Scan barcode
A review by holtfan
A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon by Leslie S. Klinger, Laurie R. King
3.0
Being something of a Sherlockian, Janeite, and Tutor-era purist, I tend to avoid anthologies like A Study in Sherlock. In fact, I tend to avoid fan fiction or spin-offs in general. With some exceptions, the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer being an excellent example, they never quite meet my expectations. It is like the old saying ‘the movie is never as good as the book’, but in this case, ‘the re-telling is never as good as the cannon.’
A Study in Sherlock edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger is a collection of short stories inspired by Sherlock Holmes and written by “some of the greatest mystery writers of our time…” Actually, I’ve never heard of any of them so I’m slightly skeptical. That might be more of my fault as a reader than the authors.
Anyway! As far as anthologies go, A Study in Sherlock was rather interesting. Or at least, it had some good stories. “As to ‘An Exact Knowledge of London’” and “The Case of Death and Honey” were my personal favorites. “The Eyak Interpreter” and “The Case That Holmes Lost” were interesting. “The Adventures of the Concert Pianist” was interesting but oh-so-predictable. It was an interesting mix, really. Some of the stories were good and I plan on finding more by the authors. Others were dumb. “The Mysterious Case of the Unwritten Short Story” really wasn’t to my taste.
Overall, an interesting collection that I mostly enjoyed as a good yarn. It re-peaked my interest in that fabulous detective, Sherlock Holmes. It was interesting to see the various authors and the differences in their ideas, interpretation of how a short story should deal with Sherlock Holmes, and writing styles. It also introduced me to a wealth of new authors with a great deal , hopefully, of potential. Thus, while I don’t necessarily recommend this book, I don’t not recommend it. Some of the short stories were down-right clever. Others were depressing or dumb. Some were predictable. When you get this many authors together, you certainly can’t expect every story to be fabulous. Thus, interesting but not fantabulous.
A Study in Sherlock edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger is a collection of short stories inspired by Sherlock Holmes and written by “some of the greatest mystery writers of our time…” Actually, I’ve never heard of any of them so I’m slightly skeptical. That might be more of my fault as a reader than the authors.
Anyway! As far as anthologies go, A Study in Sherlock was rather interesting. Or at least, it had some good stories. “As to ‘An Exact Knowledge of London’” and “The Case of Death and Honey” were my personal favorites. “The Eyak Interpreter” and “The Case That Holmes Lost” were interesting. “The Adventures of the Concert Pianist” was interesting but oh-so-predictable. It was an interesting mix, really. Some of the stories were good and I plan on finding more by the authors. Others were dumb. “The Mysterious Case of the Unwritten Short Story” really wasn’t to my taste.
Overall, an interesting collection that I mostly enjoyed as a good yarn. It re-peaked my interest in that fabulous detective, Sherlock Holmes. It was interesting to see the various authors and the differences in their ideas, interpretation of how a short story should deal with Sherlock Holmes, and writing styles. It also introduced me to a wealth of new authors with a great deal , hopefully, of potential. Thus, while I don’t necessarily recommend this book, I don’t not recommend it. Some of the short stories were down-right clever. Others were depressing or dumb. Some were predictable. When you get this many authors together, you certainly can’t expect every story to be fabulous. Thus, interesting but not fantabulous.