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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.087208
EAN num: 9780345452733
ISBN number: 0345452739
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 464
Printing Date: March 01, 2005
Publishing house: Del Rey
Release Date: March 01, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 337447
Studio: Del Rey
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Product Description:
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.
For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle’s peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.
In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today’s most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.
“A Study in Emerald” by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it–and only one man can hope to stop it.
“A Case of Royal Blood” by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost–or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.
“Art in the Blood” by Brian Stableford: One man’s horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.
“The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone” by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible cannot be eliminated.
“The Horror of the Many Faces” by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London–and recognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot.
The terrifyingly surreal universe of horror master H. P. Lovecraft bleeds into the logical world of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s champion of rational deduction–in these brand-new stories by twenty of today’s top horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writers, including:
• Steven-Elliot Altman
• Elizabeth Bear
• Poppy Z. Brite
• Simon Clark
• David Ferguson
• Paul Finch
• Neil Gaiman
• Barbara Hambly
• Caitlin R. Kiernan
• Tim Lebbon
• James Lowder
• Richard A. Lupoff
• F. Gwynplaine McIntyre
• John Pelan
• Steve Perry
• Michael Reaves
• Brian Stableford
• John P. Vourlis
• David Niall Wilson & Patricia Lee Macomber
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description:
Sherlock Holmes enters the dark, nightmare world of H. P. Lovecraft
Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.
For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle's peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.
In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today's most cutting-edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.
'A Study in Emerald' by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it -- and only one man can hope to stop it.
'A Case of Royal Blood' by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost -- or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.
'Art in the Blood' by Brian Stableford: One man's horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.
'The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone' by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible cannot be eliminated.
'The Horror of the Many Faces' by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London -- and recognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
If Sir Doyle's most delectable character were to happen into a Lovecraftian whirlwind, what would take place? Would Sherlock Holmes find himself on the verge of madness, falling apart because of what he's found, or would he be able to solve the unsolvable and do something that most people cannot - could he perhaps understand the things that are not so easily understood and say the words that have haunted lesser men? Could he perhaps even rationalize an Old One into a hole and bury it forever?
Personally I found Dunwich and Baker Street an amazing little intersection, and I have to say that the flair that these tales brought with them helped me through even the weaker portions of the book.
Still, there were a few little problems with the book.
First and foremost, the mythos itself seems to get a bit of shortchanging in some of the stories. When I read what the book was about I expected a few of he old ones to make an appearance, but dismay (and a bit of distain) began to rear angry little heads when I found the big kids not making appearances. This isn't to say that the stories weren't good - many of them were well done and many of them were interesting reads. Still, the material that the stories were feeding off of allowed for that no matter what and, honestly, I expected some showdowns with Holmes and Old Ones.
Cthulhu, the most noted of the bunch, didn't even bother looking in and saying hello. That trend continued, too, and I found myself a bit unfulfilled in that right.
Second, when the old ones were referenced, they were referenced in chants or lore. This reminded me a lot of older pulp writers that fed on the mythos somewhat, not really understanding everything that was happening but wanting something "Lovecraftian" anyhow and thus making a book of Cults. This would have been fine in some of the tales, but I wanted a little less chanting and a little more tendril.
Perhaps this is the problem with preconceived notions and reading the back of books, too. Perhaps it was even my own fault, expecting too much. I'm not sure.
Lastly, there were some stories that didn't seem to have a Lovecraftian side to them. I'll keep this complaint short, not really wanting to dwell on it because it only happened briefly, but I still found tha to be a little troublesome.
When reading through the book, I could tell that the writers were of different makes and models, that they had been writing for a long time or they had just begun, and that many of them didn't really know the mythos but that many did know Holmes. This means that there was an unevenness at times, with Holmes dominating the styles of writing and the telling of tales, and I wanted something different now and again. That said, this book was a good book - I just found myself wanting it to be a perfect book and, well, it fell a little short. Still, it would be hard not to fall short when you think that you are asking a group of authors to basically take two powerhouse characters, mingle them flawlessly, and make people who obsess over them happy.
That's a tall order and, all in all, the stories were done better than expected when thinking of what others have done with the mythos.
Rated by buyers 
-
A fairly average collection, apart from the Gaiman and Bear, and the odd other story, some of them missing the point in both milieu.
