| Title | : | The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1597801607 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781597801607 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 454 |
| Publication | : | First published September 1, 2009 |
| Awards | : | Locus Award Best Anthology (2010) |
The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Reviews
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4.0 stars. An overall very good collection with some superb stories (including one "All Time Favorite"), some okay stories and some good to very good stories. If you like Sherlock Holmes stories, you will like this collection (possibly even love it). I have separated the contents of the book into the categories above (superb, good to very good and okay) to be of help in navigating this collection (but of course this is only my opinion).
BEST STORY IN COLLECTION
A Study in Emerald (Neil Gaiman). Not only the best story in this collection but on my list of "All Time Favorite" stories. Arthur Conan Doyle meets Lovecraft. Brilliant, fun and amzing.
SUPERB
The Horror of the Many Faces (Tim Lebbon). Another Lovecraftian story featuring Sherlock Holmes. It is just great watching the quintessential logician and master of all things rational to confront the nameless, indescribable horrors of lovecraft.
The Adventure of the Death-Fetch (Darrell Schweitzer). Another great story in which Holmes confronts a dark, unworldly (and ultimately unexplainable) mystery.
The Singular Habits of Wasps (Geoffrey Landis). Holmes investigating (or is he) the murders of Jack the Ripper and consulting H.G. Wells on a most unusual foe. An amazing story.
The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece (Barbara Hambly). Another Lovecraftian spin on Sherlock Holmes.
** I think you can see a pattern of the kinds of stories I found superb.
GOOD TO VERY GOOD
The Adventure of the Pirates of Devil’s Cape (Rob Rogers). Defintiely on the higer end of the range (almost made the superb category. Holmes and Watson confront a master pirate in New Orleans (who may be more than he appears to be).
The Adventure of the Field Theorems (Vonda N. McIntyre). Again, another excelent story that almost made the superb list (call it very, very good). Holmes assists Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on trying to prove what is causing strange Field Theorems (aka Crop Circles) from appearing in the middle of wheat fields.
The Adventure of the Inertial Adjustor (Stephen Baxter). Good to very good story.
The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey (Peter Tremayne). A very good Sherlock Holmes story in the classic tradition.
The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger (Michael Moorcock). A good solid Holmes story with a great plot.
You See But You Do Not Observe (Robert J. Sawyer). Very good story involving a unique answer to the Fermi Paradox.
OKAY
The Doctor’s Case (Stephen King)
The Case of the Bloodless Sock (Anne Perry)
The Adventure of the Other Detective (Bradley H. Sinor)
A Scandal in Montreal (Edward Hoch)
The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland (Mary Robinette) Kowal
The Adventure of the Mummy’s Curse (H. Paul Jeffers)
The Things That Shall Come Upon Them (Barbara Roden)
Murder to Music (Anthony Burgess)
Mrs Hudson’s Case (Laurie R. King)
The Affair of the Forty-Sixth Birthday (Amy Myers)
The Vale of the White Horse (Sharyn McCrumb)
The Adventure of the Lost World (Dominic Green)
Dynamics of a Hanging (Tony Pi)
Merridew of Abominable Memory (Chris Roberson)
Commonplaces (Naomi Novik)
The Adventure of the Green Skull (Mark Valentine)
The Human Mystery (Tanith Lee) -
The book I was going to review tonight was a really dirty, sexy little thing by some independent authors that got me slavering with senseless lust; but due to a technical/legal hitch to do with access to data and some commercial jiggery-pokery between two dot coms, that particular book cannot be found on Goodreads at the moment. So I'll review The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes instead.
I wasn't expecting much of it, to be honest. I listened to a quite well written introduction by, I presume, John Joseph Adams, which was read by someone who insisted on pronouncing Moriarty as Moriarity about fifteen times, which didn't bode well.
But the stories themselves were surprisingly good. To be honest, I haven't listened to all of them yet. Well, look, I was planning on reviewing the sex stories tonight. This is my fallback. I was planning on reviewing this one next week.
But I really look forward to these stories. I like listening in the dark. Some of them are very spooky. They are also witty in a way, playing upon our expectations. They've all been published before in some form so they have a pedigree.
So if you like Sherlock Holmes (I love him!) and you're open-minded, give it a try. The stories are a little improbable but that's why they're fun. Even die-hard fans of Sir Arthur (I'm one!) won't be disappointed by these re-workings of the famous Conan Doyle canon. -
I can't even begin to describe how awesome this book is. True, I've been a Sherlockian nearly all of my life,reading nearly all of the Canon as a child and my first pastiches (the ones by Nicholas Meyer) in my early teens. The brand new BBC series has done but add to my enthusiasm.
This pastiche anthology is any Sherlockian's dream, putting Holmes and Watson in many different situations,that include time travel,pirates, Cthulhu myths,alien invasions, attempted assassinations,even Holmes having sex!! (everybody now: oooooooohhhhhhhhhh)The list of real and fictional characters Holmes and Watson meet or are mentioned in the stories is inmense: Lewis Carroll, King Alphonse XIII of Spain,Sarasate, Flinders Petrie, Professor Challenger, HG Wells...even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pitilessly mocked by his own creature for his Spiritualist beliefs, and a very popular character by Borges (not telling which one)
The list of authors is quite impressing too, including Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Vonda McIntyre, Michael Moorcock and Anne Perry. The quality of the stories is very high, there is the odd not-so-good one but most of them are excellent. Recommended. -
This fascinating collection of pastiches represent both extremes of apocryphal Sherlockiana: some of them place Holmes in pretty outre situations that are bound to be considered as plain improbable (and hence not to be considered even with a few sacks of salt for anything apart from 'fun'), and some are so realistically (that is in the style of Sir ACD, and not of some pompous pretender) created that they could have walked into the canon. Unfortunately, there are also quite a few stories (as are bound to slip in such a hefty tome) that are neither realistic nor 'fun'. But let me recount the stories one-by-one: -
(*) Introduction by J.J.Adams: a frank confession regarding his editorial ambition, as well as clarification that this book consists of almost entirely reprints.
(*) A Sherlockiana Primer: a very good introduction to the Gaslit world of Holmes & Watson for the novice and the naive.
1) "THE DOCTOR'S CASE" by Stephen King: a stunning story, which could have been very much probable.
2) "The Horror of the Many Faces" by Tim Lebbon: a sharp decline after the high of the first story, this one is improbable (with all its Lovecraftian under/over-tones) as well as rather unwarrantably long.
3) "The Case of the Bloodless Sock" by Anne Perry: a very good story, and nothing 'improbable' as such in the story or the characters.
4) "THE ADVENTURE OF THE OTHER DETECTIVE" by Bradley H. Sinor: improbability strikes with a vengeance as Dr. Watson (and the reader) visits an alternate reality where Professor Moriarty occupies 221B Baker Street, accompanied by Sergeant Murray, and the inevitable happens, er..., inevitably.
5) "A Scandal in Montreal" by Edward D. Hoch: unfortunately, this is one of the poorer stories, taking Holmes to Canada, involving Irene Adler (the lady must have taken serious offense at such a poor portrayal as happens in this story), despite originating from the pen of one of the most prolific & consistent mystery-writers.
