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koilungfish) wrote2009-11-13 07:14 pm
koilungfish) wrote2009-11-13 07:14 pm
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The Tangled Skein by David Stuart Davies
8/11/09 - Ill
9/11/09 - 806 words on Pral-Vrai System
10/11/09 - Ill
11/11/09 - Ill
12/11/09 - 789 words on Pral-Vrai System
13/11/09 - Ill
Title - The Tangled Skein
Author - David Stuart Davies
ISBN - 978-1-84022-527-3
I said Sherlock Holmes fights Count Dracula.
It sounds like it should be bad fanfic. It isn't.
The Tangled Skein is, bar two chapters, narrated by Dr Watson, very much in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle. Although it's been a while since I read any of the original stories, the voice and tone of Watson seem accurate. It is entirely easy, perhaps even automatic, to hear and see Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke as Holmes and Watson, and this may or may not be a good thing. Mr Davies' Holmes and Watson seem a little more human, a little less dry than Conan Doyle's.
Certainly Mr Davies did his research. Period detail seems accurate, references are made to prior cases and events, Lestrade pops up once or twice, tobacco and pipes are constant presences and Mr Davies, through Dr Watson, draws as fine picture of Mr Holmes as anyone could hope - one part neurotic, one part genius, one part bloodhound and one part actor, with the occasional flash of humanity underneath. Dr Watson comes off very well for this close cleaving to the original works, being a man concerned by the plight of a young woman, unafraid of physical danger, active, and a faithful friend. Most adaptations and versions of Conan Doyle's stories and setting cast Watson as a blockhead, the Poor Nit to whom the Great Detective must explain every last thing. Mr Davies gives us a very good Watson, one who keeps up very well with his equally well-rendered Holmes, and of this I must say I am glad. Mr Davies' Watson is a very likable character and one whom the readers would not be happy to see sold short.
The other part of the Holmesian setting - the baffling mystery that only the Great Detective can solve via the close scrutiny of minute details and obscure clues - is also present, although happily second to the plot itself. Too many poor Holmsian stories get lost in the impulse to show Holmes' brilliance by having him identify the ridiculously obscure, or relies upon unique evidence - This Very Rare Thing Manufactured Only By One Factory In Houndsditch By Two Men And A Lame Dog - and leaves out the whole "deduction" part of things. Thankfully Mr Davies remembers that minutiae are small and people are large, and therefore puts the people at the front of the plot and the minutiae in the background.
All in all, the Holmesian side of the story is told with very careful attention to accuracy, by a writer who clearly knows the originals better than the back of his hand, and clearly cares about the characters and strives to portray them accurately and compassionately. I doubt fans of Holmes will be disappointed in this regard.
Fans of Dracula are another matter. Whilst Mr Davies has taken great pains to fit The Tangled Skein into the Holmesian canon in terms of time, place and character, it is rather confusing to readers as to when in the story of Dracula this crossing of paths is occurring. It cannot be after Dracula, due to the actions of a certain irate Texan. It can hardly be before Dracula as the Count is in England. Yet it cannot be during as the Count's location and actions have little to no relevant to his location and actions during Dracula. Likewise, Van Helsing - the only other Dracula character to appear, or even be mentioned - makes reference to an event that occurred late in Dracula, making it impossible for the Count's appearance in England in The Tangled Skein to coincide with his time in England during Dracula. It is apparently left to the reader as an exercise to figure out what the Count is doing - however you slice it, he should be too dead to appear in one book or the other - and how he has gotten where he is.
Furthermore, the actions of the Count in The Tangled Skein do not line up with his actions in Dracula, most obviously in his reaction to sunlight. In Dracula the Count was mildly discommoded; in The Tangled Skein he reacts rather more severely.
As said, the only other Dracula character to appear is Van Helsing, who turns up, delivers an infodump the size of Bombay, and then disappears to give a lecture tour whilst Holmes and Watson finish the story. Whilst the infodump is handled moderately well - Van Helsing retains a characterful voice, and Holmes remains an inveterate skeptic - the chapter consists mostly of Van Helsing saying things whilst Watson and Holmes go "Really?".
The Tangled Skein may promise Holmes versus Dracula, but almost half the plot is devoted to Holmes versus Stapleton, the villain from The Hound of the Baskervilles, which story The Tangled Skein immediately follows and which villain reappears to have a crack at Holmes. Whilst the intentions of the two villains intertwine, it is in a way barely relevant. On the one hand, Stapleton is mostly around to start the story whilst Dracula is getting his evening dress on, and on the other Dracula's run-in with Stapleton does nothing for Dracula's side of things and causes a distinct anticlimax on the Stapleton side.
There is also the faintly disturbing sense that the Count's motives do not quite match his actions. Mr Davies, via Van Helsing and Sherlock Holmes, informs the reader that Dracula is trying to spread a cult of the undead. Yet the Count himself seems mostly interested in teenage girls, and a few lines about how many innocent young women will be endangered by his freedom gives an impression less of a cult of the undead and more of a teenage harem of the undead. Whilst the sexuality of vampirism is clear and obvious, here Dracula comes across as something of a dirty old man.
When the readers encounter such detailed research as has clearly gone into the Holmesian side they can only be disappointed to find that far, far less has gone into the Dracula side. It seems a shame that, when the Holmesian parts have been so meticulously prepared, that the Dracula side should be applied neglectfully, almost melodramatically, like posters over cracks in the wall.
The Tangled Skein is by no means a bad book. If you like Holmes and Watson, I doubt this will disappoint, especially the last page. If you are a big fan of Dracula, however, you probably won't be nearly as happy.
This book is:
* - Sherlock Holmes versus Count Dracula
* - a very good pastiche of Conan Doyle's work
* - a good Sherlock Holmes story
This book is not:
* - as much about Count Dracula as it is about Jack Stapleton
* - a very good pastiche of Bram Stoker's work
* - a bad Dracula story
9/11/09 - 806 words on Pral-Vrai System
10/11/09 - Ill
11/11/09 - Ill
12/11/09 - 789 words on Pral-Vrai System
13/11/09 - Ill
Author - David Stuart Davies
ISBN - 978-1-84022-527-3
"The only other item in the room, placed below the central gas fitting, was a long, narrow table on which the corpse lay covered by a blood-spotted sheet. Attached by rough twine to one of the toes of the body was a label giving what details were known about the deceased. As the three of us gathered round the table, our huge shadows spread up the rough walls and spilled on to the ceiling."I don't think I need say anything about why I bought and read this book, and why it will appeal to many other readers, beyond that The Tangled Skein is about Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson encountering and combatting Count Dracula.
I said Sherlock Holmes fights Count Dracula.
It sounds like it should be bad fanfic. It isn't.
The Tangled Skein is, bar two chapters, narrated by Dr Watson, very much in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle. Although it's been a while since I read any of the original stories, the voice and tone of Watson seem accurate. It is entirely easy, perhaps even automatic, to hear and see Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke as Holmes and Watson, and this may or may not be a good thing. Mr Davies' Holmes and Watson seem a little more human, a little less dry than Conan Doyle's.
Certainly Mr Davies did his research. Period detail seems accurate, references are made to prior cases and events, Lestrade pops up once or twice, tobacco and pipes are constant presences and Mr Davies, through Dr Watson, draws as fine picture of Mr Holmes as anyone could hope - one part neurotic, one part genius, one part bloodhound and one part actor, with the occasional flash of humanity underneath. Dr Watson comes off very well for this close cleaving to the original works, being a man concerned by the plight of a young woman, unafraid of physical danger, active, and a faithful friend. Most adaptations and versions of Conan Doyle's stories and setting cast Watson as a blockhead, the Poor Nit to whom the Great Detective must explain every last thing. Mr Davies gives us a very good Watson, one who keeps up very well with his equally well-rendered Holmes, and of this I must say I am glad. Mr Davies' Watson is a very likable character and one whom the readers would not be happy to see sold short.
The other part of the Holmesian setting - the baffling mystery that only the Great Detective can solve via the close scrutiny of minute details and obscure clues - is also present, although happily second to the plot itself. Too many poor Holmsian stories get lost in the impulse to show Holmes' brilliance by having him identify the ridiculously obscure, or relies upon unique evidence - This Very Rare Thing Manufactured Only By One Factory In Houndsditch By Two Men And A Lame Dog - and leaves out the whole "deduction" part of things. Thankfully Mr Davies remembers that minutiae are small and people are large, and therefore puts the people at the front of the plot and the minutiae in the background.
All in all, the Holmesian side of the story is told with very careful attention to accuracy, by a writer who clearly knows the originals better than the back of his hand, and clearly cares about the characters and strives to portray them accurately and compassionately. I doubt fans of Holmes will be disappointed in this regard.
Fans of Dracula are another matter. Whilst Mr Davies has taken great pains to fit The Tangled Skein into the Holmesian canon in terms of time, place and character, it is rather confusing to readers as to when in the story of Dracula this crossing of paths is occurring. It cannot be after Dracula, due to the actions of a certain irate Texan. It can hardly be before Dracula as the Count is in England. Yet it cannot be during as the Count's location and actions have little to no relevant to his location and actions during Dracula. Likewise, Van Helsing - the only other Dracula character to appear, or even be mentioned - makes reference to an event that occurred late in Dracula, making it impossible for the Count's appearance in England in The Tangled Skein to coincide with his time in England during Dracula. It is apparently left to the reader as an exercise to figure out what the Count is doing - however you slice it, he should be too dead to appear in one book or the other - and how he has gotten where he is.
Furthermore, the actions of the Count in The Tangled Skein do not line up with his actions in Dracula, most obviously in his reaction to sunlight. In Dracula the Count was mildly discommoded; in The Tangled Skein he reacts rather more severely.
As said, the only other Dracula character to appear is Van Helsing, who turns up, delivers an infodump the size of Bombay, and then disappears to give a lecture tour whilst Holmes and Watson finish the story. Whilst the infodump is handled moderately well - Van Helsing retains a characterful voice, and Holmes remains an inveterate skeptic - the chapter consists mostly of Van Helsing saying things whilst Watson and Holmes go "Really?".
The Tangled Skein may promise Holmes versus Dracula, but almost half the plot is devoted to Holmes versus Stapleton, the villain from The Hound of the Baskervilles, which story The Tangled Skein immediately follows and which villain reappears to have a crack at Holmes. Whilst the intentions of the two villains intertwine, it is in a way barely relevant. On the one hand, Stapleton is mostly around to start the story whilst Dracula is getting his evening dress on, and on the other Dracula's run-in with Stapleton does nothing for Dracula's side of things and causes a distinct anticlimax on the Stapleton side.
There is also the faintly disturbing sense that the Count's motives do not quite match his actions. Mr Davies, via Van Helsing and Sherlock Holmes, informs the reader that Dracula is trying to spread a cult of the undead. Yet the Count himself seems mostly interested in teenage girls, and a few lines about how many innocent young women will be endangered by his freedom gives an impression less of a cult of the undead and more of a teenage harem of the undead. Whilst the sexuality of vampirism is clear and obvious, here Dracula comes across as something of a dirty old man.
When the readers encounter such detailed research as has clearly gone into the Holmesian side they can only be disappointed to find that far, far less has gone into the Dracula side. It seems a shame that, when the Holmesian parts have been so meticulously prepared, that the Dracula side should be applied neglectfully, almost melodramatically, like posters over cracks in the wall.
The Tangled Skein is by no means a bad book. If you like Holmes and Watson, I doubt this will disappoint, especially the last page. If you are a big fan of Dracula, however, you probably won't be nearly as happy.
This book is:
* - Sherlock Holmes versus Count Dracula
* - a very good pastiche of Conan Doyle's work
* - a good Sherlock Holmes story
This book is not:
* - as much about Count Dracula as it is about Jack Stapleton
* - a very good pastiche of Bram Stoker's work
* - a bad Dracula story
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