Beneath the Stains of Time: Alias Simon Hawkes (2002) by Philip J. Carraher

Beneath the Stains of Time: Alias Simon Hawkes (2002) by Philip J. Carraher: I generally prefer homages, parodies and spoofs over outright pastiches, because pastiches seldom measure up to the original and rarely add ...

Lesa's Book Critiques: THE ISOLATED SEANCE BY JERI WESTERSON

 Lesa's Book Critiques: THE ISOLATED SEANCE BY JERI WESTERSON

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Michael Reaves...:   Reviewed by Jeanne This wonderful collection of short stories imagines the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft colliding to del...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer:   Reviewed by Jeanne Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, returns for another adventure in Victorian England. ...

John Lindermuth Reviews: The Return of the Pharaoh by Nicholas Meyer

 John Lindermuth Reviews: The Return of the Pharaoh by Nicholas Meyer

Lesa's Book Critiques: TIMOTHY MILLER, GUEST AUTHOR

 Lesa's Book Critiques: TIMOTHY MILLER, GUEST AUTHOR

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Study in Crimson by Robert J. Harris

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Study in Crimson by Robert J. Harris:   Reviewed by Jeanne I do like a good Sherlock Holmes novel—emphasis on “good,” though I admit that is a very subjective rating. My atten...

Lesa's Book Critiques: OBSERVATIONS BY GASLIGHT BY LYNDSAY FAYE

 Lesa's Book Critiques: OBSERVATIONS BY GASLIGHT BY LYNDSAY FAYE

SleuthSayers: John Lennon's Sherlock Holmes Pastiche by William Burton McCormick

SleuthSayers: John Lennon's Sherlock Holmes Pastiche: featuring William Burton McCormick Sherlock Holmes pastiches are a cottage industry. New adventures or parodies of the world’s most famous...

Jeanne Reviews: Adler by Lavie Tidhar and Paul McCaffrey

An arresting cover featuring a woman in red wielding two long daggers with Big Ben and zeppelins in the background was enough to make me pause and pick up this book.  The title helped as well, as I immediately assumed (correctly, as it turned out) that the woman in question was Irene Adler, “The Woman” to Sherlock Holmes.

She’s joined by other heroines to form the League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen, and are immediately plunged into a web of intrigue.  Marie Curie has important papers that need to be delivered but there are dark and menacing forces who are intent on intercepting them for nefarious purposes.  Some of those names are familiar as well, such as Moriarty.

This edition collects all five issues of the individual comics to make one story.  The art is very nice to look at, with good use of color and beautiful details. I have to say that there do tend to be scantily clad big chested women wandering around throughout the book which was a bit off-putting for me. (Also I kept wondering if they were freezing.) At least it seemed to have been toned down a little from some of preliminary drawings.   Having just seen the movie Black Widow, I guess I expected better but comic book conventions die hard.

 Adler is a fast-paced adventure which also enjoys name-dropping both real and fictional characters into the mix—Jane Eyre, Lady Havisham, Dr. Tesla, Camilla, etc.—and has a bit of a steampunk feel to it. There are a few inside jokes but I won’t give examples because I love a good inside joke and I am disappointed when someone spoils it before I have a chance to spot it.

While not a new concept by any means, I still found a few twists along the way that enlivened the proceedings.  Irene does some very Holmesian turns, especially at their first meeting when she pronounces that Jane has just come from Boer War in a mirror image of the first meeting between Holmes and Watson. It was cute in a way, but in another way I would have liked to have seen these two be their own persons, not just feminine versions of male characters.   Besides, this scene is pretty standard for most Sherlock Holmes bits, so it’s pretty much been done to death unless there is something else going on.  I have a specific example in mind but I won’t reveal it because it’s a delicious twist pivotal to that story.  This one isn’t.

It was fun but not compelling. There were some good moments. My criticisms are more because it could have really risen above and instead from my point of view, it took the conventional route. On the other hand, I guess I am reviewing it for the book I wanted, not the book that it is.  Mea culpa.

If another series is done, I’ll read it—but I’m not anxiously awaiting it.

Beneath the Stains of Time: City of Libraries: "The Climbing Man" (2015) by Simon Clark

Beneath the Stains of Time: City of Libraries: "The Climbing Man" (2015) by Si...: Simon Clark 's novella "The Climbing Man" is a pastiche of Conan Doyle 's immortal detective specifically written for an a...

Jeanne Reviews: A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, art & adaptation by Rafael Albuquerque

Please welcome Jeanne of the BPL back to the blog today….

I picked up this graphic novel from a review that ran on the Bristol Public Library’s Bookblog, so Ambrea did a good job of selling this book!

 

The short description is that this is a sort of The Great Detective Meets The Great Cuthulu but of course there’s a twist.  As the story opens, a veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan finds lodging with an idiosyncratic detective—does this sound familiar?—and the two of them are soon called to the scene of a shocking murder. Lestrad, the policeman, is suitable astounded by the swift deductions by the consulting detective and soon they are called to an audience with a Royal Personage who wants the case solved quickly.

 

 In Gaiman’s story, we soon learn that The Great Old Ones of Lovecraft conquered Earth and have become rulers of their various human countries, maintaining the Royal bloodlines.  Let’s just say I won’t ever quite look at Queen Victoria in the same way.

