A Devilish Good Time

  I am under the belief that audiobooks are books, no matter what the current argument is.  Just because one isn’t sitting either on their Kindle or with a paper book in their hand does not make the story any less exciting and engaging. 

Audio dramas, however, are up in the air because, while the stories aren’t visual, they are in a media format that isn’t really one person reading from a script for an entire story.  But in this case, I’m going to give this story a pass because, while it might be considered an audio drama, it was so good that I must review it.

Moriarty: The Devil’s Game is an audio story created by Audible.  If you are an Audible subscriber, this is free to any member. Go ahead and click that play button.

Professor James Moriarty, an advanced math professor travels to London with his fiancée, Rose Winslow, taking a small holiday to help her look for wedding dresses.  While there, Miss Winslow is murdered, and Moriarty is arrested for her murder. In his desperation to prove his innocence, he calls upon the talents of one Sherlock Holmes who then damns him to death.  

Escaping prison before his hanging with the help of his new friend Colonel Sebastian Moran, Moriarty becomes determined to discover not only who killed his beloved Rose, but who framed him for her murder. His journey takes him from London’s criminal underground to the very white halls of the power of London herself.  Along the way, the mythos of the battle between James Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes that we, the readers, know is twisted on it ear and the true story is revealed. 

This is the story of Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty that nobody has heard before.  Where the characters are twisted, flipped, and placed on the board as The Game is played in a completely different way to almost the same ending. Moriarty is played by Dominic Monahan of Lord of the Rings and Lost fame and his own Boswell, Colonel Sebastian Moran is played by Billy Boyd, also of Lord of the Rings fame.  Because these men are such close friends in real like, their connection on the page is apparent as well.

Dominic Monahan’s interpretation of the Professor gives us a sympathetic character who becomes a bit of an anti-hero.  He isn’t wholly good, nor is he wholly evil.  He’s a man using the instruments at hand, not matter what they are, to achieve an end.  Yes, he ends up running a criminal cabal but is he really the Napoleon of Crime that Holmes makes him out to be? 

As for the Consulting Detective, Phill LaMarr, a voice actor known for his roles in Samurai Jack, Futurama, and American Dad is terrifying as Sherlock Holmes. But it’s so good to listen to.

    The juxtaposition of Holmes and Watson against Moriarty and Moran was stark in this adaptation. Moran believed in Moriarty, they were friends and Moran believed and supported him.  Alternatively, Watson was no more than a useful hound to Holmes in this story.  A theme that is used over and over, not only between Holmes and Watson but also between brothers later in the story. 

If you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes or just like stories that are dark and gritty, hit the play button on this story.  It is absolutely worth it.

Another book in the books, so they say.  Are we getting ready for autumn friends?  Pretty soon the weather will cool, leaves will fall and hark in the beginning of the next season.  Make sure you’re ready to bunk down friends.  In the meantime, have a good week.  Relax and curl up with a good book.