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Sherlock Holmes and the Curse of Cthulhu
In this tale of mystery and cosmic horror, Sherlock Holmes finds himself kidnapped by his archrival, the evil crime lord, Professor James Moriarty. Seduced by promises of limitless power whispered into his ear in the dead of night, Moriarty intends to sacrifice Holmes and awaken Cthulhu, a malevolent entity of immeasurable power. It’s up to Holmes’s friend, confidant, and biographer Dr. John H. Watson to track him down using powerful methods of deductive reasoning he learned from Holmes himself. Watson’s harrowing journey leads him into the darkest corners of the Amazon and the deepest recesses of his own mind, where he must confront terrors from his past in order to save the future. Will Watson succeed in rescuing Holmes from Moriarty’s clutches? Or will he fail, thus allowing a deadly prophecy of cataclysmic proportions to be fulfilled? Meanwhile, Irene Adler, adventuress and treasure hunter extraordinaire, and one of the only people to have ever outfoxed Sherlock Holmes, explores an evil sorcerer’s lost tomb, filled with forbidden secrets and dangerous traps. Along with her husband and fellow adventurer, Godfrey Norton, she confronts a long-imprisoned force of evil on her quest to achieve fame and fortune. Will Adler and Norton emerge from the Tomb of Akuyaku alive and in possession of the Amulet of Omniscience and Omnipresence? Or will they become trapped, forever entombed inside a living hell deep within the bowels of the Earth? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this new novel by Amazon Best-Selling Author, James G. Boswell.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 27, 2020
12 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
James G. Boswell
9 books17 followersJames G. Boswell writes weird, dread-inducing, cosmic horror fiction because it's fun. His short story collection, "That Feeling When You Know You're Doomed" debuted at number 23 on Amazon's Best Sellers list for Horror Short Stories and remained in the top 100 for more than two weeks. He lives in Kansas City with his wife.
James G. Boswell
Horror Author
author.jamesgboswell@gmail.com
www.jamesgboswell.com
James G. Boswell
Horror Author
author.jamesgboswell@gmail.com
www.jamesgboswell.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 20, 2020
***NOTE: Review originally posted on thecyberbard.com***
“The bumps grow in size, moving beneath the surface of the skin on Lestrade’s face. They gather above his left cheekbone, pushing against his eye. It bulges out of its socket before popping out completely. Lestrade doesn’t react as blood streams down his face with his eye dangling from a sinewy cord. The bumps move up and out from under the envelope of his collapsed eyelid, revealing themselves to be tiny black beaks with small, tube-like feet. They snap open and shut, making disgusting noises and letting out shrill, bird-like chirps. Lestrade says something else in the same nonsensical gibberish. Then he stands up and walks around his desk toward where Watson sits. Watson presses himself against his chair, trembling and nauseated at what he sees, paralyzed by fright.”
Synopsis: When Sherlock Holmes is kidnapped by his evil counterpart, Moriarty, Sherlock’s friend and partner Dr. John Watson sets out on the difficult task of retrieving him. Along the way, he is pulled into a world of supernatural terrors which humanity was never meant to experience. Meanwhile, across the globe, Irene Adler and her husband Godfrey seek a mystical amulet and encounter horrors of their own.
Ah yes, Holmes and Cthulhu, the peanut-butter and jelly of pulp fiction! My father introduced me to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work at a young age (I had rapidly outgrown the literature which was deemed “age-appropriate” for me at the time), and it still holds a special place in my heart. I value the appropriate use of fine deduction, and can never resist a good mystery. In my later years, I discovered H.P. Lovecraft’s weird fiction and was similarly hooked. The two go together quite well: in one case we have a detective who is emblematic of the power of the human mind, capable of solving any problem; in the other, we are presented with eldritch beings of incomprehensible power and purpose, beings who are unknown and unknowable to our fragile psyches. We can ask the classic question: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Boswell manages to combine these two schools of thought into an intriguing adventure of the pulp variety.
