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thestainlesssteelrat's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Enjoyed every story in this collection. The anthology is full of inventive takes on Holmes and Watson, spanning time and space. Hugely enjoyable.
hannah_a_r_teatalksbooks's review
4.0
Two Hundred and Twenty One Baker Streets is, as the name suggests, an anthology of short stories (only fourteen, sadly, I was hoping it was really two hundred and twenty one) featuring our favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes. The stories flit from genre to genre, location to location, and gender to gender, and the authors include a pleasing balance of men and women - eight of the fourteen authors are female. None of them are really household-name authors. Some of the authors may be familiar to you - and I’ll include a list - but you’re not getting any Neil Gaimans out of this one. And that, my friends, is a good thing. Not that I didn’t love A Study in Emerald, because I did, but here are fourteen new authors. Think about it. A lot of potential reading in there. All told, it’s a remarkably well-collated anthology of creative reinterpretations of Doyle’s work.
The quality of the writing is universally excellent. Fanfic is by no means poor in quality, but there's a lot of it, and when you have a lot of anything, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time sifting through it to find what you really want. That’s one reason you’re reading this book review right now - TeaTalksBooks, reading, rating, and filtering so you don’t have to. And this anthology contains fourteen good, solid, well-written stories, and you know I don’t say that lightly. I don’t think there was a one of them I didn’t enjoy, though as always some were more to my taste than others.
Another thing to recommend this anthology is its variety. We have a circus, Australian ghosts, a semi-faux-Chinese high fantasy world, a genius geneticist/bioengineer Mrs Hudson and a bi or lesbian Watson, a rather sociopathic necromancer dentist Watson, drugged-up 70s NYC Holmes and Watson and the JFK assassination, teenage fanfic-writer Jane and her crush on her schoolmate Charlotte, a campus-themed reality show with a lady Holmes, canon-compliant investigation of witches and glassmaking, novel-hopping characters (Watson meets Elizabeth Bennet!), witchcraft in Nigeria, wax museum intrigue, and an eerie radio show Holmes and Watson with a surprising ending. I’m betting at least one of those sounds terribly intriguing to you, and it should.
And it’s not that you can’t find quality, variety, and new authors online, for free, in various fanfic archives, because you can. You really can. Some of it will be well-edited, as well, and others will give you links to more good works. Some of it may be even more to your taste, and a lot of it fulfills reading cravings that you’re not going to get from this anthology. However, this much variety in tone, plot, setting, character, and genre is going to be hard to find, and I’d say for the opportunity to discover new authors alone this anthology is well worth the money. As for me, I’m definitely checking out Kaaron Warren, whose ghost story scared my socks off in all the best ways, and Joan de la Haye, who is responsible for the story with the witchcraft in Nigeria. Both were very well-written and appeal to my taste for the macabre; people who enjoyed The Eyre Affair, on the other hand, will probably love Ian Edgington’s blurring of literary lines.
Some problems I did have with it: I may be mistaken, but I don't think there was a non-white Holmes or Watson anywhere within its pages, which is a crying shame given its otherwise diverse cast of characters - many of the non-major characters are not white. There were a few typographical errors in the advance copy I received, one of them a seriously misplaced sentence drifting in the middle of an author bio. Similarly, the advance copy did not contain a table of contents, which let me tell you made this review an incredible pain to write! I imagine these problems (except the race one) will vanish in the published edition, however, so don't worry too hard about them.
Advance copy provided by NetGalley.
Expanded review available at http://teatalksbooks.tumblr.com/post/94062242438/two-hundred-and-twenty-one-baker-streets-oct-7-2014
The quality of the writing is universally excellent. Fanfic is by no means poor in quality, but there's a lot of it, and when you have a lot of anything, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time sifting through it to find what you really want. That’s one reason you’re reading this book review right now - TeaTalksBooks, reading, rating, and filtering so you don’t have to. And this anthology contains fourteen good, solid, well-written stories, and you know I don’t say that lightly. I don’t think there was a one of them I didn’t enjoy, though as always some were more to my taste than others.
