Where Various Sherlocks Pursue the Truth

alt.sherlock.holmes: New Visions of the Great Detective by Gini Koch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I generally love Sherlock Holmes. I go for original stories as well as modern novels based on them, and I also enjoy the movies, the many TV incarnations, the various graphic novels, and the many series that are reinventions (with Sherlock as a woman, or Sherlock as a descendent of the OG Sherlock, or Sherlock as a wizard...) Not *all* of these have worked for me, but I'd say 95% have. This book also sounded like I'd love it, which is what I figured when I got it signed at Phoenix Comicon some time ago, but it ended up, for me, in that small number of misses. Or near miss--3 stars is okay.

Parts of it entertained. And I'm convinced a lot of readers would enjoy this way more than I did. Really, the novellas in this collection are kinda literary-coded. However, that just isn't my thing.

TBH, these all would work better as stories unrelated to Sherlock. The characters in the Depression-era circus were cool and the setting was very real. The investigator in the reality TV story (a female Sherlock who could have been any capable detective) was fine. The 60s gay rights and Black Panther story has a reason to exist on its own. Any of these could be a decent story as a complete original. But for my money, Sherlock was just shoehorned into them. It's a bad fit. He seldom acts like Sherlock or spends much time doing the normal things Sherlock is supposed to do in an investigation. Most of the attention is on the unique framing, the new setting. It all gives about 20% Sherlock, 80% something else entirely, and I didn't love it.

Don't get me wrong--most of the writing is excellent. I'm gonna look up some other things by the authors here, because I might connect with other things a little better. And I supported the themes and (as Dan McClellan would say) the rhetorical goals of these creators, because it was all broad-minded, anti-racist, pro-diversity messaging. I'm right there with you. I want these stories to find their audience--but I didn't enjoy reading it very much.

In brief: lots of great vibes but uninspired detective work. Recommended mostly for those who lean literary. No shade.

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Where Sherlock Faces Threats from the Past

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ripper Legacy by David Stuart Davies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An entertaining, brisk read. I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but it's all good.

One of the great pleasures in reading pastiche/continuations/fan fiction like this (or Star Trek or Buffy or whatever) is already being familiar with settings and characters and the general context. The story, which is the center of genre fiction like this, can take off immediately. There is no unnecessary throat-clearing or exposition, and skipping past that makes the story gallop from the start. And if the author does a good job of recreating the characters, as David Stuart Davies does here, you have the pleasure of joining your long-time literary friends on another adventure. This feels like the genuine Sherlock with the real Watson.

All of that makes this and many similar books in this series a real pleasure for Sherlock fans.

This story involves a kidnapping and a dangerous connection with the royal family that extends back to the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. An old villain makes an appearance. And Mycroft needs Sherlock's help. Good stuff. The elements work well, and the action is everything you want in such a book.

The ending is logical, and admittedly similar to others found in the original canon, butt doesn't entirely satisfy me, which is why I didn't love it. Sure, it's okay. It's not cheating. But it reminds me a little of the end of Raiders of the Lost Arc. I wanted to see what happened after the end. Maybe there'll be a sequel and we'll circle back a bit.

I hope so.

Anyway, I still liked it, quite a bit actually, and I definitely recommend it. Particularly, of course, for Sherlock fans.

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Perfect, if You Hate Jane Austen

Eliza's Daughter by Joan Aiken
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Have you ever watched an athlete and appreciated their game, maybe even liked them, because they are objectively good, while also disliking them for being, in real life, an asshole?

That is this book.

I kind of liked it. Parts, anyway. It's well written. I was rooting for Eliza (the daughter of Eliza). Some interesting things happened. Some surprising things.

And I kind of hated it. As a big Austen fan, coming to this book because I want to see what happens after Sense and Sensibility, imagine my disappointment to see that every single person from the original novel is terrible. Bad. In fact, skip the rest of this review if you don't want minute spoilers.

Colonel Brandon is a huge disappointment. After rescuing Eliza (who is the granddaughter of a woman he loved) he just sticks her in a terrible school where she has a miserable number of years. He never checks up on her and never helps improve her situation. Her mother, it turns out, isn't dead--she just deserted her without a care. Elinor is a dried up old prune who doesn't want anything to do with Eliza. Her husband, Edmund Farrars, is foolish, controlling, unlikeable clergyman who also doesn't want anything to do with Eliza. Mrs. Dashwood is senile and a bit crazy. Margaret is a disillusioned spinster. Sir John Middleton talks in an ugly way about his previous wife (from the Austen novel) without any of the kindness he was supposed to show. Marianne is a bitter, unkind woman who kept Brandon from doing anything good for Eliza as long as he was alive. And Willoughby is worse even than he started in the original story, having absolutely no interest in even knowing his daughter, almost literally pushing her away when she looks him up. All of them, and most of the invented characters (with only a few exceptions), are cruel, shallow, narrow-minded, selfish, horrible people.

Joan Aiken makes Dickens look like an optimist who only wrote about sunshine and puppies.

It's not all horrible. A couple good things happen. A couple characters are kind to Eliza. There's some lovely prose, too. And there's a decently happy ending (though I hate the pointless mystery thrown in at the end).

If you're reading this to enjoy some more hours and pages with some beloved characters, I warn you off. It isn't what you hope. It looks like the author sat down with a spreadsheet to chart out how to subvert every good thing about every single Austen character you recall. Elinor and Edmund looked happy? Now they don't! Marianne was carefree and sweet? Now she's more wicked stepmother than romantic pixie sonnet girl. Col. Brandon was mature and responsible? Now he's a deadbeat. On and on.

HOWEVER: if you were to read this book without any knowledge of Jane Austen, I think you might like it. No one is betrayed that way. Eliza is like Tom Jones, wandering through a strange landscape until things come right at the end. It is that book, that imaginary novel, which overcame my disgust enough to settle on a respectable 3.

I could be wrong about all that.

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Where Watson Goes to Prison

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Improbable Prisoner by Stuart Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a well-plotted, well-written Sherlock Holmes story. It had some flaws, IMO, but I enjoyed it.

The characters are true to form, which I think is important, and though the story is slightly outside the tradition in terms of scale (over months) and location (mostly in prison), I think it works. The ending was somewhat awkward and anticlimactic--really, it had two endings--but it was pretty satisfying, so I'll allow it. :)

Watson gets framed for murder and spends most of the story in prison. Holmes performs his usual miracles to keep him alive (surely no spoiler), though much of his work is only revealed after the fact. It's not quite as fun this way; I want to see Watson out with Holmes, finding clues, making discoveries, but it has its own charm.

Overall, I found it entertaining and well worth reading. It kept climbing to the top of my "now reading" pile ahead of a few others. If you like Sherlock Holmes pastiche, I'm pretty confident this would work for you.

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Where Watson and Sherlock Solve Fantasy Mysteries

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very entertaining and somewhat flawed book. 5 stars for the fun and -1 star for the bits of disappointment. Let me explain.

This is Sherlock pastiche, with Sherlock as a kind of crow-winged angel in an England full of supernatural beings, including hellhounds, vampires, werewolves, and so on. Dr. Watson returns from Afghanistan with a spiritual and physical injury inflicted by a fallen angel and, as in the original stories, meets Sherlock and becomes his roommate. I find this combination of weirdness (though there's more, obviously) works very well. The story is told like a series of short stories, all of which are reimaginings of some of the original Sherlock stories, and they are all held together by an overall arc concerning Jack the Ripper.

The stories are clever and entertaining, both in their originality and in the way they follow the contours of familiar stories, and I'd love to see more of that. Dr. Watson figures more prominently in these than in the originals, and while Sherlock is still brilliant and capable, he's far less so in this book than we are used to seeing. However, this is balanced by a greater intimacy between the characters, which I appreciated and found very touching.

I didn't love everything. I was disappointed that Dr. Watson had a secret that seemed important but turned out to be irrelevant to the story. I kept waiting for something to come of it, but the author never used the secret for anything significant, and it felt like Chekhov's gun was never taken down and fired. (Maybe there'll be a sequel?) And the unifying arc was ended abruptly in a way that didn't reward the reader's patience. It seemed like something big was gonna happen, but instead it just got solved and packaged up in a super straightforward way, like a TV show planned for 10 episodes that gets canceled early and has to wind everything up in 7.

That said--I really liked it, and would love to read another. Lots of room in this particular universe for some fun stories.

Recommended for Sherlock fans and fantasy readers, especially those in both groups.

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Where I Embrace Yet Another Sherlock-type Series

The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book and thought to find everyone else thought the same, but I saw a lot of super negative reviews. So I dunno. Anyway, I'm sticking with my score, because it's how much I personally liked it. Well, I liked it a lot. 5 stars.

As a rule, I like all the Sherlock Holmes stuff: pastiche, sequels, fan fiction, reimaginings, graphic novels, and crossovers, so this is right up my alley. I especially like it with a female lead, as in Brittany Cavallaro and Sherry Thomas's series. (Serieses? Serii?) This novel, and apparently this series, fits right in that groove, and I liked it.

I also like novels where capable main characters like and respect each other and are impressed with each other. Awesome characters being awesome, clapping one another on the back for it. We've got that here, and I'm ready for it.

I can't really account for the negative reactions other readers have, but I suppose we have different expectations. Weird.

The setting is London, just prior to WWI. Doctor John Watson is still alive, though obviously getting on in years, and his adult son is also a doctor. They are investigating a death which seems suspicious. Both play their part in the story and are a pleasure to follow, but it is Joanna Blalock who is the hero. (Can we dispense with "heroine?" Does anybody want to keep that? I'm always double-checking the spelling...)

Joanna Blalock, the unacknowledged daughter of Sherlock, is brilliant, confident, brash, and brave, so right in the Sherlock tradition. She also has an emotional life, showing genuine warmth in places, which is staking out different territory from her "father." To me, that only adds to the story, and I like how it was managed. In many other ways, though, this novel is true to the original, particularly in tone.

The plot is remarkable for not being remarkable. It was reminiscent of many Sherlock stories, similar enough to be a pleasure for fans but not seem out of place. As always, this is IMO. And the pace seemed about right, with little slowing down the action.

So, yeah; I liked it.

Anyway, I'm looking for the sequels. A good amount of my fellow readers enjoyed it as much as I did, so maybe you're one of us and will love it. Maybe not. Whatevs.

Conditionally recommended. Not for grumpy people. LOL. :)

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Who Doesn't Love a Monstrous Gentlewoman?

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the series. Still good fun. Both are recommended.

New characters are added in this sequel. In addition to the daughters of Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), the wife of Frankenstein, and the others from the first book, we mostly have characters from the story of Dracula--Mina Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, his wife and daughter, and a few others--along with characters from other 19th Century British adventure literature. It's a lot of fun to see them come together as if they are all real people.

The story is a sort of mix between a novel of manners, a Sherlock mystery, and an early-type science fiction adventure, with a touch of the comic tossed in with a good dose of feminism. It's fun and works, though I'll admit it slowed down a bit in this volume. One of my favorite aspects of both stories is the way the author has the characters interrupt from time to time, disagreeing with the presentation of events or how they're portrayed by the supposed author, Catherine Moreau. It is clever and funny and a good tool for developing character.

Speaking more generally, I also really enjoy the reuse and recycling of old gothic tales and adventure stories, bringing them back to life, Frankenstein-like, by centering minor female characters or little-read heroes. It feels like a look behind the curtain as well as a nice antidote to the male-centered originals. It's a breath of fresh air--and lots of fun.

I'm looking forward to the third book.

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Shakespearish, but Just the Naughty Bits

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I must be the right audience for this. I found this very funny, very amusing, very entertaining, all the way through. I even went and re-read Merchant of Venice to make sure I knew the source material. Worth it.

This novel blends characters and plot elements of Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Merchant of Venice." I enjoyed the clever weaving of those elements into one plot just as much as I enjoyed the banter and silliness.

Some reviewers decry the constant sex-themed humor. I get it. Not for everyone. I might point out there is also bathroom humor.

