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Selections from The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
See The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for the full book!
Sherlock Holmes, the world's first—and most famous—consulting detective, came to the world's attention more than 120 years ago through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels and stories. But Conan Doyle didn't reveal all of the Great Detective's adventures . . .
These are the improbable adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where nothing is impossible, and nothing can be ruled out. In these cases, Holmes investigates ghosts, curses, aliens, dinosaurs, shapeshifters, and evil gods. But is it the supernatural, or is there a perfectly rational explanation?
You won't be sure, and neither will Holmes and Watson as they match wits with pirates, assassins, con artists, and criminal masterminds of all stripes, including some familiar foes, such as their old nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
In these pages you'll also find our heroes crossing paths with H. G. Wells, Lewis Carroll, and even Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and you'll be astounded to learn the truth behind cases previously alluded to by Watson but never before documented until now.
These are tales that take us from the familiar quarters at 221B Baker Street to alternate realities, from the gaslit streets of London to the far future and beyond.
Whether it's mystery, fantasy, horror, or science fiction, no puzzle is too challenging for the Great Detective. The game is afoot!
Take note:
This free version does NOT include any stories by authors shown on the cover, and includes only the following stories from the original edition:
'A Sherlockiana Primer' by Christopher Roden;
'The Horror of the Many Faces' by Tim Lebbon;
'The Adventure of the Death-Fetch' by Darrell Schweitzer;
'The Adventure of the Lost World' by Dominic Green;
'Dynamics of a Hanging' by Tony Pi;
'Merridew of Abominable Memory' by Chris Roberson;
'The Adventure of the Green Skull' by Mark Valentine;
'You See But You Do Not Observe' by Robert J. Sawyer.
Sherlock Holmes, the world's first—and most famous—consulting detective, came to the world's attention more than 120 years ago through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels and stories. But Conan Doyle didn't reveal all of the Great Detective's adventures . . .
These are the improbable adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where nothing is impossible, and nothing can be ruled out. In these cases, Holmes investigates ghosts, curses, aliens, dinosaurs, shapeshifters, and evil gods. But is it the supernatural, or is there a perfectly rational explanation?
You won't be sure, and neither will Holmes and Watson as they match wits with pirates, assassins, con artists, and criminal masterminds of all stripes, including some familiar foes, such as their old nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
In these pages you'll also find our heroes crossing paths with H. G. Wells, Lewis Carroll, and even Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and you'll be astounded to learn the truth behind cases previously alluded to by Watson but never before documented until now.
These are tales that take us from the familiar quarters at 221B Baker Street to alternate realities, from the gaslit streets of London to the far future and beyond.
Whether it's mystery, fantasy, horror, or science fiction, no puzzle is too challenging for the Great Detective. The game is afoot!
Take note:
This free version does NOT include any stories by authors shown on the cover, and includes only the following stories from the original edition:
'A Sherlockiana Primer' by Christopher Roden;
'The Horror of the Many Faces' by Tim Lebbon;
'The Adventure of the Death-Fetch' by Darrell Schweitzer;
'The Adventure of the Lost World' by Dominic Green;
'Dynamics of a Hanging' by Tony Pi;
'Merridew of Abominable Memory' by Chris Roberson;
'The Adventure of the Green Skull' by Mark Valentine;
'You See But You Do Not Observe' by Robert J. Sawyer.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2009
23 people want to read
About the author
John Joseph Adams
368 books984 followersJohn Joseph Adams is the series editor of BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. He is also the bestselling editor of many other anthologies, such as ROBOT UPRISINGS, DEAD MAN'S HAND, BRAVE NEW WORLDS,WASTELANDS, and THE LIVING DEAD. Recent and forthcoming books include WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, OPERATION ARCANA, PRESS START TO PLAY, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, and THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH (consisting of THE END IS NIGH, THE END IS NOW, and THE END HAS COME). Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award (for which he has been nominated nine times), is a seven-time World Fantasy Award finalist, and served as a judge for the 2015 National Book Award. John is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is a producer for Wired's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. You can find him online at www.johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 9, 2019
I read this sampler to see if it was worth it to buy the whole book and...it isn't. The first two stories (The Horror of Many Faces and The Adventure of the Death-Fetch) are very Lovecraftian. As in 'someone write a Lovecraft story and then inserted Holmes and Watson into them'. And the second is also very Lovecraftian in the sense that it's racist as fuck.
The Adventure of the Lost world is mostly silly. Also, kids remember: Don't trust the Irish.
Dynamics of a Hanging is less bad but also hasn't really any otherworldly elements (except that the murder victim in that one is a student named Arthur Doyle). Merridew of Abominable Memory is a semi-decent story with lots of unnecessary gore. The best of the lot is The Adventure of the Green Skull but it's also a plain Holmes story without any fantastical elements You See But You Do Not Observe is sci-fi and me and sci-fi rarely get along so take my opinion that it's a very stupid story with a grain of salt.
The Adventure of the Lost world is mostly silly. Also, kids remember: Don't trust the Irish.
Dynamics of a Hanging is less bad but also hasn't really any otherworldly elements (except that the murder victim in that one is a student named Arthur Doyle). Merridew of Abominable Memory is a semi-decent story with lots of unnecessary gore. The best of the lot is The Adventure of the Green Skull but it's also a plain Holmes story without any fantastical elements You See But You Do Not Observe is sci-fi and me and sci-fi rarely get along so take my opinion that it's a very stupid story with a grain of salt.
December 29, 2020
Not to recommend to people who might expect to get actual Holmes stories.
Which is not meant as a diss to the authors, the stories as a whole are well done pastiches/satires, but A. C. Doyle was an excellent writer with an inimitable style, to expect anyone to match that would do a disservice to both.
