Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Three Dragons (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book is full of problems. I hate to bash an aspiring author, especially one who obviously admires Sherlock Holmes, but Fullenkamp's pastiche deserves some criticism. It was amazing to learn that Dr. Watson's name was Johnathan and that the structure at 221 Baker Street was not laid out anything like Conan Doyle described it. Fullenkamp also has the building with "upper rooms inhabited by Mrs. Hudson and a few of the other tenants." The conversations have an American character and do not sound like 1880s England. Fullenkamp has Holmes and Watson doing things completely out of place and character, such as rushing into a room with pistols drawn and then rolling on the floor into firing positions. Watson has named his pistol "Mildred." There just are too many elements of James Bond and Bruce Lee and not enough of the Holmes and Watson of the Canon. Perhaps I expected too much of a book the author paid to have published.--"Samson"

A quaint mystery book that was a good quick read. However if one were looking to meet Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in yet another adventure, you'd better look elsewhere. The author missed the essential Sherlock Holmes. For one, throughout the book both Holmes & Watson referred to Inspector Whittington as Charlie. While Watson may have occasionally lapsed into a first name basis, only on rare occasions would Holmes ever do so. Both their nature and the times would have required the more formal Inspector Whitington. Mrs. Hudson's home and Holmes and Watsons abode were altered from the orgiginal Conan Doyle descriptions of the 221B Baker Street residence. These are only two examples of where the author missed the essential Sherlock Holmes. Readers will no doubt find others as they read the book. It's a good little mystery book, but just not an essential Sherlock Holmes. Hopefully the aurthor will improve if he writes another Sherlock Holmes book.

The plot of this book is unbelieveable (reads like a "Fu Manchu" story), Holmes and Watson are so out of character (they sound like Americans, do not use proper etiquette, and act more like they are in a spy novel rather than a mystery), and the story is overly wordy.

More research into the time period, a thorough read of the original Sherlock Holmes stories,along with a good editor, might have helped.

I read the book in 2 days. It was entertaining, but predictable and I went thru the final struggle and last chapter in seconds, because I have read this kind of development many, many times. There was no tension, and at no time, the main character even reminds you of Holmes. Not one single deduction, or similars.
I never feared for the characters or London for that matter.

By the way, H&W would never call somebody Charlie, especially a detective from Scotland Yard.

The author tried to lead you to believe that some characters weren't what you thought they were, but then didn't deliver.
Also, trying to incorporate some characters from the past to give a degree of tension didn't work, and really you won't care who they are or what they are doing there. Or trying to justify an almost imposible action with "...power of self hypnosis, or the mind dominating the body". Cheap and easy.
Also silly was that prior to the first episode, there was a kind of introduction talking about a "mysterious woman... but who is she really?" and similar, and then you know within 2 pages since she first appears. Or "... an evil so horrible, Holmes doesn't even dare to call it by its name..." and so he calls him "Memphistopheles"?Come on, it that was intended for me to buy the next book, until he catches the big evil, I didn't care, mainly because that character doesn't do anything for the book. Do you remember how Moriarty used to send that chill all over your body just reading his name? Forget it.

It was allright, but I can not reccomend it to anybody. Maybe if the main characters were called Johnnie Doo and Dr. Frederick. But then again, who was going to buy the book?

Since I like to begin reviews on a positive note, let me say this first: good plot. However, could we please give it to someone who knows something (anything!) about Sherlock Holmes and/or the Victorian Era?

I knew I was doomed when the first page consisted of an entry from the personal journal of Dr. Johnathan Watson. <sigh>

Grammatical error on page 11; things are not looking up.

Triple threat error - Canon, British-ism and plausibility - on page 15.

Oh, thank God! It's an alternate universe! "It was a mild evening in London, in the spring of 1879..."

RUN, do not walk, to avoid buying this book if you care anything at all about Sherlock Holmes.

I've read hundreds of Sherlock Holmes pastiche stories and this has got to be the worst. Calling this a Sherlock Holmes story is like calling Andre Brut "Champagne." The stilted dialog is rendered in a combination of British-isms from bad WWII movies and modern American English. The plot resembles a cross between the aforementioned bad WWII movies (the ones where Allies storm a German castle to rescue some Important Person) and a Fu Manchu story, and the characters are as paper-thin as Holmes' deductions. Plot developments are predictable cliches at every turn; the only real surprise is that "Mephistopheles" does *not* turn out to be Professor Moriarty (or did I just give away the ending of the sequel?). Logic and plausibility make only occasional guest appearances.

I read this one all the way through because its badness rapidly crossed the border from annoying to amusing. I pine for the days when the Conan Doyle Estate had to approve the use of the Holmes character in pastiches - it served as quality control.

Sherlock Holmes like you have never read before! This is a fascinating book with many plot twists and a very clever scenario. I compliment the author for making Holmes more personable and less professional than I have seen before. Anyone who is into Sherlock Holmes will love this book, its twists, and a different way of viewing Holmes!

Not your typical Sherlock Holmes mystery, but rather, an excellent suspense filled book from a first time author. The descriptions used painted a perfect picture. I could feel the dampness in the sewers of Paris and could hear the softness of Miss Cantaville's voice. The writer made me feel like I was actually there with Holmes and Watson doing my part to solve this latest mystery. I commend the author for venturing outside the box and bringing us a whole new side of Holmes and Watson that we've not seen before. I certainly hope Mr. Fullenkamp has another book to follow this one. This is one reader who wants to read more from this author.

I'm trying to be less caustic in my reviews since I offended a writer enough to e-mail me and complain that my review was hurting his sales. However, this story is not quite up to the usual Holmes pastiche. I mean "Jonathan Watson?" Both Homes and Watson ACCEPTING a knighthood? I don't think so.

However, it does raise an interesting point: The name of Watson's second wife. I see no reason why Mr. Fullenkamp shouldn't be taken as seriously as anyone else, since she was never named in the canon. (Actually, come to think of it, are we even sure he HAD a second wife in the canon? Maybe all the reference is to Mary, as Watson was never good with dates...)

You can't miss the character of Moriarty even if he is never named. Who else would Holmes call "Mephistopheles"? Remember, despite the Chinese, this is Holmes, not Sir Dennis Nayland Smith. London will be destroyed by the Dragons, which read to be sub-nuclear missles, there are underwater bases, submarimes, etc. A kind of Holmes meets James Bond sort of thing.

Not bad. But not really Holmes. Quoth the Raven...

An utter waste of money.
The author clearly hasn't a clue about the Sherlock Holmes series; the book abounds in inaccuracies, unlikely dialogue (old boy!), signs of a lack of basic research about Victorian England and simple inconsistencies.
This doesn't even cover the utterly changed personalities of the protagonists, though I suppose "Johnathan" Watson could be forgiven some of these.........
The plot is pretty ludicrous and the Fu-Manchu crossover has been done far, far better by Van Ash.
All in all, avoid the book and the author. The only reason it gets a star is Amazon doesn't have a lower rating.