Alistair Duncan's Blog, page 2
September 9, 2022
Review: What Child Is This? by Bonnie MacBird
Regular readers of this blog (if there are any when posts are so intermittent) will know that I have been an admirer of Bonnie MacBird's pastiches from the start. For me, this is a never-ending surprise as I have hitherto not been a big reader or admirer of pastiche.
Read more »
Read more »
April 5, 2022
Review: The Additional Investigations of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Hall
I am not one for reading, much less reviewing, pastiche efforts. This is because even the best of these are destined to fall short of those of the master...
Read more »
Read more »
January 23, 2022
Review: Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Illustrations Volume II by Mike Foy
I have been lucky enough to be sent an early copy of Mike Foy's second book of Sherlockian illustrations. It has been a real eye-opener for me as it has exposed me to artists whose work I had seen (and some I had not) but didn't really appreciate.
Read more »
Read more »
September 15, 2021
Review: Hounded! by Vince Stadon
The full title of this book is Hounded! My Lifelong Obsession with Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles. Quite a mouthful. So let's go.
Read more »
Read more »
September 3, 2021
It's all getting out of hand
Like any Sherlockian, I love to read new books in our field. One of the plusses of being part of the most prolific Sherlockian publishing house - MX Publishing - is that you can lay your hands on some titles in advance.
Read more »
Read more »
August 7, 2021
July 18, 2021
Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Illustrations by Mike Foy
I was sent a free copy of this book for the purposes of review. It was also not the final draft so changes may appear when the book is officially published.
Read more »
Read more »
April 1, 2021
Review: The Irregulars Eps 4 - 8 (with spoilers)
Okay, so I've now watched the remaining episodes of The Irregulars. Has my opinion changed? Read on but note there are some SPOILERS below...
Read more »
Read more »
March 28, 2021
Review: The Irregulars Eps 1 - 3
Well let's start by saying that this isn't Sherlock Holmes. Then we can start to enjoy it.
Believe me, this really helps. This is a supernatural, gothic series which maintains a tenuous grip on the world of Holmes by having alternative versions of the main characters featuring in it. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun but if you are a fan of classic Holmes it helps to know that you're not going to find him here.
We have an enigmatic, and frankly dislikable Watson; a Holmes of whom, by episode three, we've only seen the feet and vomit of; a Mycroft who seems both benevolent and a wimp; and, finally, the Irregulars who are too old and devoid of their true leader - Wiggins.
This is a world best described as Warner Bros.' Holmes meets Penny Dreadful.
Chronologically it's all over the place. We have characters with a lot of 21st century dialogue, occasionally drowned out by totally anachronistic, loud and intrusive music (honestly, fire the composer) in a visually wonderful Victorian setting. Confused? So was I.
All that said, I'm really enjoying it, which surprises me as I love (and prefer) my Holmes in the classic mould. But, as I've said, this isn't classic Holmes, doesn't pretend to be, and that's probably why I'm enjoying it. If it pretended that it was doing anything other than anchoring itself to Holmes to draw in an audience that might otherwise have given it a miss I'd be annoyed.
It's honest in its dishonesty.
These stories don't need Holmes or Watson to work (at least, not so far), they simply need an enigmatic character to involve the "kids" in the adventures. However, if they had gone down that route an audience would have been far from certain. Why take that risk when the Holmes name will guarantee you viewing figures - at least initially.
The plots so far are quite varied:
Episode 1 deals with vanishing babies leading to the enigmatic Dr. Watson coercing Bea, the leader of the Irregulars, into helping find out what happened to them.
Episode 2 brings us the case of children who are being visited by a tooth fairy who takes all their teeth.
Episode 3 deals with the investigation of a series of deaths linked to an Occult society.
So far they've all been fast paced, more than a little gory, and satisfying as stories.
Blue collar Billy (far right) and aristocratic Leo (far left). In the middle we have Jessie, Bea and Spike
Turning our attention to the Irregulars themselves; they are an engaging bunch but Billy is very irritating and the class clash between him and aristocratic Leo gets boring very quickly. If I had to drop one of them it would be Billy in a heartbeat. That's a criticism of the character rather than the actor who is clearly playing what he was given very well.
Bea is a great leader for the Irregulars and the sibling clashes with Jessie are played well. The overtly sexual nature of their conversations - mostly revolving around who Bea should "choose" out of Billy and Leo - seems irrelevant. Does the show really need this love (or lust) triangle? In my opinion it's a 'no' but I'm under no illusions that I'm probably not the target demographic.
There are some obvious parallels with the recent (and also Netflix produced) Enola Holmes but this is better. For a start there's no breaking of the fourth wall which got on my nerves more than I can express. This show also demonstrates that female characters can be strong, independent and equal without necessarily having to outwit or defeat male characters to prove that point.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and am glad it has already been renewed for a second.
Written by Alistair Duncan
Buy my books here
UKUS
Believe me, this really helps. This is a supernatural, gothic series which maintains a tenuous grip on the world of Holmes by having alternative versions of the main characters featuring in it. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun but if you are a fan of classic Holmes it helps to know that you're not going to find him here.
We have an enigmatic, and frankly dislikable Watson; a Holmes of whom, by episode three, we've only seen the feet and vomit of; a Mycroft who seems both benevolent and a wimp; and, finally, the Irregulars who are too old and devoid of their true leader - Wiggins.
This is a world best described as Warner Bros.' Holmes meets Penny Dreadful.
Chronologically it's all over the place. We have characters with a lot of 21st century dialogue, occasionally drowned out by totally anachronistic, loud and intrusive music (honestly, fire the composer) in a visually wonderful Victorian setting. Confused? So was I.
All that said, I'm really enjoying it, which surprises me as I love (and prefer) my Holmes in the classic mould. But, as I've said, this isn't classic Holmes, doesn't pretend to be, and that's probably why I'm enjoying it. If it pretended that it was doing anything other than anchoring itself to Holmes to draw in an audience that might otherwise have given it a miss I'd be annoyed.
It's honest in its dishonesty.
These stories don't need Holmes or Watson to work (at least, not so far), they simply need an enigmatic character to involve the "kids" in the adventures. However, if they had gone down that route an audience would have been far from certain. Why take that risk when the Holmes name will guarantee you viewing figures - at least initially.
The plots so far are quite varied:
Episode 1 deals with vanishing babies leading to the enigmatic Dr. Watson coercing Bea, the leader of the Irregulars, into helping find out what happened to them.
Episode 2 brings us the case of children who are being visited by a tooth fairy who takes all their teeth.
Episode 3 deals with the investigation of a series of deaths linked to an Occult society.
So far they've all been fast paced, more than a little gory, and satisfying as stories.
Blue collar Billy (far right) and aristocratic Leo (far left). In the middle we have Jessie, Bea and SpikeTurning our attention to the Irregulars themselves; they are an engaging bunch but Billy is very irritating and the class clash between him and aristocratic Leo gets boring very quickly. If I had to drop one of them it would be Billy in a heartbeat. That's a criticism of the character rather than the actor who is clearly playing what he was given very well.
Bea is a great leader for the Irregulars and the sibling clashes with Jessie are played well. The overtly sexual nature of their conversations - mostly revolving around who Bea should "choose" out of Billy and Leo - seems irrelevant. Does the show really need this love (or lust) triangle? In my opinion it's a 'no' but I'm under no illusions that I'm probably not the target demographic.
There are some obvious parallels with the recent (and also Netflix produced) Enola Holmes but this is better. For a start there's no breaking of the fourth wall which got on my nerves more than I can express. This show also demonstrates that female characters can be strong, independent and equal without necessarily having to outwit or defeat male characters to prove that point.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and am glad it has already been renewed for a second.
Written by Alistair DuncanBuy my books hereUKUS March 26, 2021
A wonderful CWA Zoom meeting
Last night I had the honour to be invited to a meeting of the CWA London Chapter to discuss Bonnie MacBird's new book The Three Locks.
For just over an hour Bonnie was interviewed by Victoria Dowd about her writing process and her take on the characters in general.
It was good fun and it was good to hear Bonnie's explanation of her writing process.
See my review at:
https://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/2021/02/review-three-locks-by-bonnie-macbird.html
Written by Alistair DuncanBuy my books here
UKUS
For just over an hour Bonnie was interviewed by Victoria Dowd about her writing process and her take on the characters in general.
It was good fun and it was good to hear Bonnie's explanation of her writing process.
See my review at:
https://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/2021/02/review-three-locks-by-bonnie-macbird.html
Written by Alistair DuncanBuy my books hereUKUS
