Shadows Over Baker Street by Various

 

Around the World in 80,000 Pages - Book 11

Shadows Over Baker Street by Various

You can read about my Around the World in 80,000 Pages challenge here.

Miles travelled: 515
Pages read: 4.576

Disclaimer: I'm rather behind on my reviews, so they will be super brief until I get caught up again.

Once again, we are faced with the thorny issue of the separation of art and artist. Shadows Over Baker Street is an anthology of stories which feature Holmes and Watson crossing over into Lovecraftian horror (helpfully ticking off two of the recurring themes of this expedition). However, the headline tale is by Neil Gaiman, and he is something of a persona non grata at the moment. I bought this book before the heinous allegations against him were raised, it has sat on my TBR shelf for quite some years. But to make things more complicated, as I understand it the allegations against Gaiman are (at present at least) just that: allegations. He has been found not guilty of some of the charges, and others appear to be unsubstantiated. This doesn't mean the claims are not true, but it doesn't mean they are. So where does one stand when buying his work? Honestly, I don't know. There is talk of a new novel from him, and when this comes out I will read up on the controversy in more depth before making a decision. For the time being, I already had this book, and bought it second-hand all those years ago, so the review will go ahead.

I had expected Gaiman's story A Study in Emerald to be the standout tale, and the others to be also rans collected together to complete the theme. But actually I found A Study in Emerald to be the worst of the bunch. It contains an interesting premise, but reads more like a synopsis interspersed with pastiche ephemera. The other stories, however, were without exception excellent. Holmesian literature blends well with the weird tales of Lovecraftian horror. Conan Doyle's original stories contain more than their fair share of dark moments and unnerving events. Doyle was an expert at drawing threads of various genres and weaving them into something new, and that tradition continues with this anthology. Knowing that there wasn't going to be a rational explanation kept things fresh, and seeing favourite characters in a new light is fascinating when done well. 124½/140, well into ★★★★★ territory. 

Our flag in that of Greater London, and the suggested music is String Quarter No 1 "The Music of Erich Zann" Scene 1 by Michael J Evans and the Sirius Quarter.