Michael Ashley (1)Kirja-arvosteluja

I won this book in a giveaway that a Sherlock Holmes Tumblr I was following did. It's one of the better Sherlock Holmes collections I've read.

This is a great reference book to have on the British Monarchy. It is packed full of information on the rulers of the British kingdoms from the Dark Ages to the present. Also included in the book are timetables, family trees, maps of the kingdoms, a gazetteer, and royal records.

anthology of fantasy based in Arthurian mythos

Distill Holmes down to his and Watson's caricatures and ask over a dozen people to write a new mystery for Holmes fans, then with poor editing and proofreading put them all together in one book. Few of these stories are as intriguing as the originals, and as they all try to be classic Holmes, they are cliche as a collection. Fine if you just can't get enough of the detective, but hardly enough to hook the uninitiated. The editor does go to great lengths to convince the reader that these are "legitimate" tales.

Kenneth Bulmer: El bebé del señor Culpeper; Brian W. Aldiss: Todas las lágrimas del mundo; Robert Silverberg: Ozymandias; Kate Wilhelm: El amor y las estrellas ... ¡Hoy!; Daniel Keyes: El loco Maro; J. G. Ballard: El hombre sobrecargado; Harry Harrison: Las calles de Ascalón; A. E. van Vogt: Los sacrificables; Arthur Porges: Niño problema; John Brunner: Bueno es hablar, pero mejor es callar.

Theodore Sturgeon: Monumento conmemorativo; Arthur C. Clarke: Los fuegos internos; Henry Kuttner: No mire ahora; Ray Bradbury: Calidoscopio; Damon Knight: El hombre: cómo servirlo; Poul Anderson: ¡Cuidado, terrestre!; Ross Rockylynne: Vuelan muy alto; Richard Matheson: El último día; Robert Sheckley: ¡No tocar!; E. C. Tubb: La apuesta.

William F. Temple: El triángulo de cuatro lados; Neil R. Jones: El solitario de los anillos de Saturno; Robert A. W. Lowndes: El abismo; Donald A. Wollheim: Allá arriba; Robert Bloch: Casi humano; John Russell Fearn: El transgresor del tiempo; Murray Leinster: El Poder.

Stanley G. Weinbaum: El círculo de cero; Eric Frank Russell / Leslie J. Johnson: El buscador del mañana; Jack Williamson: El paraje muerto.

See my blog note on it:

http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/09/booknote-new-sherlock-holmes.html

FUN.

A very large volume of relatively recent pseudo-Holmes stories, by a wide variety of authors. Some are experienced competent mystery authors in their own right, such as H.R. F. Keating and Edward D. Hoch. or fantasy writers sch as Michael Moorcock. A few i have a low opinion of, notably Peter Tremayne. Many others are unfamiliar to me.

I have to admit that Peter Tremayne's story with Holmes as a Galwegian and he got his start in college in Dublin University Trinity College, there may be some bias from the writer there, but it entertained me vastly.

Set of stories that interweave with existing canon and are not too bad, a book to dip in and out of.½

Oh, this is one of my favorite collections (though the cover was different, I have a lovely hardback of it). It has funny stories, serious ones, and what was most memorable was a short story about Arthur and Guinevere acting like adults and being cute, mostly. Rarely do I find fiction about the two of them that portrays them both in a positive light at the same time. I also remember a story about Mordred that was really really creepy and wonderful too.

It's YA aimed, so if you have a kid that you think would get into Arthurian Legend, get them this. Seriously. Does wonders.

An excellent collection of Arthurian stories from many different periods, showing the development of the mythos and the way writing styles have changed over time. I was fascinated by the totally different story construction of the oldest tales - a modern novelist would have imposed a very different structure on them. There's less 'cause and effect' in the older tales. Things just happen and they don't have to be interlinked.½

An excellent collection of stories based on incidents and other stories mentioned in Conan Doyle's original tales of the great detective. While not all of them are individually great, they are woven very satisfyingly into the narrative of Holmes and Watson's lives. Some of them involve future technology and I found these a little too prescient to feel fully authentic as Holmes stories. But overall, an excellent and absorbing collection of stories. 5/5

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The Bothersome Business of the Dutch Nativity

Theft of an old painting to cover the fact that it is a fake.

The Affray at the Kildare Street Club

Mundane theft case but very early appearance of Moriarty and Colonel Moran.

The Case of the Incumbent Invalid

A much more substantial story involving several twists. Good one, based on one of the stories mentioned in passing by Conan Doyle.

The Adventure of Vittoria, the Circus Belle

Short murder substitution case. Quite good.

The Darlington Substitution Scandal

Theft and copying of artworks. Feels very genuine.

The Adventure of the Suspect Servant

This is a case, not really an adventure and the servant makes no actual appearance. Short and another case of theft to cover debts.

The Adventure of the Amateur Mendicant Society

Rather an implausible tale.

The Adventure of the Silver Buckle

How can a buckle have an adventure? Theft on a remote Scottish island and another extrapolation from a line by Conan Doyle. Quite enjoyable.

The Case of the Sporting Squire

Unusual poisoning case that could alarm book lovers.

The Vanishing of the Atkinsons

Colonial disappearance of two brothers with a shocking and tragic twist.

The Adventure of the Fallen Star

The worst story in this collection so far, an implausible plot around scientific rivalry that reminded me more of a second rate Jules Verne story. Holmes's deductions here are just too far fetched for words. Also spotted a couple of crass grammatical errors.

The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger

This one didn't ring quite true to me. I guessed the sex change by the murderer. But it didn't feel like a Sherlock Holmes story really.

The Mystery of the Addleton Curse

Interesting story looking to the then immediate scientific future. Not typically Holmesian but this worked.

The Adventure of the Parisian Gentleman

Political assassination in France against the backdrop of the notorious Dreyfus case. Good one, albeit brief.

The Adventure of the Inertial Adjustor

Sherlock Holmes meets H G Wells. Such a scientific story does not convince as an authentic Holmes story but this was better handled than one or two of the other similar stories in this collection. Stephen Baxter has written a sequel to The Time Machine.

The Adventure of the Touch of God

Grisly story about a series of Ripper-like murders in Yorkshire. But this did not feel like a Holmes story and some of the dialogue did not ring true. This Holmes is a caricature, saying "elementary, my dear Makinson" and smoking a Meerschaum pipe.

The Adventure of the Persecuted Painter

Quite good, authentic seeming story set in remote Dorset.

The Adventure of the Suffering Ruler

A classic Holmes plot, with the difference that he gets it totally wrong! The ending is laugh out loud for this.

The Repulsive Story of the Red Leech

The Adventure of the Grace Chalice

Very short story of an insurance scam and murder. Fairly unremarkable.

The Case of the Faithful Retainer

Scandal surrounding the very highest in society, i.e. Queen Victoria herself, though absurdly get name cannot even be mentioned at a closed meeting, despite the obvious context. Links to The Devil's Foot.

The Case of the Suicidal Lawyer

Mistaken identity between two brothers. Wry story with some amusing comments about authors.

The Legacy of Rachel Howells

A marvellous tale, a sequel to The Musgrave Ritual. I found RH's diabolical ingenuity a bit hard to believe, though. Also mentions David Copperfield's Mr Dick and a crafty in joke reference to the first publication of A Study in Scarlet in a downmarket Christmas journal.

The Adventure of the Bulgarian Diplomat

Excellent story with an international cast where Holmes averts a world war from breaking out in the Balkans in 1903.

The Enigma of the Warwickshire Vortex

Seems to have a science fiction air, though there is a rational, if not plausible explanation. Interesting things about early cinema, but one of my least favourite stories in this collection.

The Case of the Last Battle

A suitably sombre end to the collection with Holmes deciphering a code to bring about peace at the end of the First World War. Not great as an exercise in deduction per se.

This is the quintessential coffee table book for the amateur history buff. This doesn't just deal with the standard William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II. It goes far, far beyond that, back into the Dark Ages and the crumbling of the Roman Empire. Ashley also treats us to an in-depth look into the ancient monarchies of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. This book is exactly what it says on the cover - a book on ALL British kings and queens, of mammoth proportions. But that doesn't mean it scrimps on the details. As much as possible has been crammed into its pages, despite the sheer volume of research and information that must've been involved.

This is not an academic work, and serious scholars will doubtless feel it leaves a lot to be desired. But Ashley has managed to strike the right sort of balance between being informative and approachable at the same time. I defy any reader to open up a page and not to find something of interest on it; or to learn something new about one of Britain's oldest institutions.

As others have said, this is a brilliant book to just leaf through, or to go to for general reference. As I said, it's the perfect coffee table book. If you want your friends to think you're interesting and intellectual at the same time, leave this out at a house party. It'll probably end up doing the rounds.

An interesting collection with the usual mix of great and not so great stories.

A decent collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, including some by high profile Science Fiction writers like Michael Moorcock, and a selection of Sherlockians. The quality is variable, but more than acceptable. It has a rather useful Holmes timeline in the back, along with a bibliography of other pastiches. Someone complained in another review that this collection is 'overlong'. It might seem that way if you were reading it in one sitting, but I read it spread out over a few weeks a couple of stories at a time, and had no problem with it. Pastiche Candy for Sherlock Holmes fans.

Absolutely cannot do without this book when working on anything dealing with royalty in England. Over two thousand years of material complete with tons of genealogical charts and enough information to whet the appetite for more. I love just picking the book up and turning to pretty much any page and just start to read. I never get bored of chasing family lines and going through the charts. I only wish that the author would of went into more detail on the Irish than he did.

This is a big collection of Sherlock Holmes stories of varied quality. The technological wonder stories, which are dependent on Sherlock Holmes understanding technology beyond his day, were a big disappointment, and few of the stories really exceeded the mediocre. There's a lot of it, and besides the technological wonders, few stories completely bombed. That, plus the bibliography covering non-Doyle Sherlock Holmes, may make it worth picking up cheap.

Considering the gigantic scope of history covered in this book, it is amazing that it can be made clear and so well organized. It is very easy to find whomever you might be looking for. The index is excellent. And the history is made very interesting, complete with maps and geneology charts. This book is very complete. I find it indispensable for study on the history of Great Britain.

Overlong collection of stories of widely varying quality. One of the best stories,"The Legacy of Rachel Howells," ends unsatisfactorily. Others have interesting historical characters involved, such as H.G. Wells, Ambrose Bierce, Queen Victoria etc, but again, their inclusion is met only with varying degrees of success.½

A wonderful book to use for reference, or simply to dip into for pleasure.