, de én azt hittem, minőségi szépirodalmat fogok olvasni. Vagy olyat, ami az "őrült dervisek" iskolájába illeszthető be (Szorokin, Pelevin, vagy a két Jerofejev), vagy ha oda nem, legalább az orosz epikus próza hagyományába. Viszont szerintem ez egy botegyszerű kémregény, és abból sem a legjobb - nyomába sem ér például Le Carrénak. Mégpedig paradox módon azért nem, mert több akar lenni egy botegyszerű kémregénynél. Lebegyev szakmányban szaggatja szét a szöveget mindenféle betoldásokkal, amelyek egyfelől a történelmi ismeretterjesztésért felelnek, másfelől a szereplők múltját világítják meg, gyakran kifejezetten moralizáló tónusban. Gyanítom, ezek lennének hivatva elmélyíteni a cselekményt, de szerintem inkább csak megakasztják a lendületét. Helyenként persze informatívak, de valahogy regényidegenek, gépiesek. Ó, bár lett volna elég bátor a szerző kihúzni egyet-kettőt! Lehet, homályosabb lett volna a szereplők motivációja - ami amúgy nem baj, hisz az olvasó az efféle lyukakat úgyis betömködi -, de legalább suhantunk volna a mondatok szárnyán a drámai végkifejletig. Akkor alkalmasint egy remek zsáner lett volna ez a kötet, így viszont közepes szépirodalom.
Szódával amúgy elmegy, de borversenyre nem nevezném.
Hm. Talán Szorokin meleg hangú ajánlása tévesztett meg, de én azt hittem, minőségi szépirodalmat fogok olvasni. Vagy olyat, ami az "őrült dervisek" iskolájába illeszthető be (Szorokin, Pelevin, vagy a két Jerofejev), vagy ha oda nem, legalább az orosz epikus próza hagyományába. Viszont szerintem ez egy botegyszerű kémregény, és abból sem a legjobb - nyomába sem ér például Le Carrénak. Mégpedig paradox módon azért nem, mert több akar lenni egy botegyszerű kémregénynél. Lebegyev szakmányban szaggatja szét a szöveget mindenféle betoldásokkal, amelyek egyfelől a történelmi ismeretterjesztésért felelnek, másfelől a szereplők múltját világítják meg, gyakran kifejezetten moralizáló tónusban. Gyanítom, ezek lennének hivatva elmélyíteni a cselekményt, de szerintem inkább csak megakasztják a lendületét. Helyenként persze informatívak, de valahogy regényidegenek, gépiesek. Ó, bár lett volna elég bátor a szerző kihúzni egyet-kettőt! Lehet, homályosabb lett volna a szereplők motivációja - ami amúgy nem baj, hisz az olvasó az efféle lyukakat úgyis betömködi -, de legalább suhantunk volna a mondatok szárnyán a drámai végkifejletig. Akkor alkalmasint egy remek zsáner lett volna ez a kötet, így viszont közepes szépirodalom.
Szódával amúgy elmegy, de borversenyre nem nevezném.
November 15, 2023
Essentially a spy novel, but one with great interiority, if that’s a word, or even if it isn’t: this is the story of a man who worked developing poisons for the Soviet Union before its dissolution, and of Russia’s pursuit of him in exile. About half the book is spent unveiling backstory, establishing the weight of the book’s climactic scene. It’s a a good read and an interesting book that doesn’t feel sure of how it wants to be taken: as popular fiction, or as a meditation about evil? It’s a little better at the former than at the latter, but it held me throughout, and I’d read more from the author.
March 17, 2024
Vyrin, a Russian defector, is discovered and fatally poisoned by secret service agents. Kalitin, a 70-year old chemist who also had escaped to the West after the collapse of the USSR and now lives a secluded life in the former GDR, is invited to join the investigative team. The choice is unsurprising: Kalitin was one of the Soviet Union’s top experimental scientists and the developer of Neophyte, an “untraceable� terribly lethal poison. But someone leaks information about Kalitin’s involvement in the Vyrin inquiry, and the Russian authorities, newly apprised of his whereabouts decide to silence him. Ruthless military officer Shershnev is dispatched with a colleague on a mission to kill Kalitin using the very same poison developed by the chemist in his USSR days.
Sergei Lebedev’s Untraceable has the trappings of a spy thriller and is not short of incident � there is a harrowing and exciting description of a hunt for lab monkeys after an experiment gone wrong, as well as a quasi-farcical account of the assassins� trip to the sleepy village where Kalitin hides. However, the novel’s focus is on the psychological and moral make-up of the protagonists, both of them cynical, single-minded tools of the regime. On the one hand there is Kalitin, who defected out of disappointment at the fall of the USSR rather than out of any sense of guilt or moral duty, and who, now diagnosed with cancer, dreams of a return to his past in the lab. On the other hand there is Shershnev, a human killing machine, who has trained himself to subsume any feelings which can get in the way of a mission.
Untraceable largely shifts between the points of view of these two characters. Towards the end, however, Lebedev introduces another player in the dramatis personae: Travniček, a pastor who has had past brushes with the Soviet secret service, and who provides a ray of hope and redemption in an otherwise bleak worldview. By his own account, Travniček is neither hero nor saint, but in this moral swampland, his valiant attempts to do right by his parishioners � including Kalitin � makes of him a character worthy of a Graham Greene novel.
Lebedev’s novel, partly inspired by the Skripal case, is topical and engaging. The cover of the edition I read, portraying a shadowy figure shrouded in mist, seems to reflect the ethical ambiguity of the world in which the novel’s characters work and live. The exquisite English translation by Antonina W. Bouis is not only readable and idiomatic, whilst retaining a lyrical and poetic feel.
Sergei Lebedev’s Untraceable has the trappings of a spy thriller and is not short of incident � there is a harrowing and exciting description of a hunt for lab monkeys after an experiment gone wrong, as well as a quasi-farcical account of the assassins� trip to the sleepy village where Kalitin hides. However, the novel’s focus is on the psychological and moral make-up of the protagonists, both of them cynical, single-minded tools of the regime. On the one hand there is Kalitin, who defected out of disappointment at the fall of the USSR rather than out of any sense of guilt or moral duty, and who, now diagnosed with cancer, dreams of a return to his past in the lab. On the other hand there is Shershnev, a human killing machine, who has trained himself to subsume any feelings which can get in the way of a mission.
Untraceable largely shifts between the points of view of these two characters. Towards the end, however, Lebedev introduces another player in the dramatis personae: Travniček, a pastor who has had past brushes with the Soviet secret service, and who provides a ray of hope and redemption in an otherwise bleak worldview. By his own account, Travniček is neither hero nor saint, but in this moral swampland, his valiant attempts to do right by his parishioners � including Kalitin � makes of him a character worthy of a Graham Greene novel.
Lebedev’s novel, partly inspired by the Skripal case, is topical and engaging. The cover of the edition I read, portraying a shadowy figure shrouded in mist, seems to reflect the ethical ambiguity of the world in which the novel’s characters work and live. The exquisite English translation by Antonina W. Bouis is not only readable and idiomatic, whilst retaining a lyrical and poetic feel.
February 8, 2024
Бесовете на настоящето
Сергей Лебедев решава да напише последния си роман „Дебютант� след опита за убийство на Юлия и Сергей Скрипал в Солсбъри, Англия през 2018 г. Задачата е амбициозна � да осмисли и разобличи химиците, разработващи последните видове отрови, с които Русия опитва да заглуши завинаги неудобните. Тези бесове в сянка, които разрушават хиляди съдби със своите препарати, слугуват от десетилетия на Москва, но благодарение на скорошните им провали станаха явни на целия свят. Идеята на Лебедев е благородна, но за съжаление понякога добрите намерения не са достатъчни.
Романът проследява две паралелни сюжетни линии. Основната е тази на химика Калитин, който бяга в Германия след разпадането на СССР. Скрит в спокойно немско градче, където единствено свещеникът подозира тъмното му минало, той очаква да го настигне възмездие за предателството. Втората линия се фокусира върху неговите преследвачи � подполковник Шершньов и майор Гребенюк, на които е възложено да убият Калитин със собствената му отрова, наречена „Дебютант�. По седалките на това пътешествие от точка А до точка Б се наместват неканени спомени, които твърде удобно разкриват за четящия безпощадното минало на тези герои и намекват за финалната им дестинация.
В по-голямата си част „Дебютант� не сработва, понеже се тласка между политически трилър и фактологично изследване на извършваните експерименти в бази като тази в Шихани, където бе създаден и подобрен нервопаралитичния агент „Новичок�, използван за отравянето на Скрипал, а по-късно и на Алексей Навални. Лебедев опитва да балансира сюжета на романа с фактите, но това дърпане в две посоки довежда до скучна книга с опростена информация. Не е ясно защо в 300 стр. няма място за историята на Шихани, а това трябва да стане в ограничена степен чак в послеслова към българските читатели, в който авторът споменава и Георги Марков.
Тъй като темата е сериозна и болезнено актуална, Лебедев страни от заплетен сюжет и задължителните за трилър жанра съспенс сцени. Диалогът между героите е сведен до минимум. Вместо това прекарваме време в главите на героите, докато авторът ни съобщава как те се връщат в миналото, как размишляват върху греховете си. Това вреди на книгата, тъй като принизява текста до сбор от записки, които звучат като опит Лебедев да осмисли един болезнено реален свят на предателства и убийства. Дали поради оскъдната информация или обикновена липса на въображение, „Дебютант� не успява да развълнува. Коварната мисъл „Защ� трябва да е роман?� заплашва да опропасти дочитането след всяка сцена с банален диалог или грубо стоварване на експозиция.
Въпреки жанровата колебливост, Лебедев разполага със силен аргумент в полза на романа си и това е героят на Калитин. В сърцето на този мълчалив химик няма място за съмнения и морални дилеми. Студената му увереност, че иска да продължи да създава отрови, е силна черта, която го откроява и позволява в апатичното му лице да осмислим донякъде образа на учения, който работи в услуга на тоталитарна държава. Позволява ни да щрихираме отговора на въпроса: „Щ� за човек би направил подобно нещо?�
В послеслова Лебедев изразява възхищението си към Достоевски, който в „Бесове� описва убийството на Иван Иванов от радикалната група на Сергей Начаев и разпознава в това престъпление „на�-важния проблем на нашето време�. Подобни пророчества се случват рядко и изискват повече от хартиени персонажи, които да разиграят подозренията ни. Светлана Алексиевич твърди, че Лебедев не пише за миналото, а за настоящето. Може би в това се корени част от проблема на книгата. Понякога имаме нужда от време, за да разберем как свършва историята, преди да я разкажем.
Сергей Лебедев решава да напише последния си роман „Дебютант� след опита за убийство на Юлия и Сергей Скрипал в Солсбъри, Англия през 2018 г. Задачата е амбициозна � да осмисли и разобличи химиците, разработващи последните видове отрови, с които Русия опитва да заглуши завинаги неудобните. Тези бесове в сянка, които разрушават хиляди съдби със своите препарати, слугуват от десетилетия на Москва, но благодарение на скорошните им провали станаха явни на целия свят. Идеята на Лебедев е благородна, но за съжаление понякога добрите намерения не са достатъчни.
Романът проследява две паралелни сюжетни линии. Основната е тази на химика Калитин, който бяга в Германия след разпадането на СССР. Скрит в спокойно немско градче, където единствено свещеникът подозира тъмното му минало, той очаква да го настигне възмездие за предателството. Втората линия се фокусира върху неговите преследвачи � подполковник Шершньов и майор Гребенюк, на които е възложено да убият Калитин със собствената му отрова, наречена „Дебютант�. По седалките на това пътешествие от точка А до точка Б се наместват неканени спомени, които твърде удобно разкриват за четящия безпощадното минало на тези герои и намекват за финалната им дестинация.
В по-голямата си част „Дебютант� не сработва, понеже се тласка между политически трилър и фактологично изследване на извършваните експерименти в бази като тази в Шихани, където бе създаден и подобрен нервопаралитичния агент „Новичок�, използван за отравянето на Скрипал, а по-късно и на Алексей Навални. Лебедев опитва да балансира сюжета на романа с фактите, но това дърпане в две посоки довежда до скучна книга с опростена информация. Не е ясно защо в 300 стр. няма място за историята на Шихани, а това трябва да стане в ограничена степен чак в послеслова към българските читатели, в който авторът споменава и Георги Марков.
Тъй като темата е сериозна и болезнено актуална, Лебедев страни от заплетен сюжет и задължителните за трилър жанра съспенс сцени. Диалогът между героите е сведен до минимум. Вместо това прекарваме време в главите на героите, докато авторът ни съобщава как те се връщат в миналото, как размишляват върху греховете си. Това вреди на книгата, тъй като принизява текста до сбор от записки, които звучат като опит Лебедев да осмисли един болезнено реален свят на предателства и убийства. Дали поради оскъдната информация или обикновена липса на въображение, „Дебютант� не успява да развълнува. Коварната мисъл „Защ� трябва да е роман?� заплашва да опропасти дочитането след всяка сцена с банален диалог или грубо стоварване на експозиция.
Въпреки жанровата колебливост, Лебедев разполага със силен аргумент в полза на романа си и това е героят на Калитин. В сърцето на този мълчалив химик няма място за съмнения и морални дилеми. Студената му увереност, че иска да продължи да създава отрови, е силна черта, която го откроява и позволява в апатичното му лице да осмислим донякъде образа на учения, който работи в услуга на тоталитарна държава. Позволява ни да щрихираме отговора на въпроса: „Щ� за човек би направил подобно нещо?�
В послеслова Лебедев изразява възхищението си към Достоевски, който в „Бесове� описва убийството на Иван Иванов от радикалната група на Сергей Начаев и разпознава в това престъпление „на�-важния проблем на нашето време�. Подобни пророчества се случват рядко и изискват повече от хартиени персонажи, които да разиграят подозренията ни. Светлана Алексиевич твърди, че Лебедев не пише за миналото, а за настоящето. Може би в това се корени част от проблема на книгата. Понякога имаме нужда от време, за да разберем как свършва историята, преди да я разкажем.
November 12, 2020
Jeśli już spotkaliście i spotkałyście z prozą Lebiediewa, to raczej nie trzeba was przekonywać do lektury “Debiutanta� - książki rosyjskiego pisarza to gęste opowieści o Rosji łączące w sobie socjologiczny, psychologiczny i historyczny namysł z wciągającą, sensacyjną historią, których trudno nie pokochać. A jak ktoś nie czytał, to oczywiście zachęcam do sięgnięcia po wszystkie wydane w Polsce dzieła Lebiediewa, choć teraz chciałby przybliżyć wam “Debiutanta�
Tytułowy “debiutant� to niewykrywalna neurotoksyna, coś co chciałby mieć każdy wywiad. Tajemnicę składu “debiutanta� wywozi z Rosji jego twórca - Kalitin, naukowiec o sowieckich korzeniach, który całe życie spędził produkując śmiertelne trucizny. Czasy się jednak zaczęły zmieniać i nawet oddany systemowi chemik decyduje się na ucieczkę na Zachód. Tu jednak nie pozwalają mu wrócić do laboratorium, by dalej pracować nad śmiercionośną bronią, a redukują go do poziomu zwykłego laboranta. Na szczęście ma ze sobą fiolkę z “debiutantem�. Tymczasem za Kalitinem rusza pościg.
System nie lubi, gdy ktoś jego wychowankowie zachowują się niesubordynowanie. Wyrok na Kalitinie ma wykonać Szerszniew - czeczeński zbrodniarz wojenny. Bo to jednak thriller i bez wyrazistego konfliktu i motywu ścigany-ścigający nie mogło się obejść. Ale jak Lebiediew to pisze proszę Państwa, to jest jednak poezja. Bardzo konkretna.
Lebiediew łączy różne wątki z powszechnie znanej historii współczesnej Rosji jak choćby zamach na Annę Politkowską, czy kolejne otrucia, za którymi stoją rosyjskie służby, ale pokazuje je w szerokim kontekście wieloletniego budowania aparatu przemocy przed którym nie ma ucieczki. Podobnie jak w poprzednich książkach Lebiediew pokazuje, że współczesna Rosja ufundowana została na przemocy i manipulacji. Symboliczna jest wręcz scena gdy Szerszniew wyprawia synowi urodziny. Paintball - to nie był jego pomysł, ale skoro szesnastoletni Maksym sobie zażyczył, to czemu nie? Maksym stanie w wojenne szranki z ojcem, który w szarży o mało nie zabije syna. To fantastycznie skonstruowany fragment “Debiutanta�, w którego finale stojący nad pokrwawionym synem Szerszniew odbiera telefon z pracy: “Jutro o ósmej w Wydziale. Wszystko jasne?�
Znając “Granicę zapomnienia� nietrudno dostrzec, że w “Debiutancie� pojawia się ta sama postać - Drugi Dziadek - ktoś pozornie dobry, do rany przyłóż, jak wujek Igor, który małego Kalitina fascynuje otwartością, uśmiechem, dobrodusznością, a w innej rzeczywistości jest bezlitosnym sługą systemu. Książki Lebiediewa pokazują archetypy totalitarnego państwa, jednocześnie piętnując też niezdolność tak ludzi jak i innych państw do przeciwstawienia się mu.
Będzie Lebiediew jednak szukał dobra u ludzi, jakby cały czas wierzył, że nawet w najgorszym człowieku musi być ten moment bez-zła. Dzięki temu jego bohaterowie są może nie tyle niejednoznaczni, co raczej - wielowarstwowi, demoniczni, jak w przytaczanej scenie z paintballa - Szerszniew naprawdę chciał być dobrym ojcem, wziął z okazji urodzin syna urlop, Maksym w końcu “służył mu za wytłumaczenie wszystkiego, czego się dopuścił�. Ale przyzwyczajenia wzięły górę.
W tej powieści jest właściwie wszystko, co powinno być w wybitnej prozie gatunkowej - wyścig zbrojeń, służby specjalne, ścigający i ścigany, rodzinne, społeczne i polityczne tło, totalitaryzm vs. demokracja, odniesienia do współczesności tak ważne dla zaczytanych w prasie codziennej. Ale jest też wspaniały język i tempo tej prozy - jest Lebiediew nieprzewidywalnym gadułą, który potrafi zaskoczyć czytelnika, cofnąć się w czasie w momencie, gdy myślimy, że będziemy podążać już prostą ścieżką.
Lebiediew tworząc archetypiczne postaci opowiada nam na nowo historię, którą jakoś znamy, ale posługując się niezwykle precyzyjnym, pełnym symboliki, delikatnie zakrytych sygnałów językiem wchodzi na wyższy poziom literatury. Dlatego tym bardziej jestem zachwycony, że już za kilka dni będę miał przyjemność rozmawiać z pisarzem, a efekty naszej rozmowy (czyli nagranie) znajdziecie na fejsie opolskiej biblioteki wojewódzkiej.
Tytułowy “debiutant� to niewykrywalna neurotoksyna, coś co chciałby mieć każdy wywiad. Tajemnicę składu “debiutanta� wywozi z Rosji jego twórca - Kalitin, naukowiec o sowieckich korzeniach, który całe życie spędził produkując śmiertelne trucizny. Czasy się jednak zaczęły zmieniać i nawet oddany systemowi chemik decyduje się na ucieczkę na Zachód. Tu jednak nie pozwalają mu wrócić do laboratorium, by dalej pracować nad śmiercionośną bronią, a redukują go do poziomu zwykłego laboranta. Na szczęście ma ze sobą fiolkę z “debiutantem�. Tymczasem za Kalitinem rusza pościg.
System nie lubi, gdy ktoś jego wychowankowie zachowują się niesubordynowanie. Wyrok na Kalitinie ma wykonać Szerszniew - czeczeński zbrodniarz wojenny. Bo to jednak thriller i bez wyrazistego konfliktu i motywu ścigany-ścigający nie mogło się obejść. Ale jak Lebiediew to pisze proszę Państwa, to jest jednak poezja. Bardzo konkretna.
Lebiediew łączy różne wątki z powszechnie znanej historii współczesnej Rosji jak choćby zamach na Annę Politkowską, czy kolejne otrucia, za którymi stoją rosyjskie służby, ale pokazuje je w szerokim kontekście wieloletniego budowania aparatu przemocy przed którym nie ma ucieczki. Podobnie jak w poprzednich książkach Lebiediew pokazuje, że współczesna Rosja ufundowana została na przemocy i manipulacji. Symboliczna jest wręcz scena gdy Szerszniew wyprawia synowi urodziny. Paintball - to nie był jego pomysł, ale skoro szesnastoletni Maksym sobie zażyczył, to czemu nie? Maksym stanie w wojenne szranki z ojcem, który w szarży o mało nie zabije syna. To fantastycznie skonstruowany fragment “Debiutanta�, w którego finale stojący nad pokrwawionym synem Szerszniew odbiera telefon z pracy: “Jutro o ósmej w Wydziale. Wszystko jasne?�
Znając “Granicę zapomnienia� nietrudno dostrzec, że w “Debiutancie� pojawia się ta sama postać - Drugi Dziadek - ktoś pozornie dobry, do rany przyłóż, jak wujek Igor, który małego Kalitina fascynuje otwartością, uśmiechem, dobrodusznością, a w innej rzeczywistości jest bezlitosnym sługą systemu. Książki Lebiediewa pokazują archetypy totalitarnego państwa, jednocześnie piętnując też niezdolność tak ludzi jak i innych państw do przeciwstawienia się mu.
Będzie Lebiediew jednak szukał dobra u ludzi, jakby cały czas wierzył, że nawet w najgorszym człowieku musi być ten moment bez-zła. Dzięki temu jego bohaterowie są może nie tyle niejednoznaczni, co raczej - wielowarstwowi, demoniczni, jak w przytaczanej scenie z paintballa - Szerszniew naprawdę chciał być dobrym ojcem, wziął z okazji urodzin syna urlop, Maksym w końcu “służył mu za wytłumaczenie wszystkiego, czego się dopuścił�. Ale przyzwyczajenia wzięły górę.
W tej powieści jest właściwie wszystko, co powinno być w wybitnej prozie gatunkowej - wyścig zbrojeń, służby specjalne, ścigający i ścigany, rodzinne, społeczne i polityczne tło, totalitaryzm vs. demokracja, odniesienia do współczesności tak ważne dla zaczytanych w prasie codziennej. Ale jest też wspaniały język i tempo tej prozy - jest Lebiediew nieprzewidywalnym gadułą, który potrafi zaskoczyć czytelnika, cofnąć się w czasie w momencie, gdy myślimy, że będziemy podążać już prostą ścieżką.
Lebiediew tworząc archetypiczne postaci opowiada nam na nowo historię, którą jakoś znamy, ale posługując się niezwykle precyzyjnym, pełnym symboliki, delikatnie zakrytych sygnałów językiem wchodzi na wyższy poziom literatury. Dlatego tym bardziej jestem zachwycony, że już za kilka dni będę miał przyjemność rozmawiać z pisarzem, a efekty naszej rozmowy (czyli nagranie) znajdziecie na fejsie opolskiej biblioteki wojewódzkiej.
October 16, 2021
Sergej Lebedew hat mit Das perfekte Gift einen hochspannenden Thriller geschrieben. Es geht darin um chemische Kampfstoffe und deren Einsatz durch den russischen Geheimdienst gegen politische Gegner, sowie Abtrünnige des Systems. Ein brandaktuelles Thema, nicht erst seit dem missglückten Mordanschlag auf Alexej Nawalny. Vieles an der Handlung erinnert an diesen und ähnliche spektakuläre Fälle der jüngsten Vergangenheit. Selbst das Gift, der ٱüٲԳ, gleicht vom Namen und seiner Wirkung her dem berüchtigten Nowitschok (russ. Новичок).
Im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte stehen zwei Personen. Ein übergelaufener russischer Chemiewaffenexperte, der nach einer nicht ganz glatt verlaufenen Tötungsoperation, in eine internationale Kommission berufen wird, die zur Aufklärung des mysteriösen Falls beitragen soll. Dieser Mann hat den eingesetzten Giftstoff, den ٱüٲԳen, einst entwickelt und stellt mit seinem Wissen eine enorme Gefahr für die Auftraggeber im Kreml dar. Sein Gegenspieler ist ein Veteran des Tschetschenienkrieges und hat damals den ٱüٲԳen bei einer Geheimdienstaktion eingesetzt. Jetzt soll er den abtrünnigen Wissenschaftler mit dessen eigener Erfindung endgültig ausschalten.
Während die Handlung unaufhaltsam auf die finale Begegnung der beiden zuläuft, wird in Rückblenden mehr als ein halbes Jahrhundert russischer Geschichte erzählt. Man erfährt von geheimen Forschungslaboren in Städten, die auf keiner Landkarte existierten, von den Hierarchien im Wissenschaftsbetrieb, von skrupellosen Versuchsreihen mit Gefangenen und von den Wirren nach dem Untergang der UdSSR. Letzterer Punkt ist vielleicht der Entscheidende. Denn das Verhalten der aktuellen russischen Führung und ihres Präsidenten, lässt sich im Grunde nur vor dem Hintergrund des Zusammenbruchs des sowjetischen Systems verstehen. Ein Ereignis, das von vielen als demütigende und traumatische Niederlage erlebt wurde. Es sind die Geister der Vergangenheit, die nicht zur Ruhe kommen können � im Roman wie im echten Leben. Lebende Leichen, wie es im Buch heißt, von denen die Akteure immer noch verfolgt werden.
Bleibt noch die Frage, warum ausgerechnet Gift? Weshalb solche Umstände machen, wenn auch ein paar Kugeln reichen würden? Die Antwort: Angst.
"Er hatte Angst erzeugt. Ihm gefiel der paradoxe, aber einleuchtende Gedanke, dass Angst das beste Gift ist. Die beste Vergiftung ist jene, bei der sich jemand selbst vergiftet. Und seine, Kalitins, Kreationen waren nur Wegbegleiter, die Angst säten."
Im Jahr 1991 konnte man die Menge nicht aufhalten, schon gar nicht mit Gift. Aber jetzt hat man eine Situation geschaffen, "wo es keine Solidarität mehr gab, sondern nur einzelne, isolierte, vor Angst gelähmte Figuren, da waren diese Präparate die beste Lösung". Deshalb ist es letztlich unerheblich, ob zum Beispiel ein Alexej Nawalny den Anschlag überlebt. Es geht schlicht und einfach um die ausgesendete Botschaft. Denn in einem Klima der Angst gedeihen Macht und Stärke besonders gut.
Sergej Lebedew vermittelt in dem recht schmalen Roman ein realistisches Bild von den Mechanismen der Geheimdienstarbeit und den oft undurchsichtigen Verhältnissen im heutigen Russland. Gegen Ende gibt es eine auffällige Häufung von äußerst unwahrscheinlichen Begegnungen und Konstellationen, die für sich genommen ziemlich unglaubwürdig wirken. Solche Zufälle kann es eigentlich gar nicht geben. Das hat mich zunächst etwas irritiert. Eine Erklärung könnte sein, dass es dem Autor ein Anliegen war, der Gerechtigkeit einen Platz in seiner Geschichte einzuräumen. Ein Ausdruck der Hoffnung, dass letztlich keine Untat ungesühnt bleibt, egal wie lange es dauern mag. Das ergäbe für mich einen gewissen Sinn. Wie dem auch sei, Lebedew ist ein packender Thriller gelungen, den ich fast am Stück durchgelesen habe und vorbehaltlos empfehlen kann.
Im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte stehen zwei Personen. Ein übergelaufener russischer Chemiewaffenexperte, der nach einer nicht ganz glatt verlaufenen Tötungsoperation, in eine internationale Kommission berufen wird, die zur Aufklärung des mysteriösen Falls beitragen soll. Dieser Mann hat den eingesetzten Giftstoff, den ٱüٲԳen, einst entwickelt und stellt mit seinem Wissen eine enorme Gefahr für die Auftraggeber im Kreml dar. Sein Gegenspieler ist ein Veteran des Tschetschenienkrieges und hat damals den ٱüٲԳen bei einer Geheimdienstaktion eingesetzt. Jetzt soll er den abtrünnigen Wissenschaftler mit dessen eigener Erfindung endgültig ausschalten.
Während die Handlung unaufhaltsam auf die finale Begegnung der beiden zuläuft, wird in Rückblenden mehr als ein halbes Jahrhundert russischer Geschichte erzählt. Man erfährt von geheimen Forschungslaboren in Städten, die auf keiner Landkarte existierten, von den Hierarchien im Wissenschaftsbetrieb, von skrupellosen Versuchsreihen mit Gefangenen und von den Wirren nach dem Untergang der UdSSR. Letzterer Punkt ist vielleicht der Entscheidende. Denn das Verhalten der aktuellen russischen Führung und ihres Präsidenten, lässt sich im Grunde nur vor dem Hintergrund des Zusammenbruchs des sowjetischen Systems verstehen. Ein Ereignis, das von vielen als demütigende und traumatische Niederlage erlebt wurde. Es sind die Geister der Vergangenheit, die nicht zur Ruhe kommen können � im Roman wie im echten Leben. Lebende Leichen, wie es im Buch heißt, von denen die Akteure immer noch verfolgt werden.
Bleibt noch die Frage, warum ausgerechnet Gift? Weshalb solche Umstände machen, wenn auch ein paar Kugeln reichen würden? Die Antwort: Angst.
"Er hatte Angst erzeugt. Ihm gefiel der paradoxe, aber einleuchtende Gedanke, dass Angst das beste Gift ist. Die beste Vergiftung ist jene, bei der sich jemand selbst vergiftet. Und seine, Kalitins, Kreationen waren nur Wegbegleiter, die Angst säten."
Im Jahr 1991 konnte man die Menge nicht aufhalten, schon gar nicht mit Gift. Aber jetzt hat man eine Situation geschaffen, "wo es keine Solidarität mehr gab, sondern nur einzelne, isolierte, vor Angst gelähmte Figuren, da waren diese Präparate die beste Lösung". Deshalb ist es letztlich unerheblich, ob zum Beispiel ein Alexej Nawalny den Anschlag überlebt. Es geht schlicht und einfach um die ausgesendete Botschaft. Denn in einem Klima der Angst gedeihen Macht und Stärke besonders gut.
Sergej Lebedew vermittelt in dem recht schmalen Roman ein realistisches Bild von den Mechanismen der Geheimdienstarbeit und den oft undurchsichtigen Verhältnissen im heutigen Russland. Gegen Ende gibt es eine auffällige Häufung von äußerst unwahrscheinlichen Begegnungen und Konstellationen, die für sich genommen ziemlich unglaubwürdig wirken. Solche Zufälle kann es eigentlich gar nicht geben. Das hat mich zunächst etwas irritiert. Eine Erklärung könnte sein, dass es dem Autor ein Anliegen war, der Gerechtigkeit einen Platz in seiner Geschichte einzuräumen. Ein Ausdruck der Hoffnung, dass letztlich keine Untat ungesühnt bleibt, egal wie lange es dauern mag. Das ergäbe für mich einen gewissen Sinn. Wie dem auch sei, Lebedew ist ein packender Thriller gelungen, den ich fast am Stück durchgelesen habe und vorbehaltlos empfehlen kann.
dnf
July 26, 2023Parcă un robot narează. Pauze ciudate. Nu transmite nimic.
March 6, 2021
“Untraceable� ended up not entirely working for me. I saw a review of the book that declared it was in the style of le Carre´, by an acclaimed young Russian writer, and that it involved poisoning in foreign countries by Russian agents. Seemed good. I found the book to be way to mannered, introspective, and it all seemed to be intentionally difficult to read. I have read much le Carre´ and while his books are labyrinthine they are understandable and there is forward momentum. There is almost no dialog in this book, it is all descriptions of thoughts and memories and I truly had trouble figuring out who was who and what was what for quite a while. Eventually the characters and the story come into some better focus but I never felt an emotional attachment to the story and that is really necessary to get the impact of the narrative. I truly don’t understand not naming places and locations. I think it is just a different style than I wanted and it did not resonate with me. That being said there are passages that are wonderful and there is an overarching story that is important. I just wished it had been delivered in a more invigorating package.
April 16, 2023
Deși nu are nici 300 de pagini, n-am putut s-o duc până la capăt.
Am abandonat-o undeva la puțin peste 100 de pagini, simțeam că trag de ea și mă lua cu capul când vedeam pagini întregi de detalii și dialog deloc, ca să nu mai spun că personajele mi se păreau fade, nu se întâmpla nimic, doar se lamentau și trecerile prezent-trecut îngreunau și mai mult lecturarea.
Păcat, descrierea cărții promitea și de asta am fost atrasă, dar n-a fost să fie�
Am abandonat-o undeva la puțin peste 100 de pagini, simțeam că trag de ea și mă lua cu capul când vedeam pagini întregi de detalii și dialog deloc, ca să nu mai spun că personajele mi se păreau fade, nu se întâmpla nimic, doar se lamentau și trecerile prezent-trecut îngreunau și mai mult lecturarea.
Păcat, descrierea cărții promitea și de asta am fost atrasă, dar n-a fost să fie�
February 2, 2021
For many years, Kalitin has lived alone on the hill, in the house at the end of the road, isolated from his neighbours. He kept for himself, guarded the secrets of his former life, knowing that one day, they would catch up with him. Now, with the cancer in his body, there is not much time left anyway. His enemies are already on their way, two men, the ordinary set-up, to find and kill him. Agents who turn into angels of death because Kalitin not only knows too much, but because he was the man to develop Neophyte, a highly lethal substance which leaves no trace when applied, perfect to get rid of obnoxious people who know too much or who have fled the secure boundaries of their former home country. Such a behaviour against the code of honour is something Shershnev cannot accept. He has always been hard, hard against himself, hard against his son, hard against everybody. Two men who after a long life in the service of a country which does not exist anymore, have to fight their last battle.
“Kalitin knew that his inventions did not simply create specific weapons of death poured into ampoules. He also produced fear.�
Sergei Lebedev’s novel tells the story of two men who have seen everything in life and for whom life and death have been just states which a person can be in but nothing spiritual. Now, close to the end of their lives, they not only look back but also start to question what they have seen and done. “Untraceable� also tells the story of a lethal weapon we have heard of in the news more than once in the last couple of years. The time of shooting double agents, dissidents, whistle blowers and the like are gone, the strategies and means have become much more sophisticated, but one thing has remained the same: the human factor.
“In that world, most people did not yet see the dark side of science, its evil twin.�
For Kalitin, science, the discoveries and expansion of his knowledge about how nature works have always been paramount. However, he has come to understand that the leaders of the URRS for whom he worked had a different understanding and that, first and foremost, the individual scientist wasn’t worth much. He was only an obedient soldier on duty for the state. Surely, they gave him the opportunity to work in his lab, but at the end of his life, he also sees the price this came with and he can see the bigger picture. He wasn’t interested in politics, he has always seen himself just as a scientist, but eventually, he has to acknowledge that it isn’t so simple and that he cannot put the blame only on the others.
Shershnev, too, ruminates about his life which he has fully dedicated to the long gone state. He is one of the last still on duty who have lived in the USSR and who still, after all those decades, adheres to the old values. He has to admit having made mistakes. Big mistakes which haunt him now. Yet, he follows the assigned mission stubbornly, too weak to make a courageous decision himself.
The beginning was a bit slow, I didn’t get the connection between the different characters and chapter immediately. However, as soon as the main conflict was laid out, the novel was not only suspenseful but also morally challenging since it raises the big issue of science and the responsibility of the scientists. Additionally, it is no question that the former USSR was a rogue regime, yet, no system is flawless and to what extent each civil servant, soldier or simple citizen complies with given values and rules has to be answered individually.
A thrilling political thriller which also offers a lot of food for thought.
“Kalitin knew that his inventions did not simply create specific weapons of death poured into ampoules. He also produced fear.�
Sergei Lebedev’s novel tells the story of two men who have seen everything in life and for whom life and death have been just states which a person can be in but nothing spiritual. Now, close to the end of their lives, they not only look back but also start to question what they have seen and done. “Untraceable� also tells the story of a lethal weapon we have heard of in the news more than once in the last couple of years. The time of shooting double agents, dissidents, whistle blowers and the like are gone, the strategies and means have become much more sophisticated, but one thing has remained the same: the human factor.
“In that world, most people did not yet see the dark side of science, its evil twin.�
For Kalitin, science, the discoveries and expansion of his knowledge about how nature works have always been paramount. However, he has come to understand that the leaders of the URRS for whom he worked had a different understanding and that, first and foremost, the individual scientist wasn’t worth much. He was only an obedient soldier on duty for the state. Surely, they gave him the opportunity to work in his lab, but at the end of his life, he also sees the price this came with and he can see the bigger picture. He wasn’t interested in politics, he has always seen himself just as a scientist, but eventually, he has to acknowledge that it isn’t so simple and that he cannot put the blame only on the others.
Shershnev, too, ruminates about his life which he has fully dedicated to the long gone state. He is one of the last still on duty who have lived in the USSR and who still, after all those decades, adheres to the old values. He has to admit having made mistakes. Big mistakes which haunt him now. Yet, he follows the assigned mission stubbornly, too weak to make a courageous decision himself.
The beginning was a bit slow, I didn’t get the connection between the different characters and chapter immediately. However, as soon as the main conflict was laid out, the novel was not only suspenseful but also morally challenging since it raises the big issue of science and the responsibility of the scientists. Additionally, it is no question that the former USSR was a rogue regime, yet, no system is flawless and to what extent each civil servant, soldier or simple citizen complies with given values and rules has to be answered individually.
A thrilling political thriller which also offers a lot of food for thought.
February 10, 2021
No question about it, Sergei Lebedev is one of the finest writers to come into prominence in the past few years. I've read Oblivion, Year of the Comet and The Goose Fritz and they were all exceptional. In my opinion this book is not quite up to their high standard but is still very good. This is basically an expose of the Russian use of poison to assassinate political enemies. It has two alternating narratives, one that follows a Russian chemist who has defected to the West and the other that follows two men who have been sent to assassinate him. It is a gripping story that involves a chemical called neophyte that can kill instantly with only a whiff.
July 1, 2021
Ein russischer Überlaufer wird im Ausland mit einem Stich in den Nacken eliminiert, der verdächtig an das Regenschirm-Attentat des bulgarischen Geheimdienstes erinnert. Wie ein teures Parfüm war der seltene Stoff, der „ٱüٲԳ�, durch Europa transportiert worden. Solange Kaderakten existieren, kann es für Überläufer kein neues Leben geben, weder in sozialistischen Bruderstaaten noch im kapitalistischen Ausland. Der Entwickler des tödlichen Stoffs wird nun zum Gejagten.
Rückblenden erzählen, wie ein heute 70-jähriger Chemie-Experte als Kind hinter dem Stacheldraht der Forschungsstation einer „geschlossenen Stadt� aufwuchs, in der sein Vater und sein Onkel arbeiteten. Bei Onkel Igor hing die Generalmajors-Uniform im Schrank; Chemie-Bücher aus aller Herren Länder standen in seinem Regal, offensichtlich aus der Bibliothek ausgeliehen. Wie konnte Igor als Bollwerk freizügigen Denkens dieselbe Arbeit machen wie sein Vater, fragte sich Kalitin als Kind. In einem weiteren Handlungsstrang wird dem Überläufer ein Jäger auf die Spur geschickt. Ein Mann, der mit seinem Sohn nicht über den Krieg spricht, der vermutlich deshalb vom Kriegsspielen fasziniert ist. Eine weitere Rückblende führt zu Forschern, die formal Militärärzte waren und für die Erprobung chemischer Kampfstoffe bestimmte Klimabedingungen brauchten. Auch ein Wissenschaftler konnte damals eine Kriegstrophäe sein.
Mit makabrem Humor schreibt Sergej Lebedew über Forscher mehrerer Staaten und Epochen, die ihr Wissen in den Dienst des Militärs zu stellen hatten. Wie in seinen früheren Romanen verknüpft er Kriege und Kriegsverbrechen mehrerer Epochen. Seine Figuren sind in Garnisonsstädten aufgewachsen und tragen heute selbst Uniform. Sie sind Agent, Spitzel, Verräter, Jäger und Gejagter. Allein durch die Kriege, für die sie Kampfstoffe entwickeln, sind sie für mich als Leser schwer zu unterscheiden. Als Eltern und Kind, Vorgesetzter und Untergebener von X ist das schon einfacher. Die Gejagten hoffen, sich wiederholende Muster durchbrechen zu können. Um diese Muster zu erahnen, ist eine Vorstellung davon hilfreich, welche Bündnisse die Sowjetunion/Russland pflegte und welche Kriege das Land führte. Lebedews setzt hier sein Thema vorhergehender Romane fort: Orte von Kriegsverbrechen und die Vergeblichkeit, deren Spuren vergraben zu wollen.
Rückblenden erzählen, wie ein heute 70-jähriger Chemie-Experte als Kind hinter dem Stacheldraht der Forschungsstation einer „geschlossenen Stadt� aufwuchs, in der sein Vater und sein Onkel arbeiteten. Bei Onkel Igor hing die Generalmajors-Uniform im Schrank; Chemie-Bücher aus aller Herren Länder standen in seinem Regal, offensichtlich aus der Bibliothek ausgeliehen. Wie konnte Igor als Bollwerk freizügigen Denkens dieselbe Arbeit machen wie sein Vater, fragte sich Kalitin als Kind. In einem weiteren Handlungsstrang wird dem Überläufer ein Jäger auf die Spur geschickt. Ein Mann, der mit seinem Sohn nicht über den Krieg spricht, der vermutlich deshalb vom Kriegsspielen fasziniert ist. Eine weitere Rückblende führt zu Forschern, die formal Militärärzte waren und für die Erprobung chemischer Kampfstoffe bestimmte Klimabedingungen brauchten. Auch ein Wissenschaftler konnte damals eine Kriegstrophäe sein.
Mit makabrem Humor schreibt Sergej Lebedew über Forscher mehrerer Staaten und Epochen, die ihr Wissen in den Dienst des Militärs zu stellen hatten. Wie in seinen früheren Romanen verknüpft er Kriege und Kriegsverbrechen mehrerer Epochen. Seine Figuren sind in Garnisonsstädten aufgewachsen und tragen heute selbst Uniform. Sie sind Agent, Spitzel, Verräter, Jäger und Gejagter. Allein durch die Kriege, für die sie Kampfstoffe entwickeln, sind sie für mich als Leser schwer zu unterscheiden. Als Eltern und Kind, Vorgesetzter und Untergebener von X ist das schon einfacher. Die Gejagten hoffen, sich wiederholende Muster durchbrechen zu können. Um diese Muster zu erahnen, ist eine Vorstellung davon hilfreich, welche Bündnisse die Sowjetunion/Russland pflegte und welche Kriege das Land führte. Lebedews setzt hier sein Thema vorhergehender Romane fort: Orte von Kriegsverbrechen und die Vergeblichkeit, deren Spuren vergraben zu wollen.
August 23, 2021
Vor wenigen Jahren meinte Lebedew Russland sei „krank vor Angst� und nur zu gut spürt man diese Stimmung beim Lesen seines Romanes „Das perfekte Gift�. Er beschreibt das Leben zweier Menschen, welche unausweichlich aufeinander treffen werden. Der eine ist Kalitin, ein Biologe und Chemiker, der in einem Forschungslabor auf einer von der Öffentlichkeit abgeschotteten Insel zu Sowjetzeiten den ٱüٲԳen entwickelt hat. Jenes perfekte Gift, das dem Roman seinen Namen gibt, tötet binnen weniger Sekunden und verflüchtigt sich anschließend und ist selbst als bei der Erprobung des Giftes seine Frau stirbt und nach seiner Flucht aus der Sowjetunion seine Obsession.
„Sein Schreck war nicht der eines Chemiker, dessen Präparat höllische Wirksamkeit zeigt, sondern der eines Schöpfers, dessen Schöpfung, erdacht als teurer Diener und ergebener Krieger, furios zum Leben erwacht war, den Gehorsam aufgab, der Kontrolle des Schöpfers entglitt.�
Nun, in der Gegenwart, reisen zwei russische Agenten auf verschlungenen Wegen nach Ostdeutschland, um Kalitin mit ebenjenem Gift zu eliminieren. Einer von ihnen ist Lebedews zweiter Hauptcharakter, Oberstleutnant Scherschnjow, ein brutaler Folterknecht, in dem sich eine perverse Lust an der Gewalt mit äußerlicher Ungerührtheit paart und dem das professionelle Töten zur Selbstverständlichkeit geworden ist.
„Das perfekte Gift� ist ein mitreissender und lehrreicher Roman, der durch seine bedrohlich aufgeladene Atmosphäre überzeugt. Dass Lebedew einem hier keinen historischen, sondern einen gewaltigen Gegenwartsroman präsentiert, liegt auf der Hand. Währenddessen illustriert er anhand von Kalitins Biografie die sowjetische Wissenschaftsgeschichte von der Stalinzeit bis zur Gegenwart und langweilt dabei nie.
„Offiziell hat es den Deutschen gar nicht gegeben. Die geschlossene Stadt war sein Gefängnis. Aber er verfügte über ein unheilvolles Wissen, hatte früher Experimente durchgeführt, die nicht einmal ihnen erlaubt waren; er hatte viel weiter über den Rand von Schmerz und Tod geschaut � und war bereit, seine Erfahrungen akribisch mitzuteilen.�
„Sein Schreck war nicht der eines Chemiker, dessen Präparat höllische Wirksamkeit zeigt, sondern der eines Schöpfers, dessen Schöpfung, erdacht als teurer Diener und ergebener Krieger, furios zum Leben erwacht war, den Gehorsam aufgab, der Kontrolle des Schöpfers entglitt.�
Nun, in der Gegenwart, reisen zwei russische Agenten auf verschlungenen Wegen nach Ostdeutschland, um Kalitin mit ebenjenem Gift zu eliminieren. Einer von ihnen ist Lebedews zweiter Hauptcharakter, Oberstleutnant Scherschnjow, ein brutaler Folterknecht, in dem sich eine perverse Lust an der Gewalt mit äußerlicher Ungerührtheit paart und dem das professionelle Töten zur Selbstverständlichkeit geworden ist.
„Das perfekte Gift� ist ein mitreissender und lehrreicher Roman, der durch seine bedrohlich aufgeladene Atmosphäre überzeugt. Dass Lebedew einem hier keinen historischen, sondern einen gewaltigen Gegenwartsroman präsentiert, liegt auf der Hand. Währenddessen illustriert er anhand von Kalitins Biografie die sowjetische Wissenschaftsgeschichte von der Stalinzeit bis zur Gegenwart und langweilt dabei nie.
„Offiziell hat es den Deutschen gar nicht gegeben. Die geschlossene Stadt war sein Gefängnis. Aber er verfügte über ein unheilvolles Wissen, hatte früher Experimente durchgeführt, die nicht einmal ihnen erlaubt waren; er hatte viel weiter über den Rand von Schmerz und Tod geschaut � und war bereit, seine Erfahrungen akribisch mitzuteilen.�
April 3, 2023
Не се разбрахме с тази книга. "Брилянтно написана" - да, "разтърсваща и емоционална" - за мен лично - не. Може би просто не съм дорасла за нея.
July 4, 2023
Tog ett tag för mig att komma in i boken, och jag hade förväntat mig mer spänning då den beskrivs som en spionroman i Le Carré-stil. Språket är mörkt och stundtals väldigt fint, men känns också rätt så omständigt.
Boken är intressant ur ett historiskt perspektiv och för att man får inblick i den ryska underrättelsevärlden, men kräver väldigt mycket av läsaren vilket gör den svår att dras in i.
Boken är intressant ur ett historiskt perspektiv och för att man får inblick i den ryska underrättelsevärlden, men kräver väldigt mycket av läsaren vilket gör den svår att dras in i.
June 5, 2021
A Russian Le Carré. Strong characters. Dark or better grey worlds they are living in.
