The Mammoth Book of the Adventures of Moriarty: The Secret Life of Sherlock Holmes's Nemesis - 37 short storiesReview by Paul Fiander
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Written by: Maxim Jakubowski
Narrated by: Toby Longworth Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins Publisher: Audible Studios |
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The title declares this is a mammoth book and honestly I find it hard to disagree. At over 20 hours this vast array of tales is varied as can be as each take congress from a different writer. The editor Maxim Jakubowski set about the task of creating a history for “The Professor”. It's odd to think but very little is actually known about him from the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Still his mark has been made as the “Napoleon of crime” throughout the history of literature.
The book itself has no set structure, one moment we are reading of Moriarty as an old professor and the next he is a schoolboy avoiding a detention. Not only that but the stories at times have Moriarty as a side character. This helps to keep every story fresh though you do have to be on your toes to keep up with the changing stories. One factor though remains like a universal constant in each story is the pursuit of mathematics. This facet of his character is one of the most appealing as he approaches each situation as a problem solving activity. It's difficult to nail down which story is the best as there are some very compelling contenders for the privilege. It's interesting to note that Jakubowski (the editor) did say he was so inundated with submissions that he could have created numerous books along with this effort. Due to this I think he really picked the cream of the crop to give the narrative a great deal of rich diversity. His skill in talent spotting is fully evidenced by this book. Of course there are some rather odd stories that sneak in that did make me raise an eyebrow. They are however still created well, but not quite to my taste |
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The narration by Toby Longworth shows he has a vast range of inflections that he puts to great use in this recording. This again helps you to differentiate between the stories that can become a little confusing if you listen to them in bulk. I am a fan of the way he can at times over exaggerate Moriarty’s speech it feels quite natural with the narrative and gives the character a sense of condescension to the person/persons he is speaking to. The book comprises 37 stories in all do you are getting quite a bit off bang for your buck. More than that this is an experiment into the creative minds of a host of writers,thanks to the tater obscure nature of Moriarty. This collection is proof that at times the less we truly know about a character the more fascinating they become. More from Audible Studios |
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Review copy and Images provided by Publisher
