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A review by alexvb
Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets: An Anthology of Holmesian Tales Across Time and Space by David Thomas Moore
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3.9 / 5 Average Rating.
This was given to me as an ARC courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This anthology starts pretty rough with hits and misses taking turns, but the second half of this anthology is SOLID! My top favourite stories were: A Woman's Place by Emma Newman, A study in Scarborough by Guy Adams, The Final Conjuration by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Parallels by Jenni Hill, and The Rich Man's Hand by Karon Warren.
And I fully intend to read more from and look into: Emma Newman, Karen Warren, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jenni Hill, Ian Edginton, and James Lovegrove.
Individual Thoughts:
A Scandal in Hobohemia by Jamie Wyman 2.5/5 : this story ended JUST as it was getting good which is said. I liked the carnival setting and the diversity of characters and personalities. But, there were one or two words related to race that I wasn't sure were appropriate or not.
Black Alice by Kelly Hale 3/5 : I really liked the writing and how accurately she wrote Sherlock's speech. The story jumped a little too fast, I think just a bit more development in unlocking the truth would've been better. But I enjoyed this one! Oh, but there were so not nice things about fat people in this one.
The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana by J.E.Cohen 4/5 : I really liked how they captured Watson's voice in this one. The mystery reveal wasn't the smoothest, especially if you don't know the pop culture of the time but if you do, then it does leave enough hints for you to figure it out and makes the ending was nice even though the reveal is never specifically announced. The American setting was interesting.
The Rich Man's Hand by Karon Warren 4/5 : this one is my favourite so far! The writing was easy, the pacing was just right, just my style. I liked how the crime was presented. I liked the banter between Watson and Sherlock in this one. The story progressed well and the mystery and details were explained well. I liked the magical element too!
A Woman's Place by Emma Newman 5/5 : This one was the best yet. A plot and B plot were both compelling and the twist at the end was great. I loved every second of this and I really liked the pace and the writing too! Oh and genderbending watson and making her gay? YES!!! I LOVED IT!
A study in Scarborough by Guy Adams 5/5 : I admit, it took me a bit to get into. I didn't like the radio script at first but once we got into the meat, I loved it!! And the three twists at the end and the uncovering of secrets were GREAT. I loved it! I'll be keeping an eye on this author too.
A Small World of 221b by Ian Edginton 4/5 : I enjoyed this. It really does go weird very quickly. I really enjoyed the first crossover but the conclusion and twist was not to my taste. I enjoyed the writing style too.
The Final Conjuration by Adrian Tchaikovsky 4.5/5 : This was a delight! It was so nice to get a completely different story half way through the anthology. I was already hooked by the setting, the characters and the twist on Sherlock. I feel in love with the writing style and the word choice greatly! While the ending was a little confusing and rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I'll be reading more from them!
The Innocent Icarus by James Lovegrove 4/5 : I fell into the style and atmosphere of this story straight away. It was true to Victorian Sherlock. The language was so "Sherlock". The Category twist confused me for most of the story but I got it by the end, and I liked the twist and how it fit into the mystery. I really enjoyed this one. It felt so Sherlocky.
Half There / All There by Glen Mehn 3/5 : Finally a gay sherlock! Finally a story with a mix of characters in gender, sexuality and race! However, I feel the later half of the story was totally rushed and I feel like ive missed a chunk of info about what happened with Adler and Valerie.
All the Single Ladies by Gini Koch 4/5 : I liked seeing a sassy female sherlock. I also liked the mystery and set up. You could predict the who dunnit but it wasn't too obvious and it was plausible so I really liked it.
The Patchwork Killer by Kasey Lansdale 3/5 : The opening was kind of confusing and I don't think enough was laid out for the reader to find the culprit. But I loved the tech side and the M.O was very interesting. It was so kind of future Sherlock and Watson offspring setting which was interesting too.
Parallels by Jenni Hill 5/5 : Omg Sherlock fanfic within a Sherlock alt story?! Yes!! Gimme! I love how meta it was. The author explains in enough depth about fanfic so none readers understand what it is, but for people who love fanfic (which I assume is a lot of the anthology's readers) it feels little overkill on the explanation. And it felt a little outdated e.g. "The pointed at the feedback section at the bottom of the webpage" but again, this could just be an explanation for the fanfic newbies. It was so cute!! The ending was the cutest and felt pretty realistic for high school life. While this was very, very loose Sherlock, i love how it was incorporated and I am a sucker for fanfic stuff.
