The Secret adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Review: This is an anthology containing ten, separate adventures involving Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. They are, quite rightly, entitled “Adventures” rather than “Cases.” These tales do not follow the format of Canonical “Cases”, but rather, seem to be narratives of events in which Holmes and Watson were participants. The Author’s introduction includes a rationale for the source and “secrecy” restrictions of the publication of these tales which I can find difficult to accept, let alone to repeat.

As an ardent collector of Sherlockian pastiches, it has always been my opinion that a good pastiche involves placing Holmes or some other Canonical character in a plausible situation and developing a tale that illustrates the character’s reasonable responses to that situation. My definition of “plausible” has always been quite liberal and has allowed me to accept many pastiches denounced by more literal Sherlockians. In addition to pastiches, I have always enjoyed encountering new words, especially slang and cant terms. The author has done his best to introduce me to a wide variety of all sorts and I had rather not have met most of them.

The ten stories in this volume introduce a relatively familiar Dr. Watson, and several different Holmeses, none of whom are familiar to me. I found the banter and conversation to be jerky, disconnected and unconvincing. I gave up counting discrepancies with the Canon after the first five I met and I question several of the historical events cited. Several of the stories had interesting premises and developments, but I could not accept them as tales of Sherlock Holmes. Some of the prose was well done, especially the author’s discussions of The Irish Problem, however, the dialog was usually distracting and artificial and I found the effect unpleasant on the whole.

In summary, I cannot recommend this book or any of the stories included.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; July, 2006.