Rated: DNF!
From: Audible
Audio Book
I did not finish this book! I can't believe this happened to me. I tried. I tried three or four times but I just couldn't get into it. Finally I just started hopping through the story clicking here and there hoping to find something going on that would grab me. In desperation I finally clicked about ten minutes from the end and listened to the ending.
It seemed to me that Laurie King had gotten The Pirates of Penzance stuck in her head and couldn't let go of it. The story was all fluff and no edge. Holmes only put in a token appearance in this book and I for one don't blame him. The whole thing was very un-Holmes like. Not his kind of thing at all.
I sincerely hope that this was not a harbinger of where King is planning to go with this series. If so she has just lost a faithful reader in me and I would truly hate for that to happen. Oh well . . . . .
Publisher's Summary
New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King’s books have received high praise from critics and have earned the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards. As Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark on their 11th adventure together, they find themselves immersed in the world of silent filmmaking. Here, the pirates are real—and unlike the shooting done with a camera, this sort can be deadly.
In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate rumors of criminal activities that swirl around Fflytte’s popular movie studio. So Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for moviemaking for a generation - or sink a boatload of careers.
Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the 13 blond-haired, blue-eyed actresses whom Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.
2 comments:
Compared to both LRK's previous two Russell/Holmes adventures, Pirate King was a breath of fresh air, IMO. Yes, it was fluff. But "God" and "Language of Bees" was not only wildly improbable, even by Kanon standards, it was lugubrious. I hope LRK has gotten theology out of her system for good. Too many of the Russell books have made it a central theme. And I must remind myself that both "God" and "Language" were written while LRK's husband was terminally ill and right after his death. It was time for some light relief.
You're right that Holmes hardly appears, and that he and she appear to be unable to even shake hands, which is a bit odd for a married couple. This is a trend in the books. I can understand that LRK does not want to write Holmes as a soppy besotted old man, but surely he can display a bit of mild affection occasionally? And Russell seems to be very fearful of behaving in any feminine manner at all. And the difference in their ages must be becoming a bit more of an obstacle by now: Russell is still in her 20s but Holmes is past 60, if I've done my sums right. No wonder he is less inclined to the physical side of things both in work and love, and she does the legwork [reminding me, at times, of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin].
LRK has had a good run with Russell and Holmes, but I wonder how much more mileage the duo really have...
[Sarah in Jerusalem]
I did not finish the book either.
Not a favorite. Not at all. I have high hopes for the next book though.
Post a Comment