Boswell’s short novel/novella (at 160 pages it’s probably more than a novella… I’m terrible with this classification…) splits our narrative into three parts: the first narrative follows Sherlock Holmes as he is kidnapped by Professor Moriarty, his arch-nemesis, and dragged across the world; the second narrative focuses on Dr. John Watson as he attempts to follow in Sherlock’s footsteps and track down his imperiled friend and partner; lastly, the third narrative concerns Irene Adler (whom Sherlock refers to as “the woman”, and one of the few people who ever bested him intellectually) and her husband Godfrey as they seek out the Amulet of Omniscience and Omnipresence in Japan. While the first two are linked in purpose, the third narrative seems thoroughly out of place. What does Irene’s journey have to do with the main stakes of the story? All eventually becomes clear, but for most of the text it feels somewhat confusing and out of place. I’ll leave it at that to avoid any sort of spoiler. While the titular character is Holmes, I feel it’s safe to say that Watson’s narrative is the most prominent/important, and that the crux of the story is the hunt for Holmes. Holmes’ chapters seem to be more for suspense-building/establishment of stakes, and Adler’s chapters are just completely isolated from the rest of the plot. That being said, all were enjoyable in their own way, and I felt the voice of the characters was quite well-done. The borrowed characters felt right in the way they were portrayed.
The Lovecraftian elements of the story are varied. Cthulhu, a great, unknowable, and all-powerful entity from beyond the stars is central to the plot, though “how” is only revealed much later. Tropes such as madness, cults/cultists, curses, forbidden knowledge, hallucinations, and “the other” are all employed periodically and in typical Lovecraft fashion. For those unfamiliar with Lovecraft beyond recognizing the octopus-headed Cthulhu, he introduced the world to the concept of “cosmic horror” (interchangeable with “Lovecraftian Horror”). Prior to Lovecraft’s body of work, the Horror genre typically focused on the idea of terror from Humanity encountering the “unknown”; concepts such as ghosts, vampires, were-creatures, the things that go bump in the night. To this day, these things inform our definition of Horror. Lovecraft opened up an entire new school of thought on the concept of terror: rather than focusing on the unknown, he introduced beings and phenomena so alien as to be unknowable, things Humanity could never possibly come close to understanding. Lovecraft introduced the concept of things so alien that they wore away at one’s concept of reality, causing one to become unhinged. While I am not afraid to say that I find the personal politics of the man repugnant (Lovecraft was a rabid racist in life), Speculative Fiction (Science-Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) owes an enormous debt to him for the concepts he presented in his work. Boswell makes judicious use of Lovecraftian tropes, peppering them in throughout the text. The unsettling descriptions of these events were a pleasing homage to the body of work they drew inspiration from, and it is clear Boswell is passionate about it. It was certainly odd, because at times I forgot about the “weird” element of this fiction entirely, only to have it come out of nowhere and smack me in the face. This is “creepy” horror, not “jump-scare” horror (if that makes any sense); Boswell stays true to the roots of his inspiration by making the horror elements a “slow burn”. There is no slasher jumping out of the bushes here, only a subtle descent into unease.
My main gripe with this text is the use of deus ex machina. For those not familiar with the concept, it’s a literary device where something swoops in and suddenly and improbably solves an unsolvable problem. I am not a fan of it at all, and don’t like to see it in any of my media, be it literature, television, film, or video games. I won’t go into detail on the use of this device in Boswell’s text, as it would completely spoil the entire story. Suffice it to say that the story could have probably been resolved in any number of other ways, and I would have been considerably more satisfied. I am also uncertain Irene Adler’s POV chapters were necessary to include at all; I’d have much preferred the focus had been entirely on Watson’s journey, and for Adler to have had an entire story with her as the protagonist (I actually enjoyed her narrative thread the most! I just didn’t feel it had a place in this particular story). As it stands, it felt like both narratives were somewhat weakened by the inclusion of the other, which was a little disappointing.
Overall, despite my few criticisms, I did find the story enjoyable and pleasant to read overall. Boswell has a fine grasp of language, and does an excellent job in paying homage to two authors whose work has had an enormous impact on my life. The Voice felt authentic for all characters, and elements of Holmesian Mystery and Cosmic Horror were very well-incorporated throughout the entire tale. It’s a fast and easy read with a great flow, perfect for a Summer evening, and I urge you to give it a chance (it’s also very inexpensive!).
“The bumps grow in size, moving beneath the surface of the skin on Lestrade’s face. They gather above his left cheekbone, pushing against his eye. It bulges out of its socket before popping out completely. Lestrade doesn’t react as blood streams down his face with his eye dangling from a sinewy cord. The bumps move up and out from under the envelope of his collapsed eyelid, revealing themselves to be tiny black beaks with small, tube-like feet. They snap open and shut, making disgusting noises and letting out shrill, bird-like chirps. Lestrade says something else in the same nonsensical gibberish. Then he stands up and walks around his desk toward where Watson sits. Watson presses himself against his chair, trembling and nauseated at what he sees, paralyzed by fright.”
