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A review by tobin_elliott
Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows by James Lovegrove
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I have to admit, this concept of mashing Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest creation with some of Lovecraft's is intriguing. It truly should not work, as the Holmes the world knows would have no patience for the shambling Old Ones.
Still, I had to give it a shot. Overall, the tone holds fairly well to Doyle's narrative style and, unlike Nicholas Meyer's Holmes pastiches, Lovegrove doesn't seem to feel the need to pull Holmes away from home turf and throw a lot of cameos in, which I appreciated. Though Holmes comes across someone schizophrenic at times, referring to Watson first as a "dullard" then, pages later, "insightful." So, while there are missteps, overall the tone is good.
The Lovecraftian stuff is also handled fairly well. The usual suspects are tromped across the stage, the Necronomicon is given its due, and overall, it's handled with the appropriate care as well.
What doesn't work quite as well is when Lovegrove has to bolt the two together. For one thing, he erases much of the Holmes/Watson canon—as Watson reminds us on occasion throughout the narrative—and Holmes seems to almost immediately turn his back on his much-quoted belief that "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Case in point: Holmes spends a long night getting information from a dead shaman in a drug-induced state, yet accepts it as fact, instead of questioning the effects of the pharmaceuticals he'd been flying on for hours. Yes, he sees some weird stuff, but he doesn't even seem to attempt a rational explanation before fully buying in. I know he has to, for the story's sake, but come on! He should struggle with this, as his entire worldview has been upended.
Finally, there is a point, maybe halfway through the book—Holmes's drug experience and then Watson's recollection of his military event—that is a seriously long info dump.
So, all in all, it is a fun story, with a few downsides, but overall, it does get the job done better than I expected. I'll absolutely keep going with the series.
Still, I had to give it a shot. Overall, the tone holds fairly well to Doyle's narrative style and, unlike Nicholas Meyer's Holmes pastiches, Lovegrove doesn't seem to feel the need to pull Holmes away from home turf and throw a lot of cameos in, which I appreciated. Though Holmes comes across someone schizophrenic at times, referring to Watson first as a "dullard" then, pages later, "insightful." So, while there are missteps, overall the tone is good.
The Lovecraftian stuff is also handled fairly well. The usual suspects are tromped across the stage, the Necronomicon is given its due, and overall, it's handled with the appropriate care as well.
What doesn't work quite as well is when Lovegrove has to bolt the two together. For one thing, he erases much of the Holmes/Watson canon—as Watson reminds us on occasion throughout the narrative—and Holmes seems to almost immediately turn his back on his much-quoted belief that "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Case in point: Holmes spends a long night getting information from a dead shaman in a drug-induced state, yet accepts it as fact, instead of questioning the effects of the pharmaceuticals he'd been flying on for hours. Yes, he sees some weird stuff, but he doesn't even seem to attempt a rational explanation before fully buying in. I know he has to, for the story's sake, but come on! He should struggle with this, as his entire worldview has been upended.
Finally, there is a point, maybe halfway through the book—Holmes's drug experience and then Watson's recollection of his military event—that is a seriously long info dump.
So, all in all, it is a fun story, with a few downsides, but overall, it does get the job done better than I expected. I'll absolutely keep going with the series.