Now Reading ...
Jul. 27th, 2011 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchan(Just finished, actually -- about ten minutes ago.)
"I will not write more Holmes stories, do you understand? I would have thought I'd made that perfectly clear at this point."
"I don't care whether you do or not," said Bram. "But you will, eventually. He's yours, till death do you part. Did you really think he was dead and gone when you wrote 'The Final Problem'? I don't think you did. I think you always knew he'd be back. But whenever you take up your pen and continue, heed my advice. Don't bring him here. Don't bring Sherlock Holmes into the electric light. Leave him in the mysterious and romantic flicker of the gas lamp. He won't stand next to this, do you see? The glare would melt him away. He was more the man of our time than Oscar was. Or than we were. Leave him where he belongs, in the last days of our bygone century. Because in a hundred years, no one will care about me. Or about you. Or Oscar. We stopped caring about Oscar years ago, and we were his bloody friends. No, what they'll remember are the stories. They'll remember Holmes. And Watson. And Dorian Gray."
"And your count? What was his name? From that little province ..." Arthur trailed off. He searched his mind for the name of that backwater kingdom but couldn't find it.
"Transylvania," supplied Bram when it became clear that Arthur did not recall the name. "He was from Transylvania. No, they won't remember him. He didn't inspire the imagination of a people as did your Holmes. He was my great failure." Bram laughed bitterly. "Count What's-His-Name."
~ Bram Stoker conversing with Arthur Conan Doyle, upon learning of Oscar Wilde's death
The Sherlockian, Graham Moore
I have to say that I am utterly and completely in love with this book. It's a mystery -- historical fiction -- and I can't remember the last time I read a book that wove the past and present together in such a skillful manner. This book is beautifully written and has a perfect flow to it. I have to admit that I wasn't terribly fond of the main character, although I liked how he was written. He was "real" and flawed ... and, even though he annoyed me, I appreciated that quite a lot. There was a sort of innocence about him, wrapped in and around occasional bouts of narcissism, that made him as charming as he was annoying. And I adored the way this author wrote Bram Stoker -- even though Bram was only a minor player in the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable and engaging read, from cover to cover. Just ... yeah. Love, love, love for this novel.
And now ... on to Jim Butcher's Ghost Story. That's right, Harry Dresden, I'm lookin' at you! Can't ... wait!
"I will not write more Holmes stories, do you understand? I would have thought I'd made that perfectly clear at this point."
"I don't care whether you do or not," said Bram. "But you will, eventually. He's yours, till death do you part. Did you really think he was dead and gone when you wrote 'The Final Problem'? I don't think you did. I think you always knew he'd be back. But whenever you take up your pen and continue, heed my advice. Don't bring him here. Don't bring Sherlock Holmes into the electric light. Leave him in the mysterious and romantic flicker of the gas lamp. He won't stand next to this, do you see? The glare would melt him away. He was more the man of our time than Oscar was. Or than we were. Leave him where he belongs, in the last days of our bygone century. Because in a hundred years, no one will care about me. Or about you. Or Oscar. We stopped caring about Oscar years ago, and we were his bloody friends. No, what they'll remember are the stories. They'll remember Holmes. And Watson. And Dorian Gray."
"And your count? What was his name? From that little province ..." Arthur trailed off. He searched his mind for the name of that backwater kingdom but couldn't find it.
"Transylvania," supplied Bram when it became clear that Arthur did not recall the name. "He was from Transylvania. No, they won't remember him. He didn't inspire the imagination of a people as did your Holmes. He was my great failure." Bram laughed bitterly. "Count What's-His-Name."
~ Bram Stoker conversing with Arthur Conan Doyle, upon learning of Oscar Wilde's death
The Sherlockian, Graham Moore
I have to say that I am utterly and completely in love with this book. It's a mystery -- historical fiction -- and I can't remember the last time I read a book that wove the past and present together in such a skillful manner. This book is beautifully written and has a perfect flow to it. I have to admit that I wasn't terribly fond of the main character, although I liked how he was written. He was "real" and flawed ... and, even though he annoyed me, I appreciated that quite a lot. There was a sort of innocence about him, wrapped in and around occasional bouts of narcissism, that made him as charming as he was annoying. And I adored the way this author wrote Bram Stoker -- even though Bram was only a minor player in the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable and engaging read, from cover to cover. Just ... yeah. Love, love, love for this novel.
And now ... on to Jim Butcher's Ghost Story. That's right, Harry Dresden, I'm lookin' at you! Can't ... wait!