pastiche – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

The human side of Sherlock Holmes.

Observations by Gaslight: Stories From the World of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

January 3, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

Lyndsay Faye is a consummate player of The Great Game, and this book was a lovely little treat. If you’re somehow unaware, The Great Game is the practice of Sherlockians to act as if Holmes and Watson were real, and to make existing canon and facts fit together. This book plays into that in that Faye acts like she is just the editor of these stories, which are all told from the first person perspectives of people in Sherlock Holmes’s life who aren’t Dr. John […]

Very satisfying Sherlock Holmes pastiche, with bonus Jack the Ripper.

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye

December 30, 2020 by narfna 1 Comment

I would not be lying if I say that this is the best Sherlock Holmes novel I’ve ever read, and that’s including the actual Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have some thoughts about why this is, none moreso than ACD never seemed to love his characters as much as other people did, and the popularity and lovabilty of the character has maintained, even grown in some circles, in the one hundred years since he first appeared in the pages of […]

“It would please him well enough to amount to no more in the end than a single great organ of detection, reaching into blankness for a clue.”

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

June 24, 2019 by narfna Leave a Comment

Not what I was expecting! Actually, I’m not sure I was expecting anything? This little novella is Chabon’s homage to Sherlock Holmes, though his “old man” is never actually named in the story. It’s 1944, and our old man who may or may not definitely be a retired Sherlock Holmes, is living in Sussex, keeping his bees, and coming to terms with old age and a world that has moved on. This part of the story worked extremely well for me. It was so poignant […]

Lyndsay Faye is the best.

The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

January 4, 2019 by narfna 12 Comments

I’ve read quite a bit of Sherlock Holmes pastiche, though by no means even close to all of it, and so far, I think Lyndsay Faye’s version of Holmes and Watson is my favorite. This collection, which was gifted to me by Bunnybean for Book Exchange in CBR9, is made up of fifteen stories published over a period of ten years, many of them in The Strand, the very same magazine that published Conan Doyle’s original stories. All of the stories mimic Conan Doyle’s style, […]

Finally tackling a CBR book exchange book. #CBRBingo

October 29, 2018 by narfna 2 Comments

Really not sure why I waited three years in between reading books one and two. Especially since I’ve been on a Sherlock Holmes kick since January 2017 (still going strong!). And especially since MsWas was kind enough to send me books two, three, and four in the CBR Book Exchange that year. They’ve just been sitting here waiting for me! I think I kind of forgot why I liked the first book so much after I read it, and it wasn’t the mystery, or even the appearance […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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