"Curse of our Indian possessions" doesn't mean "physical items from India", but rather "the disease that is the curse we incurred by possessing the Indian subcontinent"

This is great stuff, but educated Englishmen of the time would have known that "alumni" is plural and "alumnus" is singular. But that is pedantry - bravo!

As a native speaker I have to correct your German. 'I serve' would be 'Ich diene'. The 'e' is important. ;)

Absolutely wonderful story. I love this take on Watson's experiences in the war, and you've written both him and his experiences excellently. Definitely a great read and going straight on my favourites list!

-NM

I'm writing this review at the end of Chapter 19 because will only let you post one review per chapter or one-shot. First, I wanted to say that I just love how this story leads right into "A Study in Scarlet." The transition from fanfiction story to Chapter 1 of Doyle's story is so smooth! :)

Second, may I nudge a plot-bunny your way? Would you consider writing a similar story about the BBC John Watson's final days in Afghanistan, and the time leading up to the day he meets Sherlock Holmes? You would have to watch all the episodes for the pieces of his history, of course, and you would have to research the modern-day peacekeeping in Afghanistan, but I have bookmarked a Web site that you would find invaluable in researching the modern-day John's own history. I hope you will-I would so love to read it! :)

Would you be willing to write a direct sequel to this story covering Watson's introduction to Sherlock Holmes, and his moving in with him? Please do-I would so love to read it!

Amazing story! I'm impressed about the lengths of research for this to make it accurate. I'd really wish there was more story about Watson during the army before he was shot, but I think this is great nonetheless. I love all the characters here, both those created solely for this story and those who are in the canon sphere, but Murray has a place in my heart. Thank you for writing this!

Well done! Lovely, well-researched, thoughtful.

The amount of research you put into this must simply have been stunning, and it really paid off, let me assure you! I just found this fic an hour ago and read through the whole thing in one sitting. Your writing is incredibly eloquent, conveying the thoughts and actions of others' seamlessly.

Suffice to say that I'm in awe of this. You are wonderful.

I'd been meaning to read this for a while, and just finally got around to it.

To avoid leaving a long and rambly review, I'm just going to say: this was awesome. The characters were great (especially loved Ives), and all that research totally paid off! Not to mention your many nods and backstory explanations to things in the canon, all of which were incredibly believable. Way to go. :)

I found your story of Watson's war experiences background quite fascinating and I love the way you wove in Col. Hayter and then moved seamlessly into the beginning of STUD. I don't believe I've ever read a story that deals with this subject before. You obviously did a tremendous amount of research, too.
I will definitely look up Protector of the Grey Fortress'es work. I'm sorry that GM's site no longer appears to exist, though.
Any rate - well done!

love it!
i cannot wait for the next chapter :)

I certainly enjoyed your story. As a vet (non-combat and not a doctor) your descriptions of the army's send-offs and the mixed emotions you feel as a result struck a chord with me.

This truly was a masterpiece of writing and one heck of a totally believable account of Watson's pre-Sherlock life. I found it completely captivating and truly, I want so very much to see this come to life in film. Such a shame that it won't.

Thank you for such a well-researched, wonderfully entertaining story. The ending is a bit abrupt and could have been smoother. I am aware that other talented writers have gone on to write about the evolution of the Watson, Holmes friendship, but I'd give anything to read YOUR interpretation of it in your own creation.

Ouch. i hallucinated once before, a bad reaction to a medicine. It was nightime, and although i knew i was hallucinating, i kept seeing small multicolored lights approaching me. It was scary. Good chapter.