The Sherlock Holmes Megapack: 25 Modern Tales by Masters

by Michael Kurland, Mike Resnick

This volume assembles a mammoth collection of modern Sherlock Holmes stories -- no less than 25 tales by modern masters, such as Carla Coupe, Gary Lovisi, Richard A. Lupoff, Robert J. Sawyer, Mike Resnick, and many more! (It's also an authorized edition, produced under license from Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd.)THE ADVENTURE OF THE ELUSIVE EMERALDS, by Carla CoupeTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SECOND ROUND, by Mark WardeckerTHE ADVENTURE OF THE MIDNIGHT SEANCE, by Michael MalloryTHE CASE OF THE TARLETON MURDERS, by Jack GrochotTHE TATTOOED ARM, by Marc BilgreyTHE INCIDENT OF THE IMPECUNIOUS CHEVALIER, by Richard A. LupoffSHERLOCK HOLMES—STYMIED! by Gary LovisiYEARS AGO AND IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, by Michael KurlandA STUDY IN EVIL, by Gary LovisiTHE ADVENTURE OF THE AMATEUR MENDICANT SOCIETY, by John Gregory BetancourtTHE ADVENTURE OF THE HAUNTED BAGPIPES, by Carla CoupeSUN CHING FOO'S LAST TRICK, by Adam Beau McFarlaneDr WATSON’S FAIRY TALE, by Thos. Kent MillerTHE CASE OF VAMBERRY THE WINE MERCHANT, by Jack GrochotA HOUSE GONE MAD, by Sherlock Holmes as edited by Bruce I. KilsteinBE GOOD OR BEGONE, by Stan TrybulskiCUTTING FOR SIGN, by Rhys BowenTHE STAGECOACH DETECTIVE, by Linda RobertsonTHE DEAD HOUSE, by Bruce KilsteinTHE ADVENTURE OF THE VOORISH SIGN, by Richard A. LupoffTHE CURIOUS CASE OF THE PEACOCK STREET PECULIARS, by Michael MallorySECOND FIDDLE, by Kristine Kathryn RuschTHE CASE OF THE NETHERLAND-SUMATRA COMPANY, by Jack GrochotYOU SEE BUT YOU DO NOT OBSERVE, by Robert J. SawyerTHE ADVENTURE OF THE PEARLY GATES, by Mike ResnickAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see more entries in this series, covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more! (Sort by publication date to see the most recent additions.)

Genres: Mystery, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction

537 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

aka Jennifer Plum

Michael Kurland has written many non-fiction books on a vast array of topics, including How to Solve a Murder, as well as many novels. Twice a finalist for the Edgar Award (once for The Infernal Device) given by the Mystery Writers of America, Kurland is perhaps best known for his novels about Professor Moriarty. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining Holmes listening 🎶🔰

Twenty five will written British 🏰 Sherlock Holmes mystery stories by various authors. Each story is different from Sherlock Holmes time in the U.K .to futuristic times. As with all Megapack stories some you like better than others. I would highly recommend this Megapack to Sherlock Holmes fans and readers of mystery 👍🔰. 2023 😀👒☺😮

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veritable mixed bag... a few stand out including those spiriting Mr Holmes out of his time and space - here I would put the poignant one in which he explains the Schrodinger's Cat hypothesis to a bemused Watson (who has to live the worst day two more times) and has a rather downer ending, and the last one which has a unique take on Holmes' disappearance. Also one shining out is the one told from Moriarty's viewpoint where Holmes comes off definitely relegated but the ending seems flawed. A few had promise but never developed it fully while some are so obvious that its hard to think he would have bothered to intervene. Quite satisfying for all that.....

[Paul T J Smerdon · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Holmes Mystery Anthogy

Upon reading each and every book, it became apparent to me that none of the authors were in any way cogniscent of Holmes. Although the writing was good, none held the attention to detail and observations of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle.
I cannot, in all fairness even give this book a recommendation nor indeed a star. However, as I cannot impute a review without a star, one is all it shall receive.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair to middling

Like so many anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. Most of the stories are passable, with a few stinkers in the batch. Unfortunately, there aren't any really great ones. If you need a dose of Holmes, this will do, but there are better out there.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer tales on traditional lines, told by Watson, not others, not supernatural.
8 Typos.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was generally a fairly good collection of recent Holmes tales. There's a fair number of what I'd call normal stories - stuff that isn't written by Conan Doyle but otherwise is just like the canon. Stories where Holmes and Watson solve mundane crimes with reasonable explanations using their cleverness and knowledge. One author expands upon old radio plays, which is a neat concept. The quality of the normal stories varied a bit, with some not quite working for me, such as the one using a giant squid in the solution, but they generally were fun reads. There were a couple of stories that were written from different perspectives than the standard Watson narration. Two were from Holmes' point of view, and were more or less fine, but they lack the justification that the two canonical Holmes narrated stories have, as Watson is just as involved in the investigation as he usually is. This raised the question of why Holmes, rather than Watson, is made narrator, especially as they didn't feel that different from the normal stories. The stories from the POVs of Moriarty and one of Watson's wives were much more fun. Both provided an unusual perspective on the canon characters, and while they introduce elements I'm not willing to include in my mental image of the true Sherlock Holmes, I do want to read more by the authors to find out what else they do with their versions of things. The Moriarty story especially hinted at some fascinating differences in regards to the relationships between Holmes, Moriarty, and Watson. Plus, it had gay characters, which is cool. There were some pretty awful stories, including one bit of complete rubbish involving fairies or something. Still, this was a minority, and for a dollar for the whole collection, I can't complain too much. I especially enjoyed the handful of sci-fi stories, and have made the effort to track down the collection they originate in. Perhaps the best part of this collection is that it has You See But Do Not Observe, a wonderful story about The Final Problem and quantum mechanics that I've been trying to track down for a while. Over all, this was a pretty fun collection of recent Holmes stories, and it makes me confident that there'll be a lot to enjoy as I continue to read stuff extending far beyond Conan Doyle's canon.

[Pinko Palest · Rating 2 out of 5]

like all latter day Holmes collections, this one is very unequal. A few of the stories (the giant squid or Moriarty and the young Holmes, for example) are very good indeed, almost as good as the originals. Others though are dire. Some of the authors are rather reactionary, while another common fault is that many of the stories are so obviously contemporary imitations: the writers do not really know what Victorians were like, so their creatures act more like 21st century people transplanted to the Victorian age. A few of the authors here know even less about the Victorian Age (Trattorias in 19th century London?) and it shows

[Doc · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology of new Sherlock Holmes stories by experienced writers, including no less a personage than Mike Resnik.
I have long been a Sherlock Holmes fan. I enjoyed the stories, though, inevitably, some of the writers seemed to "get it" better than others.
Several of the stories involved Holmes travelling to the future. Time travel stories are another of my interests. I particularly enjoyed the last two stories. [Mild spoiler] In one, Holmes has to deal with the consequences of the Schrodinger's Cat factor. In the other, he has to deal with the boredom he so loathed, but do it in heaven.

[Theresa Burkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting as ever

These stories are every bit as good as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has written and enjoyable because of the interesting times and places including the world west and heaven with St. Peter.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting group of Sherlock Holmes pastiches and stories. Some of them are fairly good and some are not. Some are set in the past and some have an element of time travel or some other supernatural force in them. Overall, I enjoyed reading this.

[Bhaskar Sitholey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating perspectives to the Holmesian world. Must read for all Sherlock aficionados.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were clever and almost good Sherlock Holmes tales. The rest were truly horrible, and a couple I never finished they were so bad.