Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > Reading Recommendations

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-02-2022, 11:04 AM   #1
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
Favorite Sherlock Holmes Pastiches

When I was in junior high and high school, I read most of the Sherlock Holmes "canon" -- that is, the official stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then, I discovered Sherlock Holmes pastiches -- stories about Holmes written by other people.

Everything from simple murder mysteries to Sherlock Holmes meeting Dracula. This was about the time when The Seven-Per-Cent Solution came out, giving an entirely new twist on Moriarity.

Not to mention the controversial The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin.

The other day, I saw some recent pastiches in the bookstore and on Amazon, and I thought about getting into them again. So I wondered which ones I should venture into. (I did consider the books of Carole Nelson Douglas and Laurie R. King. Plus newer books by James Lovegrove, who seems to bring SF and horror into the mix.)

I've noticed that Sherlock Holmes pastiches are easier to find nowadays. Yet I haven't seen anything that seems ... truly controversial? Mind-shattering? Is there anything more recent that is as controversial as The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and The Last Sherlock Holmes Story were in their day?

Does anyone still write "How Dare He Do That to Holmes?!" books?

Edited to Add: If you want more of my meandering rambles about pastiches, check out my Medium link as I just published an article about my experience trying to write one in high school.
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-2022, 12:03 PM   #2
hildea
Wizard
hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.hildea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
hildea's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,210
Karma: 63835638
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Norway
Device: PocketBook Touch Lux (had Onyx Boox Poke 3 and BeBook Neo earlier)
I liked Katherine Addison: "The Angel of the Crows" a lot. It's a supernatural retelling, where various supernatural beings are known to exist, and the Lancet has articles about the comparative pathology of werewolf bites and vampire bites. The events are mostly close to the originals (so no big surprises there when you've read the originals), but how the world works is a puzzle that unfolds gradually.

I also liked "A Study in Honor" by Claire O'Dell, but in that book, I felt the Sherlock Holmes inspiration didn't really fit, and the book would have worked better on its own terms if the protagonists hadn't been named Holmes and Watson.
hildea is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-03-2022, 02:39 AM   #3
db105
Zealot
db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.db105 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 145
Karma: 8302546
Join Date: Oct 2011
Device: kindle
Laurie R. King: not for me. What she writes is not even Sherlock Holmes pastiches, but about her own original character (a huge Mary Sue), with Sherlock fawning admiringly around. Not badly written, but I just can't.
db105 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 03:37 AM   #4
Uncle Robin
Diligent dilettante
Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Uncle Robin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Uncle Robin's Avatar
 
Posts: 3,406
Karma: 47613872
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: in my mind
Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O
Quote:
Originally Posted by db105 View Post
Laurie R. King: not for me. What she writes is not even Sherlock Holmes pastiches, but about her own original character (a huge Mary Sue), with Sherlock fawning admiringly around. Not badly written, but I just can't.
This was my biggest issue with the series too, even before she became L1 fluent in Arabic & Hindi in a couple of weeks - then proceeded to make howlers that had an Indian author I shared them with in stitches.
Uncle Robin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 09:34 AM   #5
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
For some reason, I haven't been able to get into the Laurie R. King books yet. I've read that her main character is very much a Mary Sue. But sometimes, I like a Mary Sue. (OTOH sometimes, I want to slip sleeping pills into the Mary Sue's tea...)
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-03-2022, 10:12 AM   #6
WillAdams
Wizard
WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.WillAdams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
WillAdams's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,233
Karma: 3350652
Join Date: Feb 2008
Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12
Mine would have to be Fred Saberhagen's delightful _The Holmes-Dracula File_ (sequel to _The Dracula Tapes_).

Exactly what it says on the tin.
WillAdams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 10:45 AM   #7
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
Quote:
Originally Posted by WillAdams View Post
Mine would have to be Fred Saberhagen's delightful _The Holmes-Dracula File_ (sequel to _The Dracula Tapes_).

Exactly what it says on the tin.
Oh, yes! I loved that one.
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 11:57 AM   #8
ZodWallop
Gentleman and scholar
ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ZodWallop's Avatar
 
Posts: 10,910
Karma: 106650939
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
I don't care for pastiches that reuse others characters in general. I also don't care for books where the author has an adventure in the style of their character (Doyle investigating Jack the Ripper, for example).

Having said that, I did enjoy The List Of 7 by Mark Frost. I mainly bought the book because Mark was the co-creator of Twin Peaks and The List of 7 was a massive bestseller at the time. I zipped through the book and have recommended it.

Followed by a sequel, The 6 Messiahs, which must have bombed as it is OOP. I have it in paperback, but haven't yet read it.

Quote:
On Christmas Day 1884, a desperate plea from a mysterious woman leads Arthur Conan Doyle - struggling physician, aspiring writer, and part-time demystifier of the occult - to a seance in London’s East End and into a fiendish and deadly trap. Stunned by a shocking display of black magic, Doyle witnesses a murder, nearly falling victim himself before being rescued by a secretive stranger: Jack Sparks, a man who claims to be special agent to Queen Victoria. He tells Doyle that he has been targeted by a diabolical coven of Satanists - the Dark Brotherhood.

As they track their attackers across the length and breadth of Britain, assailed by forces of darkness both human and supernatural, Conan Doyle and Sparks unmask a terrifying conspiracy that threatens not only the Crown but the very fabric of modern civilization. Their only clue: a list of seven names, the leaders of the Brotherhood.