Another thing to recommend this anthology is its variety. We have a circus, Australian ghosts, a semi-faux-Chinese high fantasy world, a genius geneticist/bioengineer Mrs Hudson and a bi or lesbian Watson, a rather sociopathic necromancer dentist Watson, drugged-up 70s NYC Holmes and Watson and the JFK assassination, teenage fanfic-writer Jane and her crush on her schoolmate Charlotte, a campus-themed reality show with a lady Holmes, canon-compliant investigation of witches and glassmaking, novel-hopping characters (Watson meets Elizabeth Bennet!), witchcraft in Nigeria, wax museum intrigue, and an eerie radio show Holmes and Watson with a surprising ending. I’m betting at least one of those sounds terribly intriguing to you, and it should.
And it’s not that you can’t find quality, variety, and new authors online, for free, in various fanfic archives, because you can. You really can. Some of it will be well-edited, as well, and others will give you links to more good works. Some of it may be even more to your taste, and a lot of it fulfills reading cravings that you’re not going to get from this anthology. However, this much variety in tone, plot, setting, character, and genre is going to be hard to find, and I’d say for the opportunity to discover new authors alone this anthology is well worth the money. As for me, I’m definitely checking out Kaaron Warren, whose ghost story scared my socks off in all the best ways, and Joan de la Haye, who is responsible for the story with the witchcraft in Nigeria. Both were very well-written and appeal to my taste for the macabre; people who enjoyed The Eyre Affair, on the other hand, will probably love Ian Edgington’s blurring of literary lines.
Some problems I did have with it: I may be mistaken, but I don't think there was a non-white Holmes or Watson anywhere within its pages, which is a crying shame given its otherwise diverse cast of characters - many of the non-major characters are not white. There were a few typographical errors in the advance copy I received, one of them a seriously misplaced sentence drifting in the middle of an author bio. Similarly, the advance copy did not contain a table of contents, which let me tell you made this review an incredible pain to write! I imagine these problems (except the race one) will vanish in the published edition, however, so don't worry too hard about them.
Advance copy provided by NetGalley.
Expanded review available at http://teatalksbooks.tumblr.com/post/94062242438/two-hundred-and-twenty-one-baker-streets-oct-7-2014
tansy's review
adventurous
lighthearted
3.0
An anthology of 14 stories featuring Sherlock Holmes in different times and places. As with any multi-author anthology the quality varies, although there was only one in this collection that I found truly bad. The best stories in this collection aren't just "Holmes, but he's in a different era", they actually try to change the original formula dramatically.
Very quick notes on the individual stories:
A Scandal in Hobohemia - a carnival, early 20th century USA. Annoyingly, this feels more like the prelude to a novel than a short story.
Black Alice - 17th century England. This is fine, just a straightforward Holmes pastiche in a slightly different setting.
The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana - 1970s USA. One of the sillier plots, but still a fairly straightforward investigation story.
The Rich Man's Hand - contemporary South Africa. Not enough investigation and deduction, and it includes supernatural events to no good purpose.
The Lantern Men - contemporary Australia. More of a ghost story than a detective story and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
A Woman's Place - near-future dystopian UK. Actually reimagines the relationships between Holmes, Watson and Mrs Hudson in an interesting way.
A Study in Scarborough - contemporary UK. This does something completely different, making Holmes and Watson a once-famous British comedy double-act. Manages to be both familiar and unexpected!
The Small World of 221B - starts of as Victorian London, but gets a bit weird. It takes a little while to figure out where this story's going, but it's clear from a few pages in that something's very amiss in this universe.
The Final Conjuration - a high fantasy world ruled by wizards! Honestly my favorite of the bunch. This is the only one that convincingly mixed Holmes and the fantastical.
The Innocent Icarus - alternate universe Victorian England where almost everyone has superpowers. Light-hearted steampunk story that got the Victorian feel right.
Half There/All There - 1960s USA. A sad take on Holmes and Watson that left me wanting more and better for Watson.
All the Single Ladies - contemporary USA. Another straightforward investigation one. The killer was not a surprise, although the minor characters' rather lax attitudes towards a serial killer were.
The Patchwork Killer - contemporary USA. My least favourite. The plot is a mess and the reason for Holmes' presence is underdeveloped. It also has several spelling mistakes in, including a character being called by the wrong name. It honestly feels like this one didn't get edited for some reason.
Parallels - contemporary UK. Very fun end to the anthology with Holmes and Watson as schoolgirls Charlotte and Jane. Jane writes Sherlock fanfiction, (of which we get several excerpts), and the actual plot of the story echoes a very well-known canon Holmes story.
Very quick notes on the individual stories:
A Scandal in Hobohemia - a carnival, early 20th century USA. Annoyingly, this feels more like the prelude to a novel than a short story.
Black Alice - 17th century England. This is fine, just a straightforward Holmes pastiche in a slightly different setting.
The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana - 1970s USA. One of the sillier plots, but still a fairly straightforward investigation story.
The Rich Man's Hand - contemporary South Africa. Not enough investigation and deduction, and it includes supernatural events to no good purpose.
The Lantern Men - contemporary Australia. More of a ghost story than a detective story and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
A Woman's Place - near-future dystopian UK. Actually reimagines the relationships between Holmes, Watson and Mrs Hudson in an interesting way.
A Study in Scarborough - contemporary UK. This does something completely different, making Holmes and Watson a once-famous British comedy double-act. Manages to be both familiar and unexpected!
The Small World of 221B - starts of as Victorian London, but gets a bit weird. It takes a little while to figure out where this story's going, but it's clear from a few pages in that something's very amiss in this universe.
The Final Conjuration - a high fantasy world ruled by wizards! Honestly my favorite of the bunch. This is the only one that convincingly mixed Holmes and the fantastical.
The Innocent Icarus - alternate universe Victorian England where almost everyone has superpowers. Light-hearted steampunk story that got the Victorian feel right.
Half There/All There - 1960s USA. A sad take on Holmes and Watson that left me wanting more and better for Watson.
All the Single Ladies - contemporary USA. Another straightforward investigation one. The killer was not a surprise, although the minor characters' rather lax attitudes towards a serial killer were.
The Patchwork Killer - contemporary USA. My least favourite. The plot is a mess and the reason for Holmes' presence is underdeveloped. It also has several spelling mistakes in, including a character being called by the wrong name. It honestly feels like this one didn't get edited for some reason.
Parallels - contemporary UK. Very fun end to the anthology with Holmes and Watson as schoolgirls Charlotte and Jane. Jane writes Sherlock fanfiction, (of which we get several excerpts), and the actual plot of the story echoes a very well-known canon Holmes story.
theyellxwallpaper's review
4.0
This was such a bop!! Its very much a mixed bag but the probability of finding something you like is very high. I very much appreciate how hard it is to write a short story subverting classic characters while (usually) investigating a murder so big props to all the authors!!
Ill do my best to keep this next part spoiler free with a little description and my thoughts :)
/A Scandal in Hobohemia/: 3.5/5 A fun circus AU and what would make it better is having a full length novel!!
/Black Alice/: 3/5 (this feels so mean to write but hey ho!) Good murder mystery, but when compared to the anthology as a whole, a bit lacklustre.
/The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana/: 3.75/5 This was such an interesting concept and I loved the twist ending!! Also don't wanna describe it for fear of spoiling :p
/The Rich Man's Hand/: 3.75/5 Loved the 'quipiness' of Watson in this, however I personally think the portrayal of Lestrade isn't that great. Sherlock and Watson in South Africa with a touch of the bizarre.
/The Lantern Men/: 5/5 Oh Boy!!!! Loved this one!! Really creepy!! Don't Really understand it but still, an experience. Sherlock as an architect 'investigating' a haunted house from his childhood.
/A Woman's Place/: 4/5 Really enjoyed having a story revolve around Miss Hudson!! An interesting sci-fi reimagining.
/A Study in Scarborough/: 5/5 Wow. Just wow. I love this one so much its insane!!!! Our duo as comedy radio show hosts and an insightful interview with an aged John Watson himself.
/The Small World of 221B/: 3/5 Eh. I didn't really *get* this one and didn't feel captured. Maybe slightly too ambitious for a short story?? Like the nods to other classic characters tho. Funky time travel elements!
/The Final Conjuration/: 5/5 This was great. Absolutely loved the world building and loved how we got a bunch of stories in one without being bombarded. Perfectly balanced and would love to see it as a full length novel!! Sci-fi retelling set in futuristic China with a certain demon solving crime.
/The Innocent Icarus/: 4/5 Ive already read a sherlock book by James Lovegrove (the author of this story) and enjoyed it so I already had some ideas about what this would be like. Well, it was completely different in a great way!! A great fantasy world that again, I would love to see as a full length book. A world where people have powers but Sherlock is a 'typical'? Good food.
/Half There/ All There/: 3.5/5 Appreciated the focus on Andy Warhol and a story set in New York!! I quite like this but not as a Holmes and Watson story per say. Drug dealer John just seems weird and not quite sure if they are 'them' but still a good read for the gay angst!!
/All The Single Ladies/: 4/5 Loved female Sherlock!! A great story with great characterisation for it being like 20 pages long!! Set on a college campus during the filming of a reality show!!
/The Patchwork Killer/: 3/5 Just really bizarre and not exactly in a good way. Again I just don't *get* it.
/Parallels/: 4/5 This one's really cute!! Liked the idea of turning them into teenage girls and the whole fanfic element!! Wlw and mlm delight!
Ill do my best to keep this next part spoiler free with a little description and my thoughts :)
/A Scandal in Hobohemia/: 3.5/5 A fun circus AU and what would make it better is having a full length novel!!
/Black Alice/: 3/5 (this feels so mean to write but hey ho!) Good murder mystery, but when compared to the anthology as a whole, a bit lacklustre.
/The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana/: 3.75/5 This was such an interesting concept and I loved the twist ending!! Also don't wanna describe it for fear of spoiling :p
/The Rich Man's Hand/: 3.75/5 Loved the 'quipiness' of Watson in this, however I personally think the portrayal of Lestrade isn't that great. Sherlock and Watson in South Africa with a touch of the bizarre.
/The Lantern Men/: 5/5 Oh Boy!!!! Loved this one!! Really creepy!! Don't Really understand it but still, an experience. Sherlock as an architect 'investigating' a haunted house from his childhood.
/A Woman's Place/: 4/5 Really enjoyed having a story revolve around Miss Hudson!! An interesting sci-fi reimagining.
/A Study in Scarborough/: 5/5 Wow. Just wow. I love this one so much its insane!!!! Our duo as comedy radio show hosts and an insightful interview with an aged John Watson himself.
/The Small World of 221B/: 3/5 Eh. I didn't really *get* this one and didn't feel captured. Maybe slightly too ambitious for a short story?? Like the nods to other classic characters tho. Funky time travel elements!
/The Final Conjuration/: 5/5 This was great. Absolutely loved the world building and loved how we got a bunch of stories in one without being bombarded. Perfectly balanced and would love to see it as a full length novel!! Sci-fi retelling set in futuristic China with a certain demon solving crime.
/The Innocent Icarus/: 4/5 Ive already read a sherlock book by James Lovegrove (the author of this story) and enjoyed it so I already had some ideas about what this would be like. Well, it was completely different in a great way!! A great fantasy world that again, I would love to see as a full length book. A world where people have powers but Sherlock is a 'typical'? Good food.
