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THE ATHENIAN MURDERS is a brilliant, very entertaining and absolutely original literary mystery, revolving round two intertwined riddles. In classical Athens, one of the pupils of Plato's Academy is found dead. His idealistic teacher suspects that this wasn't an accident and asks Heracles, known as the 'Decipherer of Enigmas', to investigate the death and ultimately a dark, irrational and subversive cult. The second plot unfolds in parallel through the footnotes of the translator of the original Greek text. As he proceeds with his work, he becomes increasingly convinced that the Greek author has hidden a second meaning, which can be brought to light by interpreting certain repeated words and images. As the main plot and also the translation of the manuscript advances, there are certain sinister coincidences, and it seems that the text is addressing him personally and in an increasingly menacing manner... THE ATHENIAN MURDERS constitutes a highly compelling, entertaining and intelligent novel.… (more)
User reviews
The text mixes the rational and the irrational - on one side you have a combined investigation by Agatha Christie and Plato: On the other the dark forces of the
The false trails set by the translator (who has the wrong myth!) are masterful and revealing (paradoxically).
Comparisons with 'Name of the Rose' are not false - it isn't an easy read, but is quite entertaining and sustains multiple readings.
Weird murders have been going on in ancient Greece and Heracles Pontor is called to investigate along with his classic sidekick.
Aside from the plot itsef, I had a good time spotting the allegories and eidetic references hidden (usually pretty obviously and also pointed out by the translator) in the text. All in all, this is a refreshing change from all those wannabe-Da-Vinci-Codes that have been flooding the genre of ancient mysteries and manuscripts and I can sincerely recommend the book.
Someone here named the (fictional) translator of the book as interruptor, and I concur with that. On top of that I got a used book, in which the former reader had
Also the translator/interrupor of the book started out with a major translation of a work that he hadn't even (speed)read through? I would never do that.