Against the Brotherhood : A Mycroft Holmes Novel (Mycroft Homes)

Rating:
Summary: A Victorian spy yarn
Review: Against the Brotherhood is an enjoyable read. However, it does not fare so well as a story about Sherlock Holmes' older brother, Mycroft.

Mycroft appears in two of the original stories by Sir Arhtur Conan Doyle, and is mentioned in a few others. He is a genius, works for the British government and rarely varies his daily, sedentary routine.

Therein lies the rub. These books read like an espionage/spy series set in Victorian England. Mycroft is a far more active person than Doyle gave us. He crawls long distances, carries a body up a hill and travels across the continent. In the beginning of the second novel in the series, Mycroft literally turns into The Flash when a bomb is discovered. It feels like Quinn Fawcett (pen name for two authors) wanted to write a James Bond-type of series set in Victorian England and plugged Mycroft Holmes in.

Holmes isn't even the main character. Patterson Guthrie is Holmes' secretary and he narrates. Except for at the end of each chapter, when a 'journal' entry is made by Mycroft's manservant. This change interrupts the flow and is merely a cheap device to easily impart information.

If you are looking for more of Mycroft as Doyle created him, you won't find it here. And since each cover prominently notes that the series is authorized by Sir Arthur's daughter, you might reasonably expect that.

Thus, I found it to be a nice book, but misleading. Expect a good spy tale, not a Mycroft Holmes case, and you will be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric, Intellectual and Character Driven Story
Review: Fawcett has perfectly captured the Victorian zen with this addition to the Holmes tapestry. As most fans know, Mycroft, Sherlock's older and "smarter" brother is the brain of the British government's intelligence and counterintelligence services of the period, and Fawcett convincingly populates the time and place.

The prose is wonderful, particularly the dialogue, which perfectly captures the essence of the highly articulate and oh-so-English main characters. It's a pleasure to read an author that places such an emphasis on the quality of the dialogue.

The story itself moves forward with real momentum; I found it increasingly difficult to put the book down as I progressed through it.

Highly recommended to Holmes fans, or any reader with an interest in Victorian settings.

Rating:
Summary: Mycroft Comes Into His Own At Last!
Review: I've always wondered about Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes's mysterious sibling. He appeared only in a few of Conan Doyle's stories and (if I remember correctly) made an appearance in Nicholas Meyer's "The Seven Percent Solution". However, until now, Mycroft has remained largely in the background, a figure on the periphery of Sherlock's better-documented exploits.

Fortunately for us, author Quinn Fawcett, with endorsement by none other than Dame Jean Conan Doyle herself, has fashioned a new crime series which pulls Mycroft from the shadows and into his rightful place in detective fiction. "Against The Brotherhood", the first novel in Fawcett's series, also introduces the reader to Mycroft's capable secretary Paterson Guthrie, his worthy houseman Philip Tyers and a stimulating new cast of characters and villains that is worthy both of the Conan Doyle family endorsement and the regard and enjoyment of the millions of faithful Sherlock devotees.

In "Against The Brotherhood", Mycroft and Guthrie find themselves pitted against a mysterious, blood-thirsty organization of ruthless men, set on destroying the world's great governments through various underhanded, clandestine and (quite often) murderous and bloody methods. The novel contains many hair-raising moments, as Mycroft sends Guthrie undercover to penetrate the mysterious "Brotherhood" and, in so doing, puts his secretary's life at stake for, if Guthrie's real identity is discovered by the very group he is trying to infiltrate, they will stop at nothing to silence him - forever, and in VERY nasty ways.

In fashioning Mycroft Holmes (who has sometimes been called "Sherlock's smarter brother"), Fawcett gives us not so much a smarter sibling (for to be sure, brains run in that family in spades) but a "kinder, gentler" sibling. He is brilliant without his brother's arrogance, and more human. There is far less of Sherlock's chilly remoteness, and one senses that Mycroft is psychologically better-adjusted than his brother, who has many inner demons driving him. The two, when compared together, make a stimulating contrast.

Likewise, Guthrie is no Watson, although he, like Watson, faithfully records the exploits of his employer. Each of Guthrie's chapters is capped by an entry from Tyers's private diary, which provides extra information about the main plot while spinning a side plot concerning the approaching death of Tyers's elderly mother. Guthrie is a courageous character, willing to do more than what's required of him and able to stand his ground in a tight spot. And there are plenty of those in "Against The Brotherhood".

I've just started the second Mycroft Holmes novel, "Embassy Row", fast on the heels of completing this one, and I'm finding that situations, characters and references carry over from one novel to the next. Therefore, I believe it would be best to begin this series at the beginning, with "Against The Brotherhood", in order to follow the references to past exploits that will be made in future novels.

I definitely feel that Sherlock Holmes fans will appreciate the new focus on his brother, Mycroft, and Quinn Fawcett has done an excellent job in breathing life into a little-known literary creation. I highly recommend this admirable and fun-to-read series.