What do you think?
Rate this book
Sherlock Holmes in the Nautilus Adventure
The Games's Afloat!. This fascinating tale takes Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on an amazing undersea adventure to find and rescue a famous author, who has been kidnapped. Along the way there are hidden clues, lost civilizations, danger, romance, humour, a volcanic eruption, a good deal of seaweed tea, and a more than one surprising plot twist, not to mention saving the world. It all begins, when a tall bearded gentleman enters 221-B Baker Street and says, "Hello, my name is Captain Nemo, of the submersible vessel the Nautilus, I would like to engage your services in locating a missing person. His name is Jules Verne.
- GenresMystery
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 9, 2016
603 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 14, 2022
I am a Holmes fan, but there are limits. Apart from painting the characters as overcooked caricatures, the story is preposterous. I am not averse to far-fetched Holmes stories-one of my favourites, Exit Sherlock Holmes, by Robert Lee Hall, turns Holmes into science fiction, but this story is ridiculous. The writing itself is also certainly not up to Conan Doyle standards.
May 10, 2016
Very shallow. I seem to be running into a lot of fluff written by mediocre authors now that Sherlock Homes is in the public domain. Unfortunately, I also have the first of this series, "Sherlock Homes and the Adventure of the Grinning Cat". It will probably be awhile before I read that one.
May 2, 2016
Fast enjoyable read, apparently I have read them out of order and they are still good....waiting on number 3!
September 14, 2017
These days there is an element in our culture and society that automatically classifies at the drop of a hat many 19th century adventure novels as juvenilia. Over the years, in the context of a publishing world driven by direct advertising, magazine ads, book club promotions, and book store and library shelves, it is commonplace to find advertised as, or shelved as, children’s books works such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped, Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and The Jungle Book, Johann David Wyss’ Swiss Family Robinson, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, on and on. I find this disconcerting because, of course, none of these were originally thought of as anything but straight-forward commercial fiction aimed at an adult readership. I suspect that these classics long ago being “demoted” to children’s “classic” literature is no more complicated than their status turning to public domain and publishers’ marketing spins. The same goes for much of Jules Verne—but compounded by the fact that most available Verne works are in fact bastardized, lazy translations from the original French (as scholars such as Walter James Miller and Frederick Paul Walter have demonstrated).
Which brings me to Joseph W. Svec III and Lidia B. Svec’s Sherlock Holmes in The Nautilus Adventure. Question: Were these estimable writers so influenced by the marketing spin of the last three-quarters of a century that they wrote, perhaps unconsciously, their Holmes/20,000 Leagues on the Sea crossover pastiche novel as “Young Adult (YA)”?
Or did they produce for an adult readership an episode within the vast crossover universe that is seriously studied, expounded, and chronicled by Win Scott Eckert, Kim Newman, and others?
In support of the former possibility, the Svecs’ prose seems to have been more than a little bit tinged by the impossible-to-be-avoided cultural bias of the perception of the novel, as opposed to the actual qualities of the unabridged, un-mauled Verne masterpiece—and also by the classic Disney movie. In that vein, it doesn’t help that the opening scene with Holmes, Watson and Captain Nemo could be far stronger. It is much too straight-forward almost as though written for a child.
Supporting the latter is the fact that once our heroes are on board the Nautilus and our authors' descriptive powers come into play, and once Watson spies the dolphin/mermaid named Luna, and enchanting sunken civilizations are introduced, the tale becomes quite worthwhile. Though, be forewarned that stilted diction and clear sentences are the order of the day, as is the case in most Holmes pastiches. One doesn’t any more encounter sentence structures like this randomly chosen “A feeling of dread and fear overwhelmed me. We were too late! While I was distracted by the mermaid, they had tried to enter the compound and had triggered the trap.”
The true answer is, therefore, obviously, both.
In other words, I don’t believe this Holmes/Nemo pastiche warrants being so readily identified as (as some customer reviews here and on other sites go out of their way to do) and I quote, “fanciful and silly,” “high school fiction, “for children,” “for young people,” and so forth. The novel exists in both the YA and adult crossover camps at the same time.
