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MX New Sherlock Holmes Stories #16
The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XVI: Whatever Remains . . . Must Be the Truth
In 2015, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories burst upon the scene, featuring adventures set within the correct time period, and written by many of today's leading Sherlockian authors from around the world. Those first three volumes were overwhelmingly received, and there were soon calls for additional collections. Since then, their popularity has only continued to grow. And now we present a new three-volume set. Like 2017's two-volumes set, Eliminate the Impossible, this new collection, Whatever Remains . . . Must Be the Truth features tales of Holmes's encounters with seemingly impossible events – ghosts and hauntings, cults and curses, mythical beasts and mediums, angels and demons, and more.
In "The Sussex Vampire", Holmes tells Watson: "This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply." In each of the stories presented in this huge three-volume collection, Holmes approaches the varied problems with one of his favorite maxims firmly in place: ". . . . When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth . . . ." But what, exactly, is the truth?
A Study in Scarlet, the first recorded adventure of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson, was first published in 1887. What an amazing journey the years since then have been! In addition to the pitifully few sixty tales originally presented in The Canon, published between 1887 and 1927, there have been literally thousands of additional Holmes adventures in the form of books, short stories, radio and television episodes, movies, manuscripts, comics, and fan fiction. And yet, for those who are true friends and admirers of the Master Detective of Baker Street, where it is always 1895 (or a few decades on either side of that!) these stories are not enough. Give us more!
The forty-nine stories in these three companion volumes represent some of the finest new Holmesian storytelling to be found, and honor the man described by Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known."
All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Part XVI – Whatever Remains Must Be the Truth (1881-1890) features contributions by:
Derrick Belanger, Mark Sohn, Tracy J. Revels, Brenda Seabrooke, Kevin Thornton, Andrew Bryant, Josh Anderson & David Friend, David Marcum, I.A. Watson, Arthur Hall, Tim Gambrell, Shane Simmons, Bob Bishop, Mark Mower, Kelvin Jones, and Jayantika Ganguly, and with a poem by Josh Pachter, and forewords by David Marcum, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Roger Johnson, and Steve Emecz.
In "The Sussex Vampire", Holmes tells Watson: "This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply." In each of the stories presented in this huge three-volume collection, Holmes approaches the varied problems with one of his favorite maxims firmly in place: ". . . . When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth . . . ." But what, exactly, is the truth?
A Study in Scarlet, the first recorded adventure of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson, was first published in 1887. What an amazing journey the years since then have been! In addition to the pitifully few sixty tales originally presented in The Canon, published between 1887 and 1927, there have been literally thousands of additional Holmes adventures in the form of books, short stories, radio and television episodes, movies, manuscripts, comics, and fan fiction. And yet, for those who are true friends and admirers of the Master Detective of Baker Street, where it is always 1895 (or a few decades on either side of that!) these stories are not enough. Give us more!
The forty-nine stories in these three companion volumes represent some of the finest new Holmesian storytelling to be found, and honor the man described by Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known."
All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Part XVI – Whatever Remains Must Be the Truth (1881-1890) features contributions by:
Derrick Belanger, Mark Sohn, Tracy J. Revels, Brenda Seabrooke, Kevin Thornton, Andrew Bryant, Josh Anderson & David Friend, David Marcum, I.A. Watson, Arthur Hall, Tim Gambrell, Shane Simmons, Bob Bishop, Mark Mower, Kelvin Jones, and Jayantika Ganguly, and with a poem by Josh Pachter, and forewords by David Marcum, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Roger Johnson, and Steve Emecz.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 4, 2020
The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XVI: Whatever Remains Must Be the Truth (1881-1890) by David Marcum
The tales continue…
My thanks go out to Steve and Timi at MX Publishing for my copy of this book. Long may Sherlock Holmes and Undershaw House live and prosper!
Volume XV of this amazing series contains sixteen short works of Sherlock Holmes fiction by some of the best writers it has ever been my pleasure to come to know. Hopefully, the few words I say about each story will whet the reader's appetite without spoiling the story. So onward to this selection of tantalizing tales!
After the usual introductory essays, the book proper begins with a poem by Josh Pachter, using data from The Hound of the Baskervilles.
• Derrick Balanger opens the book with “The Wylington Lake Monster.” Watson is asked by a friend to visit at Wylington Lake where he runs steamer tours. Then one of his neighbors is killed by a water creature called an “eachy.” You have a real winner here, Derrick! Excellent!
• Mark Sonn is next, with “The Juju Men of Richmond.” Watson is consulted on a man who is apparently dead—yet he has a pulse and is breathing! The story is a complex mystery and I am not sure the ending is as good as the beginning. It starts off with a very clever trick, but the ending is rather dull.
• Tracy Revels is up next with “The Adventure of the Headless Lady.” A woman seeks help to prevent a woman from murdering her husband, but the woman in question has been dead 600 years! A stirring accomplishment. Well done!
• Kevin Thornton is next with “Angelus Domini Nuntiavit (The Angel of the Lord Declared.) A nun comes to Holmes concerned about her brother who seems under the spell of a lady companion. It grows on you.
• Andrew Bryant is next with “The Blue Lady of Dunraven.” The Blue Lady seems to be the legendary ghost of Dunraven Castle. Not bad at all.
• Josh Anderson and David Friend are next with “The Adventure of the Ghoulish Grenadier.” A man is haunted by his dead brother! It unfortunately is a bit predictable, but still good.
• Brenda Seabrooke is up next with “The Curse of Barcombe Beach.” Two men in a row fall down a flight of stairs to their death and a third barely avoids it. An interesting investigation!
• David Marcum is next with “The Affair of the Regressive Man.” A man living backwards in time? This is not your usual good work, David. Something about it does not work as a Holmes story sticking to canon.
• IA Watson is next with “The Adventure of the Giant’s Wife.” Holmes is consulted on a suspected murder connected to the excavation of an ancient English barrow. I always love IA Watson’s research and footnotes.
• Arthur Hall is up next with “The Adventure of Miss Anna Truegrace.” Watson brings Holmes a client who is a self-proclaimed “visionary” what would today be called a psychic. She says she has had visions of being murdered by her brother. So with Holmes’ views on the supernatural, what keeps him on this case? Not bad at all.
• Tim Gambrell is next with “The Haunting of Bottomly’s Grandmother.” Constable Bottomly’s grandmother, something of a disreputable woman, has died and is now haunting her creditors! I do not think you will see this one coming! Terrific! Best in book as far as I am concerned!
• Shane Simmons is up next with “The Adventure of the Intrusive Spirit.” A case about the ghost of a five-year-old girl, written by Wiggins, not Watson. The story is pretty good for one where Watson is not the author.
• Bob Bishop is next with “The Paddington Poltergeist.” A friend of Mary Watson is haunted by a poltergeist. It is so-so.
• Mark Mower is next with “The Spectral Pterosaur.” An Inspector Maddocks brings the case to 221B, where he dies. The story is iffy, but the mystery of the Inspector’s death is solid.
• Kevin Jones is up next with “The Weird of Caxton.” The story deals with a family curse concerning a wolf. A little predictable, I thought.
• Jayantika Ganguly ends the volume with “The Adventure of the Obsessive Ghost.” An old army friend of Watson’s, Captain Morgan, asks for help with a haunted estate in Scotland.
I find it absolutely awesome that this series has reached sixteen volumes with more in sight and no plans to stop! The stories in this volume ran the gambit from excellent to so-so to the ones I didn’t really like. But I cannot see giving these volumes anything less than four stars out of five.
Quoth the Raven…
The tales continue…
My thanks go out to Steve and Timi at MX Publishing for my copy of this book. Long may Sherlock Holmes and Undershaw House live and prosper!
Volume XV of this amazing series contains sixteen short works of Sherlock Holmes fiction by some of the best writers it has ever been my pleasure to come to know. Hopefully, the few words I say about each story will whet the reader's appetite without spoiling the story. So onward to this selection of tantalizing tales!
After the usual introductory essays, the book proper begins with a poem by Josh Pachter, using data from The Hound of the Baskervilles.
• Derrick Balanger opens the book with “The Wylington Lake Monster.” Watson is asked by a friend to visit at Wylington Lake where he runs steamer tours. Then one of his neighbors is killed by a water creature called an “eachy.” You have a real winner here, Derrick! Excellent!
• Mark Sonn is next, with “The Juju Men of Richmond.” Watson is consulted on a man who is apparently dead—yet he has a pulse and is breathing! The story is a complex mystery and I am not sure the ending is as good as the beginning. It starts off with a very clever trick, but the ending is rather dull.
• Tracy Revels is up next with “The Adventure of the Headless Lady.” A woman seeks help to prevent a woman from murdering her husband, but the woman in question has been dead 600 years! A stirring accomplishment. Well done!
