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Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Was Not
Sherlock Holmes truly trusted but one person – Doctor John H. Watson – but in an ocean of infinite realities it must be possible that in some of them Holmes’s fellow tenant at 221B Baker Street could be some other doctor, from any page of history or the annals of literature! Come with us now as we peer into the bizarre and sometimes terrifying fates that await the Master Sleuth when his cases, his reputation, and his very fate rests in the hands, or claws, of some very different medicos! 12 tales of mind-bending multi-versal mayhem by Philip Cornell Julie Ditrich Ron Fortier Nancy Holder Rafe McGregor Brad Mengel Will Murray Dennis O’Neil Andrew Salmon J. Scherpenhuizen Christopher Sequeira I. A. Watson Foreword by Leslie S. Klinger
334 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2023
I am no purist when it comes to Holmesiana, thus this book was enjoyable to me. It has a feel of Encounters of Sherlock Holmes, but not quite, since the defining theme is the absence of my favourite character. Not always, mind you, Watson does appear in certain stories. It's also always not just about the living situation, as a story or two could slot nicely within the cannon, but the imagination of the authors runs wild, and that's a beautiful thing.
Christopher Sequeira - The Final Prologue - 3/5
Could work as a binding piece of the anthology. I honestly think that's been done to oblivion and back, so I was not thrilled about this one.
Dennis O'Neil - The Forlorn Death of Sally at the Crossroads - 4/5
Quite a traditional pastiche, as Holmes, during his travels in America, runs into Doc Holliday who just happens to be accused of murder.
Philip Cornell - The Sign of Two: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Jekyll - 4/5
This works incredibly well, as it - quite obviously due to the title - pits Holmes' cold logic against the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with whom he actually shares the flat in Baker Street.
Nancy Holder - The Adventure of the Madman - 2/5
Dr. John Seward of Dracula fame tells a tale of a mysterious inmate of his Asylum known only as M.. It also seems that the poor doctor himself might not be exactly sound of mind, or is something else at play here? Technically this story is not bad, just... I'm afraid that something in Miss Holder's style does not suit me, at all.
Brad Mengel - Sherlock Holmes and Dr Nikola: The Adventure of the Empty Throne - 4/5
Having Dr. Nikola Master Criminal as a flatmate and friend of Sherlock Holmes was a bold move, perhaps, but I daresay that it paid well. I found it quite amusing that Holmes was oblivious to the fact that Nikola has apparently his own agenda, he was played nicely along - a bit of a recurring theme in this anthology. Together they investigate - on Mycroft's request no less - a serious threat to the Empire. But as I've not yet read Boothby's stories, I cannot tell whether the eponymous master criminal himself was mellowed out due to the influence of the Great Detective...
Will Murray - The Adventure of the Reckless Resurrectionist - 4/5
While dealing with injured soldiers during the last year of WWI, Watson meets Herbert West—Reanimator, who persuades our good Doctor to introduce him to Sherlock Holmes, as his serum is not yet perfect and he requires Holmes' help.
I. A. Watson - The Angel of Truth - 5/5
Dr John Dee successfully summons what he considers to be an Agnel of Truth - a tall man, thin-faced with sharp cheekbones and hawk-hooked nose, who can read anybody like a book with a mere glance and is a force of nature during an investigation of a plot threatening the life of Queen Elizabeth I. I've enjoyed this one so, so much - it's really well-researched, and it's always fun to see Holmes quite out of his element.
Ron Fortier - The Locked Cell Murder - 2/5
I have too many issues with this one... Although it was not without merits - the setting in the Commonwealth (Massachusetts, USA in this particular case) was interesting, and Lestrade as the actual superior of Inspector Sherlock Holmes was a sinfully neglected plotline -, the mystery was quite straightforward and I found Dr Amelia Van Helsing - the only child of Dr Abraham Van Helsing of Dracula fame - rather... Mary Sue-ish. *sigh*
Rafe McGregor - The Adventure of the Slaughter Stone - 5/5
Now, this was such a delightfully twisted take on the Canon.
Julie Ditrich - The Adventure of the Walk-Out Wardrobe - 5/5
Theosophist Dr Theodore William Moriarty (apparently a real-life Freemason and occultist on which the titular psychic investigator from The Secrets of Doctor Taverner is based on) investigates alongside recuperating Holmes a murder of a man found in a walk-in wardrobe whose owner had been carried into hospital in a state near death and suffers from amnesia upon awakening.
J. Scherpenhuizen - Curtain Call - 5/5
Holmes' friend and bibliographer is yet again another literary criminal mastermind - this time Dr. Mabuse in quite a Faustian happenstances.
Andrew Salmon - The Investigation into the Dawning Od: A Sherlock Holmes and Dr Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery - 5/5
Doctor Doyle meets a secret agent whose career he inadvertently threatened when he wrote the tales of his deeds as a well-received story, considering them too tall to be true. Together they are thrown first into jail and later into an investigation of a supernatural crime like no other. A delightfully fantastical, pulpy mishmash - I'd love to read a whole series of this.
I'm eternally sorrowful that Harlan Ellison did not manage to write his intended story, as that would be... something. And again, I found a few new authors whose style quite suits me.
Christopher Sequeira - The Final Prologue - 3/5
Could work as a binding piece of the anthology. I honestly think that's been done to oblivion and back, so I was not thrilled about this one.
Dennis O'Neil - The Forlorn Death of Sally at the Crossroads - 4/5
Quite a traditional pastiche, as Holmes, during his travels in America, runs into Doc Holliday who just happens to be accused of murder.
Philip Cornell - The Sign of Two: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Jekyll - 4/5
This works incredibly well, as it - quite obviously due to the title - pits Holmes' cold logic against the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with whom he actually shares the flat in Baker Street.
Nancy Holder - The Adventure of the Madman - 2/5
Dr. John Seward of Dracula fame tells a tale of a mysterious inmate of his Asylum known only as M.. It also seems that the poor doctor himself might not be exactly sound of mind, or is something else at play here? Technically this story is not bad, just... I'm afraid that something in Miss Holder's style does not suit me, at all.
Brad Mengel - Sherlock Holmes and Dr Nikola: The Adventure of the Empty Throne - 4/5
Having Dr. Nikola Master Criminal as a flatmate and friend of Sherlock Holmes was a bold move, perhaps, but I daresay that it paid well. I found it quite amusing that Holmes was oblivious to the fact that Nikola has apparently his own agenda, he was played nicely along - a bit of a recurring theme in this anthology. Together they investigate - on Mycroft's request no less - a serious threat to the Empire. But as I've not yet read Boothby's stories, I cannot tell whether the eponymous master criminal himself was mellowed out due to the influence of the Great Detective...
Will Murray - The Adventure of the Reckless Resurrectionist - 4/5
While dealing with injured soldiers during the last year of WWI, Watson meets Herbert West—Reanimator, who persuades our good Doctor to introduce him to Sherlock Holmes, as his serum is not yet perfect and he requires Holmes' help.
I. A. Watson - The Angel of Truth - 5/5
Dr John Dee successfully summons what he considers to be an Agnel of Truth - a tall man, thin-faced with sharp cheekbones and hawk-hooked nose, who can read anybody like a book with a mere glance and is a force of nature during an investigation of a plot threatening the life of Queen Elizabeth I. I've enjoyed this one so, so much - it's really well-researched, and it's always fun to see Holmes quite out of his element.
Ron Fortier - The Locked Cell Murder - 2/5
I have too many issues with this one... Although it was not without merits - the setting in the Commonwealth (Massachusetts, USA in this particular case) was interesting, and Lestrade as the actual superior of Inspector Sherlock Holmes was a sinfully neglected plotline -, the mystery was quite straightforward and I found Dr Amelia Van Helsing - the only child of Dr Abraham Van Helsing of Dracula fame - rather... Mary Sue-ish. *sigh*
Rafe McGregor - The Adventure of the Slaughter Stone - 5/5
Now, this was such a delightfully twisted take on the Canon.
Julie Ditrich - The Adventure of the Walk-Out Wardrobe - 5/5
Theosophist Dr Theodore William Moriarty (apparently a real-life Freemason and occultist on which the titular psychic investigator from The Secrets of Doctor Taverner is based on) investigates alongside recuperating Holmes a murder of a man found in a walk-in wardrobe whose owner had been carried into hospital in a state near death and suffers from amnesia upon awakening.
J. Scherpenhuizen - Curtain Call - 5/5
Holmes' friend and bibliographer is yet again another literary criminal mastermind - this time Dr. Mabuse in quite a Faustian happenstances.
Andrew Salmon - The Investigation into the Dawning Od: A Sherlock Holmes and Dr Arthur Conan Doyle Mystery - 5/5
Doctor Doyle meets a secret agent whose career he inadvertently threatened when he wrote the tales of his deeds as a well-received story, considering them too tall to be true. Together they are thrown first into jail and later into an investigation of a supernatural crime like no other. A delightfully fantastical, pulpy mishmash - I'd love to read a whole series of this.
I'm eternally sorrowful that Harlan Ellison did not manage to write his intended story, as that would be... something. And again, I found a few new authors whose style quite suits me.
September 22, 2024
The simple but effective premise is to pair Sherlock Holmes with other famous characters instead of Dr. Watson in alternate worlds and play with the new dynamics. Doc Holiday, Dr. Jekyl, John Seward, Dr. Nikola, Dr. Herbert West (H. P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator), John Dee, Amelia Van Helsing, Dr. Roylott (the villain from "The Speckled Band"), Theodore William Carte Moriarty (a real associate of Doyle's who refused to sponsor Doyle for Freemasonry and The Golden Dawn and thus got his name used for SH's nemesis. Also the basis of Dion Fortune's occult detective, Dr. Taverner), Dr. Mabuse, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Most of the stories are well-written and researched. Fun.
April 24, 2020
Lots of fun here for Holmes aficionados!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews