John
Joseph Adams, ed.
A
collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by people other than Conan
Doyle which does not, quite, live up to the expectations raised by
the title and conception of the
collection. One is lead to believe, both by the title and by the
blurb on the back cover, that these are stories which will have some
connexion with the unexplained, with superstition, with the
paranormal; and some of them do, though not as many as i would have
expected in an anthology of over two dozen stories. This is not to
say that i did not enjoy the book, or that the stories are of a poor
quality; merely that the organising principle seems not to have been
chosen as carefully, or maybe logically, as possible. In fact, i did
enjoy the book; many of the stories are good; a couple of them
excellent, of the highest quality possible, both as Holmes stories
and as short stories in themselves.
In
particular, i refer to one by Naomi Novik which, written from the
perspective of Irene Adler, posits a theory about Holmes and Watson
and gives an excellent suggestion as to why the former kept from the
latter his survival at Reichenback Falls for so long; i have not read
anything by Novik previously, but on the basis of this story i am
quite happy to trace what else she has written and give it a try.
I
also am referring to a story by Neil Gaiman, whose name i have come
across but whose works not, which is a superb alternate reality
retelling of the first novel, A
Study in Scarlet. It
is interesting how many authors have found themselves compelled to
continue the adventures of Holmes and, usually, Watson over the past
century; i cannot think of another character in fiction who has
attracted so much attention from people not the original author.
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