The Revenge of the Hound

El doctor John H. Watson nos narra el caso al que se enfrentaron él mismo y Sherlock Holmes en el verano de 1902, cuando un vagabundo es atacado en el Páramo de Hampstead, encontrándose las huellas de un sabueso enorme en la zona, lo que no deja de recordar a otro antiguo caso, el llamado El sabueso de los Baskerville. Al mismo tiempo, Holmes está siguiendo los descubrimientos arqueológicos donde podrían hallarse los restos de Oliver Cromwell, asunto delicado cuando está cercana la coronación del rey Eduardo. Y si faltaba poco, el bueno del doctor Watson acaba de prometerse con la que sería su tercera esposa.

‘La venganza del sabueso’ (The Revenge of the Hound, 1987), del inglés Michael Hardwick, es un estupendo pastiche, show more bastante respetable con el cánon, con una lograda atmósfera, una buena trama y unos diálogos brillantes. show less

I usually judge these copycats first and foremost by how well they replicate the characters and settings, and then the plots. Hardwick starts off fairly well, but then gradually seems to lose it more and more that by no more than the middle of the book, I don't recognize either Holmes or Watson and the plots make np sense. Imagine Holmes and Watson having long discussions over politics and social unrest. Holmes continually blathers on throughout this book. Who is this airhead? We thin plot lines which I didn't care were solved or not. This is definitely one to pass on.

I found this Holmes pastiche frankly confusing, as a large number of quite bizarre plot lines were brought together in quite a ham-handed way, with a very unlikely conclusion. Disappointing in view of the author's reputation for writing about the period. Also curiously obsessed with details of food, clothing etc in a way which was quite unlike the originals.

First edition fine with remainder mark