I especially love the titles of Holmes' many monographs, such as: “A Comprehensive Report on the Manufacture of Persian Rugs from the Fourth Century Through Current Times” and “On Determining the Functionality and Purpose of Unknown Objects in Less Than Three Seconds Using Rational Deductive Observation” indeed! A very clever conceit!
Which brings me to Joseph W. Svec III and Lidia B. Svec’s Sherlock Holmes in The Nautilus Adventure. Question: Were these estimable writers so influenced by the marketing spin of the last three-quarters of a century that they wrote, perhaps unconsciously, their Holmes/20,000 Leagues on the Sea crossover pastiche novel as “Young Adult (YA)”?
Or did they produce for an adult readership an episode within the vast crossover universe that is seriously studied, expounded, and chronicled by Win Scott Eckert, Kim Newman, and others?
In support of the former possibility, the Svecs’ prose seems to have been more than a little bit tinged by the impossible-to-be-avoided cultural bias of the perception of the novel, as opposed to the actual qualities of the unabridged, un-mauled Verne masterpiece—and also by the classic Disney movie. In that vein, it doesn’t help that the opening scene with Holmes, Watson and Captain Nemo could be far stronger. It is much too straight-forward almost as though written for a child.
Supporting the latter is the fact that once our heroes are on board the Nautilus and our authors' descriptive powers come into play, and once Watson spies the dolphin/mermaid named Luna, and enchanting sunken civilizations are introduced, the tale becomes quite worthwhile. Though, be forewarned that stilted diction and clear sentences are the order of the day, as is the case in most Holmes pastiches. One doesn’t any more encounter sentence structures like this randomly chosen “A feeling of dread and fear overwhelmed me. We were too late! While I was distracted by the mermaid, they had tried to enter the compound and had triggered the trap.”
The true answer is, therefore, obviously, both.
In other words, I don’t believe this Holmes/Nemo pastiche warrants being so readily identified as (as some customer reviews here and on other sites go out of their way to do) and I quote, “fanciful and silly,” “high school fiction, “for children,” “for young people,” and so forth. The novel exists in both the YA and adult crossover camps at the same time.
I especially love the titles of Holmes' many monographs, such as: “A Comprehensive Report on the Manufacture of Persian Rugs from the Fourth Century Through Current Times” and “On Determining the Functionality and Purpose of Unknown Objects in Less Than Three Seconds Using Rational Deductive Observation” indeed! A very clever conceit!
November 19, 2022
I liked this very much. I thought it was funny.
I especially liked some of the treatises that Holmes had written. I have to disclose that I have not read any Jules Verne, but I might now. I really enjoyed this and will listen to any other Sherlock pastiches by this author. I thought Anthony LeRoy Lovato was a perfect narrator for this.
I especially liked some of the treatises that Holmes had written. I have to disclose that I have not read any Jules Verne, but I might now. I really enjoyed this and will listen to any other Sherlock pastiches by this author. I thought Anthony LeRoy Lovato was a perfect narrator for this.
March 9, 2017
Actually I rather stopped, gave up, on this supposed Sherlock Holmes adventure.
I tried to ascertain whether this is aimed at school grade children but could not find any information out.
Apparently Sherlock and Watson are visited by Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame who hires them to find an author. He feels they are qualified after solving a riddle attached to Alice in Wonderland.
This books premise is WAY OFF THE MARK for a Sherlock Holmes story.
Best to skip this one
I tried to ascertain whether this is aimed at school grade children but could not find any information out.
Apparently Sherlock and Watson are visited by Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame who hires them to find an author. He feels they are qualified after solving a riddle attached to Alice in Wonderland.
This books premise is WAY OFF THE MARK for a Sherlock Holmes story.
Best to skip this one
March 2, 2016
Sherlock Holmes in the Nautilus Adventure by Joseph W Svec III
I wish to thank the kind folks at MX Publishing for my review copy of this book! It is wonderful!
Sherlock Holmes is visited by Captain Nemo. (Yes, that Captain Nemo!) He offers Holmes and Watson some tea made from seaweed. They wake up later, shanghaied onto the Nautilus.
