Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles on + 1184 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I've had this for several years and recently unearthed it from a box of books I have had in the garage since our move to California four years ago. Glad I finally got around to reading it -- a very fun retelling of some of the Sherlock Holmes tales from the point of view of Colonel Sebastian Moran, who is portrayed as the Watson to Moriarty. Moriarty is portrayed as a "consulting criminal" as opposed to Holmes categorization as a "consulting detective" and Moran is hired by Moriarty to be his number two man in charge of murder. The book consists of seven distinct tales which parody not only Holmes and Watson but many other fictional and nonfictional characters from Victorian England. The stories are told from Moran's point of view and definitely shed a different light on the Holmes stories. In fact, Holmes himself is not really mentioned and does not appear until the last story "The Problem of the Final Adventure" where he is referred to as The Thin Man. This tale is a retelling of the "The Final Problem" where Holmes and Moriarty struggle and fall into the abyss at Reichenbach Falls. Other adventures include a retelling of "A Study in Scarlet", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", and perhaps my favorite, "The Red-Headed League" retold as "The Red Planet League" where Moriarty pranks a young nemesis who had derided one of Moriarty's written works by convincing the young scholar that an invasion from Mars had occurred.
The volume is strewn with characters that I sometimes had to look up including Dr. Mabuse, the criminal genius from Fritz Lang's old black & white silent movies. The titular tale of "The Hound of the D'urbervilles" included characters from Thomas Hardy's "Tess" and others. I have only read two of Hardy's novels: Tess of the D'urbervilles and Jude the Obscure both of which were very depressing especially Jude. But Newman lightens up the story and after reading it, I may tackle another of Hardy's works. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read that I would recommend especially to any Sherlock Holmes fan.
The volume is strewn with characters that I sometimes had to look up including Dr. Mabuse, the criminal genius from Fritz Lang's old black & white silent movies. The titular tale of "The Hound of the D'urbervilles" included characters from Thomas Hardy's "Tess" and others. I have only read two of Hardy's novels: Tess of the D'urbervilles and Jude the Obscure both of which were very depressing especially Jude. But Newman lightens up the story and after reading it, I may tackle another of Hardy's works. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read that I would recommend especially to any Sherlock Holmes fan.
