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Critique of Criminal Reason: A Mystery
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312378035
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 0312378033
Label: St. Martin's Minotaur
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: March 18, 2008
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur
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Editorial Review:
An International Bestseller and Playboy Best Book of 2006It has been years since Immanuel Kant’s landmark philosophical work, Critique of Pure Reason, brought him fame throughout Europe and made him Königsberg’s best-known citizen. Now, rumors have begun to surface of a new work by this aging but still acute mind. Yet unlike his earlier work, this book will not examine the mind of the average man, but the mind of the serial killer.Detective Hanno Stiffeniis has been called to the city to find the culprit in an enigmatic string of murders. Are they part of a plot formed by Napoleon’s spies to undermine the Prussian king, or the work of a solitary killer? The case would seem unsolvable, were it not for the assistance and unmatched intellect of his mentor, Immanuel Kant. Together the young detective and the elderly, eccentric philosopher must track down the killer who has the city by the throat.Atmospheric, entertaining, and intelligent, this acclaimed novel is sophisticated, page-turning crime at its best.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - It's better remembered
than read (in my case, some months ago).
Actually, as reviewer Amore says, there's nothing of Kant's philosopy in the book, which struck me as very disjointed and not genuinely atmospheric but generically or cheaply so, if you will: there's one sentence uttered by Anna Rostova on page 196 of the PB ed ("Prussia, homeland of the whip and the cane!") which epitomizes the whole story's tone: wintry, savage, dark, slimy in a frozen way. That's atmospheric all right, but it remains to be ... Read More
Rating: - Kantian philosophy fails yet again
I must admit that when I saw a new mystery series incorporating philosophical concepts to solve murders I was intrigued, even fascinated, and even after learning that the concepts used in the book were those of Immanuel Kant. But the novel did not particularly dissappoint me because of the Kantian philosophical premise - honestly, I thought Kant would be the sleuth. As it happens, no such luck.
The sleuth is Procurator Hanno Stifennis from Lotingen. The action, however, takes place ... Read More
Rating:  - Critique of Critique of Criminal Reason
I purchased Critique of Criminal Reason after reading Gregorio's follow-up: Days of Atonement. Since Hanno's work with Kant was mentioned through-out Atonement, I felt compelled to go back.
I was well rewarded for my efforts. In Critique of Criminal Reason Hanmo Stefaniis the Magistrate from a quiet town is summoned to solve a series of murders. The philosopher Kant is Hanno's benefactor and mentor. Together, they work to solve the mystery.
Kant figures well throughout ... Read More
Rating: - No "critique" of criminal reason
Michael Gregorio's _Critique of Criminal Reason_ is an interesting book with a number of virtues, but ultimately a disappointing book which I would not recommend.
Gregorio's novel, placed in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, in Russia), has Procurator Stiffiniis, a young protégé of the philosopher Immanual Kant, struggling with Kant's help to solve a serial murder case which is terrorizing the city in 1804. Gregorio has a good ability to narrate events, to describe people ... Read More
Rating: - Great Book - "Boo" on the Historical and Picture Inaccuracies
This is a wonderful historical mystery ... for the most part. Written in crisp 1st person prose, the "CSI of Ostpreußen" is gripping and terrifically atmospheric - very Tim Burton-esque. HOWEVER, one wonders if the author ever really investigated the real Konigsberg. I'm dumbfounded at some basic mistakes and omissions:
1) Even in the 18th century, Koenigsberg a beautiful and charming place - a quaint medieval city on the Baltic with lovely promenades and a lake/park. The "fortress" was never ... Read More
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