A Summer of Sherlock: "Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula" by Loren D. Estleman

Encapsulate the plot in one sentence?

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigate a bizarre series of crimes in London linked to the arrival of Count Dracula.

What year was this book published? Which edition is it?

The book was published in 1978, but this paperback reprint was published in 2012 by Titan Books under their series banner: The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

What's your verdict?

Very clever, but a very different book than if it were written and published today. The events take place in-between the events of Bram Stoker's original novel, Dracula, with Holmes' involvement only going so far without interrupting the events of that book. As a result, this novel becomes an apocryphal subplot, making Dracula one busy vampire. Characters like Mina Harker and Professor Van Helsing only appear in one-scene cameos, so the interaction between them is unfortunately expository - especially disappointing for fans of Mina in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics - but the exchanges don't ring false.

Estleman once wrote that this book was almost adapted into a film starring Pierce Brosnan as Sherlock Holmes, which is kind of interesting. I could imagine Pierce delivering Holmes' dialogue as it's written here, though he would probably be subject to some bizarre hairdo like Roger Moore's in Sherlock Holmes In New York, due to Eon Productions guidelines that actors playing James Bond not look too Bond-like in other films that they appear in concurrently. As the book went on, however, I could only picture the late Jeremy Brett as Sherlock saying this stuff; that actor still  has the advantage of appearing in adaptations of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that adhered close to the text; you don't get that from watching Basil Rathbone, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., or Johnny Lee Miller. Brett's portrayal got increasing loopy when he insisted on playing the role as his health declined, right down to when his speech became slurred and the production values overcompensated by adding a gothic tone to the proceedings...but it's all there.

As for the possible film adaptation, the climax makes this book Watson's story - not Sherlock. It's Watson's wife Mary who is kidnapped by the Count and Watson who has the stirring final words with Dracula by the end, which allows Holmes to stay in character and give Watson a chance to be more involved beyond that of sidekick/narrator. Loren D Estleman was/is one of the few writers of new Sherlock Holmes pastiches who found Watson just as interesting as Sherlock and essential to the series success. It makes sense that he would highlight that with his first Sherlock Holmes novel. Perhaps now  we could imagine a film like that produced today, whereas in the past, Brosnan would've been cast as Watson to reflect the weight of the role in this story or revised the whole thing by introducing Irene Adler as the damsel in distress. This tinkering happened with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen  film, when it became a vehicle for Sean Connery playing Alan Quartermain, when the focus of the comics was always Mina Murray.

Then there's Count Dracula. Estleman's approach is to cast the Count as a Sherlock Holmes villain.  The sequences featuring him parallel scenes from classic Sherlock Holmes stories: a spooky hound appearing in the fog (The Hound of the Baskervilles ), standoffs with villains in Holmes' study ( The Speckled Band, The Final Problem, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Mazarin Stone ), races against time to save a damsel in distress ( The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, The Copper Beeches,  The Illustrious Client ), a boat chase ( The Sign of Four ), searching for mundane objects holding valuable things ( The Blue Carbuncle, The Six Napoleons, The Disappearance of  Lady Frances Carfax, The Norwood Builder ) and an ending to a wild goose chase that relies on Holmes assuring us of a likely happy ending happening offstage ( Wisteria Lodge ). Within this context, Count Dracula is in good company with Count Silvius, Milverton, Moriarty and the rest, but then Estleman throws a surprise bit of depth to the Count's last scene in this book by adding an interesting dialogue with Watson - without turning him into Barnabas Collins. Dracula's powers were never too clear; Estleman hints that his appetite for blood may be linked to how much he exerts himself, so he is never omnipotent...I couldn't picture Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee as the Count in this one, or Gary Oldman's one-man-monster-mash Dracula...maybe Anthony Hopkins. And David Burke as Watson, though Martin Freeman or Jude Law would do okay.

What surprises did this book hold, if any?

It's short! Seriously, it's about the same length as any of the four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Doyle. It is ironic that aside from Barrie Roberts or Nicholas Meyer, most of the pastiche novels tend be over 250-300 pages...or more! In what way is that an improvement on the master?

