Customer Reviews

The Great Game: A Professor Moriarty Novel (Professor Moriarty Novels)

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At the end of the 19th century, Europe teeters toward war. Anarchists and assassins have taken aim at the crowned heads and Sherlock Holmes, at least, sees a connecting thread. Someone, for some reason, is conspiring to overthrow the existing order.

England lacks a professional spy organization--that role being served by aristocratic young men playing 'the great game.' When one of these amateur spies is accused of murder, his father calls on Professor Moriarty to help.

Despite Holmes's profound mistrust of Moriarty, the two can find common cause against the enemies of peace in Europe. Their enemies plan to strike soon, but can either uncover the conspiracy before it is too late?

Author Michael Kurland has created a delightful novel. Holmes fans might initially resist seeing Sherlock as improperly fixated on Moriarty, but Kurland's writing draws the reader in. Moriarty himself, as well as his friends Benjamin and Cecily Barnett are well crafted and interesting. Kurland throws both from one adventure to the next letting the reader chase after.

Sherlock Holmes takeoffs are plentiful these days, but THE GREAT GAME is a huge step ahead of the mob.

Highly Recommended

BooksForABuck.

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It is 1891, and political terrorism and assassination are sweeping Europe. Professor James Moriarty, a brilliant if often amoral scientist, finds himself sucked into the maelstrom when certain shadowy organizations take Sherlock Holmes' maundering accusations seriously, and decide they need to deal with this "Napoleon of Crime." Collecting an unusual assortment of allies, Moriarty must use all of his talents to penetrate this mystery and stop those who would set the world at war.

I must admit that this is the first book by Michael Kurland that I have read. I found it quite by chance, and was intrigued by the story's premise. The story's main weakness is that none of the characters seem the least bit Victorian (I couldn't shake the idea that the Barnett's were modeled directly on the Blues (Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid), from the movie Undercover Blues). That said, though, the author does spin a great yarn, that succeeds in gripping the reader all the way through to the end.

If you are interested in a story that features the famous (or infamous) Professor Moriarty, or simply like a good thriller, then I highly recommend this book to you. I enjoyed it immensely!

Michael Kurland has written a terrific book that contains clues and subplots that will keep the pages turning. As a reader, you get an deep understand of who each of the characters are, and you develop a new perspective of Professor Moriarty. In all honesty, I think this would make a great movie. It has all the suspense and mystery.

Michael Kurland is one of those authors that sneak up on you. One finds one of his books, enjoys it, and then one day you find another, and so forth. Until one day you are surprised to notice that you have accumulated quite a lot of his work. Kurland doesn't write the kind of double-barreled, memorable fiction that sticks in your mind, but he is a grand master of the well written, highly enjoyable tale which is the meat and potatoes of a reader's library.

"The Great Game" is the third of a series of novels ("The Infernal Device" and "Death by Gaslight" are the others) that star Professor James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes nemesis. Kurland's Moriarty is best described as a sympathetic scoundrel who has been known to indulge in less than savory activities in order to finance his scientific research. He is somewhat perplexed and irritated to be the subject of Sherlock Holmes overblown belief that Moriarty is the criminal genius of Europe. But he is quite brilliant, and exudes a fine sense of manners and charm which often, Sherlock Holmes does not.

This tale, set in 1891, takes place amidst the precursors and threats which will eventually lead to the outbreak of World War I. Anarchists and radicals of all flavors plot to bring down the tyranny of the wealthy that they see about them, and the lives of royalty and top politicians are often at risk. The primary action of the book centers around Charles Summerdane, son of a British noble acting as a spy in Vienna and with two close friends of Moriarty, Benjamin and Cecily Barnett. Charles is maneuvered into taking the blame for an assassination attempt and the death of his lover. With Charles imprisoned, Charles father, Duke Albermar appeals to Professor Moriarty to rescue him from the Viennese police without prejudice to Great Britain.

The Barnetts, innocently vacationing in Europe, manage to save the Prince and Princess of Rumelia from an attempt on their lives, and then are kidnapped themselves by plotters seeking information about Moriarty. In the meantime, Sherlock Holmes and the loyal Watson are also in the Vienna area trying to unlock the secrets of various plots before war can break out. Events in Vienna are a whirl of activity as Holmes and Moriarty form an unwilling alliance in an effort to rescue their friends and keep a shaky peace alive. The Professor seems to have a trick up every sleeve and Holmes' mind is at its deductive finest.

Kurland's characters are classics of that special Victorian world that we associate with Holmes. Men are gruff heroes or devious villains, and all woman are admirable and often more intelligent than the men. Kurland has written a delightful period piece as well as a charming addition to the Holmesian cantos. This is a great cozy up by the fire book, and is well worth the investment.

A complex plot told in such a way to make it easy for the READER not the author - that is skill of the highest sort. Not just for Holmes fans by any means. Its full of wit, wisdom and great characters. The Great Game has a real feel for time and place with echo of what is to come. Kurland's Prof Moriarty is a first rate creation. From one puzzle after another the excitement keeps building to Kraiser Willhem himself leading a charge much to the dismay of everyone! Most of those rescued are properly thankful except for Barnett ( one of the few Americans) who was focus of the first two Moriarty novels who only grouses - what took you so long!
Highly recommended! As are the two early books, The Infernal Device, and Death by Gaslight

The fourth novel of Kurland's Moriarty series is a really entertaining book. For those unfamiliar with the series, it chronicles the adventures of Sherlock Holme's famous nemesis, the nefarious Professor Moriarty, who, the series reveals, may not be that nefarious after all.

This particular adventure concerns itself with a vast tale of turn of the century espionage, with a shadowy organization plotting the downfall of nations. Benjamin Barnett and his wife Cecilly, two former associates of Moriarty, find themselves unwittingly pulled into this plot. Meanwhile, a young, amateur spy, the son of a British nobleman, finds himself framed for an assassination by the same organization.

In a race against time, Moriarty and Holmes end up finding themselves both opposing this shadowy conspiracy, and are forced to work together to confront it.

While Moriarty himself does not actually feature for a large chunk of the book, Kurland makes the bit players shine, especially Benjamin and Cecilly, who have featured in the series before, and make compelling human protagonists when matched up against the almost superhuman figures of Moriarty and Holmes. Which leads me to a point that I really enjoy about this series. In creating a series centered around his greatest enemy, Kurland may have been tempted to trivialize the consulting detective, to make him a fraud or an incompetent, as Kim Newman does in his own Moriarty novel. However, Holmes is consistently shown as extremely competent, and, at worse, misguided or clouded in his judgement.

Kurland's Moriarty stories manage to make an all new and fascinating take on the Holmes mythos while still showing them a great respect. Aside from that, they are also thrilling adventures, and this novel as well as the rest of the series are well worth a look.

The ingenious Professor Moriarty admits to having performed some illegal deeds, but nothing even remotely close to the claims of the drug addicted Holmes. If any of it was true, Moriarty knows that the international intelligentsia would not enter in scientific debate with him. To Moriarty, the cocaine has turned Holmes' deductive logic into paranoia perhaps because the professor is the only person in England who is Holmes' intellectual superior.

Karl Strassenkopp visits Moriarty to warn him that his agent in Vienna is in danger, but someone kills Karl with a crossbow bolt. Unable to ignore the homicide and the warning the victim passed to his servant, Moriarty begins an investigation that is not concerned about legalities in order to learn the truth. With Holmes on his tail, Moriarty starts to uncover a clever and devious plot to cause World War I to break out in 1891 Europe unless he can find a way to checkmate his wise yet unknown opponent while keeping Holmes at bay.

The third Moriarty mystery is an entertaining historical fiction mystery that brings world events of the last decade of the nineteenth century to the front stage. The story line is fun though at times light as Moriarty comes across as a brilliant mathematician with intellectual tastes rather than the mastermind criminal. Purists may object to the depiction of Holmes as a foot behind his arch enemy, but most readers will enjoy Michael Kurland's novel and probably will purchase the previous Moriarty tales (THE INFERNAL DEVICE AND DEATH BY GASLIGHT) being re-released in August.

Harriet Klausner