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bibliogrammaIn the Company of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Laurie King, is a rather entertaining anthology of short fiction inspired by the Conan Doyle stories. There us, of course, a wide range of approaches, some of which feature Holmes and Watson themselves, others which reveal the exploits of characters based on Holmes and his venerable associate, or other key characters from the stories.
Some are very closely inspired indeed - such as “The Memoirs of Silver Blaze,” by Michael Sims, a close retelling of “The Adventure of Silver Blaze” from the point of view of the horse in question - while others draw on the spirit of deduction to create a completely new set of characters and situations. Some I found less than inspiring, such as “Doctor Watson’s Casebook,” by Andrew Grant, a reworking of Hound of the Baskervilles as a series of entries in a social media app. And for me, one story - “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman” by Jeffery Deaver - delivered the brilliance and unexpected twist - though without the supernatural elements - of Neil Gaiman’s brilliant “A Study in Emerald.”
Some were profoundly moving, including John Lescroart’s “Dunkirk,” a taught narrative of one of the many small boats that took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk, this one with a volunteer crewman, an old but still hale civilian named Sigerson, of Sussex Downs. And then there’s the heart-breaking “Lost Boys,” by Cordelia Funke, that imagines an all-too-likely reason behind so many of the peculiarities, and defenses, of Holmes.
All in all, a decent collection, with, I expect, something for everyone who loves Holmes.
*This anthology contains 15 stories, five written by women, nine written by men, and one written by a woman and a man.
Some are very closely inspired indeed - such as “The Memoirs of Silver Blaze,” by Michael Sims, a close retelling of “The Adventure of Silver Blaze” from the point of view of the horse in question - while others draw on the spirit of deduction to create a completely new set of characters and situations. Some I found less than inspiring, such as “Doctor Watson’s Casebook,” by Andrew Grant, a reworking of Hound of the Baskervilles as a series of entries in a social media app. And for me, one story - “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman” by Jeffery Deaver - delivered the brilliance and unexpected twist - though without the supernatural elements - of Neil Gaiman’s brilliant “A Study in Emerald.”
Some were profoundly moving, including John Lescroart’s “Dunkirk,” a taught narrative of one of the many small boats that took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk, this one with a volunteer crewman, an old but still hale civilian named Sigerson, of Sussex Downs. And then there’s the heart-breaking “Lost Boys,” by Cordelia Funke, that imagines an all-too-likely reason behind so many of the peculiarities, and defenses, of Holmes.
All in all, a decent collection, with, I expect, something for everyone who loves Holmes.
*This anthology contains 15 stories, five written by women, nine written by men, and one written by a woman and a man.