 |
The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls by John R. King
Book Summary InformationAuthor: John R. King Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2008-08-05 ISBN: 0765318016 Number of pages: 352 Publisher: Forge Books
Book Reviews of The Shadow of Reichenbach FallsBook Review: Sherlock meats Carnacki, the ghost finder Summary: 4 Stars
This book presents a revised version of the events in "The Final Problem." It begins beside a rubbish heap in Meiringen with a young Thomas Carnacki, William Hope Hodgson's "Ghost Finder," negotiating with a fat old rat for a lump of moldy Gruyère cheese. Later in the day Thomas is piknicing near the Reichenbach Falls with one "Anna Schmidt" when they witness a struggle atop the Falls and rescue a fallen combatent.
The other combatent pursues them in an effort to shoot his rival and events take off from there. "Anna Schmidt" turns out to be "Anna Moriarty" and events move on to Bern and then to Paris. Dr. John Watson appears and saves Thomas from an assassination attempt and the truth about Professor Moriarty, his wife and their daughter is revealed. The end of Jack The Ripper is explained and the creation of the Professor's criminal empire is related along with some details of the struggle between Holmes and Moriarty.
The writing is very well done and the characters are clearly and precisely drawn. The action is intricate and complex and the story is engrossing. The reason for the inclusion of Thomas Carnacki becomes clear about halfway through the book. Events take a supernatural turn with the confrontation between the Professor and Jack The Ripper. From that point on, the action revolves around the cause of the Ripper murders and their effects on the Professor and his life and, ultimately, on Holmes through the Professor.
The events in the book are crafted with careful attention. For example, although Dr. Watson saves Thomas Carnacki from assassination by his prompt medical actions, Holmes and Watson are kept separate and the continuity of the events as known to Watson is maintained. The entire tale is revealed to the good Doctor in this manuscript, sent some twenty years later by Carnacki. For readers who follow the motto "No ghosts need apply," this tale will be a disppointment. Hodgson fans will, no doubt, be delighted.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; October, 2008
Summary of The Shadow of Reichenbach FallsProbably the most infamous story in the Sherlock Holmes canon is ?The Final Problem? as it relates the facts of the death/murder of the master detective at Reichenbach Falls. On May 4, 1891, the detective met his archenemy Professor Moriarty on a ledge above the falls; the two became locked in a titanic hand-to-hand struggle before both tumbled over the precipice, presumably to their deaths, as witnessed afar by Dr.Watson. The outcry against the death of such a popular character was so great that in 1901 Conan Doyle was forced to give in to the pressure of his fan mail. He resurrected the detective by claiming that Holmes had managed to grab a tuft of grass during the fall into the ?dreadful cauldron? and so had lived to solve another mystery. But what really happened that infamous day at Reichenbach Falls and why did Holmes disappear in the aftermath? And what of the infamous Moriarty? How did a noble mathematician become the Napoleon of Crime? The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls provides these answers and more. It turns out that the events were not just witnessed by Watson but by another young detective of the Victorian era?Carnacki the Ghost Finder. Carnacki rescues an amnesiac gentleman from the base of the falls only to find himself and his companion doggedly pursued by an evil mastermind whose shadowy powers may reach from the bloody crime scenes of White Chapel to far beyond the grave. Filled with Holmesian lore and thrilling encounters evocative of Doyle?s work in the Strand magazine, The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls will undoubtedly join the ranks of such successful Holmesian pastiches as The Seven Percent Solution, The West End Horror, and Murder by Decree.
Literature & Fiction Books
|
 |
|
|
|