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A review by adrinthesky
The Adventure of the Colonial Boy by Narrelle M. Harris
3.0
I have a weak spot for Sherlock Holmes pastiches, fanfiction, etc. Usually I’m more drawn to the… fantastical side of things (such as the stories in [b:The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes|6390031|The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391343317s/6390031.jpg|6578427], some of which are outstanding), but lately I’ve been getting more into retellings exploring a potential romantic relationship between the detective and his doctor, as well as the consequences of that kind of bond in Victorian times. The Adventure of the Colonial Boy doesn’t technically ignore the canon, but instead gives it a twist in order to make space for a version in which both characters can reasonably start and maintain a romantic partnership. The tale takes place during the Great Hiatus and takes Watson to Australia, summoned by Holmes in order to catch Colonel Sebastian Moran before he catches them. There is also a large subplot involving a former member of Moriarty’s gang and a stolen diamond, and it was so well thought out that it could have been expanded as its own main adventure. All in all I found the story pretty solid and the characters true to the original material, although at times the narration got a bit too much into the starry-eyed type of style that annoys me in conventional romance books.
I was also impressed by the attention to detailed employed by Harris when talking about life in England and Australia in the late 19th Century, as well as by the care taken to address canon discrepancies (such as the location of Watson’s gunshot wound) and to ground these characters in an actual historical location, so that when they become aware of each other’s feelings the thing comes across as feasible instead of absurd. I’m not interested in determining whether there was a queer aspect to their relationship in canon stories, but I like how books like this show that hey, even if that wasn’t the original intent, there is certainly room for alternative interpretations, and the core of what makes Holmes’ adventures legendary to begin with is not harmed in the least by him potentially having romantic feelings towards another human being.
I was also impressed by the attention to detailed employed by Harris when talking about life in England and Australia in the late 19th Century, as well as by the care taken to address canon discrepancies (such as the location of Watson’s gunshot wound) and to ground these characters in an actual historical location, so that when they become aware of each other’s feelings the thing comes across as feasible instead of absurd. I’m not interested in determining whether there was a queer aspect to their relationship in canon stories, but I like how books like this show that hey, even if that wasn’t the original intent, there is certainly room for alternative interpretations, and the core of what makes Holmes’ adventures legendary to begin with is not harmed in the least by him potentially having romantic feelings towards another human being.