6) "THE ADVENTURE OF FIELD THEOREMS" by Vonda N. McIntyre: a superb fun' ride, and after the stories in No. 1 & 4, this one lightens up the reading substantially.
7) "The Adventure of the Death-Fetch" by Darrell Schweitzer: an enjoyable story, totally improbable, but not bad.
8) "The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland" by Mary Robinette Kowal: neither that shocking, nor that enjoyable, merely readable.
9) "The Adventure of the Mummy's Curse" by H.Paul Jeffers: improbable because it claims Watson to be a Master Mason, a mediocre story that involved a mystery which could have been easily solved by Inspector Lestrade had the case been brought to him.
10) "THE THINGS THAT SHALL COME UPON THEM" by Barbara Roden: a brilliant and dazzlingly competent story that brings together the pioneer Consulting & Occult detectives (Sherlock Holmes & Flaxman Low, respectively) to solve a mystery that had begun with one of the greatest horror stories in literature ("Casting The Runes") written by the greatest ghost-story writer (M.R.James) and solves the story without disrespecting anybody, and yet with just enough ambivalence at the end to challenge the reader to draw the conclusion.
11) "Murder to Music" by Anthony Burges: another sensationalist drama involving Watson treating obscure East Asian diseases in London (according to "The Dying Detective" he literally knew nothing about them), attempted assassination of the Spanish Monarch inside a train in London by using bombs that would explode at certain musical pitch, and Holmes learning about Spanish-inter-feuds during his stay at Marrakesh(???)and later publicly insulting Watson, four improbable things in a pretty mediocre story, which in itself is a feat!
12) "The Adventure of the Inertial Adjustor" by Stephen Baxter: a 'fun' story, completely improbable, but enjoyable in an off-hand manner.
13) "MRS. HUDSON'S CASE" by Laurie R. King: a jewel-like story where the long-suffering Mrs. Hudson steals the thunder in her own style.
14) "THE SINGULAR HABITS OF WASPS" by Geoffrey A. Landis: science-fiction, mystery, horror, Holmes and Jack The Ripper, and all in less than 20 pages! You really can't have any more 'fun'.
15) "The Affair of the 46th Birthday" by Amy Myers: another mediocre story involving attempted assassination, Medici Ring, Russia and Italy (at least it spared France or Germany, or were they 'covered' in story no. 11, not sure, really).
16) "The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey" by Peter Tremayne: an average story, definitely improbable (Holmes falling in love with a villainous girl, who, after killing her father [THE James Philimore, who, after returning to his home to collect his umbrella, was never seen again], marries Professor Moriarty, and allows all the property to pass on to the Professor), definitely NOT re-readable.
17) "THE VALE OF THE WHITE HORSE" by Sharyn McCrumb: a superlative and gothic story involving family-curses and murder most heinous.
18) "The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger" by Michael Moorcock: good, readable, but the end could have been predicted by any Sherlockian long-long ago.
19) "The Adventure of the Lost World" by Dominic Green: a 'fun' story, with adequate mixture of humour and gore, throwing couple of Allosaurus in-between!
20) "The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece" by Barbara Hambly: this story is a classic example of British cuisine, where several good ingredients (Holmes & Carnaki) mixed with a lot of labour (almost 20 pages) and good intent (to spice up Lovecraftian horror with several shades of 'The Great Beast' incorporated for effect, nothing less), end up in a pathetically tasteless food, simply because the author didn't know when to stop and where to allow the readers to draw their own conclusion, unlike the one written by Barbara Roden, which is a study in restraint.
21) "Dynamics of a Hanging" by Tony Pi: this is a vile story which is completely improbable, and devoid of any redeeming feature, despite involving Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Arthur Conan Doyle who has been murdered by Moriarty to ensure the secrecy of Moriarty's cipher, and Lewis Carroll, who gets Moriarty evicted from University without any proof and simply by spreading vile rumours. See now why I am so eager to bring a blunt instrument in immediate contact with Mr. Pi on a priority basis?
22) "Merridew of Abominable Memory" by Chris Roberson: improbable, and not-so-much fun.
23) "Commonplaces" by Naomi Novik: hmmm..... Holmes loves Watson (never expressed, but expected to be reciprocated nevertheless, leading to their "estrangement" during the hiatus since the good Doctor had got married), Irene Norton locates Holmes with a minimum of search, Holmes makes love with Irene, and Irene rediscovers herself. Really, how damnably improbable can a pastiche be? Greater men (& women) have already commented that stupidity has no limits, etc. etc.
24) "The Adventure of the Pirates of Devil's Cape" by Rob Rogers: a solid, enjoyable, and improbable story. Big relief after that ****** **** from Ms. Novik.
25) "The Adventure of the Green Skull" by Mark Valentine: a readable, poignant story without much of mystery or improbability.
26) "The Human Mystery" by Tanith Lee: yes, a masterly touch in this story, although I doubt even a misogynist like Holmes could have understood things after such a long time, perhaps that's what makes this story improbable.
27) "A STUDY IN EMERALD" by Neil Gaiman: a classic, and if you are yet to encounter this take on alternate universe, then I would recommend you to purchase the book and plunge head-first in this story.
28) "You See But You Do Not Observe" by Robert J. Sawyer: a very good story with a very strong dosage of science-fiction, if not science, and with a certain pathos.
Overall, out of 28 stories there are 8 superlative stories (a staggering percentage, let me state), 11 enjoyable stories, 3 moderately good stories, 4 clunkers, and 2 worthy of consigning their creators to some particular literary hell). To sum up, quite good. Recommended. -
There are some very bad stories in here. If you are going to do a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, at least have Holmes and Watson talk in the correct language for their day and do not use Americanisms. It really is quite simple.
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A really fantastic collection of speculative Sherlock Holmes stories. While any collection comprising many different authors is going to have some stories that are better than others, I don't know if I could say that any of the stories here are total duds.
For me personally, the best stories were the ones that didn't try to ape the style of the original tales and tried to do something different. A comedy where Holmes vs. a dinosaur and a few of the Lovecraftian stories really stand out. -
The stories I read from this collection are:
'The Doctor's Case' by Stephen King
For as much as I like Stephen King, I was not sure it was within his range to write a Sherlock Holmes story. And while the reader can see the license he took with the characters, I was left fairly impressed with this result. The highlight of this story is its premise -- King has Watson solve this case ahead of Holmes, something that never happened in the canon.
'The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland' by Mary Robinette Kowal
This was an interesting take on a case that was alluded to in the Holmes canon, told from the point-of-view of a young woman entangled in the mystery. It wasn't a very strong mystery, but the chance to see Holmes and Watson through the perspective of a suspect/victim was interesting.
'A Study in Emerald' by Neil Gaiman
This story was very different from the others that I read in that this heavily featured the fantastic, an element lacking in the other, more traditional Holmes pastiches I read. It is the perfect short story for anyone into Neil Gaiman, Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulu mythos. It is no surprise to me this won a Hugo award for short fiction. -
Welcome to the 1st Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Awards Show, where yours truly presents awards to the stories in this anthology as a way to celebrate the honestly fabulous talent displayed in this book.
