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The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad Simon Clark Books

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The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad Simon Clark Books

It often proves complicated to accurately rate an anthology such as this, due to the array of different authors and the contrasting quality of writing which will inevitably vary from one story to another. In this instance, I honestly felt the preponderance of entries were good to above average, and was only left sorely unimpressed by two out of a compilation containing fifteen entries - a drop in the bucket in such a large volume. Many were quite memorable, and one in particular has stuck with me over a month after my initial reading.

Based on characterization above all else, sense of place, Watsonian voice, and uniqueness of the plot, here, for what it may be worth, is my brief assessment of each individual entry.

THE MONSTER OF HELL'S GATE by Paul Finch - 3.5 stars
The first of several tales set in Africa, Holmes was a bit on the cardboard side, the mystery itself was easily guessed at, but this was heady with atmosphere and the criminal's motives were clever in the extreme.

THE CASE OF THE MALTESE CATACOMBS by William Meikle - 5 stars
Possibly the best short Holmes story I have read from this author to date. An exciting, almost Lovecraftian adventure story, very original, and characterizations spot on.

THE ADVENTURE OF THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER by Dennis O. Smith - 4 stars
One of the few "straight" mysteries that strayed from supernatural elements, this was a tad formulaic, but played up Holmes's deductive skills and proved an interesting case, all the same.

THE MYSTERY OF THE RED CITY by Alison Littlewood - 5+ stars
Absolutely superb tale in the vein of HOUN, where one wonders if the solution is otherworldly or lies "flat footed on the ground". Set in Morocco, this author should be commended not only for her ability to transport the reader, but her faithfulness in portraying every aspect of canon from voice to narration style to the recreation of Holmes and Watson's friendship. Unquestionably my favorite of the lot.

THE DOLL WHO TALKED TO THE DEAD by Nev Fountain - 4.5 stars
A well handled straying from traditional pastiche, with a delightful bit of rivalry between Holmes and the fellow who many believe to be Dr Watson's literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A CONCURRENCE OF COINCIDENCES by David Moody - 4 stars
Another purely case oriented entry that showcased an interesting setting and a firm grasp of the characters, though the case itself was a bit mundane.

THE STRANGE DEATH OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Andrew Darlington - 1 star
I might ordinarily urge readers to skip such nonsensical, post-modernistic gibberish, yet I think a good lesson can be learnt from its reading - that is, it confirms the old adage: "this is your brain on drugs".

THE CLIMBING MAN by Simon Clark - 5 stars
An excellent tale of action, adventure, and very Holmesian deductions set in Mesopotamia. Another one with a transportation atmosphere combined with an exciting story.

THE CURSE OF GUANGXU by Sam Stone - 2 stars
Might not have been a bad story in itself, I felt the author was just not suited to write in this genre, as she showed little familiarity with the character. Holmes himself was dull, canonical errors abounded, and I ended up skimming this one.

THE CASE OF THE REVENANT by Johnny Mains - 4 stars
Narrated by Holmes, with the doctor in absentia, I still felt this case set in Austria held up well. Creepy, well plotted and held my interest throughout.

THE ADVENTURE OF THE MUMMY'S CURSE by Cavan Scott - 3 stars
I was so looking forward to the sole Egyptian themed story, but confess it left me disappointed in terms of a mediocre case and characterizations that were shaky at best, and were an amalgamation of several different film and television versions.

THE CASE OF THE LOST SOUL by Paul Kane - 3.5 stars
While this tale of "zombies" was quite thrilling in places, in other instances, particularly in reference to major plot points, it fell a bit flat, and the side characters were a trifle unbelievable.

THE LUNACY OF CELESTINE BLOT by Stephen Volk - 3.5 stars
Pairing a young Sherlock Holmes with Edgar Allan Poe in the guise of his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, are summoned to a mental institution in France to investigate a "hysterical" woman. Exceptionally well written, with interesting elements, but was cynical, at times tedious and deviated wildly from the Holmes and Dupin canons.

