Nicholas Meyer (1) (1945–)

The Return of the Pharaoh - Meyer
Audio performance by David Robb
3 stars

I do still need to read The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, but I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, another Holmes pastiche by this author. Unfortunately, I could never really connect with this story.

In 1910, Dr Watson and his second wife, Julia, decide to winter in Egypt on the advice of her doctor. She will receive treatment for her tuberculosis at a famous clinic while Watson plays the tourist. show more Inevitably, Watson encounters an undercover Holmes who is in Egypt searching for a missing nobleman.

There was so much of this story that felt awkwardly contrived. Watson’s attitude toward his wife and her condition was probably an attempt to display contemporary attitudes of the changing times, but it occupied too much of the narrative and slowed the action of the investigation. The story is set well before the discovery of Tut’s tomb although there was even at that time a growing interest in Egyptology. I found the apparent Holmesian disinterest in the subject annoying and not at all likely.

I enjoyed the introduction of Howard Carter as a character, but I could still feel the author’s pen too much to find his presence believable. The catastrophic sand storm/train wreck was exciting; the only part of the book that captured my complete attention. Truthfully, I never cared at all about the missing English nobleman and his quest for Egyptian gold.

The real problem I had with this book was that I was missing Amelia Peabody. I cued up my audiobook edition of The Crocodile on the Sandbank for a repeated listen as soon as Holmes had solved his case. show less

Billed as “a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, MD, as edited by Nicholas Meyer”, this book tells the real story of “The Final Problem”, and this story involves a collaboration between Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud. This was utterly delightful and imaginative, and it really captures the tone of the Holmes stories. It has a nice balance of thoughtful deduction and cinema-worthy action pieces (the scene on the steam train comes to mind). This makes me want to read show more the originals again! I will also look for more of Meyer’s pastiches. show less

Nicholas Meyer skillfully blends fact and fiction in "The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols," a riveting tale that takes place in 1905. Dr. John Watson has a thriving medical practice and, for the past two years, has been happily married to his second wife, Juliet. Fifty-year-old Sherlock Holmes, Watson's friend and occasional partner, is a bit bored, since he has no compelling investigations pending. Suddenly, Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother, asks Holmes to embark on a clandestine show more mission on behalf of His Majesty’s government. His assignment is to track down the source of a manuscript that purports to expose a Jewish plot to take over the world. This is the long-since debunked Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated document that has been used by bigots for many years to stir up hatred and encourage anti-Semitic attacks.

At Mycroft's suggestion, Holmes meets Chaim Weitzmann—who in 1949 would be named the first president of Israel. Dr. Weitzmann, a chemist and professor, fills Holmes in on what occurred at various Zionist conferences, where such notable attendees as Theodor Herzl debated the prospect of establishing a Jewish homeland. Subsequently, the stunningly beautiful Mrs. Anna Strunsky Walling, a Jewish-American socialist, pacifist, and human rights activist, joins Holmes and, of course, Watson, on their long journey through Europe. The author colorfully and entertainingly depicts life in Europe and Russia at the start of the twentieth century, when electric lights were replacing gas lamps; telephones were increasingly appearing in private homes; suffragettes sought the right to vote; Tsar Nicholas's troops brutally suppressed a revolt that threatened his rule; and Russians attacked Jewish men, women, and children in brutal pogroms sanctioned by the authorities.

Holmes is, as usual, cryptic and maddeningly vague at times, while the agreeable Watson does his best to offer whatever assistance he can provide. Furthermore, the doctor keeps a journal of their experiences, as he has done so often during his collaboration with the brilliant master of detection. This relatively brief, well-researched, and fast-paced book is lively, humorous at times, but ultimately tragic. It powerfully foreshadows the bitter enmity, divisiveness, and conflagrations that would, in the not too distant future, tear the world apart and cost millions of innocent lives. The most wrenching scenes are in Kishinev, "a village in Bessarabia, lately a province of Russia," where Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Walling meet a catatonic thirteen-year-old girl, Rivka Nussbaum, who was traumatized when ruffians physically abused her and slaughtered her mother. The trio later confronts a newspaper editor, Pavel Krushenev, who uses the power of the press to spread poisonous lies concerning the Jews. "The Adventures of the Peculiar Protocols" has a hint of illicit romance, violent encounters with ruthless adversaries, and a disheartening conclusion that reminds us how little we have progressed in fostering harmony among nations, ethnic groups, and religious factions. show less

This has been a week with not just one, but two very readable riffs on the Holmes canon. The first was [book:The Return of Moriarty|222420119]; Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing is the second. Set in the art world this title pokes at big issues—what makes something art? What is the difference between a copy and a forgery? If you tell the difference between the two what does that mean in terms of the value of each?

Holmes and Watson's case begins when a landlady asks for help in finding a show more tenant who hasn't paid rent in three months. Her concern isn't really the money—it's just the way he seems to have disappeared without explanation. This beginning leads the two men into an investigation of the financial end of the art world.

The case has some rewarding twists, and even when all seems resolved, there's still a bit of surprise left. The author effectively captures the personalities and methods of the consulting detective and his companion. We learn a bit more about each than was provided by Conan Doyle—and the new material expands upon the original in ways that are interesting, rather than presumptuous.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title; the opinions are my own. show less