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Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of HG Wells: Volume Two
This is the second volume of a two volume anthology.
- GenresMystery
301 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2017
52 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Derrick Belanger
117 books50 followersAuthor Derrick Belanger's publications include an eclectic mix: book reviews, articles for education journals, short stories, poems, comic books, and the graphic novel, Twenty-Three Skidoo! A former instructor at Washington State University, and a current middle school Language Arts teacher, Derrick lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife Abigail Gosselin and their two daughters, Rhea and Phoebe. Currently, Derrick is working on several Sherlockian projects: the Young Adult novel Sherlock Holmes and the Transformers of Time, the teaching guide Sherlock Holmes for Teachers, the pastiche novel The Funeral of Sherlock Holmes, and the film studies book The Hound of the Baskervilles: From Page to Screen. He also co-authors the web site Mystery Aircraft.com with author Chuck Davis.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 1, 2022
This volume begins with a cracking 'Introduction' by Neil Cole, bringing two great British institutions (No! I'm not talking about the Queen and Bond) together. Then comes the stories.
I liked the following tales~
1. "The Adventure of the Red Planet" by Steve Poling;
2. "The Martian Spy-glass" by Jaap Boekestein;
3. "A Trap to Catch the Sun" by Andrew Lane;
4. "The Misplaced Mystery Writer" by Richard Paolinelli [best story of this book];
5. "The Beast Within" by Katie Magnusson.
Other stories, I'm afraid, weren’t interesting or sharp enough.
Nevertheless, this is a good anthology of steampunkish stories. They do pay proper homage to Wells.
I liked the following tales~
1. "The Adventure of the Red Planet" by Steve Poling;
2. "The Martian Spy-glass" by Jaap Boekestein;
3. "A Trap to Catch the Sun" by Andrew Lane;
4. "The Misplaced Mystery Writer" by Richard Paolinelli [best story of this book];
5. "The Beast Within" by Katie Magnusson.
Other stories, I'm afraid, weren’t interesting or sharp enough.
Nevertheless, this is a good anthology of steampunkish stories. They do pay proper homage to Wells.
July 14, 2023
Two chapters in and this book is a major disappointment. I love Holmes and am a fan of Wells so I figured this had to be a win-win, right? Yeah, no. The first two stories seem to be written by people who are not really fans of Sherlock Holmes [in the first story Mycroft makes a fool of him maliciously and the second is just quite unsatisfactory. The only reason I will keep reading is the other authors may be better. More to come...
The third story is the best ... so far. Much better written, interesting, exciting and then flops at the end with Holmes being very unHolmes. Three cheers for Watson at the end though he started a little slow,
Fourth story [Martian Spy-glass] is the most Holmes accurate and the Wells angle is done very well [heh]... underplayed but obvious.
The next story is Dr. Moreau/Holmes and is faithful to both. Pretty good story and easily fits both universes.
Best yet is The Disintegrated Man [post War of the Worlds] and reads very much like an actual Doyle story. Very enjoyable.
There is a story that is possible related to The Invisible Man but perhaps it is related to a story by Wells that I am unfamiliar with. There is an invisible man involved but not in the same manner as Wells story by the same name. Nevertheless, it is a good story.
Yet another Wells story I am not acquainted with having to deal with a uranium like substance. Decent Holmes and Watson story so I am content.
What do you get when you combine Holmes, Watson [and others from the Holmesian universe] with Wells, Poe, and the Ripper? Another great chapter!
At first I was concerned this book was not going to be good but the last few chapters have changed my ideas on that. The next chapter is excellent - characters from the Dr. Moreau story and Holmes, Watson & Lestrade in a wonderfully woven mystery.
There is another Martian chapter with Watson [Holmes only has a cameo]. Very gut-wrenching story.
Time machine/food of the gods story with Dr. Who vibes [not a fan]. Also disjointed, that, while explained, does not make for a good story.
All in all I rounded up the 3.5 stars to 4 because I basically enjoyed it.