/Half There/ All There/: 3.5/5 Appreciated the focus on Andy Warhol and a story set in New York!! I quite like this but not as a Holmes and Watson story per say. Drug dealer John just seems weird and not quite sure if they are 'them' but still a good read for the gay angst!!
/All The Single Ladies/: 4/5 Loved female Sherlock!! A great story with great characterisation for it being like 20 pages long!! Set on a college campus during the filming of a reality show!!
/The Patchwork Killer/: 3/5 Just really bizarre and not exactly in a good way. Again I just don't *get* it.
/Parallels/: 4/5 This one's really cute!! Liked the idea of turning them into teenage girls and the whole fanfic element!! Wlw and mlm delight!
wart's review
4.0
3.5 stars
You can read this and other reviews at Things I Find While Shelving
I wanted to love this.
OMG I wanted to love this so badly. I love the Sherlock Holmes stories. I love Elementary. I enjoy Sherlock (even if it pisses me off sometimes). I loved the movies with RDJ and Jude Law. I eat up all things Holmes like nobody’s business.
But this book.
It was good, but it wasn’t as awesome as I was hoping for.
Some of the stories are absolutely fantastic! A Scandal in Hobohemia is a super fun start to the anthology - not strictly Holmes and Watson, but they may as well. And it ends on a high note with Parallels - teenage girl Holmes and Watson? What’s not to love?! And in between are some real gems, my favorites being (in no particular order): The Lantern Men, A Study in Scarborough, The Small World of 221B, and The Final Conjuration (if you read nothing else in this book, read The Final Conjuration, it is amazing)
There were two I could not read - Half There/All There and The Patchwork Killer. I just couldn’t get into them. The characters didn’t feel right, which is frustrating, because I really did want to read everything in this anthology, but when you’re not into it, you’re not into it. And drug dealer John Watson is not something I buy ever (Half There/All There).
Over all, it’s an enjoyable read, definitely a good one for fellow Holmes nerds, but, like I said, despite some gems it isn’t amazing.
You can read this and other reviews at Things I Find While Shelving
I wanted to love this.
OMG I wanted to love this so badly. I love the Sherlock Holmes stories. I love Elementary. I enjoy Sherlock (even if it pisses me off sometimes). I loved the movies with RDJ and Jude Law. I eat up all things Holmes like nobody’s business.
But this book.
It was good, but it wasn’t as awesome as I was hoping for.
Some of the stories are absolutely fantastic! A Scandal in Hobohemia is a super fun start to the anthology - not strictly Holmes and Watson, but they may as well. And it ends on a high note with Parallels - teenage girl Holmes and Watson? What’s not to love?! And in between are some real gems, my favorites being (in no particular order): The Lantern Men, A Study in Scarborough, The Small World of 221B, and The Final Conjuration (if you read nothing else in this book, read The Final Conjuration, it is amazing)
There were two I could not read - Half There/All There and The Patchwork Killer. I just couldn’t get into them. The characters didn’t feel right, which is frustrating, because I really did want to read everything in this anthology, but when you’re not into it, you’re not into it. And drug dealer John Watson is not something I buy ever (Half There/All There).
Over all, it’s an enjoyable read, definitely a good one for fellow Holmes nerds, but, like I said, despite some gems it isn’t amazing.
kjcharles's review
Anthology of Holmes/Watson stories shifted in time or place (eg Georgian or 1970s), put into superhero or fantasy settings, etc. IMO the Holmes/Watson pairing very quickly just becomes detective/sidekick out of original context (albeit often very good detective/sidekick), perhaps I don't share the cultural fascination thing.
There are a few inspired riffs in here, particularly Tchaikovsky's fantasy world where Holmes is summoned as a demon (it makes sense, honest) and Adams' version of the pair as cheesy radio show comedians
There are a few inspired riffs in here, particularly Tchaikovsky's fantasy world where Holmes is summoned as a demon (it makes sense, honest) and Adams' version of the pair as cheesy radio show comedians
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