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87th out of 188 books
—
209 voters
Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes
by
Charles Prepolec (Goodreads Author) ,
J.R. Campbell , Kim Newman, Barbara Roden, M.J. Elliott, Peter Calamai, Phil Cornell , David Stuart Davies
,
more…
The fabled tin dispatch box of Dr. John H. Watson opens to reveal eleven all new tales of mystery and dark fantasy. Sherlock Holmes, master of deductive reasoning, confronts the irrational, the unexpected and the fantastic in the weird worlds of the Gaslight Grimoire.
"A wonderful addition to the bookshelf of any fan of
Sherlock Holmes or of the supernatural. Terrific stori...more
"A wonderful addition to the bookshelf of any fan of
Sherlock Holmes or of the supernatural. Terrific stori...more
Paperback, 317 pages
Published
October 1st 2008
by Edge
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Even though Arthur Conan Doyle was a well-known occult writer, he had to keep Sherlock Holmes, his most famous creation, grounded in reality. Doyle couldn’t weaken his popularity by giving Holmes a number of occult and fantastic cases to solve. This book takes care of that.
Watson was severely injured, and should have died, while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. He was saved by a blue djinn who exacts a price from Watson for his help. Years later, while solving a case of what looks l...more
Watson was severely injured, and should have died, while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. He was saved by a blue djinn who exacts a price from Watson for his help. Years later, while solving a case of what looks l...more
I thought this anthology was uneven. There were a few stories that really stood out but most didn't make a lasting impression.
I liked The Lost Boy by Barbara Hambly. (view spoiler)
I also enjoyed His Last Arrow by Christopher Sequeira. (view spoiler)...more
I liked The Lost Boy by Barbara Hambly. (view spoiler)
I also enjoyed His Last Arrow by Christopher Sequeira. (view spoiler)...more
Well-written fan fiction it is, but it's still, essentially fan fiction, and, no offense, to Sherlock Holmes fans, but as much as I love the original stories, I'm not convinced that there's enough complexity to the Holmseian world support this type of effort -- or perhaps these just aren't the right stories to convince me of that (it probably doesn't help that I read this while in the middle of reading a massive Jack Vance festschrif which is totally awesome).
That said, some of these stories are...more
That said, some of these stories are...more
The Great Detective confronted by the supernatural! It's every Holmesian's secret fantasy!
This was one of the better anthologies I've ever read. There actually wasn't a story I didn't like, though some were better than others. I'd say my favorite three were The Lost Boy in which Holmes teams up with Peter Pan (yes, you read that right), Merridew of Abominable Memory featuring Holmes and Watson going up against a Jack the Ripper-esque serial killer (so horrible, it was wonderful), and The Red Pla...more
This was one of the better anthologies I've ever read. There actually wasn't a story I didn't like, though some were better than others. I'd say my favorite three were The Lost Boy in which Holmes teams up with Peter Pan (yes, you read that right), Merridew of Abominable Memory featuring Holmes and Watson going up against a Jack the Ripper-esque serial killer (so horrible, it was wonderful), and The Red Pla...more
When a book is bye-lined as "Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes", the readers (already hooked or potential) have to select from either of two options: to indulge themselves with a strange but highly intriguing collection like "Shadow Over Baker Street", or to apprehend that another bunch of ordinary-to-boring stories are attempted to be passed off as Sherlockian pastiches. This particular book has both sides (probably more "natural" in that way only), and I am trying to give a very brief idea ab...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The introductions were way too long, meandering and with little substance, the stories childish, or ineptly written, or down the "anything goes" alley, or all of the above; there are some sweet moments in Hambly's story (but, Peter Pan?!), and Newman's story was intelligent, well written and funny, and that's about it. Instead of this one, I recommend picking up Newman's Professor Moriarty collection -- that way you get to read the good story, and a bunch of other good stories.
Some cracking Sherlock Holmes vs weirdness stories in this collection, and as with most collections, some duff ones too. If you like stories with Sherlock in them, and aren't too much of an 'original Holmes only' person there's loads to enjoy in this collection. The introduction is really good too (and you can read just that bit with the Kindle preview). There's two more volumes that I'm looking forward to as well. A great holiday read.
Great fantasy spin on Sherlock Holmes - loved that each short story was written in the traditional perspective of Dr. Watson! If I had to pick a favorite from the anthology, I would choose Sherlock Holmes meets Peter Pan. (That's not the title, but it's the gist of the story.) If you like reading Sherlock Homes, I highly recommend this book.
More fun Sherlock Holmes - horror style! From vampires to djinns to I-don't-even-WANT-to-know-what, I enjoyed this set of fan fiction, written by those with a clear love for both the tempermental detective and the horror/sci-fi/fantasty genre. The first story in particular is a standout for me.
A nice collection of Holmes Pastiches as written by a largely Canadian Group of Holmes fans following in a long tradition of paying homage to the master of the genre.
This should be a three and a half, almost a four, just for the Barbara Hambly story featuring Peter Pan.
Unlike the reviewer at SF Site, I felt that the best of the bunch was the story that didn't include Holmes -- the incomparable Kim Newman's 'The Red Planet League'. The rest were readable, at times even quite good -- with the possible exception of editor J.R. Campbell's awkward pulp offering 'The Entwined' -- and I always enjoy encounters between Holmes and the 'fantastic' but really -- fandom does a much better job with this sort of thing. Three stars, if only because I can read any Holmes past...more
May 02, 2012
Karen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
1
Recommended to Karen by:
Holmes fans in particular
Shelves:
sherlock-holmes
As usual with an anthology, the stories were uneven. Some were fun, others were boring. One of those books I will want to read some other day when it is cold and dark and I want to get away from mundane life around here. London is great to visit even if only in my dreams.
A rather mixed collection of stories. Most are not the usual pastiches. Some are, and some are inspired by, and some are influenced by Doyle's stories. While I enjoyed most of the stories, I wouldn't recommend this collection for people who are looking for more *just like* Doyle's stories. (If they want something with the same blend of traits as the original Holmes' stories with magic, I'd suggest Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy stories.)
Some of the stories were pretty good; others were so bad I couldn't finish them. This only adds evidence to my thesis that the overall quality of themed anthologies decreases as the focus narrows. (The only truly great story was the last one, which only dealt with the Sherlock Holmes mythos in sideways fashion, and which overshadowed everything that came before.)
I thought this would be a fun book with a bunch of Sherlock Holmes short stories but I brought it back to the library after reading the first one. I mean really, Sherlock Holmes helping out Peter Pan. PLEASE!
What fun!
May 23, 2013
Michael Fierce
marked it as to-read
May 22, 2013
Warren Landon
marked it as to-read
May 22, 2013
Amy Scheller
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Ven Sio
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Roxy
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Kasane Teto
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Ronny Yahya
marked it as to-read
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Charles V. Prepolec was born in 1966 and is a native of Calgary, AB, Canada. He is a freelance writer, editor and reviewer. His articles, interviews, artwork and reviews have appeared in Scarlet Street, Sherlock, All-Hallows, and Canadian Holmes as well as fanzines Peladon Press and Into the Vortex. He has been acknowledged for various contributions in Starring Sherlock Holmes (Rev. Ed. Titan Book...more
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Feb 17, 2013 05:56pm