Another surprise is that it's not...comic book, action figure spectacle. The stakes are raised in a convincing way and everyone is in fine form. You could argue about whether or not Watson's dignity was compromised by having his wife kidnapped, but that is not an impossible consequence when dealing with Dracula, who tends to like wife-stealing. At least Estleman didn't bring Irene Adler into this - that character becomes less interesting whenever she appears in new stories. That "relationship" with Sherlock never happened...nor did Nero Wolfe become the product of their one-night-stand in Montenegro. If Holmes saw any action in the bedroom in the canon, it was likely with the maid he became engaged to in "Charles Augustus Milverton" when he was disguised as a plumber in Milverton's house.

I'm somewhat surprised "The Adventure of The Sussex Vampire" isn't given more than just a nod in the opening. That story is best-known as the source for the "No ghosts need apply" quote, but it is unusual in that it features a cruel prank pulled by a disturbed boy on a baby. It was adapted into a two hour episode of the Jeremy Brett series as "The Vampyre of The Village" and delved deeper into why the boy might've done that. It wasn't very good and neither was the story, but I guess that's why Estleman chose to just take the quote and ignore the rest. Few people who love Holmes' remark about the impossible and improbable even remember that it was taken from The Sign of Four!

Have you read other works by this author?

I'm about to read Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes, Estleman's follow-up novel, which he thought was superior to Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula,  so this should be interesting.  As per the rules I set up for this "Summer of Sherlock" reading challenge,  I'll offer a review next month, giving you, the readers, time to read it for yourselves if you'd like. 

Give us a good quote.

Sure. Check out the gallery below.

A Summer of Sherlock

Last month, I got my hands on four Sherlock Holmes books that I've been wanting to read for a long time - all written by other authors than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes pastiches are a sub-genre of sorts;  you never know what you're gonna get.  I remember attempting to read Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula around 2000 and giving up because I couldn't figure out where Loren D. Estleman was going with it after a long sequence describing a cargo ship that had been ravaged after a vampire attack.

That reading had been with a copy borrowed from the library. This time, I'm giving it a 2nd chance because I own it now. The challenge (which you can follow along), is to read one Sherlock Holmes pastiche a month through this coming summer. I'll review the book I read, promote the next book I'll read, review that, and so on. To start, I'll just review the first book right now...because it was a library copy and I had to return it...

The Perils of Sherlock Holmes by Loren D.  Estleman

Encapsulate the plot of this book in one sentence?

A collection of short Sherlock Holmes mysteries and essays by the author includes encounters with Fu Manchu creator Sax Rohmer, Doc Holliday,  the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future...and a new revelation about The Shadow's link to the world's greatest detective.

What's your verdict?

Nice. Estleman's specialty is writing crossovers, so we get a lot of that here. In this case, I get the feeling that these were ideas for potential novels that wound up as short stories instead, for whatever reason.  They're essentially skits, sketches...I was more impressed with the essays. I remember "On The Significance of Boswells" was the introductory essay in Signet's two-volume paperback reprints of the canonical stories by Doyle; it's a great profile of Dr. Watson which was updated to include Estleman's praise of the two recent movies with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Holmes & Watson, though he makes no mention of Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman, which is...interesting. I wonder if he's seen that, or even Johnny Lee Miller & Lucy Liu?

And then there's "Was Sherlock Holmes the Shadow? (A trifle)"...if I needed just one reason to pick up this book, here it is. Estleman muses on Sherlock Holmes,  post-"His Last Bow", moving to the United States and applying his skills and resources in distinctly new ways to take on 20th Century evil...wherever it may dwell...even suggesting that Watson, Irene  Adler and brother Mycroft joined in on the fun, under different names,  of course. It almost makes me want to check our those reprints of old Shadow pulp novels...then I remember I've already tried reading those...but it's a great essay.

So...next time, I'll review Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula...and see if the 2nd times the charm. The book is available in stores and online in a cool new paperback edition,  so feel free to check it out...and tell me if it's good to keep me from bailing out...

