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A review by k_orme
Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye
5.0
I am in no way a Sherlockian scholar, though I would very much like to be. I am in no way a Ripper historian, though I am a historian.
This book portrayed Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson very well, much better than in other pastiche's I have read (... like Angel of the Opera, a Sherlock/Phantom of the Opera pastiche. Sounded amazing in theory. Not amazing on paper--I digress)
Dr. Watson is not a bumbling side-kick, but a clever man who is keen on picking up Sherlock's tactics and using them himself.
Sherlock is as smart and cold as ever--yet--if I may say, this is one of the most human I've seen him portrayed. He masked his emotions but then, through Watson, you could see the Ripper chipping away at his cold shell.. I believed Sherlock's actions and processes as well as it were ACD work.
I must admit I was a little nervous when Miss Monk was employed by Holmes for I thought, oh boy, here's a lady to give Holmes a heart.
She gave him a heart.... but not a romantic heart--for which I actually very much enjoyed her character and what became of her in the end.
Now for the Ripper.
Dear lord, I was nearly dead after reading the climax, finding out who he was and all. I'm quite certain that this is who the Ripper was and what became of him. The facts from my rudimentary knowledge of the Ripper Killings were spot on and I couldn't help but feel involved in Sherlock's investigation.
This was more than I imagined a Sherlock/Ripper pastiche to be. It was great. I'm so glad to finally have read it after putting it down for almost a year. (I borrowed it from the library and then had to return to college very far away from home.)
Well done, Lyndsay Faye. Well done. I loved your book.
I also want this to be a movie. Especially the scene at the end when Sherlock confronts the Ripper in the inferno. Is it bad to want a book to be a movie? I hope not. I'll play Miss Monk. I can do that. Goodness me.
This book portrayed Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson very well, much better than in other pastiche's I have read (... like Angel of the Opera, a Sherlock/Phantom of the Opera pastiche. Sounded amazing in theory. Not amazing on paper--I digress)
Dr. Watson is not a bumbling side-kick, but a clever man who is keen on picking up Sherlock's tactics and using them himself.
Sherlock is as smart and cold as ever--yet--if I may say, this is one of the most human I've seen him portrayed. He masked his emotions but then, through Watson, you could see the Ripper chipping away at his cold shell.. I believed Sherlock's actions and processes as well as it were ACD work.
I must admit I was a little nervous when Miss Monk was employed by Holmes for I thought, oh boy, here's a lady to give Holmes a heart.
She gave him a heart.... but not a romantic heart--for which I actually very much enjoyed her character and what became of her in the end.
Now for the Ripper.
Dear lord, I was nearly dead after reading the climax, finding out who he was and all. I'm quite certain that this is who the Ripper was and what became of him. The facts from my rudimentary knowledge of the Ripper Killings were spot on and I couldn't help but feel involved in Sherlock's investigation.
This was more than I imagined a Sherlock/Ripper pastiche to be. It was great. I'm so glad to finally have read it after putting it down for almost a year. (I borrowed it from the library and then had to return to college very far away from home.)
Well done, Lyndsay Faye. Well done. I loved your book.
I also want this to be a movie. Especially the scene at the end when Sherlock confronts the Ripper in the inferno. Is it bad to want a book to be a movie? I hope not. I'll play Miss Monk. I can do that. Goodness me.