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A review by meltingpenguins
Gaslight Gothic: Strange Tales of Sherlock Holmes by Charles Prepolec, J.R. Campbell
1.0
I had such high hopes for this one after the initial story (The Cuckoo's Hour), but it turned out that one was a diamond studded golden needle in a dung heap. I got so frustrated that I completely skipped the last story (Song of Want) and have no intention of given it or any of those stories I dnfed a second try.
In Detail:
1. The Cuckoo's Hour. 4-4.5/5
A very solid and enjoyable read, albeit riddled with factual errors (one could write them off to the supernatural, maybe, but there's no hint of that in the story). A young woman asks Holmes to solve a riddle in the estate of her late uncle, after the disappearance of a relative, who also attempted solving the riddles set up within the house's walls and gain the hidden inheritance. The solution makes sense and hints aren't grossly withheld from the reader. The supernatural element might feel a little tagged on, but unlike other stories in this collection, it doesn't feel haphazardly and forced.
2. The Spirit of Death. 2.5/5
Solid again, but felt it would have fared better if longer, with a few more twists and turns.
This one concerns murder by telekinesis or something akin to astral projection, perhaps. Interesting premise, rushed execution.
3. Father of the Man. -/5
Skipped this one. Pre-Canon story, something something, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack the Ripper. Didn't managed to pique my interest, so no rating for this one.
4. Dr Sacker & Mr Hope. 0/5
Oh, how I hate, hate, hate stories that mistake dark/creepy with cynical. As the title suggests this takes inspiration from Jekyll&Hyde, and as a lot of stories that think dark equals cynical the bad guys win and it's presented as something good? What? If I'd want the glorification of brutal crime investors, I'd read modern crime or something. Really, this was where the whole collection started going down the drain.
5. The Ignoble Sportsmen. 2.5/5
It was a good idea and competently executed, but it is a story that would have fared better with a mundane solutions. There's an episode of Murdoch Mysteries with this premise that does that, much prefer that one.
6. The Strange Case of Mary Holder 0.5/5
Started of well enough, looking back at the fate of a canonical character, but dear Heavens does is deteriorate rapidly. It's as if the author didn't know what she wanted to do with the story to begin with, and then remembered this was supposed to be somehow supernatural after finishing things close to deadline, and haphazardly shoehorned something in about the canonical character somehow being pure evil and needs to be killed and... what? No, thanks.
7. The Lizard Lady of Pemberton Grange 0/5
This one is just bad. Again it has an interesting start, but what follows is 'All the things on a 'how not to write a good mystery' list', to put it mildly. The plot is cluttered and erratic, information is withheld from the reader for the sake of it, and to a degree that didn't happen in canon. Sure, Holmes sometimes withheld information (or maybe Watson did for the sake of suspense), but what's going on here is best put an asspull. At least we didn't get actual lizard people as solution, 'cause good gracious the implications and present undertones and all are bad enough.
8. Magic of Africa 1.5/5
This one was on the -eh- side. Not too bad itself, would have likely earned a 3 or 3.5, if not for two factors: 1. The tagged one supernatural bit that was unnecessary, again feeling as if the author remembered that it's ought to be there last minute, and 2. The framing of this case being so strange and meaningful that Watson arranged for it not to see the public eye until over a hundred years later. The case does not live up to that, at all. Canonical there have been cases with the same caveat, but Conan Doyle at least delivered on cases that could easily have some massive impact. This one... not so much.
9. A Matter of Light. 0/5
This one broke me. I dnfed it about two or three pages in, when it became clear we are dealing with an author who is not only having Holmes clash with her own OC, but said OC is so much better than Holmes, and certainly not like other girls, and generally so much better, oh and Holmes hates women, and OC will clearly teach him better (she does, I did check the end of the story). No f*cking thank you. Look, a lot of writers start out with this idea of 'good characters', but many learn that, no, this kind of overpowered infallibility is no good for a good story. If characters that are *just better than everyone else' only ever fail cause drama and wordcount demand it, there's not much of a tale to be told. It's the ups and downs that come naturally that make a character good. (I ought to stop rambling, but damn...)
10. Song of Want. -/5
Didn't read this one.
Yes, all in all extremely frustrating and disappointing. There's some great Holmes vs the Supernatural stories out there, but it seems the Gaslight series doesn't hold (m)any of them.
