booksandcatsgalore's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jonathanpalfrey's review
3.0
This volume contains two novels and a novelette, all of which are readable, entertaining, and seem thoroughly researched—I appreciate the details.
I'd say the second novel, "Death by Gaslight", is the best of them, being a particularly complex and exciting story. I might give it four stars on its own. However, any rating is provisional, because so far I've read the whole volume only once, and I don't know how rereadable these stories will prove to be.
"Death by Gaslight" includes a revival of the Hellfire Club, which also featured in a 1966 television episode of "The Avengers". And, come to think of it, the style of these stories is not too far removed from that of "The Avengers": improbable villains commit improbable crimes, tackled by eccentric investigators in a rather light-hearted manner.
I admit that I haven't read the original Sherlock Holmes stories (perhaps I'll get around to them someday?), and I'd say it's not at all essential to have done so: these stories can be read and enjoyed on their own. Furthermore, as I'm not a Holmes devotee, it doesn't particularly bother me that Kurland makes Moriarty the hero and Holmes the victim of an anti-Moriarty obsession.
I'd say the second novel, "Death by Gaslight", is the best of them, being a particularly complex and exciting story. I might give it four stars on its own. However, any rating is provisional, because so far I've read the whole volume only once, and I don't know how rereadable these stories will prove to be.
"Death by Gaslight" includes a revival of the Hellfire Club, which also featured in a 1966 television episode of "The Avengers". And, come to think of it, the style of these stories is not too far removed from that of "The Avengers": improbable villains commit improbable crimes, tackled by eccentric investigators in a rather light-hearted manner.
I admit that I haven't read the original Sherlock Holmes stories (perhaps I'll get around to them someday?), and I'd say it's not at all essential to have done so: these stories can be read and enjoyed on their own. Furthermore, as I'm not a Holmes devotee, it doesn't particularly bother me that Kurland makes Moriarty the hero and Holmes the victim of an anti-Moriarty obsession.
spygrl1's review
2.0
The conceit of Moriarty as not simply a protagonist but as nearly a hero is intriguing, but while interesting elements are there, as a whole it's not working for me. I think "Infernal Device" is ripe for a film adaptation -- there are scads of colorful characters (a midget pickpocket! a boxer butler!), espionage, murder, balloons and fireworks. But for me there's something missing -- the characterization of Holmes as blindly bound by the strictures of law seems quite off, for one thing, and there's never a satisfying accounting for just how criminal Moriarty is willing to be for another.
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