Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of The Man-Made Vacuum

by Roy C. Booth, Nicholas Johnson

Steampunk Victorian England is brought to life in this rousing tale of murder and intrigue featuring literature’s greatest detective: Sherlock Holmes. In an era of boilers and coal, inventor Samuel Brown finds himself persecuted for daring to apply his genius to the development of a Kerosene powered internal combustion engine. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are tasked with uncovering the source of the conspiracy, and quickly find themselves in the web of a mysterious network capable of applying pressure at every turn. Among the henchmen in their opposition are several characters from England’s history with infamy to match the great sleuth’s acclaim. Not all is as it seems, but this Sherlock is equipped with brass enhancements, and has no qualms against fighting fire with scalding vapor and a rapier-quick mind. Excitement and adventure abound as Sherlock Holmes enters the world of Steampunk and finds the setting quite compatible with his unique and varied talents.

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2014

Reviews

[R.A. McCandless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roy C. Booth’s and Nicholas Johnson’s “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Man-Made Vacuum” at once captures the engaging qualities of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master detective while adding a layer of steampunk and classic literary characters. Readers might be concerned that they must have a knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon in order to read this novella, but the work easily stands on its own.

This Sherlock Holmes opens unlike others, with a backstory featuring Samuel Brown, the historical father of the internal combustion engine. However, in this alternative timeline, Brown is dissuaded from completing his invention after the visit from a mysterious, and dangerous, stranger. When Sherlock and Dr. Watson appear to investigate the death of Brown’s grandson, the events are set after those of Reichenbach Falls. The detective has suffered a far more debilitating (and believable) fall than Doyle had original established. With the aid of none other than Dr. Henry Jekyll, Holmes now boasts a clockwork apparatus that has made his body, if not his soul, whole again.

Booth and Johnson paint a vivid picture of the same Victorian England where Holmes and Watson once solved all manner of mysterious and called evil-doers of all stripes into account. They use a fine brush to paint in literary characters that readers will enjoy, even if they don’t recognize them immediately. This “Sherlock Holmes” story also allows us into the mind of the detective himself, musing over his current status, and questioning his own humanity. While I would have preferred a more traditional approach to a new Sherlock Holmes, in keeping with Doyle’s traditions, there have been so many different takes on the great detective that this one easily slides into the larger universe.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Man-Made Vacuum” pairs the classic Victorian detective with some choice steampunk utilities, and matches him against one of the all-time great villains. Roy C. Booth and Nicholas Johnson have created a wonderful new adventure, in keeping with the classic Doyle, but adding an expressive “modern” layer that readers will enjoy.

[Philip Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novelette published in Trade Paperback format. It is a short but sincere effort to produce a Sherlock Holmes tale set in a “Steampunk” Universe. Although it is only novelette length, it is actually a good effort. It includes a segment on the beginning of the “Steampunk” world set in 1825 as well as an end of the century view of the beginning of the end of that world.

In between, it piles some nasty villains, a good deal of action and a good picture of an alternative Sherlock Holmes. My reaction was mostly that it was too short. A number of interesting characters were crammed into a short narrative. Mycroft made an excellent appearance as head of Empire Intelligence, attended by agents Jack the Ripper and The Invisible Man. A reformed Dr. Jekyll, minus Mr. Hyde, added a world of alternative medicine to the mix and “Saucy Jack” was preceded in employment by “Spring-heel Jack,” an earlier historical manifestation of a methodical killer.

Baroness von Frankenstein was a surprise guest who brought a great deal of interest to the tale and, of course, Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes grounded the whole in a solid Victorian atmosphere. Other characters drifted in and out with less well-defined personas, so the “Steampunk” world remained a bit vague. As best I know, this author is the first to define the inevitable end of “Steampunk” in the face of greater mechanical efficiency, although all with any knowledge of History have witnessed it.

Aside from being too short for its subject, this book is well-written and interesting. I don’t know if the authors plan additional tales in this “Universe,” for they have defined its limits in this one. Whatever they do, I suspect they will bear watching.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, October, 2014

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun steampunk novella, or long story, set in 1894, has Sherlock with a mechanical prosthetic arm, in a different mental state than his usual supercilious self as Doyle wrote him, but still with the redoubtable Watson by his side. They are investigating the stabbing death of an inventor of a combustion engine. His brother makes an appearance, as does Jack the Ripper and the bride of Frankenstein.

I am not sure where the title Man-Made Vacuum comes in, but all in all, it was a fun read and I have to say I did enjoy it. I'm not quite sure how to rate it, since I don't read much steampunk, but I think it is pretty good for its genre and story format