The third story is the best ... so far. Much better written, interesting, exciting and then flops at the end with Holmes being very unHolmes. Three cheers for Watson at the end though he started a little slow,
Fourth story [Martian Spy-glass] is the most Holmes accurate and the Wells angle is done very well [heh]... underplayed but obvious.
The next story is Dr. Moreau/Holmes and is faithful to both. Pretty good story and easily fits both universes.
Best yet is The Disintegrated Man [post War of the Worlds] and reads very much like an actual Doyle story. Very enjoyable.
There is a story that is possible related to The Invisible Man but perhaps it is related to a story by Wells that I am unfamiliar with. There is an invisible man involved but not in the same manner as Wells story by the same name. Nevertheless, it is a good story.
Yet another Wells story I am not acquainted with having to deal with a uranium like substance. Decent Holmes and Watson story so I am content.
What do you get when you combine Holmes, Watson [and others from the Holmesian universe] with Wells, Poe, and the Ripper? Another great chapter!
At first I was concerned this book was not going to be good but the last few chapters have changed my ideas on that. The next chapter is excellent - characters from the Dr. Moreau story and Holmes, Watson & Lestrade in a wonderfully woven mystery.
There is another Martian chapter with Watson [Holmes only has a cameo]. Very gut-wrenching story.
Time machine/food of the gods story with Dr. Who vibes [not a fan]. Also disjointed, that, while explained, does not make for a good story.
All in all I rounded up the 3.5 stars to 4 because I basically enjoyed it.
June 3, 2018
Surprisingly Good
I was pleasantly surprised with both books in the series. The stores were well written and entertaining. I also thought they were very cohesive considering different authors collaborated on the stories. The order of the stories seemed a little confusing at times but overall a very enjoyable book.
I was pleasantly surprised with both books in the series. The stores were well written and entertaining. I also thought they were very cohesive considering different authors collaborated on the stories. The order of the stories seemed a little confusing at times but overall a very enjoyable book.
December 19, 2023
Most of the stories worked quite well and a couple were exalant, Unfortunately there are a number of mistake throughout the bookof instead of off and similar 'PriMr. ose' stands out I can't see why it wasn't spotted when editing.
The one thing I didnt like was that in Dr Watson and the Martians, they were foraging for acorns and chestnuts to eat. Acorns are toxic to humans unless boiled. I doubled checked as this made me doubt myself.
The last story is more Dr who than HG Wells related.
The one thing I didnt like was that in Dr Watson and the Martians, they were foraging for acorns and chestnuts to eat. Acorns are toxic to humans unless boiled. I doubled checked as this made me doubt myself.
The last story is more Dr who than HG Wells related.
May 11, 2023
Good and Not So Good
As with any anthology, some of the stories here are interesting and fun to read. Others are not. It would also be helpful to be familiar with H G Wells’s works.
As with any anthology, some of the stories here are interesting and fun to read. Others are not. It would also be helpful to be familiar with H G Wells’s works.
May 19, 2023
Interesting
As a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, I found this book very interesting. I like the way the stories were written in the style of H. G. Wells.
As a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, I found this book very interesting. I like the way the stories were written in the style of H. G. Wells.
May 30, 2023
Nowhere near as good as the first 2.5*
October 19, 2023
fun stories, loved them
July 4, 2022
Twelve short stories connecting Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to H.G. Wells and his stories.
Overall an entertaining collection of short stories
Overall an entertaining collection of short stories
October 13, 2018
A great mixture of Doyle and Wells!
My thanks go out to Derrick Belanger for my copy of this book. I appreciate his continued faith in my reviews.
Taken as a whole, this volume is fabulous! Each author has blended Well’s worlds into the world of Holmes like an expert bartender. They are excellent Holmes stories while remaining also fitting for the Time Traveler, Dr. Moreau, the Invisible Man, etc.
Now, let’s move on to the stories:
“The Case of a Natural Solution by MM Elmendorf is a pleasant romp into The War of the Worlds. In a London ravaged by the Martians, Holmes is working on something to destroy their army…
“The Pigeon’s Rest” by Emma Tompkins takes the reader into Holmes’ investigation into a jewel theft. He works the case for a rival detective named Asquith. I must confess that I liked this story the least. Unless I missed something, I had a difficult time with the link to HG Wells…
“The Curious Case of the Sleeper” by Stephen Herczeg delves into a tale more reminiscent of Washington Irving than HG Wells. I did enjoy this story, bravo!
“The Manor House Horror” by Michael Silverling ties for Best-in-book! It combines nuances of The War of the Worlds, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man! The flow is seamless and the action superb! My hat is off to the author!
“An Adventure in Darkness” by Daniel D Victor combines Holmes with “The Country of the Blind.” Holmes undertakes the case for a blind woman married to Juan Carlos Nuñez from that story…
“The Adventure of the Traveler’s Bootstraps” by Campbell Powell has Holmes meet the Time Traveler. The twist in the tale is quite amazing!
“The Mystery of the Last Martian” by GC Rosenquist takes place in a London ravaged by the tripods and heat rays of the invading Martians. Now, one has invaded 221B…
“The Affair of the Red Opium” by John Linwood Grant deals with the fallout from The First Men in the Moon…
“The Adventure of the Invisible Man” needs no explanation about its source material. The story goes somewhat further than Well’s story, and casts doubt upon the death of Griffin…
“A Matter of Some Gravity” by Derrick Belanger is an excellent read! People and events from The First Men in the Moon weave in and out of the story. I’ve seldom seen the type of narration this story presents. Some people may accuse me of kissing up, but this story ties for best-in-book!
I couldn’t with a clean conscience give this exciting book anything less than five stars plus! It is a refreshing blend of Holmes and Wells!
Quoth the Raven…
My thanks go out to Derrick Belanger for my copy of this book. I appreciate his continued faith in my reviews.
Taken as a whole, this volume is fabulous! Each author has blended Well’s worlds into the world of Holmes like an expert bartender. They are excellent Holmes stories while remaining also fitting for the Time Traveler, Dr. Moreau, the Invisible Man, etc.
Now, let’s move on to the stories:
“The Case of a Natural Solution by MM Elmendorf is a pleasant romp into The War of the Worlds. In a London ravaged by the Martians, Holmes is working on something to destroy their army…
“The Pigeon’s Rest” by Emma Tompkins takes the reader into Holmes’ investigation into a jewel theft. He works the case for a rival detective named Asquith. I must confess that I liked this story the least. Unless I missed something, I had a difficult time with the link to HG Wells…
“The Curious Case of the Sleeper” by Stephen Herczeg delves into a tale more reminiscent of Washington Irving than HG Wells. I did enjoy this story, bravo!
“The Manor House Horror” by Michael Silverling ties for Best-in-book! It combines nuances of The War of the Worlds, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man! The flow is seamless and the action superb! My hat is off to the author!
“An Adventure in Darkness” by Daniel D Victor combines Holmes with “The Country of the Blind.” Holmes undertakes the case for a blind woman married to Juan Carlos Nuñez from that story…
“The Adventure of the Traveler’s Bootstraps” by Campbell Powell has Holmes meet the Time Traveler. The twist in the tale is quite amazing!
“The Mystery of the Last Martian” by GC Rosenquist takes place in a London ravaged by the tripods and heat rays of the invading Martians. Now, one has invaded 221B…
“The Affair of the Red Opium” by John Linwood Grant deals with the fallout from The First Men in the Moon…
“The Adventure of the Invisible Man” needs no explanation about its source material. The story goes somewhat further than Well’s story, and casts doubt upon the death of Griffin…
“A Matter of Some Gravity” by Derrick Belanger is an excellent read! People and events from The First Men in the Moon weave in and out of the story. I’ve seldom seen the type of narration this story presents. Some people may accuse me of kissing up, but this story ties for best-in-book!
I couldn’t with a clean conscience give this exciting book anything less than five stars plus! It is a refreshing blend of Holmes and Wells!
Quoth the Raven…
Read
May 2, 2020Loved this book , all you have to do is imagine Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and the stories come to life like an old black and white movie, works for me anyhow 👍
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews