Steve Emecz's Blog: Musings of a Sherlockian Publisher, page 7

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Hound of the Baskervilles – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel

"The Hound of the Baskervilles , adapted and illustrated by Petr Kopl (MX Publishing; www.mxpublishing.co.uk; 12 December) is clever, funny, beautiful and brilliant. It’s the first in Mr Kopl’s Victoria Regina series ( A Scandal in Bohemia is the fourth). Don’t be surprised to find the narrative intersecting with the events of Dracula , The Lost World , Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde  and even Rossum’s Universal Robots , as well as other exploits of Holmes and Watson. Look closely at the illustrations and you’ll see all sorts of unexpected details — though you may be too engrossed in the story on first reading.”

The Hound of The Baskervilles – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

Philip K. Jones reviews The Final Page of Baker Street

"This book is based on the assumption that the final page (Billy the Page) employed at 221 Baker Street while Holmes lived there was Raymond Chandler.  Within the world of the Canon, this is a plausible assumption.  During 1903, Raymond Chandler was a day-student at Dulwich College (UK, Secondary School), near London.  After leaving Dulwich, he became a professional writer and he stayed in the UK until 1911.  since Raymond was born in Kansas, he retained American citizenship, even though his mother, who was Irish, brought him to England to live with her mother after his father deserted them.

The close association between Holmes and Billy the page is mentioned in Watson’s later writings about the final year before Holmes retired. This book provides background material for the later events which entangled Holmes and Watson once more in the life of “Billy.”  It so happens that I am a fan of Chandler’s stories about the detective, Philip Marlowe, and I have read and enjoyed all of them several times.

The really amazing thing about this book is the author’s ability to call up the ‘essence’ of both the Baker Street ‘digs’ of Holmes and Watson as well as that of the ‘mean streets’ of Marlowe’s Los Angeles.  Although none of the action takes place in either place, Holmes and Watson share a sense of camaraderie and self-confidence in facing threats and problems that also pervades many of the later tales in the Canon.  Following their conversations and banter is a return to Edwardian England and its certainties and hope for the future.  This is definitely the world before The Great War

When the action focuses on Chandler, we walk into Marlowe’s world of cynical despair with society and of loneliness and distrust.  Chandler is truly a stranger passing through this world, a homesick, tarnished angel grieving for a lost paradise forever denied him.

Adding in Colonel Sebastian Moran as a villain brings in a sense of continuity that is both comforting and frightening.  His motivation is even more surprising for who could imagine “the second most dangerous man in England” acting out of love and concern for another?

For Chandler fans, the book relives “The Long Goodbye” and, in lesser ways, “The Big Sleep.”  There are also echoes of “Little Sister” and “The High Window,” as well as some of his shorter works.  I have read at least three Marlowe pastiches and none captured the essence of Marlowe nearly so well as this book.   I have also presented a serious analysis of Doyle’s style in writing the Canon and, again, this book captures the essence of “The Return…” and “The Casebook…” stories better than any other writer I have read.”

The Final Page of Baker Street is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

New review of The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper

"Okay, not a traditional Holmes and Watson tale. As in… No Holmes… and no Watson. This story is all about one question — given that Jack the Ripper was on the prowl at the same time that Arthur Conan Doyle was having such success with his fictional detective, what would Conan Doyle have thought (or possibly done) about this real world case? Here’s the thing — it may not be a Holmes & Watson tale, but I was totally sucked in. Madsen makes a VERY good case that Doyle probably DID get involved and may very well have even had his own suspect identified.

The story is a fictional tale of a lost Conan Doyle diary that is rumored to contain the writer’s notes and research on Jack the Ripper. When the diary is stolen, insurance investigator DD McGil begins her own investigation while being pursued and having her life threatened. It’s speculative, of course, but Madsen provides some outstanding references used as she researched the story… and it does make you wonder. All in all, a very fun read.”

Reviewed by GeekDad

The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper paperback edition is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . In ebook format it is in Amazon Kindle,  Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).

The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper hardback edition is available from all good bookstores including  Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews Sherlock Holmes: The Scottish Question

"Sherlock Holmes: The Scottish Question, or Sons of the Thistle by Mike Hogan  seems singularly appropriate to the year of the Scottish referendum, as it starts with the reported theft of the Coronation Stone from Westminster Abbey (but is it the real Stone of Destiny?), leading Holmes to uncover a plot by Scottish nationalists to destroy the Union. In the shadows, behind the plot, is a foreign power, whose aim goes beyond the dismantling of the United Kingdom. Terrorism, espionage, danger and hair’s-breadth escapes make The Scottish Question apolitical thriller rather than a detective story – and why not? There’s also wit, and a pinch of satire in the mix. Mr Hogan writes well too.”

Sherlock Holmes and The Scottish Question is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . In ebook it is in Kindle.

Philip K Jones reviews ‘Scandal In Bohemia’

“This is a different book than most English speaking Sherlockians are accustomed to. First, it has been translated from Czech. Next, it is a graphic version of SCAN, but it also includes SPEC as if it occurred intertwined with events in SCAN. Finally, it also includes additional material. In most cases, the additional material comes as a bit of a surprise. The appearances of Dorian Grey and Mr. Hyde in SCAN may give some indication of the things in store for the reader.

This book is the fourth in time-sequence of ten or eleven graphic novels produced by the author. I am not sure how many will be published in English nor in what sequence other items will appear. I’m also not sure how many involve Sherlock Holmes although I expect he will appear in at least five and, perhaps, in six. In any case, these books are not published for children. Adult subjects and illustrations appear and the graphics are well done and interesting. All-in-all, they are presented much better than most comic books I have seen.

Readers should be prepared to be surprised. The general story lines follow those in the Canonical Tales, but the difference is in the details. It is never quite clear, in this single installment, who bears which relation to whom. Irene Adler is certainly a major player, but who she works for and who is opposing her for which reasons are not at all clear. One almost gets the feeling that Sherlock is a bit-player in a play that stars others.

The artwork is quite individual and is very well-done. The story line is left open and presents more questions than answers. I sincerely hope that later additions to the series will provide a few answers and resolve some of the puzzles. The author’s “take” on Sherlock Holmes is certainly unique and this presentation of two of the Canonical short stories is both unique and fascinating. This is truly an interesting “read.”

A Scandal In Bohemia – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel is available for order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

“Spectacular full colour artwork” – review of Sherlock Holmes and The Scandal in Bohemia graphic novel

"Petr Kopl’s SHERLOCK HOLMES: A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA is an imaginative comic-book adaptation of more thanv one story, with spectacular full-color artwork and a preface by Ales Kolo-drubec. First published in Czech and now translated into English, it’s a welcome sample of Kopl’s ‘Victoria Regina’ series. He has an interestingvweb-site at <www.petrkopl.cz> (if your computer runs Google Translate you can pretend you’re fluent in Czech)”

Peter Blau, September 2014.

Scandal In Bohemia is available from this week through all good bookstores including Book Depository (free shipping worldwide), Amazon USA , and Amazon UK .

Peter E. Blau reviews Two, To One, Be

"Another MX title is PROJECT TWO, TO ONE, BE: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND A HOUSE OF LIGHT, SHADOWS, AND VIEWS (2014; 162 pp.); edited by Carrie Carlson and Lynn Gale, it’s an anthology of tributes to Undershaw, with a foreward by Laurie R. King, and essays, photographs, and artwork by other supporters of the campaign to preserve Conan Doyle’s home.”

Two, To One, Be is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews A Scandal in Bohemia – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel

"Due on 12 September is A Scandal in Bohemia , adapted as a graphic novel by the brilliant Czech illustrator Petr Kopl and translated (back) into English by Paul & Jana Simpson. Actually there are two adventures here, the other being ‘The Speckled Band’, and both serve to show Holmes that women can be just as courageous and intelligent as men – much to Watson’s satisfaction. The result is a feast for the eye and the imagination. The vivid, exciting text is enhanced by artwork that’s by turns deeply atmospheric and devastatingly funny – and often beautiful. This is a thoroughly classy production (MX Publishing;www.mxpublishing.co.uk). The original won the 2013 Fabula Rasa Czech Award for the best script, best artwork and best comic book. It’s easy to see why. Mr Kopl has a website at www.petrkopl.cz.”

A Scandal In Bohemia – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews A Study in Terror Volume 1

"Volume 1 of A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural, edited by Derrick Belanger. The influence of Poe on Conan Doyle wasn’t limited to his stories of detection: the tales of mystery and imagination left their mark as well. ACD didn’t write very much in that vein, but the best of it can be classed with the best of Poe. Here are eight stories – ‘The Terror of Blue John Gap’, ‘The Horror of the Heights’, ‘The Captain of the Pole Star’, ‘J Habakuk Jephson’s Statement’, ‘The Leather Funnel’, ‘The Silver Mirror’, ‘Through the Veil’ and ‘The Parasite’ – of which at least the first three and ‘The Leather Funnel’ are absolutely in the top rank. They come with three good essays, the most interesting to me being Derrick Belanger’s ‘Revisions of History: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Mary Celeste Mystery’, which tells how ‘J Habakuk Jephson’s Statement’, though not his best, became perhaps Conan Doyle’s most influential short story. A second volume is due on 19 November. "

A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural Volume 1 is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews Two, To One, Be

“Project Two, to One, Be: Sherlock Holmes and a House of Light, Shadows and Views edited by Carrie Carlson & Lynn Gale. John Gibson has written the introduction, and the foreword is by Laurie R King. There follow nearly 140 pages of essays, long and short, enhanced by photographs and original artwork, some of it, like Riley Stark’s cover design, outstanding. Ms Carlson notes: ‘Not all of our contributors are professionals in their chosen medium, and many of the writers are non-native English Speakers, and yet they all speak from the heart.” All the royalties from the book go to the Undershaw campaign. Believe me, it’s worth while.”

Two, To One, Be is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .