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The Moriarty Paradigm
Eliminating the Possible: Introducing the Moriarty Paradigm
Imagine the richly detailed Victorian London of Sherlock Holmes reinvented as a steampunk world created by the criminal genius of his arch-nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. Airships. Ray Guns. Moonshots. Tesla. Time Machines. Welcome to The Moriarty paradigm. Eliminating the Possible uses a remarkable series of excerpts, articles and original fiction to provide the introduction to an entirely new Holmes canon. Filled with all the familiar tropes of the steampunk genre, the Moriarty paradigm brings together writers including Damon Cavalchini, Mike Chinn, Jonathan Green and David McIntee to reintroduce modern readers to the mystery and adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
92 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
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16 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Middleton
18 books9 followersThe son of a policeman, Adrian grew up in Birmingham, and is a former civil servant and policy adviser on broadband and digital content. He is now a consultant and owner of Fringeworks Ltd.
As well as writing under a number of pseudonyms, he is the editor of Shelf Life, a Doctor Who anthology, Fringeworks' Moriarty paradigm and Weird Trails series, and several forthcoming anthologies.
As well as writing under a number of pseudonyms, he is the editor of Shelf Life, a Doctor Who anthology, Fringeworks' Moriarty paradigm and Weird Trails series, and several forthcoming anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 10, 2015
omg I couldn't put down .... on to the next right now I think
August 30, 2015
Sherlock Holmes. To hear or read the name is to be guided into the fictional world of a highly influential consulting detective, where close observation forms the basis for broader conclusions, where broad brush strokes and fast paced narrative create a feeling of action.
It is a environment in which the aristocratic, scientific and bohemian meet, a place that is in the distant past, somewhere that is different to our own world and yet can be revisited frequently. The Great Game for Holmes scholars and afficionados in mapping Conan Doyle's creation has itself been updated; the new Great Game is to update and adapt Holmes to create new fictional worlds. Sherlock Holmes is thus now Sherlock, parodied as Schlock Holmes or critiqued by Michael Dibdin in The Last Sherlock Holmes Story. Accompanied by his Boswell, Dr Watson, and shadowed by Moriarty, Holmes is seen in different incarnations on the large and small screen. Due to his wide-ranging influence we have our preconceptions about this detective: sometimes we may even enjoy the process via which our expectations are subverted or challenged. At other times these brave new Holmesian worlds ring hollow - the adaptation fails, the pastiche collapses. The Holmes can(n)on is that looming menace on the horizon for anyone in the business of adapting and updating.
The Holmes multiverse now welcomes a Steampunk adaptation, The Moriarty Paradigm, which takes place in an alternate British Empire created by the genius of James Moriarty. In this world, Moriarty is re-imagined as a time traveller and Eliminating the Possible is the ideal place to begin your exploration. Part history of Steampunk, part manifesto, part sampler, part exploration of the authors' creative processes, Eliminating the Possible clearly establishes the rules and boundaries of this Steampunk environment. It does so by referring directly to Doyle's work and interweaving it carefully to build both an alternate world and a relationship with the reader.
This creates a familiar, but subtly different, environment in which Steampunk technology is fully integrated, rather than bolted on as an afterthought. We recognise the familiar and can therefore appreciate the differences: these expectations are set up in the Introduction and the Note from Doctor Doyle, then expanded further via three extracts from Vallis Timoris, The Lavender Men and Sign of V. The Intercepted Letter takes us one step beyond the familiarity of Holmes to a new character called Ormond Sacker, The Steampunk Detective, whose engineering background and methods serve to provide a useful contrast.
As an example of this enrichment, The Scoundrel of Bohemia (The Moriarty Paradigm Book 1) can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel within this multiverse. Again, it interweaves Doyle's original text with naturally occurring Steampunk elements and new text to create an integrated whole. With a surrounding cast of characters both original and new, Irene Adler - The Woman - is both familiar, yet reinvented: her timeline takes a different course in this world but remains believable. However, a prior reading of appendices in Eliminating the Possible may enable the reader to fully appreciate how the Holmes and Steampunk elements have been integrated, and gain the most from their immersion in this multiverse.