The stories included in order are
"The Horror of the Many Faces" by Tim Lebbon.
One of the weaker entries IMO, a vaguely Lovecraftian SF/Horror tale without a satisfying solution.
"The Adventure of the Death-Fetch" by Darrell Schweitzer.
More Lovecraftian horror, but far better executed.
"The Adventure of the Lost World" by Dominic Green.
As the title says it's a match up of Doyle's two most famous works, working as a satirical parody on the dynamics of the original Holmes stories.
"Dynamics of a Hanging" by Tony Pi.
A clever tale in which Watson has to enlist the help of Lewis Carroll to solve the murder of... Arthur Doyle.
"Merridew of Abominable Memory" by Chris Roberson.
A Holmes story with a modern Psycho Thriller/Slasher slant.
"The Adventure of the Green Skull" by Mark Valentine.
Apart from the odd characterization of Holmes in the beginning, the author stays true to Doyle's characterization of Holmes in the end. Not as bloody as the former, but more effectively harrowing.
"You See But You Do Not Observe" by Robert J. Sawyer.
A Holmes SF story with a fun concept that hinges on a huge weakness, it being dependend on the reader's acceptance of a philosophical concept as a factually scientific one.
Which is not meant as a diss to the authors, the stories as a whole are well done pastiches/satires, but A. C. Doyle was an excellent writer with an inimitable style, to expect anyone to match that would do a disservice to both.
The stories included in order are
"The Horror of the Many Faces" by Tim Lebbon.
One of the weaker entries IMO, a vaguely Lovecraftian SF/Horror tale without a satisfying solution.
"The Adventure of the Death-Fetch" by Darrell Schweitzer.
More Lovecraftian horror, but far better executed.
"The Adventure of the Lost World" by Dominic Green.
As the title says it's a match up of Doyle's two most famous works, working as a satirical parody on the dynamics of the original Holmes stories.
"Dynamics of a Hanging" by Tony Pi.
A clever tale in which Watson has to enlist the help of Lewis Carroll to solve the murder of... Arthur Doyle.
"Merridew of Abominable Memory" by Chris Roberson.
A Holmes story with a modern Psycho Thriller/Slasher slant.
"The Adventure of the Green Skull" by Mark Valentine.
Apart from the odd characterization of Holmes in the beginning, the author stays true to Doyle's characterization of Holmes in the end. Not as bloody as the former, but more effectively harrowing.
"You See But You Do Not Observe" by Robert J. Sawyer.
A Holmes SF story with a fun concept that hinges on a huge weakness, it being dependend on the reader's acceptance of a philosophical concept as a factually scientific one.
February 27, 2018
An outstanding collection of short stories about Sherlock Holmes, with a notion of the supernatural. The voice of Watson telling the stories and Sherloks approch to the mystry is true to the voice of Conan Doyle. I can whole heartly recommend this to all and any Sherlock fan
June 8, 2017
Very interesting and entertaining.
September 15, 2022
I really enjoyed reading these Sherlock Holmes stories written by modern authors!
January 24, 2014
This is a free selection of stories from a larger anthology. And okay, I'll bite, I'm going to have to go find the original. This one didn't have any steampunk (which, come on!) but maybe the larger anthology does?
"The Horror of the Many Faces" (*****) Definitely the creepiest and possibly my favorite. Lovecraft and Doyle work very nicely together. Unfortunately, this and the next one made me think all the stories were going to be horror/supernatural, which would have been awesome, and I was slightly disappointed.
"The Adventure of the Death-Fetch" (*) Even if I'm charitable and assume the author is trying to mock colonialist camp instead of just gleefully indulging in it, this one doesn't do much for me. The framing story, about Watson needing to get an unpublished case off his chest, is actually more interesting than the 'mystery,' which is pretty sad.
"The Adventure of the Lost World" (***) Very silly, but I did laugh.
"Dynamics of a Hanging" (****) Creepy for very different reasons than "Many Faces" but also very good.
"Merridew of Abominable Memory" (**) Not terribly interesting, or improbable either.
"The Adventure of the Green Skull" (****) Yessssss, love it. A counterpoint to "Death-Fetch," it punches up instead of down. A lot of the original stories have ugly racist and misogynist elements, so it's a relief that you can fit justice into a Sherlock Holmes story without forcing it. And I liked that criminals get ideas from Watson's publications too!
"You See But You Do Not Observe" (****) Didn't get to me emotionally as much as I would have liked/expected, but it's a great idea.
"The Horror of the Many Faces" (*****) Definitely the creepiest and possibly my favorite. Lovecraft and Doyle work very nicely together. Unfortunately, this and the next one made me think all the stories were going to be horror/supernatural, which would have been awesome, and I was slightly disappointed.
"The Adventure of the Death-Fetch" (*) Even if I'm charitable and assume the author is trying to mock colonialist camp instead of just gleefully indulging in it, this one doesn't do much for me. The framing story, about Watson needing to get an unpublished case off his chest, is actually more interesting than the 'mystery,' which is pretty sad.
"The Adventure of the Lost World" (***) Very silly, but I did laugh.
"Dynamics of a Hanging" (****) Creepy for very different reasons than "Many Faces" but also very good.
"Merridew of Abominable Memory" (**) Not terribly interesting, or improbable either.
"The Adventure of the Green Skull" (****) Yessssss, love it. A counterpoint to "Death-Fetch," it punches up instead of down. A lot of the original stories have ugly racist and misogynist elements, so it's a relief that you can fit justice into a Sherlock Holmes story without forcing it. And I liked that criminals get ideas from Watson's publications too!
"You See But You Do Not Observe" (****) Didn't get to me emotionally as much as I would have liked/expected, but it's a great idea.
December 14, 2020
Fun and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews