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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
Okay. Too much Watson, not enough Holmes. Too much action and not enough deduction.
Rating: 2.5/5
Blurb: A bit too elementary
This is my second (of hopefully four) Sherlock Holmes pastiche works this year, and I must confess that after reading "The Alienist" and "The Angel of Darkness" I thought no other author better suited to write a Sherlock Holmes story than Caleb Carr. If his previous works are any indication, then Carr certainly excels at the historical. The man can weave a brilliant tapestry of descriptions when it comes to cityscapes and personalities, not to mention the historical tidbits which one experiences as if walking through a museum with an exceedingly knowledgeable and passionate curator.
With a Sherlock Holmes story, he'd have old London to play with, along with the myriad and entertaining cast of the Baker Street irregulars and other bohemian denizens of London whose company Holmes is only too delighted to keep. Unfortunately, none of these things are present in this story. In fact that only thing present, which is consistent with Sherlock Holmes canon is the unscientific narrative voice and verve of Dr. John Watson whose narrative technique is often criticized by Holmes for lacking the cool and calculating viewpoint of the logician.
At the heart of any good mystery-story is the eponymous 'mystery'. And a good mystery is always backed up by an intriguing build-up. Here Carr delivers in spades. In fact he delivers an entire card-decks worth of build-up, replete with both evocative and pedestrian details which can get tedious very quickly. Unlike the Dr. Kreizler stories where the detailed descriptions played an essential part in building the city of New York as a character, here we find the same technique fall flat for the simple reason that much of the description is about nothing in particular.
Aside from Caleb Carr's involvement, what I also found intriguing (and even exciting) was the presence of Mycroft Holmes. Any collaboration featuring Mycroft has always been one to remember and I was looking forward to seeing his character as something more than a mere conduit for expository dialogue. Mycroft has proven himself to be more than just a corpulent misanthrope on more than one occasion.
Coming at last to the resolution of the mystery, well, it was as disappointing as it was predictable. And while many a mystery from the Sherlock Holmes canon are predictable, they are not disappointing. As I've mentioned before, Carr had old-London and Holmes' vast network of bohemians at his disposal, these were the elements that gave a Sherlock Holmes story it's zest and character. Instead, Carr chose to remove both London and the bohemians from the equation and cast our Consulting-Detective and his faithful companion as strangers in a strange Highland mystery.
Be that as it may, there is something to be said for a book that compels you to read it to the end. Even when things got tedious, the story kept getting just interesting enough for me to turn the next page, until I was too committed to quit. And so, for designing and executing this elaborate and verbose trap, Caleb Carr has my respect.
Blurb: A bit too elementary
This is my second (of hopefully four) Sherlock Holmes pastiche works this year, and I must confess that after reading "The Alienist" and "The Angel of Darkness" I thought no other author better suited to write a Sherlock Holmes story than Caleb Carr. If his previous works are any indication, then Carr certainly excels at the historical. The man can weave a brilliant tapestry of descriptions when it comes to cityscapes and personalities, not to mention the historical tidbits which one experiences as if walking through a museum with an exceedingly knowledgeable and passionate curator.
With a Sherlock Holmes story, he'd have old London to play with, along with the myriad and entertaining cast of the Baker Street irregulars and other bohemian denizens of London whose company Holmes is only too delighted to keep. Unfortunately, none of these things are present in this story. In fact that only thing present, which is consistent with Sherlock Holmes canon is the unscientific narrative voice and verve of Dr. John Watson whose narrative technique is often criticized by Holmes for lacking the cool and calculating viewpoint of the logician.
At the heart of any good mystery-story is the eponymous 'mystery'. And a good mystery is always backed up by an intriguing build-up. Here Carr delivers in spades. In fact he delivers an entire card-decks worth of build-up, replete with both evocative and pedestrian details which can get tedious very quickly. Unlike the Dr. Kreizler stories where the detailed descriptions played an essential part in building the city of New York as a character, here we find the same technique fall flat for the simple reason that much of the description is about nothing in particular.
Aside from Caleb Carr's involvement, what I also found intriguing (and even exciting) was the presence of Mycroft Holmes. Any collaboration featuring Mycroft has always been one to remember and I was looking forward to seeing his character as something more than a mere conduit for expository dialogue. Mycroft has proven himself to be more than just a corpulent misanthrope on more than one occasion.
Coming at last to the resolution of the mystery, well, it was as disappointing as it was predictable. And while many a mystery from the Sherlock Holmes canon are predictable, they are not disappointing. As I've mentioned before, Carr had old-London and Holmes' vast network of bohemians at his disposal, these were the elements that gave a Sherlock Holmes story it's zest and character. Instead, Carr chose to remove both London and the bohemians from the equation and cast our Consulting-Detective and his faithful companion as strangers in a strange Highland mystery.
Be that as it may, there is something to be said for a book that compels you to read it to the end. Even when things got tedious, the story kept getting just interesting enough for me to turn the next page, until I was too committed to quit. And so, for designing and executing this elaborate and verbose trap, Caleb Carr has my respect.