Skeptical by nature and profession, Doyle labors to prove that the events he has witnessed - horrifying visions, zombies, ghouls, molecular alteration - are elaborate ruses with logical explanations. But if so, why? Simply because Doyle’s anti-occultist writings, never even published, have inadvertently exposed the Brotherhood’s intentions? Who is the elusive, seemingly superhuman mastermind behind the Seven? Most important, as Doyle continues to put his life in the hands of Jack Sparks, the question persists: Can Sparks be trusted?
ZodWallop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 12:19 PM   #9
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop View Post
I don't care for pastiches that reuse others characters in general. I also don't care for books where the author has an adventure in the style of their character (Doyle investigating Jack the Ripper, for example).

Having said that, I did enjoy The List Of 7 by Mark Frost. I mainly bought the book because Mark was the co-creator of Twin Peaks and The List of 7 was a massive bestseller at the time. I zipped through the book and have recommended it. ...
Oooh, I meant to read The List of 7...

I haven't read any of those mysteries where Doyle or Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters or Emily Dickinson (!) solve mysteries. I've been sort of tempted (semi-tempted?) with a couple. But just sort of...
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 06:35 PM   #10
ZodWallop
Gentleman and scholar
ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ZodWallop's Avatar
 
Posts: 10,910
Karma: 106650939
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Critteranne View Post
I haven't read any of those mysteries where Doyle or Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters or Emily Dickinson (!) solve mysteries. I've been sort of tempted (semi-tempted?) with a couple. But just sort of...
Well hey, you can start with The List of 7. I really did like it.

Another one I picked up but haven't yet read is The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont.

Quote:
Return to 1937, when America is turning to the pulps for relief from the Depression, and meet Walter Gibson, the mind behind The Shadow, and his rival for the top-selling spot on the nation's newsstands, Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage. The murder of Gibson's friend H. P. Lovecraft -- victim of a mysterious death that literally makes the skin crawl -- is about to bring these two writers face to face with a peril sprung from the pulps.
And lastly, I also picked up A Twist at the End: A Novel of O. Henry and the Texas Servant Girl Murders of 1885 by Steven Saylor. I'm giving thise one a pass because the case is a true one and O. Henry really did live in Austin at the time.

Quote:
The city of Austin, Texas, “is fearfully dull,” wrote young Will Porter to a friend in the spring of 1885, “except for the frequent raids of the Servant Girl Annihilators, who make things lively in the dead of night.”

Years later, Will Porter would become the most famous writer in America— O. Henry, the toast of New York. The long-ago Austin servant girl murders would remain unsolved. But behind the O. Henry pen name, Will Porter was a man with secrets. The appearance of a merciless blackmailer and a mysterious stranger draw Porter back into the past, and back to Texas, to confront the twisted solution to those murders—and the secrets of his own soul.
ZodWallop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2022, 06:39 PM   #11
ZodWallop
Gentleman and scholar
ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ZodWallop ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ZodWallop's Avatar
 
Posts: 10,910
Karma: 106650939
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Critteranne View Post
I haven't read any of those mysteries where... Emily Dickinson (!) solve mysteries.
Bad taste, but now I have this stuck in my head:
Quote:
Because I could not stop the Murderer —
He finally murdered me —
ZodWallop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2022, 10:50 PM   #12
Pulpmeister
Wizard
Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Pulpmeister ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 2,496
Karma: 28892518
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Perth Western Australia
Device: kindle
Almost all Sherlock Holmes adventures were short stories, so it is in the short story field you will find the best Holmes take-offs, whether pastiche or parody.

You might think of August Derleth's Solar Pons series of stories, very much in the character of the originals; or at the other extreme the outright spoofs and jokes versions, by everyone from J M Barrie and Bret Harte onwards.

There are many spoofs and pastiches in the Past Masters series of anthologies of short stories in the Patricia Clarke Memorial Library.
Pulpmeister is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2022, 07:54 AM   #13
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pulpmeister View Post
Almost all Sherlock Holmes adventures were short stories, so it is in the short story field you will find the best Holmes take-offs, whether pastiche or parody.

You might think of August Derleth's Solar Pons series of stories, very much in the character of the originals; or at the other extreme the outright spoofs and jokes versions, by everyone from J M Barrie and Bret Harte onwards.

There are many spoofs and pastiches in the Past Masters series of anthologies of short stories in the Patricia Clarke Memorial Library.
There is a series called the Peschel Press 223B Casebook Series that has collected a huge number of these -- by year. Along with essays and more than 150 footnotes! I haven't bought any of them (yet), so I don't know what the ebook quality is like.

Here is the first one on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sh...-and-pastiches

The reviews of the first one on Amazon were pretty bad, mostly because people didn't like the stories. But I think people expected the stories to be more like pastiches and were upset to get a lot of parodies. But how else are you going to find a penny dreadful story about Sherwood Hoakes without spending a lot of money?
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2022, 09:12 AM   #14
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,645
Karma: 127838196
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
I'm going to go totally different and recommend the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer.
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2022, 12:35 PM   #15
Critteranne
Guru
Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Critteranne ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Critteranne's Avatar
 
Posts: 773
Karma: 21097142
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MD
Device: Kindle, iPad
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf View Post
I'm going to go totally different and recommend the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer.
They sound fun and different!
Critteranne is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
mysteries, pastiches, sherlock holmes, sherlock holmes parody

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sherlock Holmes in pdf ythri Upload Help 10 09-20-2013 01:37 AM
What is your favorite Sherlock Holmes ebook collection [canon]? Dr. Drib Reading Recommendations 37 07-15-2013 04:54 AM
New edition of Sherlock Holmes HarryT Reading Recommendations 20 01-02-2012 03:41 AM
Sherlock Holmes Omnibus pilotbob Reading Recommendations 7 12-01-2008 05:42 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:02 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.