Shadows Over Baker Street : 01 A Study in Emerald - Neil Gaiman
Shadows Over Baker Street : 02 Tiger! Tiger! - Elizabeth Bear
Shadows Over Baker Street : 03 The Case of the Wavy Black Dagger - Steve Perry
Shadows Over Baker Street : 04 A Case of Royal Blood - Steven-Elliot Altman
Shadows Over Baker Street : 05 The Weeping Masks - James Lowder
Shadows Over Baker Street : 06 Art in the Blood - Brian Stableford
Shadows Over Baker Street : 07 The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone - Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson
Shadows Over Baker Street : 08 The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece - Barbara Hambly
Shadows Over Baker Street : 09 The Mystery of the Worm - John Pelan
Shadows Over Baker Street : 10 The Mystery of the Hanged Man's Puzzle - Paul Finch
Shadows Over Baker Street : 11 The Horror of the Many Faces - Tim Lebbon
Shadows Over Baker Street : 12 The Adventure of the Arab's Manuscript - Michael Reaves
Shadows Over Baker Street : 13 The Drowned Geologist - Caitlín R. Kiernan
Shadows Over Baker Street : 14 A Case of Insomnia - John P. Vourlis
Shadows Over Baker Street : 15 The Adventure of the Voorish Sign - Richard A. Lupoff
Shadows Over Baker Street : 16 The Adventure of Exham Priory - F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
Shadows Over Baker Street : 17 Death Did Not Become Him - David Niall Wilson and Patricia Lee Macomber
Shadows Over Baker Street : 18 Nightmare in Wax - Simon Clark
Old One vaudeville and some monstrous advertising.
4 out of 5
The Colonel helps the Woman bring about a change in the weather. Or, Hastur la Monsoon, baby.
4 out of 5
Bali blade babe, thinks SH.
3.5 out of 5
H.G. also on the case, but not Roy. Necronomicons and Nameless Cults are not the proper reading material for a cultured young princess.
3 out of 5
Watson, some ugly priests and an ugly older thing, and the tale of the Jezail bullet.
3 out of 5
Brothers Holmes ponder seaman's Elder Gods story.
2.5 out of 5
Girl's slimming Great One possession leads to coked up engineering binge.
3 out of 5
Cthulhoid cult prompts portable power.
3 out of 5
Nikola's metal munching nightcrawlers.
3 out of 5
A dead man upset at lack of rescue gives a clue to Holmes and Watson that leads them to face Innsmouth residents and a Gatling gun.
3 out of 5
Holmes horrified enough to mention love to Watson.
2.5 out of 5
War-time nurse takes Necronomicon reconstruction way, way too far. Bang.
3.5 out of 5
Palaeontologist in Whitby gets to see the wreck of the Demeter, but luckily for him, no Drac, just Dagon detritus.
3 out of 5
Beasts from the Void the cause of Sleepless in Inswich.
3 out of 5
Squatters are one thing, but it is decidedly beyond the pale when the Dark Temple takes up residence in the ancestral family home.
3.5 out of 5
Moriarty worse than advertised, had Cthulhoid disposal plans for Holmes at Reichenbach.
3.5 out of 5
Watson hires Holmes himself, gets Golem stuff.
2 out of 5
Undercover Holmes prevent Moriarty from expanding Cthulhoid library.
3 out of 5
Rated by buyers 
-
I am often leary of collections that combine two of my favorite "universes" in literature, but this worked better than I could have hoped.
Facing the ultimate empiricist with the ultimate unknowable has produced a series of tales that kept me reading long after I should have been abed. A few did not satisfy (one involving Irene Adler instead of Holmes, another more about Vlad Tepes than HPL, for example), but overall, this collection was fantastic in all senses of the word.
Anyone who is a fan of both Doyle and LOvecraft will be very well served with this collection.
Rated by buyers -
Holmes continues to fascinate as a character. This brilliant detective who underneath his sharp intellect has all too human flaws has appeared in a number of novels over the years by those who appreciate Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation. Featuring Holmes, Watson and other characters associated with the Doyle universe,they face the monsters of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos in this collection. This short story collection is exceptionally good with most of the stories top notch flights of fancy (or fantasy in this case). Keep in mind that Holmes and Watson are not in every story here (the subtitle "Sherlock Holmes enters the nightmare world of H.P. Lovecraft" makes it sound as if Holmes and his logic are the focus of every story).
The most fascinating ones for me were the ones in which Holmes partnered with H.G. Wells and Neil Gaiman's clever inversion of the Holmes/Lovecraft universe in "A Study in Emerald". Elizabeth Bear's "Tiger, Tiger!" set in India is solid with a lot of build up but the conclusion fizzles. Different folks will find other stories equally as fascinating. Simon Clark's "Nightmare in Wax" also made for fun reading as well. Actually this concept would make a great TV series since it takes characters and stories that might seem predictable now because of the passage of time and breathes new life into them.
Overall, I'd recommend Shadows Over Break Street. Editor Michael Reaves (an Emmy winner for his writing on "Batman:The Animated Series as well as a novelist and short story writer) and John Pelan (short story author and editor)have done a good job commissioning/selecting the stories in this collection with an eye for both detail and suspense. This is definitely well worth checking out for fans of both authors.
Rated by buyers -
It's pretty much what you expect -- a collection of short stories that fall at the intersection of Dunwich and Baker Street. Some are excellent (Neil Gaiman's "A Study In Emerald" is particularly well chosen as the very first work here) and some are derivative, but all are worth reading.
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