Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.

For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle’s peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.

In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today’s most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.

“A Study in Emerald” by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it–and only one man can hope to stop it.

“A Case of Royal Blood” by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost–or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.

“Art in the Blood” by Brian Stableford: One man’s horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.

“The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone” by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible cannot be eliminated.

“The Horror of the Many Faces” by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London–and recognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot.

The terrifyingly surreal universe of horror master H. P. Lovecraft bleeds into the logical world of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s champion of rational deduction–in these brand-new stories by twenty of today’s top horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writers, including:

• Steven-Elliot Altman
• Elizabeth Bear
• Poppy Z. Brite
• Simon Clark
• David Ferguson
• Paul Finch
• Neil Gaiman
• Barbara Hambly
• Caitlin R. Kiernan
• Tim Lebbon
• James Lowder
• Richard A. Lupoff
• F. Gwynplaine McIntyre
• John Pelan
• Steve Perry
• Michael Reaves
• Brian Stableford
• John P. Vourlis
• David Niall Wilson & Patricia Lee Macomber

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Arthur Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft were masters of mood and suggestion, qualities in short supply in this anthology collecting 18 all-original tales in which Sherlock Holmes and other Doylean characters confront various Lovecraftian horrors. A few contributions amount to cinematic action-adventure stories better suited to Indiana Jones, while perhaps the most atmospheric entry, Caitlin R. Kiernan's "The Drowned Geologist," with its sly Dracula allusions, relates more closely to her novel Threshold than to the book's theme. The more successful tales tend to adhere to traditional Holmesian scenarios, such as those by the two editors: Pelan's "The Mystery of the Worm" puts a neat Lovecraftian twist on one of Dr. Watson's untold cases, while Reaves's "The Adventure of the Arab's Manuscript" makes imaginative use of an unexpurgated copy of the Necronomicon found in an Afghan cave. Just as good are Richard A. Lupoff's "The Adventure of the Voorish Sign" and Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson's "The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone." F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre's "The Adventure of Exham Priory" takes the humor prize for an egotistical quip from the master detective, who alludes to the cosmic conclave of human and alien minds in HPL's "The Shadow Out of Time": "I was offered a chance to commune with intellects nearly the equal of my own."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here's a real treat for fans of Sherlock Holmes, H. P. Lovecraft, and everyone in between: 20 original stories by writers of horror and fantasy. Neil Gaiman is here, along with Barbara Hambly, Richard Lupoff, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Brite, and many more. The premise is engaging: What if the world of Holmes, the world's most logical and rational detective, intersected with the world of Lovecraft, where logic and rationality have little meaning? These are stories about strange beasts, men cursed to death, and the walking un-dead. Most feature a powerful narrative voice. One stars Irene Adler and takes place nearly a decade before the events recounted in the classic Conan Doyle story, "A Scandal in Bohemia." Another is narrated by H. G. Wells. Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother, appears in one tale; still another has Dr. Watson becoming Holmes' client. The stories, set between 1881 and 1915, are uniformly excellent, and the book, authorized by the Doyle estate, is a welcome addition to the Holmes canon. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Arthur Conan Doyle s Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.

For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle s peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.

In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today s most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it and only one man can hope to stop it.

A Case of Royal Blood by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.

Art in the Blood by Brian Stableford: One man s horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.

The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible cannot be eliminated.

The Horror of the Many Faces by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London and recognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot.

The terrifyingly surreal universe of horror master H. P. Lovecraft bleeds into the logical world of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle s champion of rational deduction in these brand-new stories by twenty of today s top horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writers, including:

Steven-Elliot Altman
Elizabeth Bear
Poppy Z. Brite
Simon Clark
David Ferguson
Paul Finch
Neil Gaiman
Barbara Hambly
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Tim Lebbon
James Lowder
Richard A. Lupoff
F. Gwynplaine McIntyre
John Pelan
Steve Perry
Michael Reaves
Brian Stableford
John P. Vourlis
David Niall Wilson & Patricia Lee Macomber

About the Author

Michael Reaves is a renowned screenwriter who has written, edited, and/or produced more than three hundred teleplays for various television series, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Twilight Zone, Sliders,and Monsters. He was also a story editor and writer on Batman: The Animated Series, for which he won an Emmy Award for writing in 1993. He has worked for Spielberg’s DreamWorks, among other studios, and is the author of several fantasy novels and supernatural thrillers, including Hell on Earth and the New York Times bestselling Star Wars novel, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. Reaves lives in Los Angeles.

John Pelan is an acclaimed author whose fiction includes the Lovecraftian novella The Colour out of Darkness. He is the editor of such groundbreaking anthologies as Darkside: Horror for the Next Millennium, The Devil Is Not Mocked, and The Last Continent: New Tales of Zothique. His solo stories have appeared in publications such as The Urbanite, Gothic.net, Enigmatic Tales, and Carpe Noctem. He is the founder of the publishing house Darkside Press, and cofounder of Midnight House. He lives in Seattle.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Study in Emerald, by Neil Gaiman

1. THE NEW FRIEND

Fresh from Their Stupendous European Tour, where they performed before several of the CROWNED HEADS OF EUROPE, garnering their plaudits and praise with magnificent dramatic performances, combining both COMEDY and TRAGEDY, the Strand Players wish to make it known that they shall be appearing at the Royal Court Theatre, Drury Lane, for a LIMITED ENGAGEMENT in April, at which they will present “My Look-Alike Brother Tom!” “The Littlest Violet-Seller” and “The Great Old Ones Come” (this last an Historical Epic of Pageantry and Delight); each an entire play in one act! Tickets are available now from the Box Office.

It is the immensity, I believe. The hugeness of things below. The darkness of dreams.

But I am wool-gathering. Forgive me. I am not a literary man.

I had been in need of lodgings. That was how I met him. I wanted someone to share the cost of rooms with me. We were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, in the chemical laboratories of St. Bart’s. “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive”; that was what he said to me, and my mouth fell open and my eyes opened very wide.

“Astonishing,” I said.

“Not really,” said the stranger in the white lab coat who was to become my friend. “From the way you hold your arm, I see you have been wounded, and in a particular way. You have a deep tan. You also have a military bearing, and there are few enough places in the Empire that a military man can be both tanned and, given the nature of the injury to your shoulder and the traditions of the Afghan cave folk, tortured.”

Put like that, of course, it was absurdly simple. But then, it always was. I had been tanned nut brown. And I had indeed, as he had observed, been tortured.

The gods and men of Afghanistan were savages, unwilling to be ruled from Whitehall or from Berlin or even from Moscow, and unprepared to see reason. I had been sent into those hills, attached to the ––th Regiment. As long as the fighting remained in the hills and mountains, we fought on an equal footing. When the skirmishes descended into the caves and the darkness, then we found ourselves, as it were, out of our depth and in over our heads.

I shall not forget the mirrored surface of the underground lake, nor the thing that emerged from the lake, its eyes opening and closing, and the singing whispers that accompanied it as it rose, wreathing their way about it like the buzzing of flies bigger than worlds.

That I survived was a miracle, but survive I did, and I returned to England with my nerves in shreds and tatters. The place that leechlike mouth had touched me was tattooed forever, frog white, into the skin of my now-withered shoulder. I had once been a crack shot. Now I had nothing, save a fear of the world-beneath-the-world akin to panic, which meant that I would gladly pay sixpence of my army pension for a hansom cab rather than a penny to travel underground.

Still, the fogs and darknesses of London comforted me, took me in. I had lost my first lodgings because I screamed in the night. I had been in Afghanistan; I was there no longer.

“I scream in the night,” I told him.

“I have been told that I snore,” he said. “Also I keep irregular hours, and I often use the mantelpiece for target practice. I will need the sitting room to meet clients. I am selfish, private, and easily bored. Will this be a problem?”

I smiled and shook my head and extended my hand. We shook on it.

The rooms he had found for us, in Baker Street, were more than adequate for two bachelors. I bore in mind all my friend had said about his desire for privacy, and I forbore from asking what it was he did for a living. Still, there was much to pique my curiosity. Visitors would arrive at all hours, and when they did I would leave the sitting room and repair to my bedroom, pondering what they could have in common with my friend: the pale woman with one eye bone white, the small man who looked like a commercial traveler, the portly dandy in his velvet jacket, and the rest. Some were frequent visitors; many others came only once, spoke to him, and left, looking troubled or looking satisfied.

He was a mystery to me.

We were partaking of one of our landlady’s magnificent breakfasts one morning when my friend rang the bell to summon that good lady. “There will be a gentleman joining us, in about four minutes,” he said. “We will need another place at table.”

“Very good,” she said, “I’ll put more sausages under the grill.”

My friend returned to perusing his morning paper. I waited for an explanation with growing impatience. Finally, I could stand it no longer. “I don’t understand. How could you know that in four minutes we would be receiving a visitor? There was no telegram, no message of any kind.”

He smiled thinly. “You did not hear the clatter of a brougham several minutes ago? It slowed as it passed us—obviously as the driver identified our door—then it sped up and went past, up into the Marylebone Road. There is a crush of carriages and taxicabs letting off passengers at the railway station and at the waxworks, and it is in that crush that anyone wishing to alight without being observed will go. The walk from there to here is but four minutes . . .”

He glanced at his pocket watch, and as he did so I heard a tread on the stairs outside.

“Come in, Lestrade,” he called. “The door is ajar, and your sausages are just coming out from under the grill.”

A man I took to be Lestrade opened the door, then closed it carefully behind him. “I should not,” he said. “But truth to tell, I have not had a chance to break my fast this morning. And I could certainly do justice to a few of those sausages.” He was the small man I had observed on several occasions previously, whose demeanor was that of a traveler in rubber novelties or pat- ent nostrums.

My friend waited until our landlady had left the room before he said, “Obviously, I take it this is a matter of national importance.”

“My stars,” said Lestrade, and he paled. “Surely the word cannot be out already. Tell me it is not.” He began to pile his plate high with sausages, kipper fillets, kedgeree, and toast, but his hands shook a little.

“Of course not,” said my friend. “I know the squeak of your brougham wheels, though, after all this time: an oscillating G-sharp above high C. And if Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard cannot publicly be seen to come into the parlor of London’s only consulting detective, yet comes anyway, and without having had his breakfast, then I know that this is not a routine case. Ergo, it involves those above us and is a matter of national importance.”

Lestrade dabbed egg yolk from his chin with his napkin. I stared at him. He did not look like my idea of a police inspector, but then, my friend looked little enough like my idea of a consulting detective—whatever that might be.

“Perhaps we should discuss the matter privately,” Lestrade said, glancing at me.

My friend began to smile impishly, and his head moved on his shoulders as it did when he was enjoying a private joke. “Nonsense,” he said. “Two heads are better than one. And what is said to one of us is said to us both.”

“If I am intruding—” I said gruffly, but he motioned me to silence.

Lestrade shrugged. “It’s all the same to me,” he said, after a moment. “If you solve the case, then I have my job. If you don’t, then I have no job. You use your methods, that’s what I say. It can’t make things any worse.”

“If there’s one thing that a study of history has taught us, it is that things can always get worse,” said my friend. “When do we go to Shoreditch?”

Lestrade dropped his fork. “This is too bad!” he exclaimed. “Here you are, making sport of me, when you know all about the matter! You should be ashamed—”

“No one has told me anything of the matter. When a police inspector walks into my room with fresh splashes of mud of that peculiar yellow hue on his boots and trouser legs, I can surely be forgiven for presuming that he has recently walked past the diggings at Hobbs Lane in Shoreditch, which is the only place in London that particular mustard-colored clay seems to be found.”

Inspector Lestrade looked embarrassed. “Now you put it like that,” he said, “it seems so obvious.”

My friend pushed his plate away from him. “Of course it does,” he said, slightly testily.

We rode to the East End in a cab. Inspector Lestrade had walked up to the Marylebone Road to find his brougham, and left us alone.

“So you are truly a consulting detective?” I said.

“The only one in London, or perhaps the world,” said my friend. “I do not take cases. Instead, I consult. Others bring me their insoluble problems, they describe them, and, sometimes, I solve them.”

“Then those people who come to you . . .”

“Are, in the main, police officers, or are detectives themselves, yes.”

It was a fine morning, but we were now jolting about the edges of the Rookery of St. Giles, that warren of thieves and cutthroats which sits on London like a cancer on the face of a pretty flower seller, and the only light to enter the cab was dim and faint.

“Are you sure that you wish me along with you?”

In reply, my friend stared at me without blinking. “I have a feeling,” he said. “I have a feeling that we were meant to be together. Th...

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2003
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345455282
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345455284
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.77 x 1.35 x 8.29 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,442,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #970 in Horror Anthologies (Books)
- #7,968 in Short Stories Anthologies
- #35,122 in American Literature (Books)

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James Lowder
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James Lowder’s publications include the bestselling, widely translated dark fantasy novels Prince of Lies and Knight of the Black Rose; short fiction for such anthologies as Shadows Over Baker Street and Tales of Ravenloft; game design for TSR, White Wolf, and Steve Jackson Games; as well as comic book scripts, film reviews, and critical essays about pop culture. On the other side of the publisher’s desk, he's served as series editor for the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, and Pendragon fiction lines and as executive editor for Chaosium and Green Knight Publishing. He's edited RPG projects, including 1st and 2nd edition D&D releases, and helmed more than a dozen critically acclaimed anthologies, including Hobby Games: The 100 Best, The Munchkin Book, and Curse of the Full Moon. His work has received five Origins Awards and two ENnie Awards, and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild Award and the Stoker Award.
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Simon Clark
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Simon Clark is the author of the cult apocalyptic novel BLOOD CRAZY: "everyone over the age of 19 has been driven murderously insane... children and teenagers flee for their lives..." His novels include Nailed By The Heart, Vampyrrhic, Whitby Vampyrrhic, Ghost Monster and a bloody fistful of others that earned accolades from magazines around the world. This from Hellnotes: 'Clark's is surely the most outrageous imagination to grace horror since the discovery of Clive Barker' And: 'I actually loved Blood Crazy. Not just liked it, but loved it.' A quote from Beyond.
BLOOD CRAZY has now been issued as an e-book.
Simon was raised in a family of story-tellers. One told of a human skull buried under the family's garage. Currently he lives in the North of England where Robin Hood once roamed, and where legends of monsters lurking in ponds and caves abound.
For news and videos about Simon Clark and his grisly craft be sure to Google his name from time to time, and now you can follow him on Twitter, too.
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Michael Reaves
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Steven-Elliot Altman
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Steven-Elliot Altman is a bestselling science fiction author and award-winning videogame writer. His novels include Captain America is Dead, Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires, Batman: Fear Itself, The Killswitch Review, The Irregulars, Severed Wings and Deprivers. His videogames include 9Dragons, Pearl's Peril, Ancient Aliens: The Game, Project Blue Book: Hidden Mysteries and Terminator: Dark Fate. In reviews of note his writing has been compared to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton and Philip K. Dick, and he's collaborated with world class writers like Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, Harry Turtledove and Dr. Janet Asimov.
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Customers find the book's stories brilliant, with one noting it's an enjoyable extension of the Holmes mythos. They describe it as a fun little romp with good writing, and one customer highlights its inspired fusion of two great genres.

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Story quality Enjoyment Writing quality Fusion

19 customers mention "Story quality"16 positive3 negative

Customers praise the stories in the book, with one noting they are an enjoyable extension of the Holmes mythos, while another mentions they are full of twists and turns.

"...stories in Shadows Over Baker Street, and there's enough within to satisfy fans of either mythos. I'll offer some comments on each story. "..." Read more

"...Most stories are expertly crafted and not a single dull one. Very very enjoyable." Read more

"...great mixture--the world's greatest detective and the world's most terrifying mystos together!..." Read more

"...While I did enjoy some of the stories, such as Nightmare In Wax by Simon Clarke, A Study In Emerald by Neil Gaiman, and The Drowned Geologist by..." Read more

12 customers mention "Enjoyment"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, describing it as a fun little romp.

"Absolutely splendid book" Read more

"...Reasonably entertaining, with a few good Holmes moments and a nice Lovecraftian dream sequence. Recommended, but don't expect too much. "..." Read more

"A fantastic collection, thanks to editors Michael Reaves, and John Phelan. A great idea and the writers take up the challenge with gusto...." Read more

"...Some are excellent, as with Neil Gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald” and Elizabeth Bear’s “Tiger! Tiger!”..." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book, with one noting how the different authors create an intriguing mix.

"...A strong mix, and well-written. A bit confusing, but still worthwhile. "The Mystery of the Worm," by John Pelan: meh...." Read more

"...So, 3 stars because it's carefully crafted and well-written, but not my cup of tea, even if fortified with brandy." Read more

"...A great idea and the writers take up the challenge with gusto...." Read more

"...The outcome is quite interesting, and the take of such a mix by different authors intriguing. Some tales were brilliant, Gaiman's particularly...." Read more

3 customers mention "Fusion"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the fusion of genres in the book, with one noting it's an inspired combination of two great genres.

"What a great mixture--the world's greatest detective and the world's most terrifying mystos together!..." Read more

"...The concept if quite interesting: including in the same story Sherlock Holmes, master of logical reasoning, and H.P. Lovecraft otherworldly concepts..." Read more

"Inspired fusion of two great genres - very entertaining..." Read more

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Robert S.
Great book, a must for fans of Holmes and/or Lovecraft
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Absolutely splendid book

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Brendan Moody
Elementary, my dear Lovecraft
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2005
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Since I'm such a geek, most of my free time is caught up with various fandoms: Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings, and others. Now, most fandoms that are around today are based either on television shows or relatively recent novels. There are really only three that spring to mind that are much more than fifty years old. They are the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and the Conan the Barbarian stories of Robert E. Howard. Aside from their shared durability, these three fandoms have one other thing in common: the writing of pastiche stories by writers not the original creators.

Now, in many cases such pastiches are abject failures, for reasons best explained by turning to that oft-used Mark Twain quote about what it sounds like when a woman swears: "She knows the words, but not the music." However untrue that sentiment may be in the modern era, it rings true for, say, the monstrosities perpetrated on Conan by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp, or the Cthulhu-ish efforts of August Derleth, a figure to be welcomed with one hand and struck with the other by any fan of the Mythos, for reasons I haven't the space to go into here. (Find any Lovecraft FAQ only, and there'll be an explanation there, some more even-handed than others.)

With this dubious legacy in mind, I was cautious about approaching the recent anthology Shadows Over Baker Street, edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan. The central premise of stories combining the worlds of Doyle and Lovecraft certainly left lots of room for failure: consider how few people are capable of producing a good story using either mythos, let alone both put together!

Fortunately, while the collection is not a complete success, my fears were largely unfounded. There are many good stories in Shadows Over Baker Street, and there's enough within to satisfy fans of either mythos. I'll offer some comments on each story.

"A Study in Emerald," by Neil Gaiman: easily my favorite of the collection. I don't want to say too much about it, for reasons that will be clear should you read the story, which I encourage everyone who enjoys Holmes of Cthulhu to do; it's available online from the author's website. What seems to be a simple retelling of "A Study in Scarlet" becomes much more. While the tale as a whole doesn't quite fit the tone of either mythos, there are sections of it that do, and it's still an excellent work.

"Tiger! Tiger!", by Elizabeth Bear: the first of several non-standard stories in the collection. If you need to have Holmes in the story to enjoy it, don't bother with this one; it features a number (to avoid spoilers, I won't specify) of Holmes villains involved in a hunt for a man-eating tiger- or what seems to be a man-eating tiger- in India. Not traditional Holmes or Cthulhu, but not a bad horror story. Recommended.

"The Case of the Wavy Black Dagger," by Steve Perry: not recommended. Ridiculously brief, and a "Mary Sue" fan-fiction to boot. Not bad for Holmesian deduction, though. Set in New York for no reason I can see.

"A Case of Royal Blood," by Steven-Elliot Altman: Holmes and H.G. Wells in the Netherlands. Reasonably entertaining, with a few good Holmes moments and a nice Lovecraftian dream sequence. Recommended, but don't expect too much.

"The Weeping Masks," by James Lowder: recommended. No Holmes; deals with Watson's injury in Afghanistan and subsequent . . . events. Adequate story, with a strong conclusion.

"Art in the Blood," by Brian Stableford: one of the few good mixes of mythoses (mythi?) in the collection. Recommended.

"The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone," by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: starts well, but doesn't really get anywhere. Not recommended.

"The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece," by Barbara Hambly: second favorite. A strong mix, and well-written. A bit confusing, but still worthwhile.

"The Mystery of the Worm," by John Pelan: meh. Like "Violet Stone," reaches an interesting point and then just stops. Frustrating.

"The Mystery of the Hanged Man's Puzzle," by Paul Finch: solid, if unexceptional. Odd style.

"The Horror of the Many Faces," by Tim Lebbon: not involved enough, but good for what it is.

"The Adventure of the Arab's Manuscript," by Michael Reaves: fun, with a somewhat predictable ending. Also makes use of Watson's time in Afghanistan, but Holmes is in it as well.

"The Drowned Geologist," by Caitlin R. Kiernan: it seems like it'll be good, but then just stops. Very odd, and not recommended.

"A Case of Insomnia," by John P. Vourlis: entertaining, if not exceptionally Lovecraftian. A mild success, marred with a comment by Watson that is so untimely as to jar one right out of the story.

"The Adventure of the Voorish Sign," by Richard A. Lupoff: successful and enjoyable. Not much else to say.

"The Adventure of Exham Priory," by F. Gwynplaine MacIntye: Holmes and the residence from "The Rats in the Walls." Adequate but uninispriring.

"Death Did Not Become Him," by David Niall Wilson and Patricia Lee Macomber: meh. Doesn't get much done, and isn't really Lovecraftian so much as an ethnic horror story. Not recommended.

"Nightmare in Wax," by Simon Clark: has plusses and minuses; in the end, I feel neutral.

All in all, the number of neutral or better stories is enough for me to recommend the whole, which is more than the sum of its parts.

One final note, for Holmes timeliners only: each story is placed by year, but there are some odd choices and some outright errors. I leave them for you to discover, but I find it rather odd that the introduction emphasizes the inclusion of chronological context that isn't right on a basic level. A silly complaint, but given the focus of fandoms on minutiae, it's worth noting.

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Winecnsmr
Very Out There
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
Okay, so it's a book, so I guess I'm rating the contents, not the delivery or condition (both were fine). As an avid A.C. Doyle reader, I was excited to see some works from different authors as a pastiche to the exploits of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. Several of the books I ordered are wonderful. This one, with a group of short stories from an array of authors, is a bit of a stretch. It envisions the methods of SH/DW as viewed through the lens of the creative world of H.P. Lovecraft, which is precisely what it's described to be. So I approached it with an open mind, but still I found it...a little out there. And a bit repetitive, but maybe that's the idea, since the authors are constrained to the mythology inherent in the HPL world. So, 3 stars because it's carefully crafted and well-written, but not my cup of tea, even if fortified with brandy.

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RMitra, mystery writer
Lovecraft scores over Holmes
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2004
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
A fantastic collection, thanks to editors Michael Reaves, and John Phelan.

A great idea and the writers take up the challenge with gusto. Two of the best, The Case of the Antiquarian's Niece by Barbara Hambly, and A Case of Royal Blood are genuine pastiches. The problem is, believing that Holmes would countenance the supernatural in the solution of the cases. Mr. Doyle would have been delighted, especially in his later years, when he became a so called believer in the existence of the hereafter, spirits etc.

The writers have carefully used Lovecraft's trade mark terms:'The Elders', 'The Necronomicon' and 'Cthulhu'. All enough to make the blood of his fans run faster.

Sherlock Holmes fans should also rejoice, in the Weeping Masks, there are details of Watson's wounds received in Afganistan,not in Conan Doyle's accounts. Most stories are expertly crafted and not a single dull one.

Very very enjoyable.

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David
Awesome
Reviewed in Mexico on January 31, 2019
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

The most of the tales aren't certainly Sherlock Holmes stuff, but, they are good readings.
If you like Lovecraft stuff, this is a Must. But if you like Sherlock Holmes old Scholl, well, maybe not all are for you.

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Mister Madel
Macht süchtig auf neues..
Reviewed in Germany on October 5, 2019
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Bis auf zwei Geschichten nur durchschnittlich.
Aber die zwei sind genial geschrieben. Wer seine Klassiker kennt sollte zugreifen. Macht Hoffnung auf neue gute Geschichten.
Für den Preis und die Menge an guten Storys
3 1/2 Sterne.

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Dana Rudko
There is some real good stuff and then there is some meh
Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2017
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
There is some real good stuff and then there is some meh. But in general it's a real solid compilation.

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Connew
Different
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2018
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I have always liked Homes and Watson so this didn't disappoint May be not for the purest among us but different

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M. King
A very decent set of Holmes/Lovecraft pastiches.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2018
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Neil Gaiman story is great and there are some other equally good ones in here.

I did feel the book is a bit front end loaded and gets weaker as it goes on.

One big weakness for me is that, in having a Lovecraftian theme the stories all start to feel very similar...for instance Watson’s time in Afghanistan is seen by many of the writers as an opportunity to start the shenanigans there.

But fun all the same.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, a must for fans of Holmes and/or Lovecraft

4.0 out of 5 stars Elementary, my dear Lovecraft

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Out There

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovecraft scores over Holmes

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome

3.0 out of 5 stars Macht süchtig auf neues..

4.0 out of 5 stars There is some real good stuff and then there is some meh

4.0 out of 5 stars Different

3.0 out of 5 stars A very decent set of Holmes/Lovecraft pastiches.

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Great book, a must for fans of Holmes and/or Lovecraft

Elementary, my dear Lovecraft

Very Out There

Lovecraft scores over Holmes

Awesome

Macht süchtig auf neues..

There is some real good stuff and then there is some meh

Different

A very decent set of Holmes/Lovecraft pastiches.