The Moriarty Paradigm is a concept that has been well realised, and it has created a world that will repay both the casual Holmes reader, and the Holmes enthusiast. The character of Sherlock Holmes has been captured accurately, with his mannerisms, deductions and mode of speech all preserved in a world where the Channel Tunnel has been built, the Mannheim-Benz roars and Lunar expeditions have taken place.
The Moriarty Paradigm is highly recommended and this reader will be extremely interested to see how it develops over time.
It is a environment in which the aristocratic, scientific and bohemian meet, a place that is in the distant past, somewhere that is different to our own world and yet can be revisited frequently. The Great Game for Holmes scholars and afficionados in mapping Conan Doyle's creation has itself been updated; the new Great Game is to update and adapt Holmes to create new fictional worlds. Sherlock Holmes is thus now Sherlock, parodied as Schlock Holmes or critiqued by Michael Dibdin in The Last Sherlock Holmes Story. Accompanied by his Boswell, Dr Watson, and shadowed by Moriarty, Holmes is seen in different incarnations on the large and small screen. Due to his wide-ranging influence we have our preconceptions about this detective: sometimes we may even enjoy the process via which our expectations are subverted or challenged. At other times these brave new Holmesian worlds ring hollow - the adaptation fails, the pastiche collapses. The Holmes can(n)on is that looming menace on the horizon for anyone in the business of adapting and updating.
The Holmes multiverse now welcomes a Steampunk adaptation, The Moriarty Paradigm, which takes place in an alternate British Empire created by the genius of James Moriarty. In this world, Moriarty is re-imagined as a time traveller and Eliminating the Possible is the ideal place to begin your exploration. Part history of Steampunk, part manifesto, part sampler, part exploration of the authors' creative processes, Eliminating the Possible clearly establishes the rules and boundaries of this Steampunk environment. It does so by referring directly to Doyle's work and interweaving it carefully to build both an alternate world and a relationship with the reader.
This creates a familiar, but subtly different, environment in which Steampunk technology is fully integrated, rather than bolted on as an afterthought. We recognise the familiar and can therefore appreciate the differences: these expectations are set up in the Introduction and the Note from Doctor Doyle, then expanded further via three extracts from Vallis Timoris, The Lavender Men and Sign of V. The Intercepted Letter takes us one step beyond the familiarity of Holmes to a new character called Ormond Sacker, The Steampunk Detective, whose engineering background and methods serve to provide a useful contrast.
As an example of this enrichment, The Scoundrel of Bohemia (The Moriarty Paradigm Book 1) can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel within this multiverse. Again, it interweaves Doyle's original text with naturally occurring Steampunk elements and new text to create an integrated whole. With a surrounding cast of characters both original and new, Irene Adler - The Woman - is both familiar, yet reinvented: her timeline takes a different course in this world but remains believable. However, a prior reading of appendices in Eliminating the Possible may enable the reader to fully appreciate how the Holmes and Steampunk elements have been integrated, and gain the most from their immersion in this multiverse.
The Moriarty Paradigm is a concept that has been well realised, and it has created a world that will repay both the casual Holmes reader, and the Holmes enthusiast. The character of Sherlock Holmes has been captured accurately, with his mannerisms, deductions and mode of speech all preserved in a world where the Channel Tunnel has been built, the Mannheim-Benz roars and Lunar expeditions have taken place.
The Moriarty Paradigm is highly recommended and this reader will be extremely interested to see how it develops over time.
February 11, 2015
This is a nicely thought out taster for what is to come. Samples from two novels, a stand alone short, a novella excerpt and several essays paint a vivid picture of this world, drawing the reader in so that future volumes are more appealing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews