Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club discussion

In an effort to clean up the boards a little bit so the threads are current and not so dauntingly huge for new people to sift through, the old "Chit Chat" thread has been archived and I'm starting a new thread for chatter.

So, in JenD's original opening words for this thread..."here is where it is okay to just chew the fat, shoot the breeze, (quick someone, think of another catchphrase for water-cooler type convos!)." What's on your mind that you want to chat about?

Many of you may enjoy this discussion (in the New Yorker) of T.S. Eliot and his love for detective fiction (including, of course, Sherlock Holmes): http://tinyurl.com/hona4jk

So excited about the upcoming release of The Murder of Mary Russell in April. Will you be setting up a chat about it when it is available?

Hi everyone! I'm new to goodreads and hoping this it the appropriate place to ask a question about the Mary Russell books.
I've been working my way through the series and have a question regarding "My Story" found in The Mary Russell Companion. In it Mary Russell is assembling her memoirs at the age of 92... and her husband Mr. Holmes is still alive and well. How is this possible if their age difference is at least 47 or even 54 years according to LRK's Sherlock Holmes? I really enjoy the concept of LRK receiving MR's writings but this bit doesn't make sense to me; am I missing something?

I had the same questions when we first read The Beekeepers Apprentice many years ago. I just fell so in love with Mary Russell and her Holmes that I was captured by the "literary time warp" that Laurie so ably creates for us. I am perfectly convinced that Mary is alive & well in 2016 due to time traveling and magic!

Does anyone else have any ideas.

Or does our fearless leader have any comments??

Someone who can quote all the "extra" Holmes stories may be able to provide us with the precise info here. However: there is "general information" *cough* that Holmes has found a substance which prolongs life to an extraordinary degree. I believe it is generally taken to be Royal Jelly or a derivative of it. It appears to me that we are in no danger of losing Holmes.

It is frequently noted: his obituary has not appeared in the Times of London. There is No Chance that a person of such prominence could die without such an obituary. There you have it, but I encourage further comments.

Thank You Meredith. I was not aware of the valuable *cough* properties of Royal Jelly. And I believe you are correct. The Times of London would definitely carry an obituary of Homes.

Azarpr wrote: "So excited about the upcoming release of The Murder of Mary Russell in April. Will you be setting up a chat about it when it is available?"

Absolutely! It's either going to be included in our April re-read of Dreaming Spies, or we'll set up a separate thread for it.

Meredith wrote: "It is frequently noted: his obituary has not appeared in the Times of London. There is No Chance that a person of such prominence could die without such an obituary. There you have it, but I encourage further comments. "

Precisely, Meredith! We don't know what kind of philosopher's stone he discovered, but he must have found something because his obit has never appeared and thus he must never have died ;-)

Meredith wrote: "Someone who can quote all the "extra" Holmes stories may be able to provide us with the precise info here. However: there is "general information" *cough* that Holmes has found a substance which pr..."

Neil Gaiman's "The Case of Death and Honey," found in A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon offers just such a possibility. :)

Thank you, Elisabeth! I have been wracking my pathetic brain to remember the name of that story and its author, which does indeed provide a plausible explanation.

Couldn't figure out how to find the thread for The Last Policeman, so I'm posting this news of a near-earth asteroid passage here for those who are interested: http://tinyurl.com/go2f5z5

Lenore wrote: "Couldn't figure out how to find the thread for The Last Policeman, so I'm posting this news of a near-earth asteroid passage here for those who are interested: http://tinyurl.com/go2f5z5"

That thread was archived, Lenore, so here is just right for your news share :-)

Oh good. Thank you! I am also going to hear Laurie R. King talk about the book in Indianapolis on April 15th! Can't wait. Does anyone else want to come?

Just wondering if anyone else has read "The Girl in the Red Coat"?

This post is about Garment of Shadows, placed here because that discussion is closed.

Foreign Policy online has an interesting article (here: http://tinyurl.com/zwqwlvt) about the Rif as the place of origin of many modern Moroccan-born jihadis in Europe. It talks about the traditional and continuing neglect of the Rif area by the various controlling governments over the years, colonial and post-coloniaL But the main reason to look at the article is not the text, but the fabulous photo that accompanies the article, showing two men leading mules along a narrow, winding mountain trail that must be exactly what Russell and Holmes encountered when they accompanied Ali to meet with Abd el-Krim.

Totally random find: reading a different mystery series that mentioned the John Knox quote of "a monstrous regiment of women" and my first thought is of LRK! Thought you lot would understand.

Ha! That phrase has now been appropriated, LOL

It's already 2017, but I couldn't figure out how to start a 2017 Chit Chat thread and place it under "General," so ...

Today is January 6: both the birthday of Sherlock Holmes and the Feast of the Epiphany. Considering the effect that Holmes's pronouncements have on Watson and Lestrade (and sometimes even Russell), I ask, "Coincidence?" I think not.

For those who would like a flashback to Pirate King, The New Yorker currently has a lengthy discussion of Russell's sometime translator, Fernando Pessoa, here: http://tinyurl.com/yc5z6ymf