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A review by mcbenzie
A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon by Leslie S. Klinger, Laurie R. King
4.0
It's hard to imagine a better collection of Holmes inspired stories, running the gamut from "lost" stories from Holmes' career, reimaginings of his cases in other times and places, or investigations by those inspired by the detective and even tales of Holmes fans and one featuring Conan Doyle himself. In fact Holmes appears in only five of the fifteen stories, and in one of those (a comic about the author's inability to complete a Holmes short story) he is barely a cameo - but this is the book's strength. Of the Holmes stories only one (The Startling Events in the Electrified City) imitates the Watsonian style of the originals, and while it is by no means a failure it feels out of place among the more inventive interpretations around it. That said, there's not really a dud in the list, and the less successful ones probably seem worse than they are amongst the gems.
Of the authors included only one was familiar to me, Neil Gaiman, and his tale - like his award-winning Holmes and Cthulhu mash up "A Study in Emerald" - shows a love and understanding of the character alongside a willingness to risk taking him in a new direction. It works splendidly. Other characters who take on the mantle of Holmes - however briefly or obliquely - are also largely successful. Sme of them are probably familiar to crime readers, but since Holmes is more or less the only crime I've read, they were all new to me.
I was a little surprised at the American focus of the novel; a large part of my (and I suspect many others') attraction to aholmes is the Victorian world he inhabits, but here most of the non-Holmes stories are set in America, and one or two set in the UK onvolve Americans too. This wasn't much of a barrier though because the stories are so good, though the cultural references sometimes had me wondering what happened to all the English Sherlockians who surely would have loved a stab at this format.
All in all, I loved it. It's inspired me to return to the canon for the first time in a while, too.
Of the authors included only one was familiar to me, Neil Gaiman, and his tale - like his award-winning Holmes and Cthulhu mash up "A Study in Emerald" - shows a love and understanding of the character alongside a willingness to risk taking him in a new direction. It works splendidly. Other characters who take on the mantle of Holmes - however briefly or obliquely - are also largely successful. Sme of them are probably familiar to crime readers, but since Holmes is more or less the only crime I've read, they were all new to me.
I was a little surprised at the American focus of the novel; a large part of my (and I suspect many others') attraction to aholmes is the Victorian world he inhabits, but here most of the non-Holmes stories are set in America, and one or two set in the UK onvolve Americans too. This wasn't much of a barrier though because the stories are so good, though the cultural references sometimes had me wondering what happened to all the English Sherlockians who surely would have loved a stab at this format.
All in all, I loved it. It's inspired me to return to the canon for the first time in a while, too.