Actually (pushes up glasses) the humor that really lands for me was the way Pocket annoys people and frustrates them with his constant joking. (Made me think of Hawkeye in M*A*S*H.) That's who he is. The rudeness is the point, and everyone else's reactions is what made me laugh. (Yes, I laughed.) Jessica's bad temper and pirate talk is the same thing--funny on its own, but funnier in the way that it shows her character and exasperates others. And the giant Drool, childish, profane, and incorrigible, is a crowd pleaser. One would imagine.

I also found the 4th-wall-breaking chorus hilarious.

(Like I say, I was the right audience for this.)

And there were some happy ending surprises to the story that I really appreciated. That's spoilery enough just to mentioning it, so I won't go on, but if you prefer your stories to have happy endings, this is the book for you.

So, turns out this is sort of a sequel to a book I haven't read, but I took the precaution of buying it already, so it's TBR. The main character, Pocket, inhabits the story of King Lear (apparently) so I need to go reread that one, too. It's been a long while. But I'm looking forward to both.

If you like Shakespeare and NSFW humor, check this out. Recommended.

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Mary Bennet's Story--The Austening

The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I recall with fondness the time one of my ESL students--now an English teacher herself!--smiled through her tears at the end of a rather romantic teen movie I showed in class. "That was a pretty movie, Mister," she told me as she exited, still wiping her eyes. :) It was a pretty movie. (Mary Stuart Masterson and Eric Stoltz in Some Kind of Wonderful? "You look good wearing my future." Anyone? C'mon! Classic.)

Well, this is a pretty book, and I hope the author will forgive me for saying so. There is some badassery here, but for the most part the novel is low-key and sweet, and I thought it was great.

It is the quiet story of Elizabeth Bennet's younger sister. No, not the one that ran away. Not the other one that was too much like her, either. And no, not Jane--she's older. Right, the other one. The one at the piano. Mary. There you go!

Lydia and Kitty are here. And Jane, sort of. And quite a bit of Lizzy and Darcy and Georgiana. And Lady frickin' Catherine de Bourgh with her wan and unfortunate and over-protected daughter. And Mr. Collins, paying his elegant little compliments and warning young ladies that they must be humble and they won't go far wrong. And Mrs. Bennet with her nerves.

It is all nicely done, beautifully following up on the characters and character dynamics as they existed at the end of Pride and Prejudice. The author has allowed the characters to grow and to show more than they did in the original Jane Austen novel, but she has not fundamentally altered anyone. Time has passed; the characters are living new lives; they have new preoccupations. And in this new present, everyone wonders what to do with artless, somewhat embarrassing Mary, a young woman who is too serious, too fond of quoting aphorisms, too plain, too poor, and too socially awkward to have much of a future.

The author allows Mary to learn a little from her mistakes and embarrassments as well as from her reading and reflection. She lets her put her foot down, a little, and learn to show a little spirit and wit. Not jarring developments; this is growth, and it is reasonable. Throughout the course of her story, I found Mary easy to root for, to care about, to see as a hero in her own light. It is something of a revelation to discover that the mousy, nerdy girl has thoughts and feelings and hopes that matter as much as anyone else's. When, because of circumstances, she starts attracting the attention of men, you feel both her pleasure and her apprehension, and when she (spoiler? maybe a little...) puts her foot down some, you want to high five her. Or something.

This novel is a lot like an Austen novel, obviously, but it isn't trying to be a copy. The story is an original, and comparatively scaled down. The plot is (intentionally) narrower, more to the point, with a smaller cast of characters inhabiting fewer scenes. I like how that scale works. The tone and diction also only approximate Austen's prose, incorporating enough of that period's cadences and peculiarities to put the reader in the Regency mindset without, in my opinion, drawing too much attention away from Mary's story. The characters are the point, along with their growth and change and development, and the language is just part of what gets you there.

Without summarizing the plot, I'll just say I enjoyed it, and I liked the ending. I liked Mary, too, and I'm glad to discover that. Well done.

So, yes, it's a pretty book. :) And any Austen-type people who haven't read it already should get on it.

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