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Originally Posted by jhowell
I am not a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, other than several television series that I greatly enjoyed. I will give a try when, but it may not be for me.
The two most recent ebooks are available from my local library. Can I jump in there or is it best started from the beginning?
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Honestly, I would start at the beginning. There are story arcs that continue across the series and would be a bit confusing if you started 12 books into it.
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That reminds my of another series with a magic in London theme that I recommend highly, the Alex Verus Series by Benedict Jacka. The final book of that series came out last December. The author is adamant that, despite pressure to continue, the story has been told and that book is the final one of the series. I will miss the characters but I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
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I confess that I'd started to feel underwhelmed by the Verus books, the last few and I was shocked at the ending of the last one. No spoilers here, but...I enjoyed a lot of them, quite a bit.
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On the other side of the coin are the books by Simon R. Green. He recycles character and plot ideas across several series. His early books were fun but he seems to have given up on having new ideas.
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The thing with Green is, ALL of his series end badly. It's a bit unnerving, to know that whatever series you're reading, things won't end well for the characters you come to like. He has (sorta) made exceptions to that for two of his, but the characters still end up burdened with crap you'd have rathered they not. (Nightside and the Golden Torc one). I had high hopes for his ultimate crossover book, Shadows Fall, and that one was very unfulfilling.
I gave up on the Ishmael Jones, not because I didn't want the solution to the underlying mystery, but because the Kindle Prices went bat***t. I mean, $19 or thereabouts, for a (very short) Kindle ebook license? Hell, I can get a used ppbck for a tenth of that! His newer publisher is simply bloody greedy and I loathe that. I guess I'll never find out Ishmael's big secret. Oh, well. (no, don't tell me, thanks). I really loved the Nightside, right up to the end, 99%. Didn't love the wrap-up.
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I agree. Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles started strong but I found the later books less enjoyable. The ecological stuff didn't bother me. It's just hard to keep up the freshness and mystery inherent in a new series.
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OMG, that series was just
ruined. It became all about her, and then the final book...gadzooks. Right, all the "bad guys" kind of win, the hero loses, even his dog is effectively banished...and he acts like a total wimp around his PO'ed girlfriend. I mean,
get over yourself. (the female character.) I thought he just kowtowed to her little temper tantrums in an absurd way, for a 2,000-y.o. immortal--I mean, he's NOT 19!
It was to me very unsatisfying and downright annoying.
ANYWAY...I hope you like the Baker & Llewelyns, but if you're not a Holmes fan, it may not float your boat. It's definitely got roots in Doyle. If you're not an historical (why does my in-browser typo-catching Grammarly INSIST that that should be "a historical" and not "an historical"? Have things changed since my college days?) mysteries fan, especially set in the Victorian era, it may not be for you. I'll try to think of something else I've been reading that might suit. :-)
Hitch