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kryten4k's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
cheezvshcrvst's review against another edition
2.0
Really wanted to like this more than I wound up not liking it. Alas, this adventure, if it may be called that amidst exposition, antiquated and vulgar descriptions hinging on xenophobia and white supremacy (truly, maybe, not deliberately, but certainly very striking. I was never totally certain Farmer wasn’t being satirical, but the fact is I was put off more often than I was amused.), and not much sleuthing in what kicked off as and sputtered to a long-winded conclusion as a pulp noir jungle adventure drama with less sleuthing than the Holmes banterings with Watson would have led you to believe, was not… my cup of anything. “Not unreadable” is all I really should or could say of this.
avrilhj's review against another edition
3.0
Fun pastiche. I did feel a little cheated by the length - it's more a short story than an entire novel; and Holmes, Watson and Greystoke are all caricatures - this is not a story that seeks to be taken seriously as part of the canon. Still, an enjoyable piece of frivolity with which to pass some time.
thomcat's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars on goodreads means "it was okay" and that's an apt description of this. It has fun elements (Holmes and Watson and Greystoke) and silliness (from page 4, a bacillus modified by chemical means to only eat sauerkraut). It also plays fast and loose with the characters, which are mostly caricatures in this short novel / long story / novella.
This is a reissue of an earlier work by Philip José Farmer, with some additional framing elements and comments for the series. The author collects many pulp characters and stars under the umbrella of the Wold Newton meteorite. In service of that mythos, many names are dropped in the story - far more than reasonable. That plus writing which isn't really up to snuff brings the overall rating down.
This is a reissue of an earlier work by Philip José Farmer, with some additional framing elements and comments for the series. The author collects many pulp characters and stars under the umbrella of the Wold Newton meteorite. In service of that mythos, many names are dropped in the story - far more than reasonable. That plus writing which isn't really up to snuff brings the overall rating down.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
1.0
It is 1916 and Holmes and Watson are called upon once again to save Britain. This time they must track down Von Bork before he can unleash a dreaded plague upon the world--bacteria that can devour a good Englishman's favorite food, boiled beef and potatoes. Forced to fly for the very first time (and they both hate it), they track the evil villain to darkest Africa where they form an uneasy alliance with the Lord of Jungle. Will they escape the African tribe bent on making them sacrifices? Will they escape the venomous cobra? Will they discover where Von Bork has hidden the secret formula? Will Watson get married for a fourth time? Will these adventures be enough to keep the reader interested....?
I thought The Veiled Detective by David Stuart Davies was the worst Holmes pastiche out there. I would be wrong. When I found this book by Farmer, I thought it looked like a fun mash-up between Holmes and Tarzan (Lord Greystoke). I've enjoyed several short stories and novels by Farmer in the past and expected a rollicking good adventure if nothing else. What I got was one of most incredibly awful parodies of Holmes and Watson and Tarzan possible (though I'm less solid on Tarzan--having not read much by Burroughs). I'm quite sure Farmer thought he was being hilarious with what passes for humor herein and maybe in the 1970s it was. But reading this at my age in 2021--the "humor" is sophomoric at best and insulting to the Holmes and Watson characters (and the reader) at worst. The only reason I give this one star instead of none is that I did enjoy playing "spot the character" for other fictional characters who pop up along the way. John Dickson Carr's Dr. Fell and Henry Merrivale, H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quartermain, and others make appearances or are mentioned in the narrative. There is even a reference to the world of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey when the Duke of Denver is discussed.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
I thought The Veiled Detective by David Stuart Davies was the worst Holmes pastiche out there. I would be wrong. When I found this book by Farmer, I thought it looked like a fun mash-up between Holmes and Tarzan (Lord Greystoke). I've enjoyed several short stories and novels by Farmer in the past and expected a rollicking good adventure if nothing else. What I got was one of most incredibly awful parodies of Holmes and Watson and Tarzan possible (though I'm less solid on Tarzan--having not read much by Burroughs). I'm quite sure Farmer thought he was being hilarious with what passes for humor herein and maybe in the 1970s it was. But reading this at my age in 2021--the "humor" is sophomoric at best and insulting to the Holmes and Watson characters (and the reader) at worst. The only reason I give this one star instead of none is that I did enjoy playing "spot the character" for other fictional characters who pop up along the way. John Dickson Carr's Dr. Fell and Henry Merrivale, H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quartermain, and others make appearances or are mentioned in the narrative. There is even a reference to the world of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey when the Duke of Denver is discussed.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
griof's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
plaidbrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Silly and short, but fun. Farmer was clearly having a good time not only crossing Holmes & Watson over with several of their pulp fictional successors (predominantly Tarzan, but lots of others make cameos or are name dropped), but judging them.
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