Reviews

Very much enjoyed this. I thought the Doctor meeting Sherlock Holmes and Watson would be hokey, and it was, a little, but in a good way. Love Ace and Bernice Summerfield as always.

plaidbrarian's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Not high art, by any means, but a hell of a lot of fun. "Doctor Who by way of Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Lovecraft" sounds like the recipe for the worst fanfic imaginable, but Andy Lane pulls it off admirably. And actually writing it as a Holmes pastiche, telling the tale from Watson's and (intermittently) Bernice Summerfield's perspectives, was a brilliant touch, making the Doctor a secondary character in his own story while placing him on the same narrative plateau as Holmes at the same time. Maybe it suffers a bit from the same curse as all non-Doyle Holmes stories in that Lane feels the need to reference every conceivable Sherlockian detail - Reference to the giant rat of Sumatra? Check. Mycroft appearance? Yup. Moriarty? What do you honestly think? - but given that at least two other Doctors put in cameos here, it's not like he's limiting himself to overindulging in just one character's world. And really, if you get to play in such an awesome sandboxes, it makes sense that you'd want to use as many of the toys as possible.

kryten4k's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

So disappointing. One of my favs and it was just gutted to fit it in the time allotted. It really could have done with another disc.

nwhyte's review

Go to review page

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1106827.html[return][return]I enjoyed this tremendously. The Doctor, Ace, and Bernice Summerfield, in nineteenth-century London, get mixed up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson; and all five of them are then confronted with an invasion of Earth by the forces of Azathoth from the planet Ry'leh (sic). Mixing the mythoses (mythoi?) of Arthur Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft is risky, but Lane has done it very well - lots of borderline steampunk in his Victorian settings, most of the narrative told in the first person by Watson (who inevitably develops a liking for Benny), cameo appearances from Pope Leo XIII, the San Francisco fire of 1906, and the smart missiles from Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. [return][return]Apart from the wonderful romp of the setting, Lane is also pretty smart about reinforcing our willing suspension of disbelief. Is Sherlock Holmes real or fictional in the Whoniverse? We get a rather neat answer here. On top of that, the entire narrative is nicely presented as a flashback, Benny and Ace perusing Watson's account, and then critiquing him as an unreliable narrator.[return][return]Strongly recommended, especially for fans of Holmes or Cthulhu who may for some reason not have encountered Doctor Who.

foxwrapped's review

Go to review page

3.0

I don't know anything about Doctor Who even though my boyfriend and best friend are obsessed with it and make me watch it occasionally. But I do know Sherlock Holmes. I guess this one is alright. I wish Watson was a bit less stupid

plaidbrarian's review

Go to review page

5.0

nukirisame's review

Go to review page

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

More...