The Sword and Laser discussion

Got the book a few days ago, just as I was finishing up another library read. I'm about 35% of the way in right now. My thoughts are spoiler protected below for politeness more than anything else, no major spoilers in text.

(view spoiler)[This book is an extended gimmick, essentially fan fiction along the lines of a "League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen" as Steve quipped in another thread. Goss has deftly worked in classic fiction and has clearly done her research.

The next question is, does the story work? For me, so far, the answer is "not really." The book starts slowly and then takes odd tangents. I doubt that Beatrice would ever have gone "on tour" as she is shown to be. Hyde having a life and a relationship completely outside of Jekyll doesn't really fit the source text.

Then there's the inclusion of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Any murder mystery set in this period really has to include them, and yet it is so hard to get them right. This Holmes and Watson seem like caricatures of themselves. Yes, the bit with the ashes was straight out of an actual Sherlock Holmes story, but it seems lifted rather than breathing on its own. The whole thing felt like an ST:TNG Holodeck version, even down to Holmes complimenting Mary Jekyll when actually he would be likely to barely notice her.

Perhaps this will turn out to be an alternate-reality concept of the characters, where they share their base with their original stories but are not required to go to the same end.

I'll finish this as it is fairly light reading, but so far the story seems slow and ponderous. It feels like a lengthy setup. If indeed this is the start of a series, then it needs to engage the reader more at the beginning or we won't show up for later installments.
(hide spoiler)]

About halfway through now. The Mary Sue aspect is starting to get to me. "Look, Mary Jekyll is so smart that Sherlock Holmes regularly compliments her! And Watson is so taken with her womanly charms that she may very well wind up the mysterious second Mrs. Watson! Why, Miss Jekyll can't tell if Watson has a revolver in his pocket or if he's just glad to see her."

The storyline is well based in classic books and intricately done, but it's just a little too precious.

Oh god! Now Holmes is hot for Mary Jekyll. Meanwhile, by some unspoken method, Watson has cleared the way and has transferred his affections to an unattainable beauty. Holmes' attraction is because she is so very very smart and capable. It's like a list of writer's don'ts all in a few pages!

Even worse, (view spoiler)[both Holmes and Watson are now accomplices after the fact in a murder. (hide spoiler)]

Which of two books am I reading? The one with a deft weaving of characters both major and minor from several classic works, or the one with a teenager's fan fiction wish fulfillment?

Still waiting on my copy to arrive at my pick up library so I havn't even started yet :) Should get it next week but I will be a month behind.

^I will finish this just about in time for The Doomsday Book to come off library hold. Two S&L picks back to back!

TSCotAD is about 400 pages but is a fast read. You should polish it off quickly.

Already read The Doomsday Book so I have all of Nov to catch up.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Oh god! Now Holmes is hot for Mary Jekyll. Meanwhile, by some unspoken method, Watson has cleared the way and has transferred his affections to an unattainable beauty. Holmes' attraction is because..."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

80% mark. The big fight worked well. The characters all acted like themselves from the books, and putting together such an intricate scene had to be hard.

Some Holmes quibbles: It's been established that he doesn't even think about anything but detective work, so he'd be unlikely to say anything about not being so arrogant as to assume God's intent pro or con: "I would never arrogate to myself the powers of the deity, Mrs. Poole," said Holmes.

I also didn't like how Holmes essentially patted Beatrice on the head for treating Watson. This Holmes provides many more compliments than in any work by Doyle.

Also, the second use of the "ash" bit (on the boat) feels forced. With so much to choose from, why use it again?

Anyhoo, I'm enjoying this part of the book a lot more. I quibble, but this part is solid.

Finished it, made like a good citizen and returned it right away so someone on the long wait list from the library can have it.

I thought there would be more action after the big fight scene at 80%, but instead we had a long denouement. That included the entire origin story of one character. Odd, but then the author is going for odd. *shrug*

Holmes continues to feel forced. (view spoiler)[ There isn't any Holmes I know from the Doyle stories that would be so eager to hire an assistant, nor is he at all interested in women beyond the woman in scarlet. The so-far-chaste miniromance between Mary and Sherlock would work better as a love affair between Mary and Watson. Both orbiting the great detective but unable to affect him. (hide spoiler)]

The novel ends more like an installment of a comic book than a discrete entry in a series. That has to be deliberate.

Overall I found this book intricately and deftly done, but the blaring Mary Sue detracted too much. I much more enjoyed the similarly themed Invisible Library books. Those also included a Great Detective, but he participated in the archetype without being beholden to the Holmes mythos. I'll be turning up for more of the Invisible Library as they come out, but more of this series would depend on how full my TBR list is.

Part of the point of book club is to broaden your horizons. I'm more of a "rockets and robots" reader so this is a stretch but not a reach. It's good Fantasy. Still, of the works S&L has read I'd be more likely to read more Invisible Library or LeGuin's Hain books first. This book has all the pieces, but never truly sung for me.

Picked mine up from the library at lunchtime today :)