The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part VIII

MX New Sherlock Holmes Stories #8

by David Marcum (Editor)

Part VIII - Eliminate the Impossible: 1892-1905 features contributions by: Deana Baran, Tim Symonds, Sandor Jay Sonnen, Ben Cardall, Andrew Lane, Michael Mallory, Wendy C. Fries, Aaron Smith, Arthur Hall, Robert Perret, Nick Cardillo, Paul D. Gilbert, Cindy Dye, Tracy Revels, Derrick Belanger, William Meikle, Marcia Wilson, David Friend, Roger Riccard, Craig Janacek, Jeremy Branton Holstein, Will Murray, David Ruffle, Daniel McGachey, and David Marcum, with a poem by Christopher James, and forewords by David Marcum, Lee Child, Rand Lee, Michael Cox, and Melissa Farnham.
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, with six volumes already released, and now two more, Eliminate the Impossible, featuring tales of Holmes’s encounters with seemingly impossible events - ghosts and hauntings, curses and mythical beasts, 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 massive two-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?
2017 is the 130th anniversary of the publication of A Study in Scarlet, the first recorded adventure of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson. What an amazing journey it’s 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-eight stories in these two 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.”

Genres: Mystery

596 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2017

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a massive tome, full of pastiches that sought to capture ACD's sensational tilt as well as various aspects of English life and times. In these tales, we.have a multitude of Holmes with all sorts of knowledge, proclivities and mindset. One almost gets to believe that the poor ghosts, even if they really were there, would stand no chance against this man who is a legion!
But, I hate to add that amidst all these readable stories, there were few that left a lasting impression. In my opinion, those few stories were~
1. Andrew Lane's "The Inexplicable Death of Matthew Arnatt";
2. Michael Mallory's "The Adventure of the Highgate Spectre";
3. Wendy C. Fries's "The Case of the Corpse Flowers";
4. Aaron Smith's "The Problem of the Five Razors";
5. Derrick Belanger's "In the Realm of the Wretched King"— best of the lot;
6. William Meikle's "The Case of the Little Washerwoman";
7. Roger Riccard's "The Curious Case of Charlotte Musgrave";
8. Craig Janacek's "The Adventure of the Awakened Spirit";
9. Jeremy Branton Holstein's "The Adventure of the Theatre Ghost";
10. Daniel McGachey's "The Adventure of the Pallid Mask"— rather too dramatic, in my opinion, nevertheless memorable.
However, I would emphasise that this book and its companion volume would be quite a treat as Halloween approaches.
Recommended.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

And if you cannot eliminate the impossible…

My thanks go out to Steve and Timi at MX Publishing for my copy of this book! May Undershaw stand forever!

It was Sherlock Holmes’ adage that “No ghosts need apply.” For Holmes, the supernatural and such things were against the scientific principles that he lived and worked by. He searched for solid evidence that would explain any conundrum he might come across.

These stories deal with the unexplained. There are cases in this novel where the clients insist that their problems lie with the supernatural. They make a report of ghosts, banshees, and other things that go bump in the night.

Holmes is ever the rational man and finds explanations to cover every problem. I am surprised at the many stories where Doctor Watson actually sees the ghost or experiences the paranormal. No matter how much Watson is convinced of what he sees and hears, Holmes insists that Watson has either made a mistake or is even delusional…

I am not going to do my usual story by story rundown, but I do want to mention several authors.

Among the stories that I find to be BEST IN BOOK are:
“The Ghost of Dorset House” by Tim Symonds. Kudos for Watson having a larger role than usual!
“The Inexplicable Death of Matthew Arnett” by Andrew Lane. Kudos for introducing a friend from Holmes’ childhood! Also for the “impossible murder” story!
“The Adventure of the Highgate Specter” by Michael Mallory. Kudos for a haunted cemetery!
“The Adventure of the Moonlit Shadow” by Arthur Hall. Kudos for the blending of a Holmes mystery and a beckoning specter!
“In the Realm of the Wretched King” by Derrick Belanger. Kudos for a ghost story with premonitions of what is to come!
“The Adventure of the Glassy Ghost” by Will Murray. He will understand when I say kudos for the Doc Savage reference many may not get at first! Good show, Will!

The story I liked the least is “The Adventure of the Pallid Mask” by Daniel McGachey. I find it all but impossible to read a play. Now, the play is well written and I would love to see it performed. I just don't think it works as a short story.

I am glad to see this series continue! Every volume should be a real treasure to any Sherlock Holmes fan! I give the volume as a whole five stars plus!

Quoth the Raven…

[Thomas Turley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like its predecessor, Part VIII in MX Publishing’s ongoing anthology of traditional Sherlock Holmes pastiches features stories that skirt the edges of the supernatural. Editor David Marcum continues to assemble a fine cadre of anthology veterans and talented newcomers. Because Marcum’s guidelines require rational explanations for apparently occult events, the stories’ spooks may be revealed as lost or vengeful heirs, starving or neglected children, battered wives, twisted sisters, AWOL soldiers, trick photography, or even sunspots. Several authors do not eliminate the possibility of the impossible. Others hark back to cases (both told and untold) from the Canon. As always, the tales are often educational as well as entertaining. In this volume, we learn of mourning trains, corpse flowers, and catacomb saints; add banshees and pookas to the usual run of ghosts; and encounter (at one remove) a classic of supernatural literature that links Ambrose Bierce to H.P. Lovecraft. Along with excellent stories by Nick Cardillo, Cindy Dye, Paul D. Gilbert, Arthur Hall, Michael Mallory, David Marcum, Will Murray, Tracy Revels, and Marcia Wilson, my own favorites in this volume were two apocalyptic works: Derrick Belanger’s “In the Realm of the Wretched King” and Daniel McGachey’s “The Adventure of the Pallid Mask” (the latter the best play this series has produced); Tim Symonds’ “The Ghost of Dorset House,” where Watson shows deductive skills that even Holmes might have applauded; Andrew Lane’s “The Inexplicable Death of Matthew Arnatt,” a “locked room” mystery featuring a childhood friend of Holmes; and Roger Riccard’s “The Curious Case of Charlotte Musgrave,” in which we return delightfully to Hurlstone Manor. The MX anthology’s 2018 annual (two volumes already in print) bids farewell to ghosts and goblins, but we can be sure that the overall quality of this amazing series will remain as high as ever.

[Thomas Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another fine volume in an excellent series. I must say up front that I have contributed to the MX Books of New Sherlock Holmes stories, but I do not have a story in this volume, and that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it. The stories in this volume are based on Holmes' maxim, "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” In the tradition of the series, all of the stories are well-written and researched period pieces true to the original canon.Some of my favorite tales were The Inexplicable Death of Matthew Arnatt, because it provided insight into Holmes' early life. The Adventure of the Moonlit Shadow dealt with a man's lifelong obsession for justice, and The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Tablet with the debunking of a phony spiritualist. If you are a fan of Sir Arthur's original stories, you simply cannot go wrong with this collection.