Someone wrote in a review of a different instalment of the series how a lot of stories feel as if the authors are more focused on the deadline than on spinning and weaving a good tale, and yes, this absolutely seems to be the case.
Unfortunately.
In Detail:
1. The Cuckoo's Hour. 4-4.5/5
A very solid and enjoyable read, albeit riddled with factual errors (one could write them off to the supernatural, maybe, but there's no hint of that in the story). A young woman asks Holmes to solve a riddle in the estate of her late uncle, after the disappearance of a relative, who also attempted solving the riddles set up within the house's walls and gain the hidden inheritance. The solution makes sense and hints aren't grossly withheld from the reader. The supernatural element might feel a little tagged on, but unlike other stories in this collection, it doesn't feel haphazardly and forced.
2. The Spirit of Death. 2.5/5
Solid again, but felt it would have fared better if longer, with a few more twists and turns.
This one concerns murder by telekinesis or something akin to astral projection, perhaps. Interesting premise, rushed execution.
3. Father of the Man. -/5
Skipped this one. Pre-Canon story, something something, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack the Ripper. Didn't managed to pique my interest, so no rating for this one.
4. Dr Sacker & Mr Hope. 0/5
Oh, how I hate, hate, hate stories that mistake dark/creepy with cynical. As the title suggests this takes inspiration from Jekyll&Hyde, and as a lot of stories that think dark equals cynical the bad guys win and it's presented as something good? What? If I'd want the glorification of brutal crime investors, I'd read modern crime or something. Really, this was where the whole collection started going down the drain.
5. The Ignoble Sportsmen. 2.5/5
It was a good idea and competently executed, but it is a story that would have fared better with a mundane solutions. There's an episode of Murdoch Mysteries with this premise that does that, much prefer that one.
6. The Strange Case of Mary Holder 0.5/5
Started of well enough, looking back at the fate of a canonical character, but dear Heavens does is deteriorate rapidly. It's as if the author didn't know what she wanted to do with the story to begin with, and then remembered this was supposed to be somehow supernatural after finishing things close to deadline, and haphazardly shoehorned something in about the canonical character somehow being pure evil and needs to be killed and... what? No, thanks.
7. The Lizard Lady of Pemberton Grange 0/5
This one is just bad. Again it has an interesting start, but what follows is 'All the things on a 'how not to write a good mystery' list', to put it mildly. The plot is cluttered and erratic, information is withheld from the reader for the sake of it, and to a degree that didn't happen in canon. Sure, Holmes sometimes withheld information (or maybe Watson did for the sake of suspense), but what's going on here is best put an asspull. At least we didn't get actual lizard people as solution, 'cause good gracious the implications and present undertones and all are bad enough.
8. Magic of Africa 1.5/5
This one was on the -eh- side. Not too bad itself, would have likely earned a 3 or 3.5, if not for two factors: 1. The tagged one supernatural bit that was unnecessary, again feeling as if the author remembered that it's ought to be there last minute, and 2. The framing of this case being so strange and meaningful that Watson arranged for it not to see the public eye until over a hundred years later. The case does not live up to that, at all. Canonical there have been cases with the same caveat, but Conan Doyle at least delivered on cases that could easily have some massive impact. This one... not so much.
9. A Matter of Light. 0/5
This one broke me. I dnfed it about two or three pages in, when it became clear we are dealing with an author who is not only having Holmes clash with her own OC, but said OC is so much better than Holmes, and certainly not like other girls, and generally so much better, oh and Holmes hates women, and OC will clearly teach him better (she does, I did check the end of the story). No f*cking thank you. Look, a lot of writers start out with this idea of 'good characters', but many learn that, no, this kind of overpowered infallibility is no good for a good story. If characters that are *just better than everyone else' only ever fail cause drama and wordcount demand it, there's not much of a tale to be told. It's the ups and downs that come naturally that make a character good. (I ought to stop rambling, but damn...)
10. Song of Want. -/5
Didn't read this one.
Yes, all in all extremely frustrating and disappointing. There's some great Holmes vs the Supernatural stories out there, but it seems the Gaslight series doesn't hold (m)any of them.
Someone wrote in a review of a different instalment of the series how a lot of stories feel as if the authors are more focused on the deadline than on spinning and weaving a good tale, and yes, this absolutely seems to be the case.
Unfortunately.