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laurieb755 's review for:
The Fifth Heart
by Dan Simmons
I was a little generous (well, it is the new year) with my ranking of 4 stars, but there isn't an option for 3.5. I am a Sherlock Holmes fan, so was predisposed to enjoy this tale, and Dan Simmons, for the most part, did not disappoint.
However, Simmons does like his words. A little over 600 pages in the telling, this book is big on descriptions. I got way more directional information about Henry James' walk around Washington D.C. than was necessary. Somewhere much further in the book Simmons has a character comment on the use of English (it might have been in a conversation with Samuel Clemens). Should have bookmarked it, as at the time of reading the words I immediately thought they could have been a parody of my describing Dan Simmons' writing.
Simmons pulls in multiple real people to populate this mystery and interact with Holmes, and Holmes enters the story contemplating whether or not he exists. He meets Henry James by the Seine in Paris as they both eye the river and consider adding their heft to the current.
More than once I thought of lyrics from Irma La Douce: I am alive; you're not alive; I am alive; you're not alive" as Holmes questioned his own existence. And Simmons' accounting of the relationships between Holmes and Irene Adler, and of James Moriarty, did not quite grab me as accurate. Yup, I know, Simmons is the author and has the right to craft his characters as he sees fit. But my guess is that authors hope their readers will buy into the conceit. I bought in at a 3.5 percent solution. ;-)
Not a bad book to begin in December and finish in January. Just not a great book.
However, Simmons does like his words. A little over 600 pages in the telling, this book is big on descriptions. I got way more directional information about Henry James' walk around Washington D.C. than was necessary. Somewhere much further in the book Simmons has a character comment on the use of English (it might have been in a conversation with Samuel Clemens). Should have bookmarked it, as at the time of reading the words I immediately thought they could have been a parody of my describing Dan Simmons' writing.
Simmons pulls in multiple real people to populate this mystery and interact with Holmes, and Holmes enters the story contemplating whether or not he exists. He meets Henry James by the Seine in Paris as they both eye the river and consider adding their heft to the current.
More than once I thought of lyrics from Irma La Douce: I am alive; you're not alive; I am alive; you're not alive" as Holmes questioned his own existence. And Simmons' accounting of the relationships between Holmes and Irene Adler, and of James Moriarty, did not quite grab me as accurate. Yup, I know, Simmons is the author and has the right to craft his characters as he sees fit. But my guess is that authors hope their readers will buy into the conceit. I bought in at a 3.5 percent solution. ;-)
Not a bad book to begin in December and finish in January. Just not a great book.