 

The graphic novel is based on a Hugo Award winning short story by Gaiman and now I really want to read the original just to see how some things are handled.  For example, the graphic novel boasts advertisements for various things, such as Doctor Jekyll’s Powders which are “Guaranteed to Release the Inner You!”

 

It’s this sense of playfulness amid the grim investigation and all the little inside jokes that made this such a hit with me.  I am more of a Holmes fan than Lovecraft so I’m sure I missed some things there, but the little fannish Easter eggs delighted me.  From some other things I’ve read, I have wondered if some reviewers missed a crucial plot point, but that certainly didn’t seem to mar their appreciation.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have actually read it over a couple of times, finding some new little tidbit each time.  For that reason, I highly recommend it.

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman and Rafael Albuquerque

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman and Rafael Albuq...:   Reviewed by Ambrea Defined as a cross between the world of Sherlock Holmes and the mythos of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, A Study in Emerald...

Lesa's Book Critiques: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons by James Lovegrove

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons by James Lovegrove

Scott's Take: Warlock Holmes: The Sign of Nine by G. S. Denning

Warlock Holmes: The Sign of Nine by G. S. Denning takes the idea that Sherlock Holmes was actually not a very good detective and instead was a warlock. Instead of using excellent deduction skills, he used magic. Instead of having peculiarities because of being a genius, in this series Sherlock is a wizard.

While the series takes inspiration from the original tales, these books have supernatural elements added to the tales. In these books, Warlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are paranormal investigators that work in London with Scotland Yard. These books are part mystery, part fantasy, and are funny at times.

Warlock Holmes: The Sign of Nine continues the ongoing war between the two greatest wizards in this series, James Mortiary and Warlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes). This book goes into a lot of detail regarding the earlier books which makes it impossible for this review to actually tell you anything specific regarding the plot or anything else in this book without ruining the earlier books in the series. A series that simply has to be read in order.

If you are fan of magic, Sherlock Holmes stories, and have a weird sense of humor you should get a kick out of this series. The fifth book in the series, The Finality Problem, is expected in April 2020. 

Warlock Holmes: The Sign of Nine

G. S. Denning

https://www.gsdenning.com

Titan Books

https://titanbooks.com  

May 2019

ISBN# 978-1785659362

Paperback (also available in digital and audio formats)

435 Pages

$14.95

My reading copy came from the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Scott Tipple ©2019

Gravetapping: SHERLOCK HOLMES: ZOMBIES OVER LONDON by Stephen Me...

Gravetapping: SHERLOCK HOLMES: ZOMBIES OVER LONDON by Stephen Me...: I have always wanted to hear Sherlock Holmes say— “Zombies.” and “The undead.” —but I didn’t know it until I read those words in Ste...

Do Some Damage: Review: Elementary

Do Some Damage: Review: Elementary: By Claire Booth The seventh and final season of Elementary is here, and it’s about time. The first of the thirteen episodes premier...

Jeanne Reviews: Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

Please welcome Jeanne of the BPL back to the blog today as the game is afoot .....

Art in the Blood:  A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

As the book opens, Dr. John Watson is rushing to 222B Baker Street at the behest of Mrs. Hudson.  He finds Sherlock Holmes in a near-stupor, having fallen back into some old habits while being left to his own devices.  With his wife Mary away, Watson takes it upon himself to try to revive Holmes by getting him interested in a new case. Fortunately, an intriguing one soon presents itself in the form of a letter from a Frenchwoman, asking Holmes for help in locating her missing son. Normally, such a missive wouldn’t evoke much interest, but this one is not only written in disappearing ink, but there’s a second, hidden message enclosed as well. It soon becomes obvious that this case may have international implications beyond that of a domestic situation, including art theft, child labor, and even murder.

I’m rather fond of the Great Detective and have read a number of “newly discovered manuscripts” involving Holmes and Watson.  Some are mediocre at best; others are rather good, and a few I have enjoyed thoroughly, such as Nicholas Meyer’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. Bonnie MacBird’s entry definitely falls into the “enjoyable” category, even if I find her Holmes to be pricklier than some versions.  Watson is seen to be intelligent and compassionate, eager to solve the mysteries because he cares about the people involved, while Holmes is more interested in the intellectual challenge. 

MacBird does a good job of evoking the time period and the descriptions of art and art collectors are interesting.  At one point, Holmes and Watson go undercover to infiltrate a stately home where stolen art works are supposed to reside, and MacBride gives us a glimpse of the preparations as each studies his role. 

A second book in the series, Unquiet Spirits, is equally well done. In fact, I read that one first and reviewed it at the Bookblog of the Bristol Public Library, finding it intriguing enough to seek out the first.  MacBird’s books can be somewhat dark and gritty, rather than prim Victorian melodramas.  For Sherlock aficionados, I would call it a mix of Meyer and Anthony Horowitz’s House ofSilk.

Crime Time : IN RE: SHERLOCK HOLMES – THE ADVENTURES OF SOLAR P...

Crime Time : IN RE: SHERLOCK HOLMES – THE ADVENTURES OF SOLAR P...: As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst ...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Unquiet Spirits by Bonnie MacBird

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Unquiet Spirits by Bonnie MacBird: Reviewed by Jeanne With wife Mary off on a visit again, Doctor Watson is visiting his friend Sherlock Holmes at their old digs...