Synopsis: When Sherlock Holmes is kidnapped by his evil counterpart, Moriarty, Sherlock’s friend and partner Dr. John Watson sets out on the difficult task of retrieving him. Along the way, he is pulled into a world of supernatural terrors which humanity was never meant to experience. Meanwhile, across the globe, Irene Adler and her husband Godfrey seek a mystical amulet and encounter horrors of their own.
Ah yes, Holmes and Cthulhu, the peanut-butter and jelly of pulp fiction! My father introduced me to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work at a young age (I had rapidly outgrown the literature which was deemed “age-appropriate” for me at the time), and it still holds a special place in my heart. I value the appropriate use of fine deduction, and can never resist a good mystery. In my later years, I discovered H.P. Lovecraft’s weird fiction and was similarly hooked. The two go together quite well: in one case we have a detective who is emblematic of the power of the human mind, capable of solving any problem; in the other, we are presented with eldritch beings of incomprehensible power and purpose, beings who are unknown and unknowable to our fragile psyches. We can ask the classic question: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Boswell manages to combine these two schools of thought into an intriguing adventure of the pulp variety.
Boswell’s short novel/novella (at 160 pages it’s probably more than a novella… I’m terrible with this classification…) splits our narrative into three parts: the first narrative follows Sherlock Holmes as he is kidnapped by Professor Moriarty, his arch-nemesis, and dragged across the world; the second narrative focuses on Dr. John Watson as he attempts to follow in Sherlock’s footsteps and track down his imperiled friend and partner; lastly, the third narrative concerns Irene Adler (whom Sherlock refers to as “the woman”, and one of the few people who ever bested him intellectually) and her husband Godfrey as they seek out the Amulet of Omniscience and Omnipresence in Japan. While the first two are linked in purpose, the third narrative seems thoroughly out of place. What does Irene’s journey have to do with the main stakes of the story? All eventually becomes clear, but for most of the text it feels somewhat confusing and out of place. I’ll leave it at that to avoid any sort of spoiler. While the titular character is Holmes, I feel it’s safe to say that Watson’s narrative is the most prominent/important, and that the crux of the story is the hunt for Holmes. Holmes’ chapters seem to be more for suspense-building/establishment of stakes, and Adler’s chapters are just completely isolated from the rest of the plot. That being said, all were enjoyable in their own way, and I felt the voice of the characters was quite well-done. The borrowed characters felt right in the way they were portrayed.
The Lovecraftian elements of the story are varied. Cthulhu, a great, unknowable, and all-powerful entity from beyond the stars is central to the plot, though “how” is only revealed much later. Tropes such as madness, cults/cultists, curses, forbidden knowledge, hallucinations, and “the other” are all employed periodically and in typical Lovecraft fashion. For those unfamiliar with Lovecraft beyond recognizing the octopus-headed Cthulhu, he introduced the world to the concept of “cosmic horror” (interchangeable with “Lovecraftian Horror”). Prior to Lovecraft’s body of work, the Horror genre typically focused on the idea of terror from Humanity encountering the “unknown”; concepts such as ghosts, vampires, were-creatures, the things that go bump in the night. To this day, these things inform our definition of Horror. Lovecraft opened up an entire new school of thought on the concept of terror: rather than focusing on the unknown, he introduced beings and phenomena so alien as to be unknowable, things Humanity could never possibly come close to understanding. Lovecraft introduced the concept of things so alien that they wore away at one’s concept of reality, causing one to become unhinged. While I am not afraid to say that I find the personal politics of the man repugnant (Lovecraft was a rabid racist in life), Speculative Fiction (Science-Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) owes an enormous debt to him for the concepts he presented in his work. Boswell makes judicious use of Lovecraftian tropes, peppering them in throughout the text. The unsettling descriptions of these events were a pleasing homage to the body of work they drew inspiration from, and it is clear Boswell is passionate about it. It was certainly odd, because at times I forgot about the “weird” element of this fiction entirely, only to have it come out of nowhere and smack me in the face. This is “creepy” horror, not “jump-scare” horror (if that makes any sense); Boswell stays true to the roots of his inspiration by making the horror elements a “slow burn”. There is no slasher jumping out of the bushes here, only a subtle descent into unease.
My main gripe with this text is the use of deus ex machina. For those not familiar with the concept, it’s a literary device where something swoops in and suddenly and improbably solves an unsolvable problem. I am not a fan of it at all, and don’t like to see it in any of my media, be it literature, television, film, or video games. I won’t go into detail on the use of this device in Boswell’s text, as it would completely spoil the entire story. Suffice it to say that the story could have probably been resolved in any number of other ways, and I would have been considerably more satisfied. I am also uncertain Irene Adler’s POV chapters were necessary to include at all; I’d have much preferred the focus had been entirely on Watson’s journey, and for Adler to have had an entire story with her as the protagonist (I actually enjoyed her narrative thread the most! I just didn’t feel it had a place in this particular story). As it stands, it felt like both narratives were somewhat weakened by the inclusion of the other, which was a little disappointing.
Overall, despite my few criticisms, I did find the story enjoyable and pleasant to read overall. Boswell has a fine grasp of language, and does an excellent job in paying homage to two authors whose work has had an enormous impact on my life. The Voice felt authentic for all characters, and elements of Holmesian Mystery and Cosmic Horror were very well-incorporated throughout the entire tale. It’s a fast and easy read with a great flow, perfect for a Summer evening, and I urge you to give it a chance (it’s also very inexpensive!).
July 23, 2020
*A Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this in exchange for a honest and unbiased review*
Hello Fellow Readers,
I am a big fan of both Sherlock Holmes and Cthulhu so when I was contacted to read this I jumped at the chance. I usually DM Call of Cthulhu adventures, so a chance to be a part of the story and read it without knowing where it was going thrilled me to the core.
First of all Boswell really stayed true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Characters, the mannerism, dialogue and actions were all truly spot on, so much so that I actually forgot I wasn't reading one of his books. Also, the fact that Watson and Adler were the main characters in this were really delightful. It was fun seeing Watson deduce clues and to show what he's learned from Holmes. Also, seeing Adler in action was brilliant especially since she is one of the few that had turned Holmes on his head.
It isn't until the mythos part of the book is introduced do we see Boswell's writing start to shine through. He did such a good job with ADC characters that I didn't know if that was how he wrote or if he was emulating him. I do love the macabre turn of events that happen during an unexpected part of the book, it went a little above what typically Cthulhu horror is but it surprisingly fit.
The story does assume you are familiar with the Sherlock characters, so you may want to get acquainted with them before you read this book. The title does give the plot away a but, but it's not a big deal. I also really liked that each chapter was a different point of view, it made the story really easy to follow the story. I did hope for a bit more of a connection between Watson's story and Irene's story, which did take away a little from the book but not enough to hinder it in any way.
Overall, The story was good, and if you wanted to fill a niche of a genre you haven't explored yet, this book is for you.
Hello Fellow Readers,
I am a big fan of both Sherlock Holmes and Cthulhu so when I was contacted to read this I jumped at the chance. I usually DM Call of Cthulhu adventures, so a chance to be a part of the story and read it without knowing where it was going thrilled me to the core.
First of all Boswell really stayed true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Characters, the mannerism, dialogue and actions were all truly spot on, so much so that I actually forgot I wasn't reading one of his books. Also, the fact that Watson and Adler were the main characters in this were really delightful. It was fun seeing Watson deduce clues and to show what he's learned from Holmes. Also, seeing Adler in action was brilliant especially since she is one of the few that had turned Holmes on his head.
It isn't until the mythos part of the book is introduced do we see Boswell's writing start to shine through. He did such a good job with ADC characters that I didn't know if that was how he wrote or if he was emulating him. I do love the macabre turn of events that happen during an unexpected part of the book, it went a little above what typically Cthulhu horror is but it surprisingly fit.
The story does assume you are familiar with the Sherlock characters, so you may want to get acquainted with them before you read this book. The title does give the plot away a but, but it's not a big deal. I also really liked that each chapter was a different point of view, it made the story really easy to follow the story. I did hope for a bit more of a connection between Watson's story and Irene's story, which did take away a little from the book but not enough to hinder it in any way.
Overall, The story was good, and if you wanted to fill a niche of a genre you haven't explored yet, this book is for you.
September 16, 2020
Another great Holmes story
Boswell pens a grand story in Sherlock Holmes and the Curse of Cthulhu. I have read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. Boswell brings the Holmes story to an all new level, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud. I think this is the best one yet, and I was totally engrossed in the story, and chemistry between nemeses, Holmes and Moriarty. The curse lingers, and brings an almost majestical and kinship quality to the story. Infinite power and loyalty, as well as betrayal bring this story and the characters to life. It's a great story to follow and try to figure out what will happen next. This author's characters develop and interacts well with the other characters. I have fast become a big fan of Boswell. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.
Boswell pens a grand story in Sherlock Holmes and the Curse of Cthulhu. I have read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. Boswell brings the Holmes story to an all new level, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud. I think this is the best one yet, and I was totally engrossed in the story, and chemistry between nemeses, Holmes and Moriarty. The curse lingers, and brings an almost majestical and kinship quality to the story. Infinite power and loyalty, as well as betrayal bring this story and the characters to life. It's a great story to follow and try to figure out what will happen next. This author's characters develop and interacts well with the other characters. I have fast become a big fan of Boswell. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.