• Kevin Thornton is next with “Angelus Domini Nuntiavit (The Angel of the Lord Declared.) A nun comes to Holmes concerned about her brother who seems under the spell of a lady companion. It grows on you.
• Andrew Bryant is next with “The Blue Lady of Dunraven.” The Blue Lady seems to be the legendary ghost of Dunraven Castle. Not bad at all.
• Josh Anderson and David Friend are next with “The Adventure of the Ghoulish Grenadier.” A man is haunted by his dead brother! It unfortunately is a bit predictable, but still good.
• Brenda Seabrooke is up next with “The Curse of Barcombe Beach.” Two men in a row fall down a flight of stairs to their death and a third barely avoids it. An interesting investigation!
• David Marcum is next with “The Affair of the Regressive Man.” A man living backwards in time? This is not your usual good work, David. Something about it does not work as a Holmes story sticking to canon.
• IA Watson is next with “The Adventure of the Giant’s Wife.” Holmes is consulted on a suspected murder connected to the excavation of an ancient English barrow. I always love IA Watson’s research and footnotes.
• Arthur Hall is up next with “The Adventure of Miss Anna Truegrace.” Watson brings Holmes a client who is a self-proclaimed “visionary” what would today be called a psychic. She says she has had visions of being murdered by her brother. So with Holmes’ views on the supernatural, what keeps him on this case? Not bad at all.
• Tim Gambrell is next with “The Haunting of Bottomly’s Grandmother.” Constable Bottomly’s grandmother, something of a disreputable woman, has died and is now haunting her creditors! I do not think you will see this one coming! Terrific! Best in book as far as I am concerned!
• Shane Simmons is up next with “The Adventure of the Intrusive Spirit.” A case about the ghost of a five-year-old girl, written by Wiggins, not Watson. The story is pretty good for one where Watson is not the author.
• Bob Bishop is next with “The Paddington Poltergeist.” A friend of Mary Watson is haunted by a poltergeist. It is so-so.
• Mark Mower is next with “The Spectral Pterosaur.” An Inspector Maddocks brings the case to 221B, where he dies. The story is iffy, but the mystery of the Inspector’s death is solid.
• Kevin Jones is up next with “The Weird of Caxton.” The story deals with a family curse concerning a wolf. A little predictable, I thought.
• Jayantika Ganguly ends the volume with “The Adventure of the Obsessive Ghost.” An old army friend of Watson’s, Captain Morgan, asks for help with a haunted estate in Scotland.
I find it absolutely awesome that this series has reached sixteen volumes with more in sight and no plans to stop! The stories in this volume ran the gambit from excellent to so-so to the ones I didn’t really like. But I cannot see giving these volumes anything less than four stars out of five.
Quoth the Raven…
November 4, 2021
Apart from the interesting 'Forewords', including one from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the book contains sixteen pastiches. All of them were readable. In my opinion, topmost among them were~
1. Derrick Belanger's "The Wylington Lake Monster";
2. Andrew Bryant's "The Blue Lady of Dunraven";
3. I.A. Watson's "The Adventure of the Giant's Wife";
4. Tim Gambrell's "The Haunting of Bottomly's Grandmother";
5. Shane Simmons's "The Adventure of the Intrusive Spirit";
6. Jayantika Ganguly's "The Adventure of the Obsessive Guest".
Not all the author's stuck to the same formula where Holmes destroys some supposedly supernatural curse or haunting by providing a rational solution and also catching hold of the perpetrator. Also, the stories went beyond Victorian Scooby-doo premises by unearthing subtle layers.
Overall, this collection is whole-heartedly recommended to lovers of traditional pastiches.
1. Derrick Belanger's "The Wylington Lake Monster";
2. Andrew Bryant's "The Blue Lady of Dunraven";
3. I.A. Watson's "The Adventure of the Giant's Wife";
4. Tim Gambrell's "The Haunting of Bottomly's Grandmother";
5. Shane Simmons's "The Adventure of the Intrusive Spirit";
6. Jayantika Ganguly's "The Adventure of the Obsessive Guest".
Not all the author's stuck to the same formula where Holmes destroys some supposedly supernatural curse or haunting by providing a rational solution and also catching hold of the perpetrator. Also, the stories went beyond Victorian Scooby-doo premises by unearthing subtle layers.
Overall, this collection is whole-heartedly recommended to lovers of traditional pastiches.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews