Review: "Probably a Better Graphic Novel Than a Kindle Novel!"
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 30, 2012
Scott Beatty's "Sherlock Holmes: Year One" creates a series of adventures in which Holmes and Watson meet and slowly become friends. I am reviewing the Kindle edition, not the Graphic Novel, which would most likely be better than some of the plot and dialogue provided for the Kindle. As a Holmes fan, I am always looking for a new adventure for my hero, so I purchased this Kindle edition. The cost for the Kindle is under a dollar, so with that in mind, the story is worth it. However, it certainly is not one of the better contemporary Holmes stories.The first story "The Butlers Did It" (yes, I held my breath with that title) was somewhat disjointed and lacks the real brilliance of Doyle or even the better pastiche writers of today. The other story, "The Twelve Caesars," on the other hand, was far cleverer and thought provoking. In fact the character of Holmes himself displayed a greater sense of the normal cerebral detective than in the first story. Here he deeply displayed his obsession with detail, while blending his predictions of murders yet to come based on his historical knowledge of the "Twelve Caesars," while others were in the dark. However, at one point, Holmes really seriously assaulted some thug-type characters who had really done nothing to deserve it; that was vastly out of character for Holmes.The fact that this does exist as a Graphic novel helps explain some of the lack of smooth movement from point to point or in dialogue that would have been more natural in a Graphic novel. This may also explain a few of my other complaints. First, some of the diction and dialogue was a bit too contemporary, and some dialogue felt like it was more American slang which jarred at times with the stronger 19th Century English. Additionally, the fact that it may have come from a Graphic novel may also explain why I felt that it was too straightforward, too "Joe Friday" matter-of-fact dialogue than the smooth credible diction of contemporaries as Laurie King, Nick Meyer or even Larry Millett. The phrase "bread and butter" was used on several occasions and just seemed out of place. In general, this was most likely a better "Graphic Novel" than a Kindle novel; however, who can complain with the price under a dollar!