Of, course, Holmes denies that he was tricked. It is the subject of one of the many indeterminate monographs that Holmes references throughout this story and the previous volume, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Grinning Cat.
Captain Nemo is searching for Jules Verne. He has been kidnapped from his yacht by strange men in unusual uniforms with dark boots. Nemo, Holmes, and Watson are aided by a strange dolphin named Luna. The dolphin turns out to be a mermaid in disguise. She is an old friend of Jules Verne, and speaks French as well as English. She is a master with wordplay.
The men who took Verne have submersibles made to resemble sperm whales. They have taken him to an underwater base, where an elevator whisks them up to a flying machine. The base is booby trapped, but Luna helps them out and Holmes knows how to safely let them explode.
A silver coin is found with a stylized M on it. It seems the people who kidnapped Verne are from the now destroyed Island of Mu. Also mentioned are the Atlanteans, Nemo’s people; and the ancient Lemurians.
Holmes discovers that these men of Mu have a contact in the British Government. In order to set things right they need to seek out all the bases for the people of Mu. The bases and submersibles must be destroy, the men of Mu captured. And this government contact must be found and shut down…
Once again, Joseph W Svec, III takes us (and Holmes and Watson) deep into another fictional world that somehow manages to be real. All of the scenes that excite the reader from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, such as the giant squid, are here in this exciting tale. While showing us the wonders of the Nautilus, and delighting us with Luna the Mermaid, Svec manages to also produce a challenging mystery!
I am also pleased to see that the teaser at the end of the book promises more adventures, perhaps at Camelot!
I gladly give this amazing book five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
I wish to thank the kind folks at MX Publishing for my review copy of this book! It is wonderful!
Sherlock Holmes is visited by Captain Nemo. (Yes, that Captain Nemo!) He offers Holmes and Watson some tea made from seaweed. They wake up later, shanghaied onto the Nautilus.
Of, course, Holmes denies that he was tricked. It is the subject of one of the many indeterminate monographs that Holmes references throughout this story and the previous volume, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Grinning Cat.
Captain Nemo is searching for Jules Verne. He has been kidnapped from his yacht by strange men in unusual uniforms with dark boots. Nemo, Holmes, and Watson are aided by a strange dolphin named Luna. The dolphin turns out to be a mermaid in disguise. She is an old friend of Jules Verne, and speaks French as well as English. She is a master with wordplay.
The men who took Verne have submersibles made to resemble sperm whales. They have taken him to an underwater base, where an elevator whisks them up to a flying machine. The base is booby trapped, but Luna helps them out and Holmes knows how to safely let them explode.
A silver coin is found with a stylized M on it. It seems the people who kidnapped Verne are from the now destroyed Island of Mu. Also mentioned are the Atlanteans, Nemo’s people; and the ancient Lemurians.
Holmes discovers that these men of Mu have a contact in the British Government. In order to set things right they need to seek out all the bases for the people of Mu. The bases and submersibles must be destroy, the men of Mu captured. And this government contact must be found and shut down…
Once again, Joseph W Svec, III takes us (and Holmes and Watson) deep into another fictional world that somehow manages to be real. All of the scenes that excite the reader from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, such as the giant squid, are here in this exciting tale. While showing us the wonders of the Nautilus, and delighting us with Luna the Mermaid, Svec manages to also produce a challenging mystery!
I am also pleased to see that the teaser at the end of the book promises more adventures, perhaps at Camelot!
I gladly give this amazing book five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
June 22, 2016
I found this book a true delight! I am so tired of all the gruesome slashing and trashing that goes into these books today.
I read this book to my grandchild and we both shared in the adventure.
This book gave us things to talk about and it is nice to see that it didn't matter our age difference we had something in common.
I didn't get in trouble with mom either. A clean cut adventure. No nightmares.
A book with integrity, well researched for the time period and a sweet love story.
I rate this book and author AAAAA+
I read this book to my grandchild and we both shared in the adventure.
This book gave us things to talk about and it is nice to see that it didn't matter our age difference we had something in common.
I didn't get in trouble with mom either. A clean cut adventure. No nightmares.
A book with integrity, well researched for the time period and a sweet love story.
I rate this book and author AAAAA+
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews