Shadows Over Baker Street

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

pick

Well, I didn‘t bail so credit to this collection for keeping me entertained. One too many stories are so-so but as Sherlock Holmes pastiches go, the majority of stories were good yarns. There just wasn‘t enough of that rich, cosmic horror and weirdness that I found in my recent, personal discovery of Lovecraft. A couple of stories came close, but the best of the batch were the ones that capture Doyle‘s penmanship rather than Lovecraft‘s surrealism

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Thank you for the buddy read. I raise a glass of brandy to you my good fellow 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja That pretty much sums up my feeling, too. I did like the story you really hated, but it was Holmesian horror rather than Lovecraftian Sherlockiana. I did also like the Exham Priory story for riffing off HPL's The Rats in the Walls (sans sickening racism) while referencing ACD's J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement. I'm glad to have finally shifted it off Mount TBR ⛰️📚⛰️ (back onto the shelf it's occupied for 20 years 😄) 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Oh, and, Cheers! 🥃🥃 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Ahh, I‘ll have to read Rats in the Walls now. And there‘s nothing like TBR books gathering dust on a shelf to make you realise how quickly time goes. 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

pick

Overall, a pleasing mashup of Holmes and Cthulhu Mythos, mostly pastiching Doyle rather than Lovecraft, which I think was the better variation. I enjoyed all but one of the stories, & while they didn't all quite "do what it says in the tin", they were usually good mystery-horror stories even if they weren't always dripping with enough suppurating Lovecraftiness for my taste.
However, there were enough strong entries to make it a worthwhile read 4⭐

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Have you already finished? 2y

The_Book_Ninja Halfway through penultimate story! Finishing tonight if I get home from work early enough 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Ok - no rush. I had the benefit of a day off sat on my tekeli-li 😄 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

pick

@The_Book_Ninja
"The Mystery of the Hanged Man's Puzzle" really did hit the mark, didn't it? I think this was a pitch perfect blend of HPL's "Shadows Over Innsmouth", and a London-based Holmes story such as "The Blue Carbuncle", but suitably darker.
I got vibes of the Guy Ritchie Holmes films, and of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins in terms of the 'caper', though the story predates them both. A very good entry.

The_Book_Ninja Agreed. Easily my favourite so far 2y

Aimeesue The eyes in this picture! 😳 2y

Bookwomble @Aimeesue Fishy! 🐟 👀It's the Innsmouth Look - the result of cross breeding between humans and the Deep Ones of Devil's Reef 😳 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Looks like a classic portrait of a Tory peer 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Hmm... 🤔 💭 🧐 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

pick

@The_Book_Ninja
Round up of the stories I've not yet commented on:
"Wavy Black Dagger": The weakest so far, I think. It feels too conscious of itself and what it's trying to do. Barely Holmes, barely HPL.
"Royal Blood": Better HPL representation, nice historical references and setting in Austro-Hungarian Empire, H.G. Wells instead of Watson as the narrator.
"Weeping Masks": Easily my favourite so far. A pre-Holmes Watson gets his ... ⬇️

Bookwomble ... 'jezail bullet' injury while on military duty in Afghanistan. References to Chambers' The King in Yellow, The Yellow Sign and Hastur, without shoving it in your face.
"Violet Stone": I expected gruesomeness from Poppy Z. Brite, and this one started well, built up some weird tension then didn't quite pay off for me.
"Antiquarian's Niece": You tee-up a genre crossover character, you need to deliver that character. A solid and enjoyable story ⬇️ 2y

Bookwomble ... with some good folk horror elements, but Thomas Carnacki woefully underused as little more than an archivist and porter.
"Mystery of the Worm": Another solid entry, and a better use of a crossover character, the devilish Dr. Nikola taking the role normally played by Prof. Moriarty.
So, about halfway through the collection and mostly worthwhile tales, though only a couple of writers have really fulfilled the brief stated on the cover. ?? 2y

The_Book_Ninja You‘re spot on again! The Wavy Dagger, where Holmes spends most of the story in a chair with Watson snoring in an adjacent room. Royal Blood was shaping up nicely but the ending -a far from surreal, evil tree- was a bit of a let down. Weeping Masks was definitely a step in the right direction at last. I loved the setting. I‘ve had the taste of the Afghan desert in my mouth since I read the first of Flashman‘s exploits so the setting was good⬇️ (edited) 2y

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The_Book_Ninja …but I‘m not well read enough to spot the King in Yellow reference but it‘s been on my radar since I watched the first season of True Detective. Mycroft, with his air of superiority, narrates Art in the Blood, but a decent, well written yarn, gets a bit bogged down with its attempt to give us the Holmes‘ sibling rivalry from another perspective, so that the more interesting tale gets a bit obscured⬇️ 2y

The_Book_Ninja …Violet Stone had a naff happy ending. I enjoyed the Antiquarian‘s niece: finally felt like we got a story that had that authentic HP sauce. The Worm could have given us our first cosmic horror but it probably needed 10 more pages. That‘s me up to date🙌🏼 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Ah, I missed out Art in the Blood, which I enjoyed, and also thought could have lost the sibling rivalry to its benefit. The title refers to a comment made by Holmes about a character's artistic ancestors, who Holmesian scholars have suggested is also an ancestor of Sherlock and Mycroft, so in this story, Stableford subtly suggests a cultish background for them also: nice Easter egg. (And, "HP sauce" ?) Agree about Worm. 2y

merelybookish Nothing book related. Just wanted to say fun new profile pic. ⚡ 2y

Bookwomble @merelybookish Thank you 😊 Still David Bowie, naturally, this one from the Life on Mars? video 🧑🏼‍🎤 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble just finished The Mystery of the Hanged Man‘s Puzzle. At last! A truly ripping yarn!🐊 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I've started this one and having a similarly positive early vibe, so good to know it delivers! 2y

The_Book_Ninja Just finished the Tim Lebbon‘s story. Least said about that the better. He obviously collected his cheque and went straight down the pub. 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I've not got to this one yet - still on the Hanged Man's Puzzle - I'll approach the next one with caution 😄 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

@The_Book_Ninja I was enjoying the set up for The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece; Barbara Hambly has a polished writing style. But now I'm fanboyying as she's introduced William Hope Hodgson's Consulting Occult Detective, Thomas Carnacki of Cheyne Walk! 🤩 Lovecraft admired Hodgson, who was writing his weird stories a decade before HPL. He's sometimes a bit clunky, but immensely atmospheric. Recommended if you've not read him before 🔎👻

Bookwomble Book link 🙂

Carnacki, The Ghost Finder

The_Book_Ninja We‘re on the same story but I wouldn‘t have known about Carnacki so thanks for enlightening me. I agree, Hambly‘s writing feels the most authentic and, so far, the best 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

The Cosmic Horror of waiting for a dental appointment! 🐙🪥🦷🐙
It's only a check up, though, so I don't think I'll need to invoke the protection of The Elder Sign 😏

The_Book_Ninja I wouldn‘t be able to concentrate at a dentist‘s 😵‍💫 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja If it were practical for me to read while they were drilling, I would! 😁 (Not that I needed any drilling, just a slight adjustment on a new crown.) Actually, an overhead projector onto the ceiling would be eminently feasible. My Dragon's Den pitch! 😄 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble well I hope you haven‘t overtaken me! I‘ve not touched a book all week what with work😩 …I see a new Bowie PP dropped ⚡️ 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I'm on The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece - which are you up to? Life on Mars vid 🧑🏼‍🎤⚡🤩 2y

29 likes4 comments

Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

pick

Elizabeth Bear (she's the not-green one in the pic) had her first published story, Tiger! Tiger!, in this collection, and while it has no Holmes or Watson, it does have Irene Adler adventuring in India, alongside another Holmesian antagonist. I do like a story with THE Woman; Adler makes for a great female lead. The Lovecraftian element is more "Monster of the Week" than cosmically horrifying, but I still found it a satisfying adventure.
⬇️

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja
This link is to an interview she did about why, despite his utterly un-PC oeuvre, writers like playing with HPL's toys: https://www.tor.com/2009/12/04/why-we-still-write-lovecraft-pastiche/ 2y

Aimeesue I always love a Holmes-adjacent story starring Irene Adler 💚 (edited) 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble That interview is more interesting than her contribution to Shadows. I‘m now on the hunt for that Blish short story. Shadows is getting better but this story, like the ones that follow and precede it, just didn‘t seem to get the memo. There‘s none of the richness of Doyle or dread of Lovecraft. This one is the story of a tiger that isn‘t really a tiger. I‘m conscious that I‘m being negative again but this was a “meh” for me. Sorry😟 2y

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Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I'm not hearing you as being negative 😊 I enjoyed the story for what it was, but as you say it wasn't exactly channeling the exemplars to a significant degree. The one after, The Case of the Wavy Black Dagger, even less so - it was no better than ok for me. I'm now on A Case of Royal Blood, which has H. G. Wells as Holmes's sidekick, and I'm getting better vibes from this one, though I've not got to any eldrich material yet! 2y

Bookwomble @Aimeesue Yes, she can easily be cast as a steampunk Lara Croft, which is a good thing 😁 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble yessir, totally agree…had a lazy weekend and I‘m 2 and a half stories ahead of you and it‘s definitely on an upward trajectory. I‘m on Stablefort‘s and the quality and authenticity of his writing is far superior 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

"The deerstalker hat, the pipe, the tobacco-filled slipper on the mantel ... the image conjured, whether of Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett, or the reader's own conception, is unmistakable."

I love Rathbone's iconic depiction of Holmes, but *my* TV/film Sherlock will always be Jeremy Brett ♥️ When reading Holmes stories, though, my mental image is Sidney Paget's classic Strand Magazine illustrations ?
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

The_Book_Ninja Appropriate use of shadows in your pic☺️😉. Rathbone for me too, I just didn‘t like the bumbling Watson in those films 2y

dabbe Nobody is a better Sherlock than Jeremy Brett! 2y

Bookwomble Agreed! 🤝🫡 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja The shadows were serendipitous, but apt 😁 I like Nigel Bruce's acting and characterization in the films, but the literary Watson he was not! 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

The first story in the collection is Neil Gaiman's, "A Study in Emerald", which mashes up Doyle and Lovecraft, and neatly subverts both in a good way.
There's lots of Holmesian and Lovecraftian 'Easter eggs', spotting which was definitely part of the fun. My only complaint is that 24 pages was too short, making the idea of the story bigger than it's delivery. But, hey ho! It's an auspicious start ???
@The_Book_Ninja

RamsFan1963 I've always hoped that Gaiman would write a full length novel in this Holmes/Lovecraft world. I'd definitely read it. 2y

The_Book_Ninja What a shame…I wasn‘t really impressed with this one. I feel he had an idea for a clever twist, granted, but wrote a pretty average story to get to it. Not even close to the atmospherics of Conan Doyle or Lovecraft. He also tried to make it Mooreish, à la League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Not very original I feel. I think Gaiman has done some great kids books but American Gods is massively overrated imho?? 2y

The_Book_Ninja PS…thank you @Bookwomble for getting the ball rolling with this post🙌🏼 2y

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Bookwomble @RamsFan1963 Yeah, there's definitely a lot more to explore in that world. 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I get what you're saying - there was a lot more for him to develop. I did enjoy it though, as I'm easily pleased 😄 I also get what you're saying about the similarity to LoEG; I thought it had vibes of Kim Newman's Anno Dracula, and looking up both works find that Gaiman cites both as influences on the story, so perhaps he felt those authors had done enough with the idea so he just had (an award winning) dabble. 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja The GN adaptation looks good.

Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble I‘ve not read Newman‘s Anno Dracula series but I have 2 of his books on Horror movies, he‘s very knowledgable especially with weird, cult movies. If I see an article or page in a magazine by him it‘s bound to be decent. The GN does look more suited to that story 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Kim Newman is ace! He's a superior "talking head" on popular culture shows, obviously knowledgeable, and looks like one of his own steampunk characters! I've only read the first Anno Dracula, and that back in the '90s when it came out. I'm not quite sure why I never followed that up, as I do remember enjoying it ??‍♂️ 2y

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Bookwomble

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

Sorry for spamming your feed today: it's what happens when I have a day off I can devote to self-care i.e., reading a shit-ton of books! 📚
I've had this since it was published 20 years ago, @The_Book_Ninja giving me the impetus to actually read it!
I note that editor Michael Reaves died earlier this year & although I only know his name from this book I feel unaccountably saddened by the knowledge. Reading this will be some small tribute, perhaps.

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I saw this Holmes/Cthulhu novel on my Library Thing recommendations. I've no idea what it's like, and unsure I personally want to commit to the five books in the series, but as you said you were looking for this mash-up I thought I'd put it in your radar 😊

The Cthulhu Casebooks - Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows

The_Book_Ninja Good evening. 20 years old you say? I purchased a 2nd hand copy from EBay. The previous one I bought was in a terrible state. I‘ll definitely try the first in that series you linked. Thank you for the heads-up🙌🏼 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja 👍 It has decent Litsy reviews 🙂 2y

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MJSanty

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

so-so

#maybookflowers #sobaditsgood Combining Sherlock Holmes with Lovecraftian horror and Elder Ones this book is an odd mashup. The writing is not bad by any means, and I found myself actually getting carried along by the plots of the stories. However the universe is so unusual from a typical Holmes story, and many things being done seemingly for the sake of weirdness that I found myself disappointed. Still, not a waste of time. #iamsherlocked

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Peterdamien

Shadows Over Baker Street | Michael Reaves, John Pelan

Yesterday's bookmail. I think this has got to be my next read. It looks too amazing. I should've read it a decade ago, honestly (2003 is 13 years ago. WTF)

LauraJ Great cover! 9y

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