For the Sake of the Game

October 1, 2018
Following their three earlier co-edited collections exploring farther and farther reaches of the universe of Sherlock Holmes pastiches (Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, 2016, etc.), King and Klinger have commissioned 14 new stories that make up their wildest, weirdest crop yet.The goal not to write a straightforward period pastiche but to produce something more loosely inspired by the canon suggests at least three criteria by which the entries might be judged: their success as mysteries, the fidelity or ingenuity with which they replicate or transform notable thematic or stylistic devices of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, and the originality of the concepts that link them to the sacred writings. Virtually none of this year's crop succeeds in all three of these areas. The strongest mysteries are Harley Jane Kozak's breathlessly overplotted contemporary search for a missing twin, D.P. Lyle's exposure of a modern fake suicide by recourse to "The Reigate Squires," Weston Ochse's encounter between a hot dog seller and a psychic prostitute in LA, and Jamie Freveletti's elaborately worked-out tale of vanishings, ghosts, and counterterrorists. The most obviously Holmes-ian are F. Paul Wilson's period tale of Holmes' encounter with a woman nearly as impressive as Irene Adler, Alan Gordon's droll account of young Sherlock's apprenticeship to his sorely tried brother, Mycroft, and Zoë Sharp's surprisingly detailed update of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The most original in their concepts are Peter S. Beagle's poem in which Watson complains about Holmes even as he salutes him, Rhys Bowen's reimagining of Holmes as a robot programmed with deductive powers, and William Kotzwinkle and Joe Servello's comic-book saga of Inspector [Praying] Mantis and Dr. [Grass] Hopper. Despite their varied provocations, the contributions by Reed Farrel Coleman, Gregg Hurwitz, and Duane Swierczynski escape Holmes' gravitational pull so completely that they float out into other universes.Only "The Adventure of the Six Sherlocks," Toni L.P. Kelner's inventive, amusing story of a fatal poisoning at a Baker Street Con, hits the mark in every category. Fans will argue endlessly about which others are the real keepers.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 8, 2018
King and Klinger’s entertaining fourth Holmes-themed anthology (after 2016’s Echoes of Sherlock Holmes) features well-known authors representing genres ranging from cozy to horror. The 14 selections include a poem, Peter S. Beagle’s “Dr. Watson’s Song,” which provides a deeper look at the doctor’s emotional life, and a comic, William Kotzwinkle and Joe Servello’s “The Case of the Naked Butterfly,” which continues the exploits of insects Inspector Mantis and Dr. Hopper. Fans of the BBC’s Sherlock will appreciate Alan Gordon’s take on Holmes’s relationship with Mycroft in “The Case of the Missing Case.” Reed Farrel Coleman weighs in with one of the more memorable contributions, the metaphysical “A Study in Absence,” in which a book editor asks for help tracing an author using the pseudonym of I.M. Knott. The best light entry is Harley Jane Kozak’s “The Walk-in,” featuring a Sherlockian British intelligence agent, which opens with the tantalizing line “It’s not every day that you walk into your apartment and find that your cat has turned into a dog.” This volume contains something for every fan of the Baker Street sleuth.

October 15, 2018
This is the fourth Holmesian anthology offered by Klinger, who has published an annotated edition of the Holmes stories, and King, who married the great detective off to her series star, Mary Russell. Like the earlier collections, this one gathers creations by established authors aimed at displaying the influence the Master has had upon their work. There are 13 stories plus one ringer, an engaging comic set in a bug world and featuring Inspector Mantis, complete with deerstalker and calabash pipe, bringing down the evil Spangleworm. The others vary a bit in quality, with the best being Zo� Sharp's "Hounded," a retelling of the Baskerville story by a PI who was on the moor for her own reasons. It honors the source, and so, curiously, does Inspector Mantis, sounding most Holmesian as he denounces the "miscreant" and tells Watson (called Hooper here) that he remains alone because, "My courtship is with crime."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2018
Following their three earlier co-edited collections exploring farther and farther reaches of the universe of Sherlock Holmes pastiches (Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, 2016, etc.), King and Klinger have commissioned 14 new stories that make up their wildest, weirdest crop yet.The goal not to write a straightforward period pastiche but to produce something more loosely inspired by the canon suggests at least three criteria by which the entries might be judged: their success as mysteries, the fidelity or ingenuity with which they replicate or transform notable thematic or stylistic devices of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, and the originality of the concepts that link them to the sacred writings. Virtually none of this year's crop succeeds in all three of these areas. The strongest mysteries are Harley Jane Kozak's breathlessly overplotted contemporary search for a missing twin, D.P. Lyle's exposure of a modern fake suicide by recourse to "The Reigate Squires," Weston Ochse's encounter between a hot dog seller and a psychic prostitute in LA, and Jamie Freveletti's elaborately worked-out tale of vanishings, ghosts, and counterterrorists. The most obviously Holmes-ian are F. Paul Wilson's period tale of Holmes' encounter with a woman nearly as impressive as Irene Adler, Alan Gordon's droll account of young Sherlock's apprenticeship to his sorely tried brother, Mycroft, and Zo� Sharp's surprisingly detailed update of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The most original in their concepts are Peter S. Beagle's poem in which Watson complains about Holmes even as he salutes him, Rhys Bowen's reimagining of Holmes as a robot programmed with deductive powers, and William Kotzwinkle and Joe Servello's comic-book saga of Inspector [Praying] Mantis and Dr. [Grass] Hopper. Despite their varied provocations, the contributions by Reed Farrel Coleman, Gregg Hurwitz, and Duane Swierczynski escape Holmes' gravitational pull so completely that they float out into other universes.Only "The Adventure of the Six Sherlocks," Toni L.P. Kelner's inventive, amusing story of a fatal poisoning at a Baker Street Con, hits the mark in every category. Fans will argue endlessly about which others are the real keepers.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 21, 2018

This energetic and offbeat anthology of Sherlock Holmes-inspired works charmingly leans into 21st-century fandom. The 14 unique entries include cozy and noir mysteries, with the occasional speculative twist, and a short graphic novel and a song. Teens familiar with the surplus of Holmes online fan fiction will especially enjoy seeing the figure reinvented as the insect "Inspector Mantis" in a comic by William Kotzwinkle and Joe Servello, as well as the multitude of Holmes cosplayers in Toni L.P. Kelner's "The Adventure of the Six Sherlocks." Rhys Bowen's "Sherlocked," featuring a robot Holmes that resembles a vacuum cleaner, is another quirky standout. This is the third in a series curated by King and Klinger; one hopes the next volume will focus even more on the weirder and more speculative tales that are particular highlights here. VERDICT A strong optional purchase for YA collections for libraries with teen patrons already familiar with the Sherlockian fandom.-Ann Foster, Saskatoon Public Library, Sask.