THE CRIMSON DEVIL by Mark Morris - 2.5 stars
This reuniting of Holmes with Sir Henry Baskerville, now living in Africa, made little attempts at characterization or compelling plot. As the detective himself would have said, it was a commonplace story, lacking features of interest.

THE DRAUGR OF TROMSO by Carole Johnstone - 3 stars
This supernatural themed tale of Holmes in Norway - and whose client happens to be Henrick Ibsen - started out clunkily but smoothed out as it progressed. Still managed to be an eerie entry regarding lesser known Norse mythology and worth the read.

So... all things considered, there were some bland inclusions, yet by no means were those three star efforts poorly done or unreadable; in my opinion, this stands out as one of the better Holmes related anthologies I have read in the past few years. I found it mostly an enjoyable read worth the price of admission.


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The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad Simon Clark Books Reviews

fun read most of this is in the style of holmes and Watson.. enjoyed this book a lot
Recommend Highly
Another Sherlock Holmes entry. Multiple authors bring international perspectives to the traditional Holmes literature. Refreshing stories.
I have read it a second time.
I loved this book. Everyone has their favorite story, mine was The Lunacy of Celestine Blot, but I enjoyed them all. Check out also the story Comfort of the Seine in the book Gaslight Arcanum Uncanny Tales is Sherlock Holmes. Wonderful stuff.
These are good, strong stories well created and will hold the readers' attentions. The writers have mastered the art of expressing their stories in manners that reflect Conan Doyle at his best. Although some of the narratives sag a bit in places, as noted, overall the quality is very high. One rather loud disclaimer executives no doubt gleefully know that keeping me up to date on the latest Holmes/Watson offerings will result in many of them ending up in my shopping cart. There are some realms where I draw the line. Any review where the author mixes Holmes/Watson with supernatural elements will not end up in my shopping cart. Neither will those including true romance scenarios where is Holmes is married, pining away in love or such. Thus, the series titled 'Sherlock Holmes In Love' will remain away fro my collection. Another series operates on the premise that Holmes and Watson are involved in a gay relationship. I consider that series to be well and good for those who swing that direction. My first desire when receiving yet another Holmes/Watson book is I can count on being engrossed in an excellent story.

That said, one of the stories in this particular collection contained Ouija boards a, hostile, haunted mannequins and such. I skipped it and my viewpoints expressed earlier don't include it. Later reviewers no doubt will weigh in on the volume including the story containing supernatural elements. I concur with Holmes who observed in another context, 'I stay firmly rooted in reality; no ghosts need apply.' Buy the book. It will be money well spent.
Overall this was a very good set of Holmes stories. I don't care for The Strange Death of Sherlock Holmes - I thought it was crap but all the other stories were are least a 7.0 to 8.0 out of 10. In fact three of stories (The Mystery of the Red City, The Case of the Maltese Catacombs & The Climbing Man) were top notch - 9 out of 10 stars!!

The rest were 7 to 8 to out of 10 stars.

I was a little disappointed that there weren't any really Egypt stories. But it was nice to have another visit with Sir Henry Baskerville even if he didn't seem like the same person in may ways.

I would rate this book of short stories a really good 8.0 to 8.5 overall - recommended for Holmes lovers like me!
It often proves complicated to accurately rate an anthology such as this, due to the array of different authors and the contrasting quality of writing which will inevitably vary from one story to another. In this instance, I honestly felt the preponderance of entries were good to above average, and was only left sorely unimpressed by two out of a compilation containing fifteen entries - a drop in the bucket in such a large volume. Many were quite memorable, and one in particular has stuck with me over a month after my initial reading.

Based on characterization above all else, sense of place, Watsonian voice, and uniqueness of the plot, here, for what it may be worth, is my brief assessment of each individual entry.

THE MONSTER OF HELL'S GATE by Paul Finch - 3.5 stars
The first of several tales set in Africa, Holmes was a bit on the cardboard side, the mystery itself was easily guessed at, but this was heady with atmosphere and the criminal's motives were clever in the extreme.

THE CASE OF THE MALTESE CATACOMBS by William Meikle - 5 stars
Possibly the best short Holmes story I have read from this author to date. An exciting, almost Lovecraftian adventure story, very original, and characterizations spot on.

THE ADVENTURE OF THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER by Dennis O. Smith - 4 stars
One of the few "straight" mysteries that strayed from supernatural elements, this was a tad formulaic, but played up Holmes's deductive skills and proved an interesting case, all the same.

THE MYSTERY OF THE RED CITY by Alison Littlewood - 5+ stars
Absolutely superb tale in the vein of HOUN, where one wonders if the solution is otherworldly or lies "flat footed on the ground". Set in Morocco, this author should be commended not only for her ability to transport the reader, but her faithfulness in portraying every aspect of canon from voice to narration style to the recreation of Holmes and Watson's friendship. Unquestionably my favorite of the lot.

THE DOLL WHO TALKED TO THE DEAD by Nev Fountain - 4.5 stars
A well handled straying from traditional pastiche, with a delightful bit of rivalry between Holmes and the fellow who many believe to be Dr Watson's literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A CONCURRENCE OF COINCIDENCES by David Moody - 4 stars
Another purely case oriented entry that showcased an interesting setting and a firm grasp of the characters, though the case itself was a bit mundane.

THE STRANGE DEATH OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Andrew Darlington - 1 star
I might ordinarily urge readers to skip such nonsensical, post-modernistic gibberish, yet I think a good lesson can be learnt from its reading - that is, it confirms the old adage "this is your brain on drugs".

THE CLIMBING MAN by Simon Clark - 5 stars
An excellent tale of action, adventure, and very Holmesian deductions set in Mesopotamia. Another one with a transportation atmosphere combined with an exciting story.

THE CURSE OF GUANGXU by Sam Stone - 2 stars
Might not have been a bad story in itself, I felt the author was just not suited to write in this genre, as she showed little familiarity with the character. Holmes himself was dull, canonical errors abounded, and I ended up skimming this one.

THE CASE OF THE REVENANT by Johnny Mains - 4 stars
Narrated by Holmes, with the doctor in absentia, I still felt this case set in Austria held up well. Creepy, well plotted and held my interest throughout.

THE ADVENTURE OF THE MUMMY'S CURSE by Cavan Scott - 3 stars
I was so looking forward to the sole Egyptian themed story, but confess it left me disappointed in terms of a mediocre case and characterizations that were shaky at best, and were an amalgamation of several different film and television versions.

THE CASE OF THE LOST SOUL by Paul Kane - 3.5 stars
While this tale of "zombies" was quite thrilling in places, in other instances, particularly in reference to major plot points, it fell a bit flat, and the side characters were a trifle unbelievable.

THE LUNACY OF CELESTINE BLOT by Stephen Volk - 3.5 stars
Pairing a young Sherlock Holmes with Edgar Allan Poe in the guise of his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, are summoned to a mental institution in France to investigate a "hysterical" woman. Exceptionally well written, with interesting elements, but was cynical, at times tedious and deviated wildly from the Holmes and Dupin canons.

THE CRIMSON DEVIL by Mark Morris - 2.5 stars
This reuniting of Holmes with Sir Henry Baskerville, now living in Africa, made little attempts at characterization or compelling plot. As the detective himself would have said, it was a commonplace story, lacking features of interest.

THE DRAUGR OF TROMSO by Carole Johnstone - 3 stars
This supernatural themed tale of Holmes in Norway - and whose client happens to be Henrick Ibsen - started out clunkily but smoothed out as it progressed. Still managed to be an eerie entry regarding lesser known Norse mythology and worth the read.

So... all things considered, there were some bland inclusions, yet by no means were those three star efforts poorly done or unreadable; in my opinion, this stands out as one of the better Holmes related anthologies I have read in the past few years. I found it mostly an enjoyable read worth the price of admission.