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Disclosure: I am acquainted with one of the authors featured in this anthology, and received an uncorrected proof for review through NetGalley.
The premise for this collection is certainly simple enough: if Sherlock Holmes as a character can be reimagined in present-day London to such great effect, why shouldn't he (or, in some cases, she) be equally effective in 1960s New York? Or a dystopian future? Or a fantasy world of "illusory Chinamen"? Or (most alien and terrifying of all) the set of a present-day college-girl reality show?
Anthologies tend to fill me with a mixture of anticipation and dread; consistency is a tough thing to achieve when you're showcasing work from multiple authors. But my enthusiasm for recurring archetypes and clever premises overcame my hesitation, and I'm glad it did; the sheer range of creativity demonstrated in these tales is astonishing. J.E. Cohen's "The Speckled Bandana" shines with the trompe l'oeil spirit of the best Holmes stories, wherein the puzzle seems labyrinthine and inscrutable until you're standing in just the right spot. Adrian Tchaikovsky's "The Final Conjuration" boasts both a delightfully creative setting and some wonderful character interplay, with worldbuilding that puts many full-length fantasies to shame. And Guy Adams' "A Study in Scarborough", reimagining our two characters as a BBC double act with a fraught interpersonal past, works as both an homage to classic radio dramas and a genuinely chilling tale of professional dysfunction.
Holmes himself would be the first to point out that the nature of the bell curve means that some of the stories will lag behind the group, and such is certainly the case here; this reader found Joan de la Haye's "The Rich Man's Hand" overwrought and lacking an emotional center. Most frustrating were Glen Mehn's 1960s Warholian New York tale "Half There/All There" and Jamie Wyman's Depression-era circus of "A Scandal in Hobohemia"; both made use of their particular settings to great effect, but felt incomplete. Still, the general quality of the stories featured here is high enough that even the stragglers are interesting.
An unusual and great gift to fans of Holmes and of creative reimaginings; also to lovers of a good mystery story (or several). A-
TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE BAKER STREETS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF HOLMESIAN TALES ACROSS TIME AND SPACE will be published by Abbadon Books on October 7, 2014, and is currently available for preorder
.
The premise for this collection is certainly simple enough: if Sherlock Holmes as a character can be reimagined in present-day London to such great effect, why shouldn't he (or, in some cases, she) be equally effective in 1960s New York? Or a dystopian future? Or a fantasy world of "illusory Chinamen"? Or (most alien and terrifying of all) the set of a present-day college-girl reality show?
Anthologies tend to fill me with a mixture of anticipation and dread; consistency is a tough thing to achieve when you're showcasing work from multiple authors. But my enthusiasm for recurring archetypes and clever premises overcame my hesitation, and I'm glad it did; the sheer range of creativity demonstrated in these tales is astonishing. J.E. Cohen's "The Speckled Bandana" shines with the trompe l'oeil spirit of the best Holmes stories, wherein the puzzle seems labyrinthine and inscrutable until you're standing in just the right spot. Adrian Tchaikovsky's "The Final Conjuration" boasts both a delightfully creative setting and some wonderful character interplay, with worldbuilding that puts many full-length fantasies to shame. And Guy Adams' "A Study in Scarborough", reimagining our two characters as a BBC double act with a fraught interpersonal past, works as both an homage to classic radio dramas and a genuinely chilling tale of professional dysfunction.
Holmes himself would be the first to point out that the nature of the bell curve means that some of the stories will lag behind the group, and such is certainly the case here; this reader found Joan de la Haye's "The Rich Man's Hand" overwrought and lacking an emotional center. Most frustrating were Glen Mehn's 1960s Warholian New York tale "Half There/All There" and Jamie Wyman's Depression-era circus of "A Scandal in Hobohemia"; both made use of their particular settings to great effect, but felt incomplete. Still, the general quality of the stories featured here is high enough that even the stragglers are interesting.
An unusual and great gift to fans of Holmes and of creative reimaginings; also to lovers of a good mystery story (or several). A-
TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE BAKER STREETS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF HOLMESIAN TALES ACROSS TIME AND SPACE will be published by Abbadon Books on October 7, 2014, and is currently available for preorder
.
