Maybe I shouldn't have gone from TLOR to this book. TLOR in many ways embodies an anachronistic language, evoking a previous age of magic and myth. Then I pick up this well-reviewed book and...I wonder if TV has forever altered the way people write? As a script for a movie or TV it's pretty well ready to roll; in terms of lyrical quality and depth, not so much.
But that's not my biggest problem with it. It's OK. But whilst the book in spots spoke of how Conan-Doyle constructed his tales and how you could see his method, his system...this book seemed to follow a system too, just as visible. It came over a bit like the Da Vinci Code: 1. Introduce unusual main character 2. Introduce female who will turn out to be more important than you realise. 3. Introduce the mysterious crime with sinister overtones. 4. Lots of travelling about pursued by mysterious assailants, whilst seeing how the past plays into the current crime.
It was OK.
I know sophisticated grown-ups aren't supposed to comment and complain about this BUT: the profanity gets worse as you progress. (as well as being spoken by historical persons for whom, one presumes, we have no idea whether they used those words).
The best bit is the afterword explaining that a number of facets of the story have historical reality! That was the truly breathtaking moment. And I'm interested in finding out more about that.
Should have been brilliant, but was just OK - for me, anyway.
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