Customer Reviews

The Star of India: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed the Star Of India, it is a nice well paced book with an interesting plot; the return of Moriarity, who did not die at the Falls either. The book has lots of action, rather than those dry old 'locked room' mysteries that so pervade Holmes writings but does not let deduction and thinking fall by the wayside. What I enjoy most about Ms. Bugge's book is her very human characters, starting with the Great Detective himself, too often portrayed as an emotionless know it all. There is an interesting theme underlying the plot as Holmes begins to think how little difference there is between himself and the good Professor. Happily, Mycroft is there to see the danger and warn Watson to keep watch on his friend. It is a nice touch and a surprisingly clever twist on their usual relationship. I heartily recommend this book, it's well worth your time.

My quote is on the jacket copy, but I want to add that I've been reading Holmes pastiches for a long time, have published and commissioned them, and in my opinion, Carole Bugge is one of the handful of authors who deserve to be bracketed with Watson himself. Pastiche is a curiously selfless art, however .. to appreciate Ms. Bugge's astonishing scope as a sensitive, highly poetic writer, one must also read her non-Holmes mystery novel, "Who Killed Blanche DuBois?" about to be published by Berkley Books.

All I can add to the other comments is that this book is like meeting an old friend you have not seen in a long time. It's as if no time has passed at all and you are the same old friends, who simply pick-up where you left off. What a delight!

I own and have read many holmes pastiches. This is, by far, one of the best. Ms.Bugge weaves an exciting adventure and gives us rewarding psychological insight into the great detective. Holmes humanity and compassion shine as he and Doctor Watson come to the aid of a young street urchine who becomes mixed up in the main case under investigation. Ms. Bugge artfully reminds the reader of the great disparity in social classes of Victorian England and the plight of cast-off children in this time period. Our favorite Victorian knights ride high in this adventure. Ms. Bugge also provides the best interaction with the menacing Moriarty that I have yet to read short of that provided by Doyle himself. Moriarty's evil is palpable in one of his short exchanges with Dr. Watson in a latter chapter of this book. Bravo, Ms. Bugge!

This is Carole Buggé's first novel-length Sherlock Holmes adventure, having previously written short stories in 'The Game's Afoot' and 'The Resurrected Holmes'.

While this first novel is a good attempt, I was a little disappointed that I found it fairly easy to work out how the story was going to come out, and who was doing what. The story not only features Sherlock Holmes, but his brother Mycroft and his opposite number, Professor Moriarty. With three substantial intellects at work, I really should have been guessing up until the very end.

Another problem is the chess motif adopted in the story. At some points it appears that there is a literal chess game going on, at others that it is a metaphorical chess game. Since it sometimes one and sometimes the other, some of the things that happen make absolutely no sense in terms of the other paradigm.

Having said all that, the portrayal of the characters is good, and the plot line more than passable. I actually suspect that Ms. Buggé wrote the book so that attentive readers could penetrate the plot, which is certainly preferable to those writers who use Holmes' deductive abilities as deus ex machina. Ms. Buggé's second Holmes novel, 'The Haunting of Torre Abbey', is on my shelf of unread books and I will read it in due course. Hopefully some more experience will take the promise of this novel into a mote fully developed book.

Carol Brugge's novel is rathe rthin on period details-geography, customs and most of all language-the diction has a very modern feel. It is my contention that the cover blurb from Mr Kaye was prompted by friendship(?) with the author more than any merit in the book itself

While not the best Holmes pastiche that I've read, The Star of India still deserves an honorable mention. It has its share of suspense and Holme's deductive powers. The language and flow of the story is quite different that that of the original canon, and it could be quite distracting.
I would reccommend giving this a read, although it could use some work. I hope that Ms.Bugge writes more Holmes pastiches, because this one was quite enjoyable.

I just read this book, and I must say that it is highly enjoyable from start to finish. The characters of Holmes and Watson remain intact from the original stories. The action is very fast paced; incidents seem to happen one after the other. What I thought was an outstanding feature was the conflict between good and evil, as in Holmes vs. Moriarty. Moriarty set an evil plan in motion, and it took Holmes to stop it. Overall a great choice!

"The Star of India" is a great read, which I enjoyed especially because we got a great match of wits and intellects between Holmes and Moriarty. I have always felt that it was a shame that in the original stories by Doyle, we only have one short story that really features Moriarty. It's great to see a major confrontation between Holmes and the "Napoleon of Crime" and Bugge presents the whole story in the classic Homesian style. Please write us more great stories, Ms. Bugge!

The author writes a good story adding another saga to the career of Sherlock Holmes. In this case Moriarty has reappeared having survived the Reichenbach falls. The book moves well and comes to a satisfactory conclusion when Holmes thwarts Moriarty but leaves him to free for another bout of wits. The author would do well to have her future work checked by someone from Britain. She refers to a women's crinoline being worn. These garments were common in the 1860's not the last years of the century which is the period in which the book is set. The prince of Wales is referred to as 'His Majesty', a title reserved for the reigning monarch and the Royal Albert is an odd title for the Royal Albert Hall. These are small, bothersome details; the book can carry them.