The Seven-Percent Solution
Ratings7
Average rating3.1
**First discovered and then painstakingly edited and annotated by Nicholas Meyer, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution related the astounding and previously unknown collaboration of Sigmund Freud with Sherlock Holmes, as recorded by Holmes's friend and chronicler, Dr. John H. Watson.** In addition to its breathtaking account of their collaboration on a case of diabolic conspiracy in which the lives of millions hang in the balance, it reveals such matters as the real identity of the heinous professor Moriarty, the dark secret shared by Sherlock and his brother Mycroft Holmes, and the detective's true whereabouts during the Great Hiatus, when the world believed him to be dead.***--Goodreads***
**"What a splendid book, what grand fun!** A corking good read & a crackling good adventure that performs the delicious miracle of bringing back to life the greatest detective of them all."***--Chicago Tribune***
**Nicholas Meyer's Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution retroactively changes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Final Problem" while confronting Holmes's cocaine addiction and explaining what drives the man.** To this end, Meyer dethrones Moriarty and recasts him as Holmes's childhood math tutor who became the focus of Holmes's cocaine addled delusions, for which Watson took the detective to Austria in order to receive the aid of Sigmund Freud. Meyer, like many authors of Holmes pastiche, presents the narrative as a recently discovered manuscript of Watson's writing and, in presenting it in this manner, he adds the occasional footnote with **references to other Holmes works or scholarly works based on Sherlockiana** as if it were an annotated manuscript. Though Freud is a problematic individual historically, Meyer uses him and his theories in a manner that fits with some of the other pseudoscience in Doyle's original stories. The climactic train chase and sword fight make for a fun action scene. Overall, Meyer's Holmes pastiche entertains and replicates the tone of some of Doyle's writing so that it will entertain fans of the originals.***--Goodreads reviewer: DarthDeverell | May 6, 2017 |4 of 5 Stars***
Series
Series
5 primary booksSherlock Holmes Pastiche by Nicholas Meyer
Sherlock Holmes Pastiche by Nicholas Meyer is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 1974 with contributions by Nicholas Meyer.
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Well this was a real pleasure to read. In “editing” the reminiscences of Dr. Watson, Meyer perfectly captures the cadences of Conan Doyle's prose and the premise of the book is both original and intriguing. Positing that Holmes didn't fake his own death at the hands of Professor Moriaty at the Reichenbach Falls, Meyer instead spins a tale of a detective in the grip of Cocaine paranoia who is saved by the actions of the faithful Watson and none other than Sigmund Freud himself!
Set mainly in Vienna, this is supposedly a long lost case that Watson had promised not to reveal until all the protagonists were dead. It is brilliantly done, featuring not only Watson but also Mycroft and the real Professor Moriarty (who is quite different to Doyle's villain). Holmes's long road back to recovery involves both analysis by Freud and his stumbling upon a case that features kidnapping, Bavarian Aristocracy and a break-neck pursuit by steam train. All tremendous fun.
As an alternative history of a significant part of the great detective's life it is immense fun and certainly a better read than the more recent House of Silk, which was, in hindsight, pretty humourless and whose subject matter left a bad taste in the mouth.
I shall be tracking down Meyer's other two Holmes novels, because if they are half as good as this they will be well worth reading. Recommended.
This Sherlock Holmes pastiche is mildly enjoyable, but I thought it was pretty thin in places. The premise of the story is that Holmes' cocaine addiction is spiraling out of control, so Dr. Watson and Mycroft Holmes cook up a scheme to get SH to Vienna and into the care of Dr. Sigmund Freud. I liked the explanation this story provides for SH's obsession with Professor Moriarty (he IS a villain, just a different type of villain than we've been led to believe). I even liked the meeting with Freud and the suggestion that the mystery Holmes is asked to look into as he is recovering from his cure has worldwide significance. However, that mystery turns out to be pretty lame, and the train chase that ends it was just boring. The good news is that it doesn't take long to read this book, and then you can move on to better ones.