July 25, 2020
Very interesting Sherlock story.
Full review here:
http://bookshelfadventures.home.blog/...
Full review here:
http://bookshelfadventures.home.blog/...
November 19, 2020
2.5 stars
Sherlock Holmes has been kidnapped by his nemesis Moriarty, and John Watson must use his own deductive skills to rescue him. Meanwhile, Irene Adler and her husband Godfrey are on the hunt for the Tomb of Akuyaku in order to obtain the powerful Amulet of Omniscience and Omnipresence. Along the way, all of our characters encounter a number of supernatural horrors.
When the author asked if I wanted to review this novel, I was intrigued by the idea of a Sherlock mystery involving supernatural elements and readily agreed. I should probably mention that I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft and only have a vague idea of Cthulhu, but as I expected, I didn’t find that to be a hindrance at all in reading and enjoying this story.
I found the supernatural elements in this quick tale to be inventive and interesting, particularly those that Irene and Godfrey encountered. They were horrifying in a way, but not so much that I truly got scared for our protagonists, which I think is due to one of the biggest downfalls I found in this novel: convenience or deus ex machina.
Even though the characters were in plenty of sticky situations, I always expected them to find a way out at the last minute, and for the most part, they did. Along the same line, the injuries and consequences that our heroes and heroine incurred didn’t seem to “stick”. They were able to get up and move on even at times when that didn’t seem like it should be possible.
One of my favorite parts of reading a Sherlock Holmes story, or indeed any mystery, is to try to follow the clues and guess the solution before it’s given to me. Unfortunately, in the case of this novella, that didn’t seem possible. There weren’t many clues provided for the reader, and sometimes I wasn’t even sure what the mystery was that I should be trying to solve. I imagine it can be difficult to build an engaging mystery with supernatural elements because those are harder to guess at, but it didn’t feel nearly as satisfying to me to only be able to read along rather then trying to predict what will happen next.
I think part of my negativeness in this review can be attributed to my high expectations for stories involving Sherlock Holmes. If the author had chosen to write his story with an original cast of characters, I probably wouldn’t have felt the need to be quite as critical. And despite my criticisms, I had a good time with this quick read, so if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, don’t hesitate to give it a try.
Many thanks to the author for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Find more reviews and other bookish content on my blog!
Sherlock Holmes has been kidnapped by his nemesis Moriarty, and John Watson must use his own deductive skills to rescue him. Meanwhile, Irene Adler and her husband Godfrey are on the hunt for the Tomb of Akuyaku in order to obtain the powerful Amulet of Omniscience and Omnipresence. Along the way, all of our characters encounter a number of supernatural horrors.
When the author asked if I wanted to review this novel, I was intrigued by the idea of a Sherlock mystery involving supernatural elements and readily agreed. I should probably mention that I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft and only have a vague idea of Cthulhu, but as I expected, I didn’t find that to be a hindrance at all in reading and enjoying this story.
I found the supernatural elements in this quick tale to be inventive and interesting, particularly those that Irene and Godfrey encountered. They were horrifying in a way, but not so much that I truly got scared for our protagonists, which I think is due to one of the biggest downfalls I found in this novel: convenience or deus ex machina.
Even though the characters were in plenty of sticky situations, I always expected them to find a way out at the last minute, and for the most part, they did. Along the same line, the injuries and consequences that our heroes and heroine incurred didn’t seem to “stick”. They were able to get up and move on even at times when that didn’t seem like it should be possible.
One of my favorite parts of reading a Sherlock Holmes story, or indeed any mystery, is to try to follow the clues and guess the solution before it’s given to me. Unfortunately, in the case of this novella, that didn’t seem possible. There weren’t many clues provided for the reader, and sometimes I wasn’t even sure what the mystery was that I should be trying to solve. I imagine it can be difficult to build an engaging mystery with supernatural elements because those are harder to guess at, but it didn’t feel nearly as satisfying to me to only be able to read along rather then trying to predict what will happen next.
I think part of my negativeness in this review can be attributed to my high expectations for stories involving Sherlock Holmes. If the author had chosen to write his story with an original cast of characters, I probably wouldn’t have felt the need to be quite as critical. And despite my criticisms, I had a good time with this quick read, so if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, don’t hesitate to give it a try.
Many thanks to the author for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Find more reviews and other bookish content on my blog!
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