January 16, 2023
Aj så aktuell den känns ändå. Brukar inte läsa (nästan att en punk hade kunnat passa där) sådana här spion-deckare, men gillade denna. Den är skriven på ett fint sätt men ändå spännande. Av någon anledning tog den ett tag för mig att komma in i men sista 100 sidorna lästes i ett stråk. Visar hur generationer av gamla sovjet påverkas av den närliggande historian. Ska diskutera med bokklubben nästa vecka!!
March 24, 2021
The blurb of this book reads: "Professor Kalitin is a ruthless, narcissistic chemist who has developed an untraceable, extremely lethal poison called Neophyte while working in a secret city on an island in the Russian far east. When the Soviet Union collapses, he defects and is given a new identity in Germany. After an unrelated Russian is murdered with Kalitin's poison, his cover is blown and he's drawn into the German investigation of the death. Two special forces killers with a lot of Chechen blood on their hands are sent to silence him � using his own undetectable poison. Their journey to their target is full of blunders, mishaps, holdups and accidents."
As someone who reads a lot of crime fiction and thrillers, and someone who is very interested in politics and current affairs, I really, really, really wanted to like this book. It sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately though, I just couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s the translation or just the author wanted to write in a literary style, but I found this book plodding and dull. I’m perfectly happy for characters to self-reflect, but here the self-reflections go on for pages and pages and pages. What promised to be a great story was weighed down and saggy.
As someone who reads a lot of crime fiction and thrillers, and someone who is very interested in politics and current affairs, I really, really, really wanted to like this book. It sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately though, I just couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s the translation or just the author wanted to write in a literary style, but I found this book plodding and dull. I’m perfectly happy for characters to self-reflect, but here the self-reflections go on for pages and pages and pages. What promised to be a great story was weighed down and saggy.
February 15, 2021
This starts with a lively and dramatic first chapter as a man, once part of the Soviet secretive services, since defected and settled in the West with a new identity, is assassinated. Its also straight form the front pages of our newspapers, as he feels a wasp sting him, but has been poisoned.
But though the subject of poisioning dominates throughout, there is a change of pace, while Lebedev takes time to describe the novel's two main characters, both products of the Soviet days; Kalitin, a talented chemist who has developed Neophyte, a wonder drug, as it is untraceable, and Lieutenant Colonel Shershnev is tasked with taking Kalitin out in his German exile.
This is a well done thriller at a strength with its characterisation. Though Kalitin's background may less readily accepted, the many cock-ups encountered as Shershnev closes in are much more believable. They also lighten a pretty dark indictment of Russia under Putin.
But though the subject of poisioning dominates throughout, there is a change of pace, while Lebedev takes time to describe the novel's two main characters, both products of the Soviet days; Kalitin, a talented chemist who has developed Neophyte, a wonder drug, as it is untraceable, and Lieutenant Colonel Shershnev is tasked with taking Kalitin out in his German exile.
This is a well done thriller at a strength with its characterisation. Though Kalitin's background may less readily accepted, the many cock-ups encountered as Shershnev closes in are much more believable. They also lighten a pretty dark indictment of Russia under Putin.
March 7, 2021
Did not finish this book. I felt like I was poisoned myself by meandering writing that seemed completely unnecessary. This book should have been four chapters and would’ve read better.
December 17, 2020
Disclaimer: I received an ARC via a giveaway on Librarything.
Undoubtedly one of the reason for the popularity of Law & Order (at least the original an SVU)) is the predictably of how the episodes unfold. You can set a watch to it. The other is most likely the ripped from the headlines stories that appears. Of course, as the advert says, there is a Law & Order twist. In some ways, Untraceable is like Law & Order.
Lebedev’s thriller takes the poisoning headlines from the UK and uses the idea of a mysterious poison. Instead of however focusing investigators or the international manhunt, he focuses on the chemist and special operative connected to the case. It isn’t so much about trying to escape the authorities or get the bad guy. It is more of a examination of what a life of secrets can do to a person.
The focus of the novel is on two men - Kalitin and Shershnev. The pressure and driving force of the novel is the oncoming intersection of the two men. The reader knowns that is coming and that it will change everything.
The book’s setting and time are somewhat nebulous -Germany, Poland, perhaps. But the setting and time are incidental. The book is character driven and the mystery is what drives the two men. It is interesting to not that the sympathy for the characters changes as more of the past is unfolds. In some ways, the only investigator in the story is the reader. This makes the novel more compelling. The clear prose helps to make the book difficult to put down.
Undoubtedly one of the reason for the popularity of Law & Order (at least the original an SVU)) is the predictably of how the episodes unfold. You can set a watch to it. The other is most likely the ripped from the headlines stories that appears. Of course, as the advert says, there is a Law & Order twist. In some ways, Untraceable is like Law & Order.
Lebedev’s thriller takes the poisoning headlines from the UK and uses the idea of a mysterious poison. Instead of however focusing investigators or the international manhunt, he focuses on the chemist and special operative connected to the case. It isn’t so much about trying to escape the authorities or get the bad guy. It is more of a examination of what a life of secrets can do to a person.
The focus of the novel is on two men - Kalitin and Shershnev. The pressure and driving force of the novel is the oncoming intersection of the two men. The reader knowns that is coming and that it will change everything.
The book’s setting and time are somewhat nebulous -Germany, Poland, perhaps. But the setting and time are incidental. The book is character driven and the mystery is what drives the two men. It is interesting to not that the sympathy for the characters changes as more of the past is unfolds. In some ways, the only investigator in the story is the reader. This makes the novel more compelling. The clear prose helps to make the book difficult to put down.
July 24, 2023
3,5
Un fel de anti plot twist, când te aștepți ca cineva sa scape cumva sau sa facă ceva care sa schimbe situația și pana la urma toate personajele implicate mor sau sunt prinse. Un final mai realist.
Preotul a fost un fel de semn care prevestea răul și era mereu ocolit de rele, el, în antiteză, fiind o expresie a binelui, a neprihănirii.
Limbajul a fost bun și comunismul a fost foarte bine surprins, cum a fost asimilat de psihicul uman și cum toată lumea vedea în orice om cu care interacționa un posibil turnător. Am fost terifiată la gândul că oamenii chiar au trăit așa.
Un fel de anti plot twist, când te aștepți ca cineva sa scape cumva sau sa facă ceva care sa schimbe situația și pana la urma toate personajele implicate mor sau sunt prinse. Un final mai realist.
Preotul a fost un fel de semn care prevestea răul și era mereu ocolit de rele, el, în antiteză, fiind o expresie a binelui, a neprihănirii.
Limbajul a fost bun și comunismul a fost foarte bine surprins, cum a fost asimilat de psihicul uman și cum toată lumea vedea în orice om cu care interacționa un posibil turnător. Am fost terifiată la gândul că oamenii chiar au trăit așa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2022
That the Russian government is in the habit of poisoning its enemies (sometimes more, sometimes less successfully) is hardly a secret these days. Sergei Lebedev's stark, quietly suspenseful Untraceable tells the story of the elderly Professor Kalitin, who developed an untraceable poison for his government back in Soviet times before defecting to the West, and that of two Russian agents dispatched to use that same poison to kill him many decades later. Timely, gripping and surprisingly complex for such a relatively short book.
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