The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons

My first thoughts on this new Sherlock Holmes story from Dan Simmons were all, most definitely,  on the negative side, to the point where I almost stopped reading - something I very rarely do.  I made myself carry on and am now very glad that I did.

The Fifth Heart portrays Sherlock Holmes in the period after Reichenbach Falls and his supposed death whilst confronting Professor Moriarty.  He is in Paris, in the middle of an existential crisis, contemplating suicide by drowning in the Seine.  This is where Holmes encounters Henry James, the author, who is considering the exact solution to his woes.  Sherlock Holmes has come to believe he may not be real, that he may be a fictional construct from the imagination of someone else, while Henry James has suffered some personal losses and his writing is not going well. The two men effectively save each other, with Henry James stopping Holmes and then being brought along for the next of the detective's adventures.

Henry James takes the place of Dr Watson in this tale though he is a much less willing sidekick than Watson.  This is an interesting idea from Dan Simmons but, for me at least, it simply does not work.  The sections of the novel where James is the main protagonist are too slow - clunky for want of a better word - and interrupt the flow of the book as a whole.

When the action centres fully on Sherlock Holmes things improve greatly.  The book becomes much more lively, engrossing and the writing is less stilted.  It does tend to focus a little too much on Holmes and his drug habit.  Mr Simmons brings in a couple of characters from the Conan Doyle stories, most significantly Irene Adler and Professor Moriarty, and provides a great twist on the dynamics of the relationship between Holmes and Adler.  I also liked the way Moriarty was ultimately dealt with.

Personally I felt, at times, as if I were reading two different books.  The sections involving Henry James and his group of highly influential American friends were well handled but had the feel of an in depth history lesson on the period and main political figures from the Civil War to the 1890's.  All seemed very well researched but did little to help the plot.  I found the use of Samuel Clemens - Mark Twain to most - as a sounding board for Holmes and his existential dilemma a little odd but Simmons did manage to make it work.

The other book was a definite Sherlock Holmes adventure yarn.  Our great detective has three mysteries to solve with the suicide (or murder?) of Clover Adams, the anarchist plot and his fear of whether or not he really exists.  All of which are done well but I thought the personal issue for Holmes, the matter of his reality, was not covered as much as the blurb for the book suggested it would be, though the conclusion he reaches does fit well.

All things considered I would recommend this book but with the caveat that it be treated with patience.