The Game (Mary Russell Novels) (original 2004; edition 2005)

ereader ebook

This is the seventh novel in King’s Mary Russell series and one of my favourites so far. In this instalment, Sherlock Holmes and his wife and partner Mary Russell travel to India to look for Kimball O’Hara – the hero of Rudyard Kipling’s [b:Kim|210834|Kim|Rudyard Kipling|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327949424s/210834.jpg|1512424]. There is concern from on high that Kim, who has been missing for some three years, has either been captured or has turned traitor in the Great Game.

The conceit of the narrative is disarming. When Mary Russell, who only knows of Kim from reading Kipling, asks if he is a real person, Holmes responds “As real as I am”. With that, the adventure begins. There’s a rush to get away from England, an ocean voyage through the Suez Canal, an American flapper, her possibly sinister brother, disguise and magic in India, a Maharaja with secrets and a street urchin who may have secrets of his own. And then there’s Kim – the idea of him and, ultimately, the actuality of him – as believable as Kipling’s Kim, albeit some thirty years older.

For all of my general resistance to the concept of a novelist writing books using characters created by other writers, I love this series. King knows her source material well and treats it with love and respect. Her plotting is excellent and her characters are credible and interesting. She can also evoke the time and place in which her novels are set without fussy period detail. Of course, like a lot of fiction of this genre, this is a highly implausible tale and when I finished reading the book the silliness of it all struck home. But while reading, I was completely in the narrative and totally prepared to suspend disbelief.

Knowing that Kimball O’Hara was to make an appearance in this novel made me decide to read Kipling’s Kim for the first time. It’s a book I'd previously avoided because I’m not keen on boys’ own adventure stories and I felt a bit iffy about Kipling generally because of his reputation as a supporter of the British imperialist enterprise. However, I listened to an audiobook edition of Kim and it was wonderful. (My review, is here, should anyone be interested in reading it). My enjoyment of this novel was enhanced by the experience of listening to Kim and my experience of listening to Kim was enhanced by reading King’s homage to that work. Immersing myself in India under British rule for a few days has given me lots of reading and listening enjoyment.
( )

This is a nice addition to King's outstanding pseudo-Sherlock Holmes series. Based roughly on Rudyard Kipling's character Gunga Din, Mary Russell and Holmes trek through India in search of a missing British spy. King's tale borrows from another documented trip and from her own experiences in India. It takes some time and patience to reach the ending, but it's a page turner to the finish. ( )

Again, a brilliant idea, beautifully executed. To repeat myself yet again, I am generally disapproving when a writer plucks up another writer's characters and makes use of them. But that's largely because it's usually done so horribly badly, and is so rarely done with any respect for the original author, the characters, or the reader. Laurie R. King can do whatever she wants, take whatever characters or historical figures she likes, and bring them into her books in whatever manner she likes, because she has earned my trust. She does her homework, she knows what she's doing, and she has complete respect for the original material or real person, as the case may be. If anyone from Tom Sawyer to Bilbo Baggins to Harrison Ford appears in a Holmes/Russell novel, I will have faith that she has her reasons and can pull it off. (Maybe Indiana Jones, when Russell is in her 40's …that would be awesome.)

The idea behind The Game was to me at first as wild as bringing Bilbo Baggins into the storyline, but only because I don't know the Kipling novel. (Note to self …) In any event, it's wonderful. Kimball O’Hara here is a legend among those in the know (which Holmes, of course, is, and Mycroft moreseo), and it is to find out what has become of him that Holmes and Russell make their way to India. There they face danger and adventure of quantity and quality to please even Doyle – tigers, and madmen, and those who are not what they seem, spies and daredevil pilots and a rajah who collects the unusual, be it an artifact or a human being (and Holmes is unusual). A new story arc begins with The Game, wherein a new enemy is introduced – perhaps – and Homes and Russell become aware of a new threat trailing them. Meanwhile, the story takes them in and out of various deep disguises and personas, and separates and reunites them, and causes Mary to make a change which will cause untold anguish in Holmes … It's a great yarn, and, more than that, an excellent book. ( )

Another fun Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery. ( )