The Flying Elephant

The Flying Elephant
Author	Boris Akunin
Original title	Летающий слон
Language	Russian
Series	Brüderschaft with Death
Genre	Historical detective
Publication date	2008
Publication place	Russia
Preceded by	The Torment of a Broken Heart
Followed by	Children of the Moon

The Flying Elephant (Russian: Летающий слон, romanized: Letaushi slon) is a novel by Boris Akunin, the first part of the second book on the adventures of Russian and German spies during the First World War. It describes the dangerous adventures of Joseph von Teofels in Russia in early 1915.

Plot

In early 1915, Emperor Wilhelm II decides to stop active operations on the Western Front, and bring the entire power of the German Army against the Russians in the Eastern Front. The offensive plan is carefully designed, the advantage in artillery is overwhelming, but the Russian Army suddenly has a "miracle weapon" that can frustrate all the Germans' efforts. This is the world's first four-engined heavy bomber, the "Ilya Muromets". At present there is only one, but if Russia can mass-produce it, it could make a major change in the course of the war. The Kaiser personally orders the chief of German intelligence not to allow this, and again the German spy Josef von Teofels (known as Sepp) comes into action.

Penetrating a detachment of Russian pilots under the guise of "pilot Michael Dolohov from the United States", Sepp painfully reflects on how to destroy the aircraft. Neither the explosion of "Ilya Muromets" or the murder of the inventor would help: the Russians will immediately understand that this is the work of the Germans, and they will do their best to start the mass production of the bomber. The only chance for Theophels is to compromise the concept, to portray the plane in a negative light during a general inspection which will be headed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich.

References

^ Baraban, Elena V.; Norris, Stephen M. (1 February 2021). The Akunin Project: The Mysteries and Histories of Russia's Bestselling Author. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-3789-0.

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[1] Baraban, Elena V.; Norris, Stephen M. (1 February 2021). The Akunin Project: The Mysteries and Histories of Russia's Bestselling Author. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-3789-0.

[1]

v t e Works by Boris Akunin
Erast Fandorin series	The Winter Queen The Turkish Gambit Murder on the Leviathan The Death of Achilles Special Assignments The State Counsellor The Coronation She Lover of Death He Lover of Death The Diamond Chariot Ying and Yan Jade Rosary Beads All the World's a Stage The Black City Planet Water Not Saying Goodbye Erast Fandorin's Dao Tamba's Lessons Frog Bashō
Masahiro Shibata series	Just Masa Yama
Nicholas Fandorin series	Altyn Tolobas Extracurricular Reading F.M. Falcon and Swallow
Sister Pelagia series	Pelagia and the White Bulldog Pelagia and the Black Monk Pelagia and the Red Rooster
Brüderschaft with Death series	The Infant and the Devil The Torment of a Broken Heart The Flying Elephant Children of the Moon The Wandering Man Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble! Maria, Maria... Nothing Sacred
The Genres	Children's Book Spy Novel Science Fiction Quest Children's Book For Girls Fairy Tales from Around the World
Adaptations	Azazel (2002) The Turkish Gambit (2005) The State Counsellor (2005) Spy (2012) Fandorin: Azazel (2023) Leviathan (2021)