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Title: Shadows Over Baker Street by MICHAEL REAVES, JOHN PELAN ISBN: 0-345-45528-2 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Sherlock Holmes versus the Cthulhu!!
Comment: I stumbled upon this book by accident and being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan as well as a huge Lovecraft fan I decided to pick it up. I was NOT disappointed. This Book is TERRIFIC!! Neil Gaiman's short story "A Study in Emerald," alone is worth my money. Gaiman was able to capture Sherlock Holmes in a different light and still stay true to the character (that story had a lovely twist at the end).
Most of the other stories are also wonderful with maybe one or two that lose the Holmes feeling to them. I like how Holmes was able to accept the possibility of other worldly creatures through the use of logic and deduction and that he knew of cults because cults are the cause of many a small murdering sprees and one has to keep up with that kind of information.
I read the entire book in a span of three days and just devoured everything in it. This book made me want to go and read other Holmes pastiches!!
Rating: 3
Summary: Three stars does not mean unreadable. That's what 1 is for.
Comment: I can half heartedly reccomend this with serious caveats.
Problem one. It is really a one-trick pony. OK. You get it. Holmes vs. various mythos creatures. This looks great on paper but does not sustain a book. If you are really interested, however, and since many of the stories are entertaining and a couple actually thought provoking, then buy it and read no more than one story a month, maybe every 6 weeks. This isn't only because of the limitations of the idea, but also because all but two authors chose (generally successfully) to mimic Doyle's/"Watson's" writing style.
Problem two. A disproportionate number of stories are based on The Shadow over Innsmouth. One that isn't, "The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone," is, as has been pointed out by a previous review, based on The Shadow out of Time. This is one of the two best stories in the book. A few stories seem headed off down that sidetrack created by August Derleth where there was a chance in fighting back and winning with Help from Outside. In HPL doom was eventually inevitable and there was no Help available.
"Death Did Not Become Him" is very tenuously mythos being more related to the story of the Golem and Cabbalistic mysticism with a pretty lane excuse given for the connection.
Most of The Uspeakable Old Ones are named in various chants and so forth, but few put in an appearance. In the original HPL the power of suggestion hightened the suspense. Here it is merely disappointing. Shub-Niggurath has a cameo and I think (based on precious little evidence) that Nyarlathotep has some off-stage schtick. Most disappointing, Chthlhu Himself is totally AWOL, replaced by innumerable aquatic hybrids.
"The Case of the Antiquaritan's Niece," is vaguely related to "The Dunwich Horror."
The best story is by Neil Gaiman. More or less connected to At the Mountains of Madness, it also reminded me of the wonderful Kim Newman's Anno Dracula books.
Rating: 5
Summary: Sometimes you cannot eliminate the impossible
Comment: What a great mixture--the world's greatest detective and the world's most terrifying mystos together! I have been a fan of both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H. P. Lovecraft for years. The chilling Cthulhu Mystos has been the sorce of many a nightmare. And my logical mind has often asked, "What if it were all true. How would one go about combating things the mind cannot easily conceive?" Frankly, sometimes in the stories even Holmes is stumped for an answer. This only means that he is human faced with inhuman forces. And often as not, he wins. Five Sherlock stars! And note to whomever it may concern who puts these anthologies together: How about "The Many Ghosts of Sherlock Holmes" or "Investigations into Hauntings" or "Sherlock Holmes' Haunted London"? I know I'd buy them!!
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Title: The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Ted Riccardi ISBN: 1400060656 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Singular Adventures of Mr. Sherlock Holmes by Alan Stockwell ISBN: 1843750104 Publisher: UPSO Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Occult Detectives of C. J. Henderson by C. J. Henderson ISBN: 1892669102 Publisher: Marietta Publishing Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara by Alan Vanneman ISBN: 078671297X Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Affair of the Incognito Tenant: A Mystery With Sherlock Holmes by Lora Roberts ISBN: 1880284677 Publisher: SCB Distributors Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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