Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Prince & Other Stories (Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (Breese)) [Paperback]

Edmund Hastie (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Breese Books (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0947533346
• ISBN-13: 978-0947533342
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,169,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inauspicious debut..., January 4, 2001

By 

Rory Coker (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Prince & Other Stories (Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (Breese)) (Paperback)

As Dr. Johnson once remarked to Boswell concerning a dog being exhibited which walked on its hind legs: "Sir, it is not well done, but one is amazed to see it done at all." Here are four Sherlock Holmes adventures penned by a 14-year-old British schoolboy. The introduction by H. R. F. Keating damns the stories with faint and half-hearted praise, which should warn off the sufficiently wary reader who picks up the book at the news stand, as I did. Keating does not note that the stories are to be taken other than as perfectly straight.

However, Hastie clearly does not intend the stories to be taken entirely seriously: Holmes is a parody who continually insults Watson and his own clients, while gulping large glassfulls of vodka (?) and giving vent to maxims of indescribable idiocy. Sample: "A murderer always looks unusually pale for 24 hours after his crime; as Mr. A does not look pale, he cannot possibly be the murderer!" Holmes and Watson are always encountering diaries and letters which give away the whole plot. My favorite is a label on a bottle of poison, which goes on for half a page of narrative text, explaining in detail how the killer has used it! Upon reading it Holmes comments only, "It is rather badly written." He makes similar comments concerning every document he reads, and one wonders if Hastie is foretelling and forestalling the reaction of the reader of this book. Called on a case Holmes usually veers off at random, often accusing the wrong person, and then finding the actual culprit largely by accident or preposterous coincidence. When he is not insulting Watson, his conversation consists of a combination of absurd bragging and pointing out the obvious. "Your name is Seymour." "How can you possibly know that, Mr. Holmes?" "You are wearing a large name tag."

In 96 pages, we get four adventures: Holmes finds a missing Japanese prince, discovers who is killing the members of a family slated for a rich inheritance, uncovers missing plans for a new battleship, and discovers why a disguised cabdriver consistently overcharges his wealthy passenger. Each plot is potentially interesting, and a fairly serious pastiche could be written to any of the four outlines. With the young author's tongue at least partially in his cheek throughout, this is not the place to look for seriousness!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh Dear!, January 6, 2001

By 

Alex Thomas (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Prince & Other Stories (Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (Breese)) (Paperback)

Well one could say that It is a feat to write a book at all, and especially at the age of 14! But I fear that Hasties attempts at humor are rather to infantile for the audience at which this book is aimed. The stories themselves, do, at least in outline have some merit, but the way in which they are written really does insult the originals genius. I have no doubt this is not the last we will here of Hastie and I do think there is some promise here, but in this book you really do have to look very hard.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollocking Good Read, December 1, 2001

By 

Mrs Hall (Pebsham Lane, E.Sussex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Prince & Other Stories (Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (Breese)) (Paperback)

I've always had a keen interest in detective fiction, especially Sherlock Holmes. When I picked this book up in my local bookstore, I did, however, view it with some trepedation. Though once I had read the first page, I had decided to buy it.
In all,there are four pastiches of a reasonable length that keep your attention throughout them. I'm not much of a writer, but I do strongly believe that this young writer needs to be encouraged in his future work.
Good luck to you, Edmund!