This was given to me as an ARC courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This anthology starts pretty rough with hits and misses taking turns, but the second half of this anthology is SOLID! My top favourite stories were: A Woman's Place by Emma Newman, A study in Scarborough by Guy Adams, The Final Conjuration by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Parallels by Jenni Hill, and The Rich Man's Hand by Karon Warren.
And I fully intend to read more from and look into: Emma Newman, Karen Warren, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jenni Hill, Ian Edginton, and James Lovegrove.
Individual Thoughts:
A Scandal in Hobohemia by Jamie Wyman 2.5/5 : this story ended JUST as it was getting good which is said. I liked the carnival setting and the diversity of characters and personalities. But, there were one or two words related to race that I wasn't sure were appropriate or not.
Black Alice by Kelly Hale 3/5 : I really liked the writing and how accurately she wrote Sherlock's speech. The story jumped a little too fast, I think just a bit more development in unlocking the truth would've been better. But I enjoyed this one! Oh, but there were so not nice things about fat people in this one.
The Adventure of the Speckled Bandana by J.E.Cohen 4/5 : I really liked how they captured Watson's voice in this one. The mystery reveal wasn't the smoothest, especially if you don't know the pop culture of the time but if you do, then it does leave enough hints for you to figure it out and makes the ending was nice even though the reveal is never specifically announced. The American setting was interesting.
The Rich Man's Hand by Karon Warren 4/5 : this one is my favourite so far! The writing was easy, the pacing was just right, just my style. I liked how the crime was presented. I liked the banter between Watson and Sherlock in this one. The story progressed well and the mystery and details were explained well. I liked the magical element too!
A Woman's Place by Emma Newman 5/5 : This one was the best yet. A plot and B plot were both compelling and the twist at the end was great. I loved every second of this and I really liked the pace and the writing too! Oh and genderbending watson and making her gay? YES!!! I LOVED IT!
A study in Scarborough by Guy Adams 5/5 : I admit, it took me a bit to get into. I didn't like the radio script at first but once we got into the meat, I loved it!! And the three twists at the end and the uncovering of secrets were GREAT. I loved it! I'll be keeping an eye on this author too.
A Small World of 221b by Ian Edginton 4/5 : I enjoyed this. It really does go weird very quickly. I really enjoyed the first crossover but the conclusion and twist was not to my taste. I enjoyed the writing style too.
The Final Conjuration by Adrian Tchaikovsky 4.5/5 : This was a delight! It was so nice to get a completely different story half way through the anthology. I was already hooked by the setting, the characters and the twist on Sherlock. I feel in love with the writing style and the word choice greatly! While the ending was a little confusing and rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I'll be reading more from them!
The Innocent Icarus by James Lovegrove 4/5 : I fell into the style and atmosphere of this story straight away. It was true to Victorian Sherlock. The language was so "Sherlock". The Category twist confused me for most of the story but I got it by the end, and I liked the twist and how it fit into the mystery. I really enjoyed this one. It felt so Sherlocky.
Half There / All There by Glen Mehn 3/5 : Finally a gay sherlock! Finally a story with a mix of characters in gender, sexuality and race! However, I feel the later half of the story was totally rushed and I feel like ive missed a chunk of info about what happened with Adler and Valerie.
All the Single Ladies by Gini Koch 4/5 : I liked seeing a sassy female sherlock. I also liked the mystery and set up. You could predict the who dunnit but it wasn't too obvious and it was plausible so I really liked it.
The Patchwork Killer by Kasey Lansdale 3/5 : The opening was kind of confusing and I don't think enough was laid out for the reader to find the culprit. But I loved the tech side and the M.O was very interesting. It was so kind of future Sherlock and Watson offspring setting which was interesting too.
Parallels by Jenni Hill 5/5 : Omg Sherlock fanfic within a Sherlock alt story?! Yes!! Gimme! I love how meta it was. The author explains in enough depth about fanfic so none readers understand what it is, but for people who love fanfic (which I assume is a lot of the anthology's readers) it feels little overkill on the explanation. And it felt a little outdated e.g. "The pointed at the feedback section at the bottom of the webpage" but again, this could just be an explanation for the fanfic newbies. It was so cute!! The ending was the cutest and felt pretty realistic for high school life. While this was very, very loose Sherlock, i love how it was incorporated and I am a sucker for fanfic stuff.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia and Racism