The Great Game

Professor Moriarty #3

by Michael Kurland (Contributor)

Labeled the 'Napoleon of Crime' in Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes stories, Professor James Moriarty is not what he has been portrayed to be. In this, the third of Michael Kurland's acclaimed novels featuring Moriarty, he is once again called into action when Holmes suddenly disappears, a man on Moriarty's door-step is killed by a crossbow bolt, and his help is sought in the case of a captured English spy. From these thin threads, Moriarty quickly realizes that if he is to save all of Europe from chaos, he must find and defeat his deadliest opponent ever.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Detective, Historical

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

aka Jennifer Plum

Michael Kurland has written many non-fiction books on a vast array of topics, including How to Solve a Murder, as well as many novels. Twice a finalist for the Edgar Award (once for The Infernal Device) given by the Mystery Writers of America, Kurland is perhaps best known for his novels about Professor Moriarty. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has anyone started read a book from a series without realising they have jumped forward without realising it - Well sadly that is the case with this book which I was so careful (but not successful) in reading in sequence.

Anyway I will admit that now I have finished it I am not sure it will cause too much of an issue but I guess that is something I need to address pretty quickly.

So on to the book - and I have to say that I really enjoyed this one. I am not sure why but I really felt the atmosphere that Michael Kurland was trying to invoke of the various characters, cities and countries of the turn of the century.

I know that there is a quite a genre of Sherlock Holmes pastiches however I fell this was more than that - giving the character Moriarty a true purpose and depth often missing from many other renditions of him. The title The Napoleon of Crime is now almost as famous as the character himself but more often than not there is no explanation or just a glancing justification. Here you meet and work with the man and I have to say that it works really well. I guess I should now look for that missing title

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denna Scherlock Holmes-pastisch var faktiskt riktigt lyckad. Den kombinerar den Viktorianska erans mängd uppfinningar med dess brist på moral och respekt för mänskligt liv på ett väldigt lyckat sätt. Jag rekommenderar den för Holmes-nördar.

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like THE INFERNAL DEVICE (Moriarty #1), this novel deals more with espionage and international terrorism than it does with crime. Naturally, Sherlock Holmes (dangerously strung out on cocaine in the prologue) suspects that Moriarty is behind the sinister events - and interestingly, the "bad guys" also think he's involved, believing that the Professor is the REAL head of the British Secret Service. Most of the story takes place in Austria (with parts in London and Italy) and involves amateur spies, anarchists, mentalists, Serbian freedom fighters, German mystics, aristocrats good and evil, and a right-wing conspiracy to bring about a great war in Europe. Kurland does an excellent job in taking several separate storylines and gradually bringing them together for a satisfying conclusion. 4 stars.

[Marfita · Rating 4 out of 5]

As promised, I went immediately on to the next installment of the James Moriarty saga! Good fun!
Two independent stories eventually converge. In Vienna, a noble second son is amusing himself with "The Great Game" of espionage ... because there is no official spy agency for Great Britain. He allies himself with some anarchists ... but gets the impression that he's being watched.

Benjamin Barnett and his wife (recovering from a miscarriage and just a bit testier than usual) are on a pleasant vacation in the north of Italy. Mrs. Barnett's suspicions are aroused but are gently pooh-poohed by her husband.

Unpleasant things are brewing in Europe - someone is trying to start a war, again. Can Moriarty and Holmes get over their differences in order to:

1. Save the Barnetts
2. Save Holmes's cousin
3. Save the noble British spy
4. Avoid a Great War?

Again, adventure, historical detail, and just a touch of humor. One character lives near the town of Spass. Hahahaha! Spaß is German for "joke." Also, Kurland shows how mentalists perform their feats without hitting you over the head with it. Very clever. Kurland also knows enough that white horses are never called "white," but are always referred to as "grey." It would not surprise me to learn that Kurland himself certainly does not have a criminal organization with tentacles spread all across Europe.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Sherlock Holmes knock off where he and Moriarty must join together to solve the mystery. I'm not opposed to having the bad guy switch sides, but he didn't seem bad at all, just misunderstood. It was like having two Sherlocks in the room and they were talking to each other. What's the point?
It really was OK and I may give another one a try when I have more time, it just didn't knock my socks off.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite having a compact and fast narrative, that showcased Professor Moriarty as well as Sherlock Holmes as they went on saving people, peace, and Europe, I didn't like this novel that much. It had too many intrigues, and too little wry humour that otherwise lights up this series.

I sincerely hope that the next one would be better, since at this stage I can't even abandon the series!

[Sarah Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good few modern authors do Sherlock Holmes spin-offs, Conan Doyle's heirs not having copyright, but I'd say Kurland is good, even better than Laurie King. He uses Moriarty as a sympathetic character, and this particular book features both Moriarty and Holmes. It concerns Europe as it hovers on the brink of World War One, riddled with small cells of terrorist groups. England doesn't really have a secret service, so wealthy young men of leisure provide the service pro bono.
Since I didn't study the matter in high school, and since the issue is complex, I don't really know why the war broke out. Clearly from this book it had something to do with geographical divisions. But anyway, the immediate plot against various members of the nobility which is foiled in this book is born of proto-fascists, a group which presages Hitler's Aryan philosophy.

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure but I think some of the language is anachronistic. Moving between several threads that only came together at the end frustrated me. Having Holmes be obsessive rather than correct about Moriarty’s motives and role makes Holmes seem so much lesser of a hero than in the Canon. And I don’t really like novels about spies and political intrigue. The only character I really cared about spent most of the book in person and out of the narrative. So…

I found this competently written and only mildly interesting, asp don’t plan to read any more in the series.

[Sisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how in the beginning, all the stories seemed so separate, but as the story went on each story began to merge together. There were lots of subtle humour that i laughed out loud at ever time! My favorite part was when Dr Watson tripped on the wires!!! Youll get it if you read it😂

[KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending is badly rushed, and there are a few too many things happening, but all in all, this was quite good. I wish Kurland would give up writing Moriarty and Holmes, though; his most interesting characters are Cecily, Madeleine, and Jenny.

[Kevin Drechsler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is excellent!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and highly satisfying reading.

[Sean Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical interest and more character development

[Joseph Teller · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of a series of novels based on the character of Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories, where Moriarity is the protagonist instead of Holmes (but Holmes does appear as an important figure in the tale).

The Great Game deals with the secret spy war between the nations of Europe among themselves, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, and how the Napoleon Of Crime and his nemesis end up having to join forces to keep certain men of influence from toppling thrones and throwing nations into a world war in the early days of 1891.

Here are the interplay and deceit, the paranoia and the differences in scholarly approach to the world of spies, crimes and little wars that separates the two men that really were missing from the Conan Doyle stories.

It does take some small liberties with the persons of the day, and the availability of certain ideas and technologies, but nothing actually out of place or outside their time cycle. No fantastic magics or steam punk moments, just good old fashioned use of deduction, misdirection, observation, experimentation and a willingness to think outside the box are the essentials to the story events that the characters use to come to a satisfying conclusion.

[Jonathan Palfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two books in this series were published in 1978 and 1982, when the author was about 40 and 44 respectively. But this third volume came out in 2001, by which time he was about 63, and I think he was past his prime.

It’s an amiable and mildly entertaining story of various parts, but more rambling and less gripping than volumes 1 and 2. There are some minor surprises along the way, but a lack of major surprises and neat plot twists.

There’s a change of scene: this one ventures out of England to Austria (the Austro-Hungarian Empire, at the time), though it still seems well researched.

I can still give it three stars, because I’m willing to reread it occasionally; but not all three-star books are equal, and this is the weakest of the series so far. There are more books in the series, but I haven’t read them (yet?).

[The Elves · Rating 4 out of 5]

We rather enjoy the Sherlock Holmes novels written by various authors and we’ve also read and enjoyed the Mycroft Holmes novels by Quinn Fawcett, about Sherlock’s smarter brother; the Inspector Lestrade series by M. J. Trow about the less intelligent, but wise enough to consult Sherlock, detective on his own; and now this book about Moriarty who is just as smart, perhaps smarter than Sherlock and not entirely what Sherlock’s cocaine fueled paranoia imagines as they investigate a plot to jump start World War I. It is quite good, but then, we love them all.

The Silver Elves authors of Elven Silver: The Irreverent Faery Tales of Zardoa Silverstar

[Ben Chenoweth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting novel, spinning off from the Sherlock Holmes canon from the perspective of Moriarty (who in this incarnation is not the terrible criminal Holmes would have us believe). The plot is interesting, set at the end of the 19th century, and the characters are well-drawn. The interplay between Moriarty and Holmes is especially fun.

[Kristina Silverbears · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough Moriarty novel, somewhat lacking in Moriarty's inner world. The mystery is sufficiently involved, and a number of new characters are added to the sherlockian cannon, although the final solution was somewhat lacking. I did appreciate the literary references, particularly quotations, and attempt to set this story within world events.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an historian, I appreciate Kurland's attention to the details that led to WWI. He has done a great deal of research and places his mystery at the rumbling point of the outbreak. My only complaint was the ending - no spoilers here, but not happy.

[Bobby H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to weave three story-lines together at the start of the book slowed down the action and made it burdensome. If the story is a Moriarty, then adding Sherlock after the first chapter was unnecessary.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. I liked the part where Watson told Holmes to button the top button on his coat so he would be warmer.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Liked the complexity of the story.

[nikkia neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series! wish there were more

[Miker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and what seemed to be parallels to it and the events several years later that led to the start of the First World War. Kurland creates some great characters.