But before I go ahead with declaring the winners, I have a few words to say about the editor of this fine collection. This is the first John Joseph Adams anthology I’ve had the pleasure to read, and I’m glad to report that it was a wonderful ride. Never had I read a better organized and edited anthology. There are also the wonderful introductions to each story, setting the tone, providing essential background information, and offering intrigue for the reader. So everyone please give a round of applause to the brilliant John Joseph Adams.
The first award of the night is the Best Doctor John Watson Award which recognizes the story with the best canonical portrayal of the famous chronicler. This was a difficult task in choosing the best for nearly all of the stories presented here tonight have this faithful companion as the narrator. The most noteworthy of these though are “The Doctor’s Case” by
Stephen King in which none other than Watson himself solves the case; “The Horror of the Many Faces” by
Tim Lebbon which the man in question’s reaction to a startling event is the treat that draws the reader in; and “Merridew of Abominable Memory” by
Chris Roberson where the glimpse of Watson’s old age and decaying memory shows a under-addressed side of this famous character. However none of these are deserving of this prodigious award. That story would be none other than “The Singular Habits of Wasps” by
Geoffrey A. Landis. In this tale of mystery and woe, the determined Dr. Watson’s action in the face of terrifying possibilities show the caring and faithful qualities that make him such an utterly indispensable companion.
The next award is the Best Professor Moriarty Award where the story with the most canonical Napoleon of Crime is acknowledged. “The Case of the Bloodless Sock” by
Anne Perry is one of these nominated tales where Moriarty is back and striking terror in the heart of Watson’s old friend by stealing his child away right under everyone’s noses. There’s also “The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey” by
Peter Tremayne which chronicles Holmes’ first heartbreaking encounter with the infamous criminal mastermind. Another noteworthy story is “The Adventure of the Other Detective” by
Bradley H. Sinor which explores a parallel universe where Moriarty’s and Holmes’ roles are switched. But the most noteworthy of them all, and the one receiving the award tonight, is “Dynamics of a Hanging” by
Tony Pi. In this story the secret behind Moriarty’s coded notes leads to the death of a familiar author, displaying both Moriarty’s incredible intelligence and evil.
The next award is one of the most anticipated and prodigious of the night and is none other than the Best Sherlock Holmes Award where the story representing the best canonical Sherlock Holmes is celebrated. Picking a winner was once again very challenging for it is that man that the whole anthology circles around, and there were quiet a variety of interpretations of him. Some stories, such as “The Things That Shall Come Upon Them” by
Barbara Roden, Holmes stays completely rational in the face of otherworldly forces. Others, such as “The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece” by
Barbara Hambly, Holmes seems to already have knowledge of and practice with dark intangible forces. Then there’s ones where Holmes is willing to learn and accept other ways at looking at the world, as is the case in “You See But You Do Not Observe” by
Robert J. Sawyer where the detective uses Schrödinger’s cat in context of “The Final Problem” to solve the Fermi paradox. Also there’s certain ones, such as “The Adventure of the Pirates of Devil’s Cape” by
Rob Rogers, where the good old Holmes that is known and loved is portrayed in true swashbuckling fashion. But the most compelling and accurate depiction of Holmes is in “The Horror of the Many Faces” where the great detective grapples, somewhat unsuccessfully, with accepting and rationalizing something he has no clue about.
The next award of the night follows along the vein of the previous awards. The Most Faithful of the Sherlockian Canon Award focuses on more than just the characters but the whole the story. There were many fabulous contestants for this competitive award, however there were only a few that could compare to the great
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s originals. One of these is “The Adventure of the Mummy’s Curse” by
H. Paul Jeffers, a tale employing the use of period history and framed story narration to find a rational, worldly solution to a seemingly mystical mystery. Another is “The Affair of the 46th Birthday” by
Amy Myers which was first published in The Strand (the magazine that housed all the original stories of this great detective) and where Holmes successfully, however narrowly, saves another crowned head of Europe. But the one closest to writing style and format of Doyle’s own stories is “The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodge” by
Michael Moorcock. And yes I do find the tremendous irony in granting a legendary fantasy author an award for a completely normal tale, but he deserves it. The portrayal of the characters, the framed story narration, and the unveiling of the mystery, are all so faithful to Doyle’s style that if you were to declare it a lost Doyle story, none would be the wiser.
Now for an award that is the polar opposite to the prior one: the Most Like a Fan-Fiction Award. If you take the simplified definition of a fan-fiction, that being a story where another person takes established characters and uses them to create a new tale, then this whole anthology is nothing but fan-fictions. But in truth, when a published author writes a fan-fiction, it ceases to be a fan-fiction and becomes their interpretation of another author’s stories. Nevertheless, there are still qualities of a fan-fiction present in some of these stories where the author presses their own opinions and desires upon these famous characters. Such is the case in the aforementioned “The Doctor’s Case” as well as “Mrs. Hudson’s Case” by
Laurie R. King, where two notable Sherlockian characters solve the case before Holmes can. “The Things That Shall Come Upon Them” contains another fan-fiction quality in the combining of two fictional universes, that of Sherlock Holmes and Flaxman Low, for the main purpose of seeing how they’d react to each other. There’s also the fan-fiction quality of switching Moriarty and Holmes roles along with improbable reactions that “The Adventure of the Other Detective” contains. But the most obvious fan-fiction quality is the abolishing of assumed canonical character traits and the pairing together of characters that for obvious reasons aren’t together. And it is the display of these qualities that makes “Commonplaces” by
Naomi Novik the winner of this award. The Holmes and Watson’s implied ‘more than friends’ relationship (contradicting the well known conclusion that Holmes is asexual), and Holmes and Irene Alder’s sexual encounter are clear signs of fan-fictional qualities. That still doesn’t make the story any less entertaining though.
The Most Absurd Award is a small award that could almost be canceled out by the previous one, but still can claim the stage. The stories considered for this award all share that little bit of ridiculousness that when thought upon, the reader finds themselves thinking, “What the heck?” Following that criteria, “The Adventure of the Other Detective” is an obvious candidate, especially when one considers the unexpected ending. But then there’s also “Murder to Music” by
Anthony Burgess where Holmes places his love of music above his pursuit of justice. However, since there are not a lot of stories in this anthology that contain a bizarre bit of ridiculousness, the winner in this case is obvious: “The Adventure of the Lost World” by
Dominic Green. In this tale Holmes confronts “a gigantic ten-thousand-pound theropod from Hell,” otherwise known as a megalosaurus. That’s right, a dinosaur. But it’s not just any plain old man-eating extinct animal; it’s one that only kills people playing a certain section of Gustav Holst’s Thaxted on the trombone. Now if that’s not absurd, I don’t know what is.
This next award deals with the concept of metafiction which is defined as a fiction that addresses the devices of fiction including the authors that write it. The Best Metafiction Award recognizes the story that displays this quality with the most entertaining insertion of authors of that time period including none other than Sir Author Conan Doyle himself. The writers of this anthology seemed to love throwing in even the slightest mention of Victorian authors, such as in “The Specter of Tullyfane Abby” where both
Oscar Wilde and
Bram Stoker make unwarranted appearances. They even make authors clients of Holmes such as in “The Adventure of the Inertial Adjuster” by
Stephen Baxter where
HG Wells calls upon the famous detective to solve the problem of a friend’s death; or they make the authors early friends of Moriarty such as in the aforementioned “Dynamics of a Hanging” where
Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) is old college buddies with the evil mastermind until the man kills an inspiring author by the name of Arthur Doyle. And that brings me to mentions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of which there are many, but the most notable and the winner of this award is “The Adventure of the Field-Theorems” by
Vonda N. McIntyre. This can’t miss story starts with making Doyle (described as a “great fool” by Holmes) a client of the detective when crop circles suddenly appear on his land, and ends with the unforgettable line, “’Yes, Watson…Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believes I am a Martian.’”
On the other hand the stories considered for this next award, the Most Spine-Chilling Award, are remembered for a completely different reason. These stories are best read in the depths of the night or during a dramatic thunderstorm, and will certainly run a little chill up your back and make the hair on your neck stand on end. They range from the simply grotesque in “Merridew of Abominable Memory” where the murderer seems to hack up bodies for the hell of it, to the mystical in “The Adventure of the Death-Fetch” by
Darrell Schweitzer where voodoo forces kill a client right under Holmes and Watson’s noses. Then there are the otherworldly forces in “The Horror of the Many Faces” and “The Singular Habits of Wasps” that lead many, including Watson, to believe Holmes is a raging mass murderer. Quite a few are inspired by
HP Lovecraft including “A Studying in Emerald” by
Neil Gaiman where the monsters of Lovecraft rule the world and the murderer is someone you’d least expect. Another story that contains Lovecraft creations is the winner of this award: “The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece” where the forces of Lovecraftian darkness wreck havoc on a family, an American, and of course Holmes and Watson.
I should probably announce this award before I forget, for this one is the Most Forgettable Award, granted to the story that is the most unremarkable in the anthology. Nominations include “A Scandal in Montreal” by
Edward D. Hoch, a story with Irene Adler that fails to impress; “The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland” by
Mary Robinette Kowal about a boring political assassination; and “The Vale of the White Horse” by
Sharyn McCrumb in which a new perspective and English folklore refuse to make an impact on the reader. But the most unexceptional of them all is sadly “The Adventure of the Green Skull” by
Mark Valentine a sorrowful tale about the poor working condition of Victorian factories that for some reason won’t to stick in my mind.
Now for the award that you’ve all been waiting for: the Reader’s Favorite Award, the award in which I dub a story my favorite out all in the anthology. It was hard, but I narrowed it down to “The Horror of the Many Faces,” “The Singular Habits of Wasps,” “The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece,” “Dynamics of a Hanging,” “A Study in Emerald,” and “You See But You Do Not Observe.” And after some much debate with the other judges in my head, the winner is…… “The Horror of the Many Faces.” Congratulation Tim Lebbon!
And that concludes the 1st Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Awards Show!! If any of the stories mentioned in this award show interest you, please feel free to read them yourself. You don’t have to have prior knowledge in Sherlock Holmes to do so. But it does help. -
As with any modern anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories, there are some high points as well as a few lows. And this collection is no different. Some of my favorite stories in this collection are the ones that follow the traditional Doyle formula. And then there are the stories that push the boundaries, taking the reader out of his or her comfort zone and pitting Holmes and Watson against dinosaurs, aliens, demonic spirits, pirates and the like. Some of these unconventional tales are entertaining while others are just too far removed from the Doyle canon for my tastes. But then I guess that was probably the intent of this anthology and its "improbable" moniker. That being said, I would still recommend this book for any Holmes enthusiast as the highs definitely outweigh the lows.
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Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes and much more unworldly things to adore.
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I was a bit sceptical, initially. To be honest, I am somewhat of a puritan when it comes to Sherlock Holmes so this kind of stories is a bit out of my comfort zone. I have however liked A Study in Emerald for many years so I decided to give this collection a chance. It won me over.
I liked most stories in it. Some are better than others, of course, and a few were not particularly memorable. Only one bored me to death though. Two made me somewhat angry because they seemed to want to shoehorn Holmes into a certain chain of events that just felt completely wrong.
Most of them being narrated by Simon Vance really helped shape my overall opinion of this book because even when Holmes and Watson did something out of character they still sounded like themselves, so to speak.
All in all, a very nice collection. One I might listen to again. -
I do love a good Holmes fan fiction collection! Many more good than bad here. I'll try to do as many individual reviews as I can.
The Horror of Many Faces: Watson sees a man brutally murdered right in front of him on the street and the murderer is...Holmes? Bum Bum Baaaaaaa! I previously read this one but had forgotten the twist. Jolly good.
The Case of the Bloodless Sock: A great kidnapping mystery with just a dash of a familiar villain.
The Adventure of the Other Detective: Watson is whisked away to an alternate dimension where Professor Moriarty is the detective and Holmes is the evil mastermind. Delightful.
A Scandal in Montreal: Holmes meets back up with Irene Adler after many years apart to help her family. Quite satisfying.
The Adventure of Field Theorems: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself appears in this adventure to enlist Holmes to solve a crop circles mystery. It pokes fun at how gullible Doyle was versus the skeptical Holmes.
The Adventure of the Death Fetch: Cthulhu Holmes! Well okay, more like Cthulhu versus Holmes. But still. Good stuff.
The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland: I'll be honest. This wasn't all that shocking. It did have a wedding though, if that's your thing.
The Adventure of the Mummy's Curse: Was there really a curse? Holmes says no, but my heart says yes!
The Things That Shall Come Upon Them: Weird fan fiction with Holmes and another detective that I've never heard of and didn't care about.
Murder to Music: A rather boring tale that was not solvable because the author left out a key piece of information. Bad form!
The Adventure of the Inertial Adjuster: H.G. Wells pops up on this tale of an early astronaut who meets a foul end. An interesting mix of science and fantasy.
Mrs. Hudson's Case: She helps out some kids. The end. I'm just salty because I never have liked Laurie King's take on Holmes.
The Singular Habits of Wasps: An alien explanation for the Jack the Ripper killings that works well.
The Affair of the 46th Birthday: Someone is sure to be dead before the sun sets on their 46th birthday...unless Holmes has anything to say about it! (He does.)
The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey: A young Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty adventure that explains much of Holmes' views on the fairer sex.
The Vale of the White Horse: "Us simple country folk can solve crimes too, Mr. Holmes!"
The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger: Beware of gifts from distant relatives. Oh and also, always look under the skirt before you say it's a lady.
The Adventure of the Lost World: A sequel of sorts to another of Doyle's books, "The Lost World." There appears to be a dinosaur eating trombone players all around the city because of course.
The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece: I legitimately don't remember this one. Must have been great!
Dynamics of a Hanging: A locked room mystery of sorts.
Merridew of Abominable Memory: A strange case of a memory or lack there of.
Commonplaces: Another Irene Adler meet up. This has a Holmes sex scene if that's your cup of tea.
The Adventure of the Pirate's of Devil's Cape: This story wasn't nearly as fun as the author imagined it was. But still, ghost pirates, so you know...
The Human Mystery: Don't put Holmes to the test folks! He'll break your heart every time.
A Study in Emerald: Easily the best of the bunch. I'd previously read this one before but that doesn't make it any less great. An alternate history where Lovecraftian monsters took over the world a long time ago. In this tale, one of them has been murdered and it's up to a certain detective to figure out who done it. A great story with an even greater twist!
You See But You Do No Observe: A very strange story where Holmes is transported to the future, given endless amounts of knowledge and finds time to solve the Fermi Paradox (why we haven't found aliens yet). Quite weird.
All in all, a strong collection that makes me want to write some of my own. I'm sure that the task would not be...what for it...elementary. Thank you! Thank you! -
The trouble with most anthologies today is that they're uneven. Two or three amazing stories are bundled in with a majority of mediocre stories with one or two complete stinkers thrown in for good measure. Worse, it seems like a lot of anthology editors are too quick to abandon the theme of the collection in favor of including a "name" author. The book might very well include a previously unpublished story by someone like Robert Bloch or Peter Straub, but if I buy an anthology entitled "Demon Zombie Rabbits" I expect the stories in it to be about misbehaving undead rodents! If a story is off-topic, no matter who it's by, I get a trifle miffed.
John Joseph Adams, however, has chosen which stories to include in this volume with great care. Every story is universally "good" with none of them being truly "great" and, as far as I'm concerned, that's just fine. I'd rather read a whole volume of "good" than have to suffer through a bunch of yuck to get to the scant choice morsels. Even those few stories which were not "my cup of tea", as it were, are suitably Holmesian and, in general, make for a pretty snappy read.
There's nothing outrageously spectacular in this collection, nothing to make the reader cry out, "Wow!" Nevertheless, each individual author managed to keep my interest and there were some clever little gems scattered throughout. And, if you're a fan of the genre, you'll find a ton of insider references and jokes relating to the original Holmes stories.
Each contributor obviously bears a great affection for Doyle's detective and, by and large, every piece in the book remains true to the style of the original. For those who've never read the Victorian masterpieces, a lot of this collection might seem a tad obscure. But, if you've previously read and enjoyed Holmes, Watson, Moriarty, LeStrade and the others of Arthur Conan Doyle's creations, you're certain to enjoy this volume as well. -
“Speculations about the mental state of suspects are rarely so fruitful as concentration on the salient facts of the case.”
This anthology breaks the curse of mediocrity which bedevils the category. Worth reading to see how accomplished authors of various genres breathe new life into the familiar tropes of the classic detective duo.
“I wish you all the happiness you deserve.”
Each author puts his or her spin on Holmes, of course, but some manage to turn Holmes and Victorian England upside down. Often to entertaining effect. We find Holmes as a famous serial killer, homosexual, virgin, mystic, and a concert violinist, not to mention a beekeeper. Confronting dinosaurs and aliens, not to mention supernatural horrors.
“…came to precisely the same condition you had—that Moriarty and I had plunged to our deaths.” “But that conclusion turned out to be wrong.” “No … it turned out to be unacceptable.”
Many cases revolve around the “missing years” of Holmes’ supposed death at Reichenbach Falls. Others meld in the famous and infamous characters of that day, fictional and factual. A few of these introduce jarringly modern, dissonant notes.
“We believe we know a great lot, with our instruments and things, but I was old enough then to believe we don’t know half as much as we think we do, and old enough now to believe we never will.”
Non sequiturs abound: “in that unmapped and unexplored region northwest of Tibet … we slipped up the Irrawddy by night.” “taken by the steamship Freisland from …the Venetian isle of Murano to Africa.” “And they would evolve in that direction, according to the principle of Darwin. Succeeding generations would ….” “It was the autumn of 1918, when my medical practice was burgeoning on account of casualties from the recent war.” “And we rode west, away from the setting sun.”
“It can’t make things any worse.” “If there’s one thing the study of history has taught us, it is that things can always get worse.” -
There were a few good stories in here, but overall I found most of the stories to be predictable and to be but shadows of Conan Doyle's greatness. I wouldn't really recommend this book to others as it can be tedious to make your way through the whole thing, but like I said a few of the stories were pretty good, such as 'The Singular Habits of Wasps' by Geoffrey Landis, 'The Human Mystery' by Tanith Lee, and ' The Vale of the White Horse' by Sharyn McCrumb.
-
Beware! This is a phony Sherlock Holmes book, written by different authors! the stories aren't great and the writing shoddy. No one can replace Arthur Conan Doyle when it comes to spinning stories about Holmes.
-
Beloved duo
seldom read, often copied
unsuccessfully. -
Overall: The ones that are awesome are REALLY awesome. The ones aren't so good, REALLY aren't so good. I think I was expecting something more along the lines of Gaslight Grimoire when I got this so that may have tarnished my opinion a bit. I'd still say grab this because of the awesome stories. They alone are worth some of the duller ones. The whole anthology functions along the "improbable" part of Holmes' famous quote - and that goes with every possible definition of it.
Story by story is as follows.
The Doctor's Case - Stephen King (3/5): The real kicker for me, and the real reason that I give it those marks is because Watson gets to solve a case and has a moment of clarity usually reserved for Holmes. IT just seemed oh so condescending though! You had a Lestrade who was certainly less than professional, Holmes was okay as was Watson but the whole thing seemed like a pet being praised for a new trick. I liked the opportunity that was there but it also just seemed so demeaning. I usually like Stephen King too.
The Horror of the Many Faces - Tim Lebbon (4/5): One of three Lovecraft meets Holmes stories. This one starring a monster that changes shape. Holmes gets a glimpse of a universe outside of his own comprehension and, while he's not really crazy at the beginning, he certainly is on his way there by the end. It's a great, creepy, read. I very much enjoyed it.
The Case of the Bloodless Sock - Anne Perry (3.5/5): I liked the return to a good old fashioned mystery here. The not present but threatening Moriarty was an added bonus. I'm not sure how I feel about the solution but it was still a good read.
The Adventure of the Other Detective - Bradley H. Sinor (2/5): Cool idea and an interesting exploration of the characters in a parallel universe but the ending doesn't sit right. I don't think Watson would have stayed, I really don't. His loyalty to Holmes has always trumped all and I really don't think he's the type to take this weird opportunity to try again with Mary. I don't think he'd be okay with it - or be able to live in a world where his best friend is a criminal. It just doesn't work with me.
A Scandal in Montreal - Edward D. Hoch (4.5/5): I admit I love this because Holmes and Watson are in Canada!!! I also love the addition of Leacock and Orillia; my grandfather is really in to Leacock and Orillia is where our cottage is too. I've also been to Leacock's cottage so I knew everything ! I loved the post retirement and the reintroduction of Irene Adler. The case was simple enough but I loved everything else so much that It didn't matter. Well done.
The Adventure of the Field Theorems - Vonda N. McIntyre (3.5/5): This was amusing. Holmes meets his creator and they go out investigating crop circles. It was epic to see that. Really quite funny.
The Adventure of the Death-Fetch - Darrell Schweitzer (2/5): Started out great and ended alright but it was really quite unmemorable. I think the backstory took over way too much of the story
The Shocking Affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland - Mary Robinette Kowal (1/5): I really felt underwhelmed by this one. I always imagine something much more horrifying and dangerous than a simple murder here. Or a plot for another. Just boring for me.
The Adventure of the Mummy's Curse - H. Paul Jeffers (4/5): Now here was an entertaining story! The bit about Watson being a Mason sort of threw me for a turn but I recovered well enough! It seemed very much in the old style of the Holmes adventures and I almost could have bought it for one of Doyle's stories.
The Things That Shall Come Upon Them - Barbara Roden (2.5/5): I skipped this one. I've read it before in Gaslight Grimoire and didn't like it there. See my review for that anthology for my thoughts on that story. My rating is from that review.
Murder to Music - Anthony Burgess (4.5/5): I honestly think the creepiest moment of that story was when Holmes told Watson that he thought art was above morals - and that he'd be forced to close his eyes and ignore his adored violinist's murder of Watson if that was what had occurred. The whole murder and the reasons and all of that are unsettling enough but I think that really did it for me.
The Adventure of the Internal Adjuster - Stephen Baxter (3/5): Holmes and Watson meet H.G. Wells. It was alright. Not good not bad, sort of enjoyable.
Mrs. Hudson's Case - Laurie R. King (3.5/5): I despaired of the Mary Russell universe after in the middle of book five but this revisit to an earlier part, pre marriage was nice. I loved the way Mrs. Hudson one ups Holmes in the end and how her and Mary have this wonderful little secret between them.
The Singular Habits of Wasps - Geoffrey A. Landis (5/5): Well crap. Holmes and the Ripper murders and not in the way you think. You go back and forth between thinking if Holmes is in fact the Ripper but the real answer is creepy as all hell. Oh man did this push my buttons in all the right ways. Like Watson I think that I, too, will be giving wasps a second glance the next time I see one.
The Affair of the 46th Birthday - Amy Myers (3/5): Interesting but again not overly spectacular. Not too much else to say about it. The baby king was cute.
The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey - Peter Tremayne (3/5): I always suspected Sherlock was Irish, lol. More so Moriarty simply because of the name. I liked that we went back to the past for this one, and we had a look at a woman he had the hots for. The mystery was interesting and it certainly plants some interesting seeds with regards to how those events made Sherlock the man he is in the present of the story. That being said it makes his feud with Moriarty seem petty and it adamant insistence that Moriarty worked with the devil to get his work done annoying simply because it didn't seem in character and that he was simply just stamping his feet about the whole situation.
The Vale of the White Horse - Sharyn McCrumb (5/5): I love Grisel Rountree. I love her a lot. I love that this is from her point of view instead of Watson's. Mostly because of the story content and characters. It's fantastic, I love the case, I love the resolution. It makes me all kinds of happy. I want to read more about this village. I want it now.
The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger - Michael Moorcock (3.5/5): This was fun. Holmes and Watson are kicked out of 221B for two weeks and end up having an adventure along with their vacation. Very old school Holmes - I loved the disguise factor at the end. Just simple fun all while away from Baker Street.
The Adventure of the Lost World - Dominic Green (4/5): Two of Doyle's worlds clashing, however so slightly, and I love how totally believable it is that there is a bloody dinosaur lurking about and I don't think twice about it! Well played! The multiple disguises of Holmes here is also awesome, especially how Watson is just getting plain ticked off at the end. "You have wasted fifteen minute of valuable consulting time Holmes" and NO I DON'T CARE HOW YOU FAKED IT. lol. The ending was also very well done. Now I want to go read it again just after writing it
up.
The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece - Barbara Hambly (5/5): Oh holy crap! Creepy is too small a term for this one. The mystery with Watson's shady memory doesn't help. Omg that whole last bit. Spine tingling.
Dynamics of Hanging - Tony Pi (4.5/5): Hiatus story with Watson and Lewis Carroll code breaking. Much more awesome than I make it sound.
Merridew of Abominable Memory - Chris Roberson (3/5): Read this before in Gaslight Grimoire. See review for that book.
Commonplaces - Naomi Novik (5/5): Another hiatus story but this one through the eyes of Irene Adler, who eventually finds Holmes in France who declares he's not going back while Mary is alive. Apparently these two need to get in bed - though not before he and Irene do. It's really well done actually, your heart certainly feels it all.
The Adventure of the Pirates of Devil's Cape - Rob Rogers (5/5): I LOVED this! It was such fun. Holmes and pirates seems like an odd combination but I loved it so much. Mystery, action, a touch of romance, and the dutch steamship Freisland!! AWESOME
The Adventure of the Green Skull - Mark Valentine (3/5): Another one much more in tradition with Conan Doyle's stories. Like it enough but not overly memorable.
The Human Mystery - Tanith Lee (4/5): Rather enjoyable. I rather liked it up until the end but the end is slowly sitting with me. Holmes totally blindsided by a woman looking for some measure of love, and the lengths that she's gone to to do it, is awesome.
A Study in Emerald - Neil Gaiman (5/5): This is probably the fifth time I've read this story and I adore it. It is awesome. The Great Old ones being in charge all along and stringing you alone with who the narrator is and who the murderers are until pulling the rug out from under you at the end is truly masterfully. There are no words to explain how awesome this story is or how much I love it.
You See But You Do Not Observer - Robert J. Sawyer (3.5/5): Interesting idea which was nice but didn't really click with me all that much. The ending, however, makes me oh so sad. It's oh so right but oh so sad
n -
This is a nice collection of pastiches and homages with a fantastic or speculative bent selected from a wide range of sources. There has been a vast number of new works or varying quality featuring Holmes since he entered the public domain, and this volume collects many of the better short pieces that I've tried. (Another favorite is Sherlock Holmes in Orbit edited by Resnick and Greenberg in 1995; Robert Sawyer's excellent story appeared there first.) I quickly became impatient with some of the crossover stories where Holmes meets Dracula and Jack the Ripper and H.G. Wells and Lovecraft's mythos; many of them read like fan fiction and I was waiting for appearances from Captain Kirk or Conan. (Though I did appreciate the team-up with Hodgson's Carnacki!) Aside from the Sawyer, I thought the best stories were from Sharyn McCrumb, Tanith Lee, and Barbara Hambly. No one quite captured Doyle's unique voice, though.
-
This was a very enjoyable book. I don't recognise all the authors of course, but the ones I did stayed true to their writing style. There was some stories that I found ok, very much like a normal Holmes story, there were quite a few that were impressive, some with supernatural elements that blended in perfectly with the story. Lots of Chutuhlu references ironically. Just one story I did not like at all. But the best of all was the very last one. It was a jewel, something impressive, that I did not see coming and had me jumping up and down, and which also broke my heart slightly. That story alone deserved 6 stars, but as I do take the whole book in consideration, 4 will have to do.
As far as Sherlockian literature goes, this has been a very fine book. Amazingly well written, amusing, and it kept the fan in me very happy indeed. Now I'm off to find more about that last author. -
Traté de conseguir este libro en físico (no sé si existe) pero finalmente me tuve que conformar con el audiobook.
Como toda antología es dispar, tiene algunos relatos notables como el de Mary Robinette Kowal, el de Michael Moorcock, el de Neil Gaiman y el de Vonda Mc Intyre. El resto, pasable, no puedo decir que alguno sea decididamente malo, pero si que luego de escuchar estos relatos durante un par de meses, la mayoría se confunden unos con otros.
Destaco el excelente trabajo del narrador, realmente muy ameno de seguir y les da vida a los personajes a través de inflexiones de la voz y acentos. -
Written by an amazing list of great authors these highly enjoyable deviations range in length from about half hour to an hour. Most of these are based on fantastic ideas that aim to elucidate or expand on previously unexplored features of the universe created by Doyle.
The introduction to the collection and the primer section were both short, which is my preference. A veteran Holmes reader would perhaps already know most of the details in those but the short introductions to each individual story contained many more fascinating tidbits.
1. The horror of the many faces was good and creepy. The author and narrator both, expertly conveyed the emotions in this story. Watson's feelings for Holmes were palpable and his fright at the mere thought of what he had seen felt genuine. Holmes' experience is of a great sorrow when he realises that the boundaries of the possible are blurred by the limitations of the detectable.
2. The enigmatic Moriarty is playing a trick that only Holmes can solve. This one had a very classic feel, with Watson consistently second guessing the great detective. The second abduction seemed a bit of a stretch but the explanation worked well enough.
3. An alternate reality Holmes story! This is a fun idea. Watson takes to the scenario with barely a second thought which didn't ring true but otherwise it was fun to reverse the roles and especially to have Moriarty feature more closely than usual.
4. We're off to Canada to help an old friend, Irene Adler is in need and everyone knows there is no way Holmes can refuse her. With Adler back one might expect devious shenanigans but unfortunately the author missed that opportunity. There's barely a mystery in this story and Adler features only minimally.
5. Now here's a grand idea, instead of breaking the fourth wall from the inside, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself falls through it from our side. This story takes Holmes' signature analytical approach to searching for Doyle's infamous garden faeries. It's a very fun story, written by one of my favourite authors. Definitely a favourite story of this collection.
6. This one stood out quickly among pastiches for resurrecting the terrible characterisation of females as dainty and hysterical figures, a feature largely left out by other authors and certainly unnecessary for recreating the feel. The story was enjoyable but the ending was also a disappointment.
7. Another great idea, this one is based on a case that Watson had originally only briefly referenced. For something different, this tale is told by the client. It isn't a bad story, but the great detective does little more than prompt the client to recall things she already knew and the affair barely meets Watson's claim that it nearly cost him and Holmes their lives.
8. Holmes is rather chipper in this story which is great, although he sets out to learn about the mummy's curse with more enthusiasm than you might expect for a supernatural theme. Nevertheless the case is handled very well and I rate this story highly.
9. This one is a cool crossover idea with another fictional detective series. I am unfamiliar with the other series which is based on a psychic detective, but obviously their detection methods are diametrically opposed so it's an interesting setting. This story is told very well and at least Holmes and Watson are spot on. I can't comment on the portrayal of the psychic detective but he is an excellent character in this story. This is another one I'll highly recommend.
10. Holmes and Watson in prime form and applying their most classic techniques of detection to the game afoot. Fantastic story, it is a lot of fun with a good amount of well done humour even if Sherlock's final decision about morality is a bit hard to swallow.
11. This scientifically themed scenario seemed to me to suit Holmes and Watson perfectly and yet struck me as the kind of story that Doyle would never have written. I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with H.G. Wells.
12. I was very keen to read Mrs Hudson's Case and this was a lot of fun. I loved Hudson's attitude and insistence on catching the fiend instead of deterring them. I wasn't impressed with The Beekeeper's Apprentice although I do intend to continue with King's reimagined Holmes series and this short story also featuring Mary Russell is a good motivation to get back into it.
13. Jack the Ripper strays into this story and much like the H.G. Wells adventure, this one feels like Doyle would never have written it but it still manages to suit our sleuthing duo perfectly. The tale moves in an unexpected direction early on but then completely takes off in a surprising twist near the end. Top notch. I loved this very clever story.
14. A good quick adventure with a very classic feel.
15. This ambitious tale takes a young Holmes on his first brush with Moriarty and fills the details of a case only very briefly referenced by Watson in one of the original adventures. A very well crafted story.
16. Not a bad story but not as good as others in the collection. This one is a tale of faeries and witchcraft, so Doyle himself would probably have enjoyed it.
17. Another good classic adventure.
18. "Now, Watson. Your medical training will almost certainly draw your attention to the body's non-possession of a head". This preposterous story was instantly a great deal of fun and remained so throughout.
19. This one starts out as a very classic case for Holmes but it soon strays into improbable themes.
20. Holmes is absent from this tale, instead it's a young Moriarty who takes centre stage. After the fatal cliff top battle while Holmes is still on the lam in India, Watson meets with Lewis Carroll who recounts the earlier events and the pair attempt to crack a code left behind by the infamous Professor Moriarty.
21. Fast forward to the later years of Watson's life, in his mid eighties we find him dealing with the onset of dementia. In a period of lucidity he recalls an adventure from his time with Holmes.
22. Another one set in the wake of Sherlock's presumed death, this one features The Woman. Irene Adler learns the news but isn't convinced that the story is accurate. A bit of an odd tale, even in a list of improbable adventures.
23. Holmes must crack a case involving pirates with grave political implications.
24. A short but sweet classic Holmes case. Industrial hardass employers are meeting their deaths with a matchstick in hand and rumours tell of a phantom at work.
25. A xmas tale of sorts, but not at all xmasy. A purely classic Holmes case reminiscent of The Hound. I found this one easy to call early in the story.
26. Set in the theatre this entry by Gaiman failed to pique my interest, at no fault of the storytelling I just don't fancy such plots.
27. This story unapologetically jumps into a time travel scenario right from the get go. Watson and Holmes speedily learn all of the relevant gains in science that lead to the Fermi Paradox and then immediately set out to solve it. If that wasn't preposterous enough for you, just wait until Holmes reveals his solution. -
Like all anthologies, this collection is hit or miss. None of the stories were particularly bad or anything, it's just that not a whole lot of them were particularly awesome, either. A lot of them were fun and entertaining, but also forgettable. (I commented in my status updates with brief thoughts after pretty much every story, so the run down is there.)
The ones I remember the most, off hand, though, are:
The Doctor's Case
A Study in Emerald
The Vale of the White Horse (i.e. "the one with the horse thing")
The Adventure of the Fields Theorum (i.e. "the one which pits Holmes vs. Doyle")
"The Horror of Many Faces" (i.e. "the one with the bees" - which I liked better as I read some of the others than I did when I first read it)
Commonplaces (i.e. "the good one with Irene")
and Merridew of the Abominable Memory (i.e. "the sad one about the memory guy")
I guess my biggest sense of... disappointment, I suppose, with the collection is that a lot of them weren't really all that fantastic or improbable. A few seemed like they could almost have been from the original stories - which is cool in one way, but I was expecting a bit more oddity, I suppose, and only a few of them delivered on that.
