Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula

This is a tremendously fun book to read for those who enjoy the old-fashioned Rathbone and Bruce films of the 1940s, or those who enjoyed Sherlock Holmes in the days when radio ruled the airwaves. Light and fun, with plenty of atmosphere, Estleman has written a book which has great appeal to the aforementioned group, and young adults. Dracula fans may also enjoy it. Some Conan Doyle fans — but by no means all of them — might find this sort of crossover story a bit of a stretch.

Holmes and Watson become involved in the Sanguinary Count's attempt to leave Transylvania and make England his home in this fun adventure. This is Doctor Watson's account of Sherlock Holmes's heretofore untold part in the Dracula saga, written to rectify this show more important omission in Stoker's account, at the specific request of Professor Van Helsing. A sense of fun and adventure saturate the pages of Estleman's fun but not-to-be-taken-too-seriously story.

From the moment a ship is discovered off the English coast with no crew aboard except a dead captain with unusual puncture marks on his neck, and a cargo full of Transylvanian earth, Holmes and Watson know this is going to be no ordinary case. Reluctant at first to believe in the possibility of vampires, Holmes, and an even more skeptical Watson, may finally be forced to accept the existence of the undead.

When the London duo track down the "Bloofer Lady" through the strange abduction of children who are later found alive, but disoriented from blood loss, the lady in question turns out to be none other than Lucy Westerna! More shocking, however, is our favorite duo witnessing her impalement by Van Helsing, Harker, and the gang from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Van Helsing is disturbed to discover that the great detective knows much more about him and his companions than he initially thought. Forced to fill in Holmes on the Dracula legend, Van Helsing dismisses his offer of help nonetheless. Holmes and Watson then continue their pursuit alone, in this marvelously fun account of the chase.

More than one dangerous encounter with the evil Count ensues as they close in, and someone Watson loves dearly becomes a pawn in a very deadly game indeed. Watson's bravery and the help of the Baker Street Irregulars play no small part in this fast and fun read. A boat chase near the conclusion is a particular highlight and offers fun for those who just go with the narrative. I would definitely recommend this for young adults, and old-time radio fans, but purists of the original Conan Doyle might not be as enamored.

While I normally loathe a continuation of a series character by a writer other than the original, especially if it comes too quickly on the heels of their death, enough time has passed that this one does not feel like a "continuation" but rather an affectionate nod to Conan Doyle and his creation. That being said, the game is afoot, and time is of the essence for some afternoon fun with this one! show less

Holmes and Watson are invited to see a strange sight that has appeared at the docks, a ship whose only occupants are a giant dog that jumped to shore and ran away, and the dead captain who is still lashed to the wheel by his hands as though riding out a storm though his cause of death is that he was drained of his blood. Where is the crew?
Within a day or so, another mystery begins, as small children are going missing at night and found dazed from loss of blood. Holmes and Watson encounter Count Dracula, who can't help but be impressed by the detective's abilities.

Wittily-written English Literature crossovers (aka literary fanfiction) has recently become a new slightly-guilty pleasure of mine since reading [a:Jasper Fforde|4432|Jasper Fforde|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1350497674p2/4432.jpg]'s [b:The Eyre Affair|27003|The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1)|Jasper Fforde|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201183s/27003.jpg|3436605] a few months ago -- I'm predisposed to enjoy books rife with inside jokes and cross-references I can feel smug and superior about catching.

What I appreciate about this book is that [a:Loren D. Estleman|13371|Loren D. Estleman|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1358178994p2/13371.jpg] really endeavors to pay homage to the style of [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan show more Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289836561p2/2448.jpg]'s text; the pattern of Holmes and Watson's interaction is a fantastic likeness, as is the form of the infamous Client Interviews in Baker Street. The real geeky glee came from seeing the events of Stoker's diary entries and news articles transposed to Baker Street interviews and telegrams.

Where the book fails is the attempt to insert two active crimefighters into a story already full to bursting with active crimefighters.

Estleman's Foreword to the book assumes a world wherein Holmes and Watson truly existed; the text of the story comes from a previously unpublished manuscript in Watson's handwriting purchased at an auction of the belongings of Holmes' last living relative. Further, the Preface of this manuscript by Dr. Watson acknowledges the existence of Bram Stoker's version of Dracula and confirms the existence of all the characters enumerated therein (bitterly complaining that he and Holmes were excluded from the document).

Dracula is a fairly complete and well-rounded novel all on its own that allows little space for the introduction of new characters if the events of the story are left in tact. If one is to assume the premise that Sherlock Holmes exploits could be excised from the text of Dracula and still leave the well-rounded novel we know it as, it is to be assumed that those exploits weren't all too essential to begin with. After the inevitably early meeting between Holmes, Watson, and Van Helsing & Co in Lucy Westenra's crypt, Estleman is faced with the problem of inventing interactions between Holmes and Dracula while Van Helsing, Harker, and Co. are off having the real adventure.

Furthermore, while Doyle's stories are at their best when the element of mystery is maintained right up until the apprehension of the criminal, Holmes and Watson know all of the details of Dracula's identity with more than half the book left before his off-stage defeat across the ocean by the Real Main Characters.

Estleman attempts to fill this space with a rousing adventure involving the abduction of Watson's wife by the nefarious Count Dracula, but neglects to establish any real emotional resonance in Watson for this relationship; Mrs. Watson is an empty and obvious MacGuffin in order to create SOMETHING to fill the empty pages left in the book.

It would be far more difficult, but much more interesting to rewrite Dracula from a perspective in which its most knowledgeable character, Van Helsing, does not exist as a resource. If Dr. Seward and Mina Harker turn instead to the worlds greatest detective, how does the science of deduction reveal Dracula's identity? How many more must die? How does his destruction differ from the original?

There is one other feature of this book that detracted from my enjoyment: the proofreading was terribly sloppy. Misspellings, punctuation errors, places where sentences seem to have been copy-pasted from later in the text, rendering the sense of the narrative indecipherable...these are simple fixes a college-student could have caught. It interrupts the momentum of the story and lowers the entire tone. show less

The most thrilling deleted scenes ever!

Having been on a Dracula kick lately, I revisited this beloved childhood crossover romp. Hold did it hold up? Not bad, if a bit flawed.

Don't worry about the large cast of Dracula getting in the way; they are waved to, greeted, and shuffled off quite efficiently. Van Helsing reasons logically that hanging out with Sherlock Holmes might bring unwanted publicity, so Sherlock and Watson are told quickly to bugger off. Mina appears later, but by and large the Great Detective and the Good Doctor are on their own.

So begins their adventures, foiling side plots of Dracula that never came up in the the original and arriving at locations only to leave right as Van Helsing's Army of Light arrives.

Let's get show more this out of the way, first: Estleman nails Holmes, Watson, and the entire milieu. The interactions and dialogue are perfect, making me wish he wrote many more Holmes books. Also, any time Estleman introduces a new character of his own, they are amusing baskets of personality. He also absolutely understands the Holmes canon, and knows exactly how to fit events in the chronology without being pedantic.

I did enjoy it. I very much like how Estleman plays up Holmes having to accept the supernatural. Still, I think our heroes being sidelined hurts the narrative. It's worth a look, but I (and the author) think that the standalone sequel,The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Dr Jekyll and Mr Holmes is the superior book. show less

I am not usually a fan of classic movie remakes or books "based on the original.'' In my experience, most are a disappointment. But, I am also a fair person for the most part. That makes me willing to give new slants on classics a chance before slamming a book shut or shutting a movie off.

Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite characters from classic literature. Over the years I have enjoyed his original exploits with Dr. Watson many times, loving Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's antiquated turn of phrase and Sherlock's slightly snobby banter with Watson. And I've seen the characters portrayed in many movies and television shows. Sometimes I have loved these film versions (Sherlock) and others I have not enjoyed (Elementary). I always hesitate show more to read stories featuring Sherlock that are not penned by Conan Doyle himself. I automatically doubt that a revisit could match the feel and style of the original.

Well......

I am also able to admit when I'm wrong.

Finding The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Holmes Vs Dracula as an offering on my local library's digital site, I must admit chuckling that I would need a bottle of wine to go with the cheese. But my determination to not act like a book snob overpowered my inclination to click right past this book. I did wonder how many eyerolls I could manage during a fight between Holmes and a bloodthirsty Transylvanian vampire. The minute I started reading, however, I must admit discovering my preconceived notions had been unfair. Loren D. Estleman actually is quite masterful at writing in the style and manner of the original. I couldn't stop reading! The story is a mirror of events in Bram Stoker's Dracula, starting with the wreck of the Demeter, with the addition of Sherlock Holmes investigating the matter. Beautiful!

I am sorry that I assumed it would be a cheese-fest. Estleman's writing is not a litany to dairy products, but rather a really good homage to Sherlock and Dracula! And....even better....there are several books in this "Further Adventures of'' series, two of them written by Estleman. I'm going to read Estleman's second Sherlock adventure first before delving into the other writers in this series, but I'm willing to have an open mind and try more new Holmes adventures! Estleman has also written a book of short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, The Perils of Sherlock Holmes. Most of his books are westerns or crime novels. I will definitely be reading more of his work!

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Holmes Vs Dracula is a quick read at 224 pages. It was originally published by Penguin in 1978. It was republished by Titan Books in 2012 as part of the "Further Aventures'' series. The pacing is great. The writing style is very authentic. I'm impressed! Estleman also wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr. Holmes in 1980. This book has also been re-released as part of the Futher Adventures series of books. It's definitely on my wish list!

There are 25 books in the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series published by Titan Books. The paperbacks are high quality and the cover art is awesome! Their homepage also lists several other series featuring Sherlock, Mycroft and even Moriarty. I must investigate further! To find out more about The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the authors writing the series and the other Sherlock related offerings from Titan, check out their website: www.titanbooks.com

The game is afoot!! Much reading ahead! show less

I happened upon this one online and had no idea this existed before stumbling on it while looking for something else. I bought it immediately and began reading it as soon as I received the book.
Now, I am a fan of pulp fiction of all sorts (weird, boxing, detective, thriller, horror) and of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, so, this was something up my alley. Of course, it is presented as a lost manuscript of Dr. Watson's found by the author and presented here although edited (by the author) as are several other Post-Arthur-Conan-Doyle Sherlock stories. I do like that concept so that's not an issue with me, probably actually a bit of a plus.
The manuscript tells of Holmes' dive into the mystery of the Demeter leading to the tracking down of show more Dracula. The author does keep the veracity of the Dracula story by limiting Sherlock to the hidden portions and outskirts of that story as well as keeping any interactions outside of Dracula and Lucy to a minimum while still managing to make a good pulpy Holmes story. There are several callbacks to other canon Sherlock Holmes tales that come into and out of this story a few times along the way.
All said, I really liked this one and would recommend it to anyone with tastes close to my own. After all, it is Sherlock Holmes with Watson in tow chasing down Dracula through gaslit London, it's a good time by my measure and a quick & easy read. show less

This was actually better than I thought it would be (probably 3.5 stars). From the cover I thought it was going to be more of a satire. Instead it was a serious encounter between Holmes and Dracula, well written and serious.

You might find yourself asking "Why doesn't Dracula just kill him?" But I think it's pretty believable that Dracula has a kind of honor and would rather joust with Holmes on a mental level than just pick him up and break him in half.