Baker Street Irregulars discussion

1. Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye
2. A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman
3. The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, MD by Nicholas Meyer
4. Sherlock Holmes Revenant by William Meikle
5. The Tangled Skein by David Stuart Davies
6. Sherlock Holmes: The Game's Afoot by David Stuart Davies
7. Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula by Stephen Seitz
8. The Seven-Percent Solution by Nicholas Meyer
9. Sherlock Holmes and the American Angels by Barrie Roberts
10. Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland by L.B. Greenwood

Loved your 1 and 2.

1. The Crack in the Lens by Darlene A Cypser
2. Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye
3. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
4. The Singular Case of the Duplicate Holmes by Jan Walker
5. The Affair of the Incognito Tenant by Lora Roberts
6. The Adventure of the Apprentice's Coin by Darlene A Cypser
7. A Study in Regret by Claire Daines
8. The Detective and The Woman by Amy Thomas
9. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead by Stuart David Davies
10.The Angel of the Opera: Sherlock Holmes Meets the Phantom of the Opera by Sam Siciliano

Some good choices on this thread. Will work on my Top Ten.

I just enjoyed last month The House of Silk. I wasn't sure about a Holmes "knock off" but it was well done. I recommend it actually.

Authors I enjoy are David Stuart Davies,Larry Millet,Mike Hogan,Hugh Ashton,David Marcum,Barrie Roberts,Amy Thomas and a few others...

I did enjoy the Sherlockian

I enjoyed The Sherlockian too. Afterwards, I discovered David Grann's collection of essays, THE DEVIL AND SHERLOCK HOLMES, which discusses various unsolved mysteries, including the true story of the death of "the world's foremost Holmes expert," which turns out to be quite similar to the plot of The Sherlockian. Even though Grann's book is a nonfiction rather than a pastiche, I recommend it as fascinating.

Pastiche? What an interesting word. I always thought of it as derogatory, my friend thought it was the opposite. So we looked it up and it is "celebratory". I think it has changed over time eg, not a hotch-potch but a blend/melange of styles and ideas. Knock-off sounds derogatory too. What do others think?
anna

I think of a pastiche as a homage.

Definitely homage. The parodies, to me, are "derogatory".

It's funny how you think you know a word and find you have been thinking wrong. If someone had said: "That house is a pastiche of styles." I would have thought they meant not quite Georgian/ not quite Regency/ a bit of an architectural eye-sore...but I now agree that pastiche is an homage; not a neg.
anna

And have you read many Holmes pastiches,Anna/

I'm not Anna, but I HAVE read/watched a lot of Holmes Pastiches. I maintain the Database of Sherlockian Pastiches, Parodies and related fiction, which lists almost 11,000 separate items. These include stories (from short-shorts to long novels), movies (both silent and sound), Radio Scripts, Plays (from skits, through Grand Opera, Musicals, puppets and even a tap Dance Ballet. There are also several hundred Games, both mechanical and electronic, Jigsaw and crossword puzzles and lots and lots of narrative puns.

My personal collection includes more than 8,000 items, most of which I have read/viewed/played. My favorite pastiche is Dorothy Sayers' "The Case of the Missing Kitten." It was written for the BBC publication that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Sherlock's birth and it was published in her collection "Sayers on Holmes. It tells of a case brought to Holmes by a young Lord Peter Wimsey and is, I feel, a perfect example of how Holmes would have dealt with the situation.

Beyond that, there are dozens I might include in my "Top Ten Favorites." I can much more easily list my ten LEAST favorite pastiches as most appear in two books by Chris Wood. Number 11 on that list is a book by Irish writer Hugh Maxton, called "A Wild Night at the Avondale Hotel: Sherlock Holmes's Irish Problem."

ALL of those items are far better left unread.

A further comment: Lyndsay faye's "Dust and Shadow" and Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" should appear on anyone's list of top ten Sherlockian pastiches.

Lyndsay's book is the finest "Ripper" tale I have ever read, mainly because it captures the effect the Ripper killings had on Victorian thought. The fact that the True Monsters in the world hide among us was a difficult pill for them to swallow.

Gaiman's "Emerald" is the single pastiche I know of that captures the method that Doyle used to write most (54 of 60) of the Canonical tales. The real cherry on top is that is was NOT written by Dr. Watson and it was NOT written about Holmes (as were the 54 Canonical tales cited).

Finally, I must comment on three series. Carole Nelson Douglas' Irene Adler series includes several good books, but her "Paris Green" short story, is the best of the lot.

Laurie Kings "Mary Russell" series is another group of fine reads, but her "Justice Hall" has to get my vote for Best-written" Sherlockian tale" and "The Game," which followed it immediately in the series, is possibly the most amusing pastiche I know of.

Finally, Amy Thomas's "Detective and the Woman" series is another set of fine tales, and they seem to get better as the series goes on. Her fourth in the series is at the Publisher and I await its availability with anticipation while she works on number five.