Overall, though, it is a decent collection of Holmes stories, and, as I said, none of them were bad, and all were entertaining enough. -
Not at all what it says on the tin. I often very much enjoy Holmes pastiches that pit him and Watson against the supernatural or uncanny, but despite the purported goal of the collection, only about half of these stories fit into that category. (The other half, Adams says in the introduction, were basically included as a giant red herring, to which I say: boo.) But, supernaturally-fueled or not, nearly all of these were just really, really dull and forgettable; I had to force myself to the end—something that should never happen with my beloved Holmes! Upon review, the only two stories that I really liked were
Neil Gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald,” which I have only read a billion times previously, as it has been collected everywhere; and
Naomi Novik’s “Commonplaces,” which is absolutely fantastic—beautifully characterized and written—but in which the supposedly improbable element is the assertion that Holmes and Watson were lovers. Pish!
I would like to see “Commonplaces” collected in other books, because then this one would truly be completely unnecessary. -
All the anthologies I have read are a bit hit and miss. A couple of stories stand out and some make you wonder how they ever got considered in the first place..
The stories that work best here are the ones that conform to the Arthur Conan Doyle style and dont mess with Watson being the narrator.
The stand out tales for me were "The Doctor's Case" by Stephen King, "A Study In Emerald" by Neil Gaiman and "The Singular Habits Of Wasps" by Geoffrey A. Landis.
Of the 28 tales in the collection, the 3 I've highlighted above stand out and are worth the 4 star review on their own, and 4 of them I wish never to see again. The others are so-so.
If you have read the above three in different collections, I wouldn't read this anthology but if you have not read the standout tales, then why not... -
Meh. A collection of passable Sherlock Holmes fan fiction pieces, most of them faithful enough to the style of the original stories. Gaiman's A Study in Emerald is the only one which actually bothers to build a significantly different universe and to thoroughly explore its implications. I also liked Sawyer's You See but You Do Not Observe for its metatextuality. Other than that, the collection isn't really worth your time unless you're the famous detective's most ardent fan.
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Only got 25% through and just could not get into it. These do not feel like Sherlock Holmes stories to me. I just can't see listening to the remaining 12 hours.
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Ο Σέρλοκ Χολμς είναι μία από τις πιο αναγνωρίσιμες λογοτεχνικές μορφές όλων των εποχών· ταυτόχρονα όμως το σύμπαν μέσα στο οποίο τον τοποθέτησε ο Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ παρέμεινε ιδιαίτερα ανοιχτό, καθώς οι ιστορίες που έγραψε με ήρωα τον Χολμς συνδέονται μάλλον χαλαρά μεταξύ τους χωρίς να αποτελούν κάποιου είδους λεπτομερή βιογραφία του βικτωριανού ντετέκτιβ. Στις δεκαετίες που ακολούθησαν τον παροπλισμό του από τον Ντόιλ (και ιδιαίτερα αφότου έπαψαν οι περιορισμοί των πνευματικών δικαιωμάτων για το έργο του) δεκάδες συγγραφείς, γοητευμένοι από τον Σέρλοκ Χολμς και τον κόσμο του, άρχισαν να γράφουν τις δικές τους ιστορίες με ήρωα τον ίδιο και τον πιστό του φίλο και χρονογράφο, Τζον Γουότσον, εξερευνώντας παρθένες πτυχές του λογοτεχνικού αυτού σύμπαντος, φέρνοντας σε επαφή τον Χολμς με άλλες διάσημες φιγούρες της εποχής του, βάζοντάς τον αντιμέτωπο με προκλήσεις που συχνά αγγίζουν τον χώρο της επιστημονικής φαντασίας, του τρόμου ή του φανταστικού. Και όλα αυτά σε μια αποθέωση της διακειμενικότητας, όχι μόνο, όπως είναι φυσικό, με το έργο του Ντόιλ, αλλά και με έργα άλλων σπουδαίων συγγραφέων σαν τον Λάβκραφτ ή τον Γουέλς.
Μερικά από τα καλύτερα λοιπόν τέτοια διηγήματα, τα οποία πιθανώς να είναι πια πολύ περισσότερα από αυτά του Α. Κ. Ντόιλ, περιλαμβάνει η παρούσα συλλογή. Ανάμεσα στους συγγραφείς που ανθολογούνται βρίσκονται και πολύ μεγάλα ονόματα, όπως ο Stephen King, o Neil Gaiman, η Tanith Lee, ο Stephen Baxter και άλλοι, δίνοντας ο καθένας τη δική του/της προσωπική νότα στον Σέρλοκ του/της. Συνιστάται ανεπιφύλακτα στους λάτρεις των αυθεντικών ιστοριών του Σέρλοκ Χολμς, αλλά και σε όσους τον έχουν γνωρίσει μέσα από τις νεότερες εκδοχές του σε τηλεόραση και κινηματογράφο.
Προσωπικό αγαπημένο διήγημα της συλλογής εκείνο στο οποίο αναθέτει στον Σέρλοκ μια παράξενη υπόθεση (με σκοπό να μην τη λύσει) ο ίδιος ο Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ, ο οποίος δεν έμοιαζε καθόλου στον ήρωα του ως προς την απόλυτη πίστη στη λογική και τις αισθήσεις, αφού πίστευε οτιδήποτε είχε να κάνει με το υπερφυσικό: επικοινωνία με νεκρούς, νεράιδες κτλ. -
After reading all of the Arthur C. Doyle stories several times, I realized that my cravings for Sherlock literature had to be sated in a different way. I required something new, a change from the good old stories. This book is what Goodreads recommended so this book is what I choose to read.
As I was flipping through the pages of the first story I wasn't even aware of the subtle process that was happening. I was slowly discovering a whole new world, whole new shores. I always had a certain level of skepticism towards the idea of other authors extending the original work. You can imagine my surprise when I realized that these stories were actually really good.
The whole variety of ideas was really refreshing. Holmes meets Cthulhu, Holmes meets Pirates, Holmes meets H. G. Wells, etc. Also, the fact that every story was written by another author kept things interesting. Sure, there were some boring stories but most were pretty inventive. The idea of putting Watson and Holmes into new, strange scenarios always seemed as a sort of heresy to me, but to hell with it. It works! Even some really absurd scenarios left me with a smile on my face.
The stories I enjoyed the most were the ones with Lovecraftian elements. When Holmes' rationality fights the horrible irrationality of Lovecraft's universe, sparks start to fly and great things happen.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the extended Sherlockian works from now on. -
Сборник продолжений "Приключений Шерлока Холмса" с Ктулху, параллельными реальностями, мумиями и прочими радостями жизни, в том числе с Неизъяснимым с Очень Большой Буквы, - короче, практически с блэкджеком и женщинами пониженной социальной ответственности. Для осенних вечеров - весьма недурно, хотя качество неровное, некоторые рассказы отличные, а некоторые совсем корявенькие.
Но вот мне что теперь интересно.
Нет ли у редакторов антологий терминов вроде "проклятие Нила Геймана", или "критерии отбора по Нилу Гейману"? Потому что вот ставишь в сборник рассказ про бабулечку и Святой Грааль, как в сборнике про мифическое путешествие, или про перекресток Холмсианы и Лавкрафтианы (как тут, "Этюд в изумрудных тонах") - и все, остальные произведения сборника уже должны по определению подпоясаться и надувать щеки, а то будут выглядеть уж совсем бледненько. Несправедливо, наверно, но уж такова жизнь.
