About book The Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy (2012)
This is one of those curious books wherein I spot the title in a bookstore, stop to stare at the cover for a few moments, and then stand there in high amazement, thinking, "My Gawd, somebody's written a book *specifically for me*." By which I mean: a book has been presented to me with a premise so perfectly matching up to several of my key interest points that I have no choice BUT to conclude that the Universe has somehow specifically created this story just for me.I have no great love of James Cameron's 1996 film, but historically-speaking, I've been fascinated by the story of the 'Titanic' for some years now. And I'm pretty sure we all know how I feel about Sherlock Holmes by now -- so placing Holmes and Dr. Watson on board the 'Titanic' (a perfectly plausible premise as Holmes and Watson were still meant to be alive and kicking in 1912) is pretty much as awesome as a pastiche can get for me. I like "ship stories" anyway, so any nautical tale featuring Sherlock Holmes is already a treat. (I particularly love the Rathbone/Bruce film "Pursuit to Algiers" mostly for precisely this reason.) But put him on the 'Titanic,' and suddenly we've scaled up the epicness to a 10. My only slight worry when diving into this read was if the actual novel would be unable to live up to a premise so perfect.I needn't have worried. This was one of those rare things: a book I not only highly enjoyed, but which I actually struggled to set aside each time I had to stop reading. A top-secret mission -- involving murder, espionage, and the impending world war -- made for an entirely compelling plot; it was a relief to find that the chapters weren't simply marking time until the iceberg struck. And speaking of icebergs: the plot is so cleverly written that I did find myself briefly wondering if, perhaps, an iceberg wasn't going to be involved after all. (Well, this IS fiction; anything was technically possible.) The original characters are compelling, Holmes and Watson are written neatly in-character, and the entire story was as engaging as one could ask for. Seil makes plenty of references to the original Canon, but -- perhaps because of the similarly watery nature of Holmes's supposed fate at the end of that particular tale -- it's "The Final Problem" that is most clearly referenced throughout "The Titanic Tragedy." It was an entirely fitting reference, and if it made me get a bit misty-eyed during certain moments of the ending, I can't see how anyone could blame me.If you like Holmes, the 'Titanic,' or simply mystery stories on the high seas, give this one a try. But I recommend it most highly to Holmes fan. The author's affection for Conan Doyle's characters is evident on every page, and that makes it rather irresistible to Holmes fans -- or at least to this Holmes fan. Quite a read!
I'm certainly a Holmes fan, and I enjoy studying about the Titanic. So when I located this book, which combined 2 of my favorite interests, I had to read it right away! Now that I have finished it, I'll say it was a good book. I didn't feel a true Holmes vibe from it (that is to be expected from another author), nor did I get an authentic Titanic feeling, but the plot was good enough to keep me busy reading it. Sometimes I think the author overdid it on the amount of secrets that Captain Smith maintained with everybody. Other in-command men on the ship, like Lightoller, were okay, but I don't think those men would have reacted how this story portrays them. Certain points of the plot seemed far-fetched. And too many reenactments of Sherlock's original adventures were repeated... even Irene Adler's daughter was a main character.But really, I didn't mind, because all it amounts to is this:Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are sailing on the Titanic!.... Do I need to say anything else?The sheer idea of it still excites me. Regardless of the things I mentioned above, I still enjoyed the book!
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There is no denying the research that Seil put into this work. Mix that with his excellent impression of Doyle's narrative voice and one would believe that they had a great Holmes story on their hands. Yet, what it lacks is that it is very slow while the story's actual mystery does not spark the reader's inner-detective. I wish that I could have been more interested in the case, but the story does not give one much to go with. Yes, I cared about who the culprit was. But, the story did not give enough evidence for the reader to play along with.
—Cody Tucker
This book, this book. Where do I begin?I don't know if it was because I got distracted reading the story or what, but I thought the whole plot was outlandish. And HOW many villains/ruffians did they have to deal with?? Let's tally:-Baron-Baroness-Brandon-Swede with Brandon plus a few extra cohorts-Stickler-Bishop-Col. James MoriartyI can understand one or two, but Good Lord! People were getting murdered left and right and yet no one really cottoned on to the fact. This I didn't believe, especial
—Devon
It was okay. Okay, maybe that is stretching it but the author got fan fiction published and is getting paid for it... he gets one additional star for pulling that off.But all in all? It was BAD fan fiction. I've read better, and I've read FAR better Sherlock Holmes (based on Doyle's books, not any of the series) fan fiction that is not published and the authors are not getting royalty checks for.Will I read more of this series? Oh probably. There are times you want to curl up with a bad book only to be able to mock it.
—Autumn