The final books I need to mention are Michael Kurland's "The Empress of India" and Dale Furutani's "The Curious Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Japan. Both are very well written and ingeniously constructed. Very good reads, both.

A great thread, thanks.
I can't concentrate to read at the moment but I will seek out those that are spoken word books.
David Stuart Davies is always a solid bet.

I also love the Big Finish range which initially adapted some pastiche books or maybe plays. http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/she...

Another thing.

I regularly get the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine which has some good stuff in it

There is a best pastiches list on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Steve wrote: "There is a best pastiches list on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

A lot of essential reading on that list, Steve.

I hold any list suspect that includes Caleb Carr's "Italian Secretary" as a decent Holmes pastiche. That was one of the worst books I've ever read.

The rest of the list looks good though.

I would recommend giving Steven Ehrman Sherlock Holmes stories a try. I've read four of them so far, and liked each one.

I have the first six of his Sherlockian novels (Steven Ehrman)but they are in my "to-be-read" pile, which is quite large.

I really need a good Sherlock pastiche any recommends!

I may be suspected of some bias in recommending my own work, so listen to what a total stranger on the other side of the world has to say about it:

'This book is so completely awesome. Erudite was a word another reviewer used, which is the one word I would use to describe the book if I couldn't use "awesome."

'It's not for purists. Firstly, Watson's barely in it. Secondly, the subject matter is a little bit more uh... edgy? than what I assume would be traditional. Witchcraft, a little bit of sex (though not explicit, I think), drugs, religious discussion. I mean, it does have Aleister Crowley in it as the Watson subsitute, ha. This novel shakes up beliefs about Sherlock Holmes... which makes it sound "merely clever" but I assure you it is not. It reads like the work of an intelligent person passionate about sharing a story with you, as opposed to a person passionate about showing you how clever they are. Which sucks if they are not as clever as they think they are. heh. Still, if you are a purist this novel is probably blasphemous. I personally find it sacrilicious :p'

(From Joanna on "Goodreads.")

I have liked a lot of pastiches and my rule is - Does it make me believe it was written by Conan Doyle? I could name more than ten in this category so I tried to give a mix of novels and short stories.
In no particular order:
Novels -
The Canary Trainer - Nicholas Meyer
The Case of Emily V - Keith Oatley
The Veiled Detective - David Stuart Davies
The Improbable Prisoner - Stuart Douglas

Short Stories:
The Adventure of the XYZ Club - Denis O. Smith
The Adventure of the Inn on the Marsh - Denis O. Smith
The Adventure of the Empty Manger - Tracy J. Revels
The Return of the Noble Bachelor - Jane Rubino
The Trusted Advisor - David Marcum
The Child in the Wood - Margie Deck

Anna wrote: "Pastiche? What an interesting word. I always thought of it as derogatory, my friend thought it was the opposite. So we looked it up and it is "celebratory". I think it has changed over time eg, not..."

Late to the party on this, but I do know that there is an Italian word - pasticcio - which is a sort of casserole, similar to the Greek pastitsio - but literally translated, it means "mess."

I just posted a review of two of the latest MX anthologies of Sherlock Holmes stories, volumes XXII and XXIII, and mentioned two pastiches in each volume that I liked - three of them are from authors I recommended in my above top ten list. The stories I liked are:
The Terror of Tankerville by S. F. Bennet
The Broken Glass by Denis O Smith
To The Manor Bound by Jane Rubino
The Rhayader Legacy by David Marcum.

Could I add a new candidate? The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle? And yes, I'm biased because I'm the author.The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle

Philip wrote: "A further comment: Lyndsay faye's "Dust and Shadow" and Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" should appear on anyone's list of top ten Sherlockian pastiches.

Lyndsay's book is the finest "Ripper" t..."

Lyndsay Faye is a phenomenal writer, which is why I've skirted her Holmes tales, for fear of my own writing being too heavily influenced. Once I finish my own third Holmes pastiche (in progress), I'll indulge.

Elisabeth wrote: "I really need a good Sherlock pastiche any recommends!"

If you're still searching, may I be so bold as to recommend mine?
The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle

Timothy wrote: "Philip wrote: "A further comment: Lyndsay faye's "Dust and Shadow" and Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" should appear on anyone's list of top ten Sherlockian pastiches.

Lyndsay's book is the fi..."

Several months ago on this area, I published the Holmes versus The Ripper I could find. A link below, and to those, I would add Randy Wiliiams book "Sherlock Holmes and The Autumn of Terror." Anyone know of any others? I was in the minority that just wasn't grabbed by "Dust and Shadow" - I thought the Didbin book was better written but I hated the plot. Still looking for that perfect matchup between Holmes and Jack.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Have you tried Bradley Harper's A Knife in the Fog? A little different tale on the story . Not Holmes, but Holmes creator Doyle and the real-life model for Holmes, Dr. Joseph Bell, team up against the Ripper. Highly recommend.A Knife in the Fog

I will add that to the list! Hadn't heard of it but it sounds interesting.