I'm not even sure if I really have much of an opinion on this book, honestly. I just know that I don't really want to finish it.
I got about half way through, more than that actually. But at one hundred and seventy pages, I realized I wasn't completely sure I knew what was happening in the book. I'd also put it down for two weeks to read some library books.
One thing Carr did well was make it seem a lot like Doyle's writing. He definitely seemed to get that down. Unfortunately for me, I'm not very good at reading anything writing in the old-fashioned way. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I do have a harder time paying attention to the book and actually grasping what's happening. So, I'm mixed about that.
Watson and Mycroft seemed a tad bit off to me. Holmes a little as well, but not nearly as much. Again, I really wasn't paying all that much attention to this book.
I'm just not a huge fan of pastiche books. Fan-fiction I have no problem with, but when it gets published... I'm not so sure about it anymore. I know, it's weird. I don't completely understand.
It's by no means a bad book, I just sort of didn't care to keep reading it. I'm not even sure why I have it.
I got about half way through, more than that actually. But at one hundred and seventy pages, I realized I wasn't completely sure I knew what was happening in the book. I'd also put it down for two weeks to read some library books.
One thing Carr did well was make it seem a lot like Doyle's writing. He definitely seemed to get that down. Unfortunately for me, I'm not very good at reading anything writing in the old-fashioned way. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I do have a harder time paying attention to the book and actually grasping what's happening. So, I'm mixed about that.
Watson and Mycroft seemed a tad bit off to me. Holmes a little as well, but not nearly as much. Again, I really wasn't paying all that much attention to this book.
I'm just not a huge fan of pastiche books. Fan-fiction I have no problem with, but when it gets published... I'm not so sure about it anymore. I know, it's weird. I don't completely understand.
It's by no means a bad book, I just sort of didn't care to keep reading it. I'm not even sure why I have it.
I picked this up just recently and started reading it, only to realize that I had already done so. I enjoyed reading it the first time, and enjoyed reading the few pages I started reading again this time as well!
Terrible, I couldn't even finish it. Read Doyle instead.
Best way to enjoy it : Don't think too much !!! If you do, you will see elements of stupidity & carelessness starting to poke through & if you don't it's a fair pastiche of sorts.
Got this one on tape it was so boring that I didn't even finish the first side. Long descriptive passages of a train ride, no action, and I just couldn't get into the characters. Sorry, Sherlock!
UPDATE:
Trying it in print this time, as I keep hearing how good it is. We'll see.
2nd UPDATE:
Still found it boring. I wish I hadn't bothered to give it a second chance. Sherlock talks way too much. The story wasn't very interesting either.
I have decided that when it comes to pastiche books, what you think really depends on your conception of the characters. If you think of Sherlock Holmes as an analytical, cold, strictly logical kind of guy, you won't be happy with anything else. If you think of him as repressed, with a secret passion for Watson, Irene Adler, a secret someone, or a wicked sense of humor, or a secret spiritual side, then you won't be at all happy with the kind of book the former reader would like.
I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't mind occasional forays into something different, but extremes of experimentation really turn me off. This one didn't have a dramatically different interpretation of Holmes or Watson, but it didn't seem to have anything new to say either. Not for me.
UPDATE:
Trying it in print this time, as I keep hearing how good it is. We'll see.
2nd UPDATE:
Still found it boring. I wish I hadn't bothered to give it a second chance. Sherlock talks way too much. The story wasn't very interesting either.
I have decided that when it comes to pastiche books, what you think really depends on your conception of the characters. If you think of Sherlock Holmes as an analytical, cold, strictly logical kind of guy, you won't be happy with anything else. If you think of him as repressed, with a secret passion for Watson, Irene Adler, a secret someone, or a wicked sense of humor, or a secret spiritual side, then you won't be at all happy with the kind of book the former reader would like.
I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't mind occasional forays into something different, but extremes of experimentation really turn me off. This one didn't have a dramatically different interpretation of Holmes or Watson, but it didn't seem to have anything new to say either. Not for me.
I really enjoy Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories of Sherlock Holmes. I have read a few Sherlock stories written by other authors but always like the original best. The same is true here. Caleb Carr is very familiar with Great Britain historically and his descriptions of environments and objects are spot on. But I felt that the descriptions of our Holmes and Watson duo were lacking through and through. The story was interesting enough but nothing made it really scream “this is Sherlock Holmes-ian!”
Ah well. It was alright. Wouldn’t really recommend.
“We believe we act accordingly; others tell us that our beliefs are false; yet how can they be, when those beliefs have persuaded us, sometimes many of us, to alter our behavior?“
Ah well. It was alright. Wouldn’t really recommend.
“We believe we act accordingly; others tell us that our beliefs are false; yet how can they be, when those beliefs have persuaded us, sometimes many of us, to alter our behavior?“