Electronic version of The Diamond Chariot by Boris Akunin

The novel The Diamond Chariot is the tenth novel in Akunin’s Erast Fandorin series and is well known to Akunin’s readers—the book has sold millions of copies. Despite that, even those who read the novel many times over will be interested in the electronic edition. It includes more than 300 illustrations: photographs, prints and archive documents representing the 1905 Russia and Meiji Japan in the context of events of the book.

The “cover” of the electronic edition

The book consists of two parts, each almost an independent novel. The difference between the parts is emphasized by using different layouts and typefaces.

The events of the first volume unfold in Moscow in the beginning of the 20th century. The abundance of documentary photographs makes it difficult to believe that the events of the book were created by the author.

Openings of the first volume

For the second volume which is dedicated to the adventures of the young Fandorin in Japan in the late 19th century, a more laconic design was chosen. In addition to photographs, the volume was illustrated prints in Ukiyo-e style.

Openings of the second volume

The Chariot is a product of inhuman beauty and knowledge. It is a sort of an illustrated encyclopedia of material culture: the first volume—of the 1905 Moscow, the second volume—of Meiji Japan. Now you can not only read the novel, but see the streets, the costumes, the faces. There are more than 300 carefully chosen illustrations.

Boris Akunin