Hound Of The DUrbervilles (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
The concept was promising and the book was entertaining enough but it read like a Sherlock-Watson story only with Moriarty solving the mystery/problem while a baffled Moran looked on. I would have much preferred stories about the actual crimes that Moriarty planned and carried out and those stories where this was featured, espcially the ones involving other lords of crime, were, in my opinion, the best.I did, however, like the explanation offered for why Moriarty's brother inexplicably had the same first name as him. From the book it would seem that Moriarty was truly superior to Sherlock and used Sherlock's attempts to bring him down to bring down a rival. The ending leaves the reader dangling as to what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls. It's good to be bad: Kim Newman introduces us to the evil twins of Holmes and Watson, Sebastian „Basher“ Moran and the notorious Prof. James Moriarty. Moran takes on Watsons part as narrator of some hilarious adventures, reaching from clever heists to steampunky-ish spook-stories and the classic victorian „ghost“ story. A warning beforehand: If you're expecting something like Conan Doyle here, beware: It's not. It's twisted. Morans and Moriartys stories parallel Holmes and Watsons adventures, sometimes turn them upside down, till the real meeting and culmination at the Reichenbach Falls.The novel – or rather set of short stories combined to a novel – lives through its characters: Moran is not only a big game hunter, war hero and adventurer, he is also, as the (mock) pologue tells us, a „cheat, a liar, a villain and a murderer“. Plus, he has won an army-navy swearing contest, with a 30 min rant without pause or repetition. Not exactly your mommies darling, Moran swears and rants himself through the stories, busting about former adventures in war, with big cats and women. His boss, father figuere and nemesis at the same time is Moriarty. The „Napoleon of Crime“ appears as a cobra-like calculating bastard, a man of pure logic to whom crime is a profession rather than a passion.I had my fun reading Professor Moriarty – first and foremost due to the political incorrect first person narrator, the villain who loves to be a villain. (I fall for that kind. Immediatly. Every damned single time). I was a bit afraid that this approach might wear down over time, but Newman is to clever to let that happen: Every time the style could get annoying, he changes tunes and brings in something unexpected. Of course, there's a lot of referencial humor, not only referencing Arthur Conan Doyle, but also a whole bunch of other people from victorian times, be it real or fiction. In „The Adventures of the Six Malediction“ Newman might have gone a bit too far – but it is possible to enjoy the stories even if you're not familiar with all the references. And dispite the somewhat chaotic twists and turns, I loved „The Six Maledictions“ most of all.Dispite all the fun I had with the characters I found some stories rather disappointing. Others were just to much and completely over the top: „A Shambles in Belgravia“ and „The Greek Invertebrate“ (though with a promising premise of a family reunion out of hell) are simply fatuous. But there was a lot to like, too, e.g. the victorian ghost (or not ghost) story, said creepy family meeting, the surprisingly serious ending. Fast paced stories and hilarious style kept me flying through the pages – and in the end I would have loved to spend some more time with the evil, twisted twins of Holmes and Watson. 'Cause bad boys are more fun after all, aren't they?
What do You think about Hound Of The DUrbervilles (2000)?
Had high hopes but just not cutting it. Don't like the glorification of violence a d evil
—keokacheer
This is very well written, quite humorous and overall a lot of fun.
—jamiem731
It's nice to get the villains point of view. A very good read
—lexi1893