WHO Are You? Who? Who? Who? Who?

The BBC is going to announce who will replace Matt Smith in the role of The Doctor in Doctor Who today. Officially, the new arrival will be the twelfth actor to play the Time Lord, making him, or her  "The 12th Doctor". Your friendly South London bookie will tell you that Peter Capaldi & Daniel Rigby are the odds-on favorites believed to get the role; both are virtually unknown in the U.S., but in Britain they are better-known than Smith when he got the part. Some people think Benedict Cumberbatch might get it, since Sherlock and Doctor Who don't appear to pose scheduling conflicts (they're both BBC programs;  he could do both) and Steven Moffat runs both shows.

The truth is NOBODY KNOWS. They did a really good job of keeping it a secret - so good, that the announcement is planned to be simulcast on BBCAmerica today at 2pm.

I'm certain about two things: the new doctor will probably stick around for three, four years, tops...there's never talk of pay raises or "points on the back end" for any of these actors when their likeness adorns merchandise that makes a lot of money for the BBC - the only reason why Tom Baker is the only actor to have played the part the longest (seven years) might be because he had co-written a script for a feature film titled Doctor Who Meets Scratchman that was almost fast-tracked into production but was grounded by a lack of financing...and...Tom was forced out by enemies he'd made with his ego. Anyway, the point is, only the Beeb makes the money. No contract negotiations or producer credits or other American showbiz dealspeak; I'm sure David Tennant didn't leave to do that remake of Fright Night; he had become THE most popular incarnation of the Doctor, rivaling Tom & his scarf with his own pinstripe blue suit & eyeglasses. It's no secret that the Matt Smith years are often regarded as "Tennant jr." or Doctor Who Babies.

There's always talk about whether an American version of the series will be made ... doubtful. Two reasons: the ratings would need to average 20 million every week (it averages around 10 million on a good day, 15 on a better day, 8 or 5 at bad times - good for the CW, you might say, but only if the budget was at rock-bottom - Supernatural / Vampire Diaries , dim-lighting, walking-around-shrubs-in-a-studio-lot-at-Burbank bottom). The one time Who saw 20 million was in 1979, when an idustrial strike shut down the only other network in Britain and people who would rather watch the soap opera Coronation Street on ITV were watching part 2 of "City of Death" instead. Low-wattage potboiler detective shows like New Tricks get the same ratings as Doctor Who, which means us yankees would be hoping the U.S. incarnation could do as well as Castle. Another reason? It's too British! Americanize it and you get something we've seen before here: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Back To The Future, Sliders, Angel, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling, Dollhouse...even The Ghost Whisperer..with it's mushy, pious, sometimes condescending sentimentality.

The other certainty? Hard core fans are on pins and needles in anticipation...arranging live tweets and recording their reactions as it happens on YouTube, Vine, Skype, Instagram, Keek, etc...

Oh, and  another certainty...there will be plenty of merchandise with the 12th Doctor..and his/her costume - the real dealbreaker that will gauge his/her popularity and appeal...is still a secret.

Oh...one other certainty.. Jenna Coleman is still in the show, whether "graduating" into The Doctor ( as many fans, including myself, are inclined to think could happen, because of the nature of the current, wonky storyline - that Clara co-exists within the Doctor's lifespan and is dependant on him to stay alive - I think), but also, she's the new Sci-Fi Babe/"It" girl - a title held by alumni such as Eliza Dushku, Jessica Alba, Charisma Carpenter, Jeri Ryan, etc...I suppose she might turn up on the cover of Maxim soon. For now, we're settling for photoshopped pictures of her in vinyl catsuits...

Update: Peter Capaldi IS the new Doctor...and people are already debating if his age and appearance will send female viewers running the opposite direction. Those in support of the decision call him a "silver fox", all opposed recall his track record of playing only  foulmouthed  bastards - Malcolm Tucker of "The Thick of It" in particular. The irony here is I recall Matt Smith fell under the same scrutiny and people already miss him. So that means all IS right with the world. We've got a new Doctor Who. Cheers. :)