What would a Sherlock Holmes Week be like without a Holmes vs. Cthulhu mashup? James Lovegrove’s The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities continues the story arc started in Lovergrove’s THE CTHULHU CASEBOOKS: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SHADWELL SHADOWS (you can read my review here). Holmes and Watson travel to Bedlam (aka, Bethlem Royal Hospital, a London institution and the origin of the word for chaos or madness) to investigate a badly injured man who draws strange symbols on the walls of his room. Holmes recognizes the language the man is writing as R’lyehian script. But before Holmes can solve this mystery, the patient escapes and one of the caretakers is murdered.

As Holmes and Watson chase the escaped patient, more clues emerge. Two men from Arkham’s Miskatonic University appear at the heart of this story with their quest to capture a shoggoth, a hideous creature referred to in the Necronomicon. Part of The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities presents the journal documenting that hunt for the shoggoth. But more Lovecraftean creatures pop up to wreak havoc.

James Lovegrove wraps up this tangled faux-Lovecraft trilogy with The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea Devils (November 2018). Regular posting resumes tomorrow. GRADE: B

Many of you will recognize Lloyd Biggle, Jr. as a prolific Science Fiction writer who wrote novels like The Angry Espers (1961). But Biggle also wrote some mystery novels with his Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Quallford Inheritance (1986), being the best of the bunch. Biggle avoids the Watson problem by creating the character of teenager Edward Porter Jones. Jones was a member of Sherlock’s Baker Street Irregulars and so enjoyed the assignments Holmes sent him on that he asked the world’s first consulting detective to be his assistant. Holmes agreed.

In The Quallsford Inheritance a young woman, Emmeline Quallsford, hires Holmes to investigate the recent death of her brother, Edmund Quallsford. The police consider the death a suicide, but Miss Quallsford believes her brother was murdered. I enjoyed the narration of Jones as the investigation proceeded. Plenty of red herrings and baffling incidents! There’s even an exorcism! If you’re looking for a top-notch Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Quallsford Inheritance qualifies. GRADE: B+

Originally published in 1961, The Reminiscences of Solar Pons was reprinted in a paperback edition by Pinnacle Books in 1975 as part of a Solar Pons series. This fifth volume, with its informative introduction by Anthony Boucher, is my favorite. August Derleth, best known for creating Arkham Press and reprinting the works of H. P. Lovecraft, was a prolific writer. His faux-Sherlock Holmes figure, Solar Pons, mimics the best of Doyle’s character. The stories in The Reminiscences of Solar Pons were mostly published in The Saint Magazine in the 1950s. Anthony Boucher liked these faux-Sherlock Holmes pastiches and so did I. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction, by Anthony Boucher 1
“The Adventure of the Mazarine Blue” 6
“The Adventure of the Hats of M. Dulac” 26
“The Adventure of the Mosaic Cylinders” 50
“The Adventure of the Praed Street Irregulars” 97
“The Adventure of the Cloverdale Kennels” 116
“The Adventure of the Black Cardinal” 139
“The Adventure of the Troubled Magistrate” 165
“The Adventure of the Blind Clairaudient” 187
“A Chronology of Solar Pons”, by Robert Patrick 205

Back in 1990, Carole Nelson Douglas’s Good Night, Mr. Holmes presented American opera singer, Irene Adler, and her “Watson,” Penelope Huxleigh (a young former governess). Together, Adler and Huxleigh solve crimes and bamboozle Sherlock Holmes. Holmes tells Watson that Irene Adler was one of four people in the world who outwitted him. Sherlockians will recall Irene Adler plays a big role in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” In Good Night, Mr. Holmes we get to see the story from Adler’s point of view. Critics assert Irene Adler was more than a match for Sherlock Holmes. GRADE: B+
Irene Adler series
Good Night, Mr. Holmes (1990) ISBN 0-312-93210-3
Good Morning Irene, ISBN 0-8125-0949-8 reissued as The Adventuress(1991), ISBN 0-7653-4715-6
Irene at Large, ISBN 0-8125-1702-4 reissued as A Soul of Steel (1992), ISBN 0-7653-4790-3
Irene’s Last Waltz, ISBN 0-8125-1703-2 reissued as Another Scandal in Bohemia (1994), ISBN 0-8125-1702-4
Chapel Noir (2001), ISBN 0-7653-4347-9
Castle Rouge (2002), ISBN 0-7653-4571-4
Femme Fatale (2003), ISBN 0-7653-4594-3
Spider Dance (2004), ISBN 0-7653-4595-1

How about Holmes and Watson as two African-American women? This is what is considered “High Concept.” Claire O’Dell presents a near-future United States that’s involved in a Second Civil War (the NRA and White Supremacy Groups are launching massive attacks). Janet Watson, a surgeon, loses her left arm in the Battle of Alton, Illinois. Watson’s given a crappy prosthetic arm and mustered out of the Army. She travels to Washington, D.C. to lobby the Veteran’s Administration for a high-tech arm that would allow her to return to the profession she loves. But, of course, the Veteran’s Administration gives Watson evasions and delays.

Watson is running out of money so she explores the possibility of a roommate. Watson meets Sara Holmes who is “difficult.” Despite the friction, Holmes and Watson move into a swanky apartment and Watson tries to adapt to civilian life. But, when a patient Watson is treating dies unexpectedly, both Watson and Holmes start investigating and discover a disturbing pattern of deaths.

Claire O’Dell’s gender-bender, race-changing, and quirky Sherlock Holmes pastiche “modifies” A. Conan Doyle’s characters in other ways. Janet Watson, with possible PTSD and drug issues, is emotional. Sara Holmes doesn’t play the violin, she prefers the piano. And this Holmes is more James Bond than the traditional Sherlock Holmes. But, if you’re looking for something different and innovative, I recommend A Study in Honor. GRADE: B+

When a crime spree in the 22nd Century baffles New Scotland Yard, Inspector Beth Lestrade decides on a radical approach: bring back Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’s body has been preserved in honey so a little genetic engineering and anti-aging technology brings the first consulting detective back to life. Beth’s robot, after reading the entire Canon, wants to be called “Watson.” Together, the three crime fighters take on a variety of criminals in the 22nd Century (I like the flying cars!). Each of the 26 episodes is “inspired” by one of A. Conan Doyle’s stories. I enjoyed these adaptations with their quirky characters and futuristic settings. GRADE: B+
First season (1999–2000)
Episode number Production number US airdate Episode title Sherlock Holmes story episode is based on
1 101 18 September 1999 “The Fall and Rise of Sherlock Holmes” “The Adventure of the Final Problem”
2 102 25 September 1999 “The Crime Machine” The Valley of Fear
3 103 2 October 1999 “The Hounds of the Baskervilles” The Hound of the Baskervilles
4 108 9 October 1999 “The Adventure of the Empty House” “The Adventure of the Empty House”
5 122 16 October 1999 “The Crooked Man” “The Adventure of the Crooked Man”
6 120 23 October 1999 “The Adventure of the Deranged Detective” “The Adventure of the Dying Detective”
7 111 30 October 1999 “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Lot” “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire”
8 105 6 November 1999 “The Scales of Justice” “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”
9 104 13 November 1999 “The Resident Patient” “The Adventure of the Resident Patient”
10 121 20 November 1999 “The Sign of Four” The Sign of the Four
11 114 27 November 1999 “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”
12 125 4 December 1999 “The Musgrave Ritual” “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual”
13 112 11 December 1999 “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”
14 119 31 January 2000 “Silver Blaze” “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”
15 106 7 February 2000 “The Five Orange Pips” “The Five Orange Pips”
16 113 14 February 2000 “The Red-Headed League” “The Red-Headed League”
17 118 21 February 2000 “The Man with the Twisted Lip” “The Man with the Twisted Lip”
Second season (2001)
Episode number Production number US airdate Episode title Sherlock Holmes story episode is based on
18 109 31 March 2001 “The Secret Safe” “His Last Bow”
19 115 21 April 2001 “The Adventure of the Second Stain” “The Adventure of the Second Stain”
20 117 28 April 2001 “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb”
21 123 12 May 2001 “The Gloria Scott” “The Adventure of the Gloria Scott”
22 124 19 May 2001 “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”
23 126 26 May 2001 “The Adventure of the Creeping Man” “The Adventure of the Creeping Man”
24 107 23 June 2001 “The Adventure of the Beryl Board” “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet”
25 110 30 June 2001 “The Adventure of the Mazarin Chip” “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone”
26 116 21 July 2001 “A Case of Identity” “A Case of Identity”

Surprise! It’s another Sherlock Holmes Week! This Summer Edition kicks off with Aliette de Bodard’s unconventional Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Tea Master and The Detective (2018). Imagine Sherlock Holmes is a woman and Watson is a spaceship. Mysteries abound in the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals. A transport spaceship, The Shadow’s Child, ekes out an existence by formulating exotic teas for passengers. The Shadow’s Child has been discharged from military duty after sustaining a traumatic injury. Along comes a strange client, Long Chau, who wants to find a corpse in space. Reluctantly, The Shadow’s Child accepts Long Chau as a client (rent is due!) and together the spaceship and the detective discover a corpse and a twisted mystery. You won’t find another Sherlock Holmes pastiche as strange and delightful as The Tea Master and The Detective. GRADE: A-

Back in 1992, Disney’s animated feature became the year’s biggest Box Office winner by earning $502 million. The VHS version, released a few months later, earned over $500 million–a record at that time. In 2011, Aladdin, The Musical opened on Broadway. Now the touring company arrived in Buffalo. Aladdin, The Musical strips down the story of Aladdin, the roguish street hustler who falls in love with Princess Jasmine. Aladdin is manipulated by the Sultan’s evil Grand Visier, Jafar, into entering the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a magic lamp. Things go wrong and Aladdin is trapped in the cave–Jafar thinks he’s dead–and Aladdin rubs the lamp and meets The Genie. The Genie offers Aladdin three wishes, but of course things go wrong there, too.

Diane and I enjoyed the singing and dancing in Aladdin, The Musical. The spectacle in the Cave of Wonders is dazzling! We loved the Magic Carpet! Plenty of kids were in the audience during the performance we attended. As we were exiting the building, we overheard a young kid say to his parents, “The Genie was the best thing!” He’s right. GRADE: B
SONG LIST:
Act I
“Overture”
“Arabian Nights” (Ashman/Rice***) – Genie & Company
“One Jump Ahead” (Rice) – Aladdin & Ensemble
“One Jump Ahead (Reprise)” (Rice) – Aladdin
“Proud of Your Boy” (Ashman*) – Aladdin
“These Palace Walls” (Beguelin**) – Jasmine & Female Attendants
“Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim” (Ashman*) – Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim, Jasmine & Ensemble
“A Million Miles Away” (Beguelin**) – Aladdin & Jasmine
“Diamond in the Rough” (Beguelin**) – Jafar, Iago, & Aladdin
“Friend Like Me” (Ashman) – Genie, Aladdin and Ensemble
Act One Finale (Friend Like Me (Reprise) (Ashman)/Proud of Your Boy (Reprise I)) (Beguelin)** – Genie & Aladdin
Act II
“Prince Ali” (Ashman) – Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim, & Ensemble
“A Whole New World” (Rice) – Aladdin & Jasmine
“High Adventure” (Ashman*) – Babkak, Omar, Kassim, & Ensemble
“Somebody’s Got Your Back” (Beguelin**) – Aladdin, Genie, Babkak, Omar, & Kassim
“Proud of Your Boy (Reprise II)” (Ashman) – Aladdin
“Prince Ali (Sultan Reprise)” (Beguelin**) – Sultan & Company
“Prince Ali (Jafar Reprise)” (Rice) – Jafar
Finale Ultimo (“Arabian Nights (Reprise)” (Ashman/Beguelin*) / “A Whole New World (Reprise)” (Rice)) – Company
Bows (“Friend Like Me (Reprise II)”) (Ashman) – Company

This photo resembles my “Read Real Soon” stack. How many books do you have waiting to be read? What is the book you most want to read from your book stack?

Between 2010 and 2013, Jo Walton wrote a series of posts for Tor.com. Those posts have been collected in An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953-2000. Jo Walton reviews the Hugo finalists and winners from the Hugo’s inception up to the year 2000. Walton asserts that each year’s finalists gives us a clear picture about the state of science fiction during those years. I’m a fan of Jo Walton’s SF novels and I praised her What Makes This Book So Great. You can read my review here. An Informal History of the Hugos is clearly a labor of love. If you’re a science fiction fan, this is a must-buy! Highly recommended! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 11
1953 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 17
Essay: “Telepaths, Murder, and Typographical Tricks: Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man” 21
1954 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 24
1955 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 25
1956 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 29
Essay: “Parliamentary Democracy with Martians: Robert A. Heinlein’s Double Star” 32
1957 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 35
1958 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 40
1959 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 44
Essay: “Every Outward, Robert A. Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit—Will Travel” 50
1960 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 56
Essay: “Over the Hump: Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers” 60
1961 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 64
Essay: “Dark Ages and Doubt: Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz” 69
Essay: “Really Good Fun: Poul Anderson’s The High Crusade” 72
1962 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 75
Essay: “Smug Messiah: Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land” 82
1963 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 87
Essay: “A Future That Never Came: Arthur C. Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust” 94
1964 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 98
Essay: “I Think I’ll Go for a Walk and Think About Aliens: Clifford Simak’s Way Station” 104
1965 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 106
Essay: “Telepathy and Healing: John Brunner’s The Whole Man (aka, Telepathists}” 112
1966 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 114
Essay: Wisecracking, Aliens, and Hot Places: Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal” 124
Essay: In League with the Future: Frank Herbert’s Dune” 125
1967 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 129
Essay: “A Self-Aware Computer and a Revolution on the Moon: Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” 138
1968 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 142
Essay: “Fantasy Disguised as Science Fiction Disguised as Fantasy: Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light” 152
1969 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 155
Essay: “Growing Up for Real: Alexei Panshin’s Rite of Passage” 165
1970 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 168
1971 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 176
1972 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 188
Essay: “Effective Dreaming: Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven” 198
1973 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 200
Essay: “Great Aliens, Rubber Humans: Isaac Asimov’s The Gods Themselves” 213
Essay: “Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg” 214
1974 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 217
Essay: “Menopause, Aliens, and Fun: Larry Niven’s Protector” 227
1975 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 230
Essay: “Clear-sighted Utopia: Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed” 242
1976 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 244
1977 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 256
1978 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 266
1979 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 278
1980 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 288
Essay: “Sunlit Clouds Beyond the Iron Grating: Thomas M. Disch’s On the Wings of Song” 298
1981 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 300
1982 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 312
1983 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 322
1984 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 332
Essay: The Tea, the Statue, the Dragon, and You: R. A. MacAvoy’s Tea With the Black Dragon” 342
1985 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 344
1986 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 357
Essay: “Who is Alien? C. J. Cherryh’s Cuckoo’s Egg” 369
1987 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 371
1988 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 382
1989 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 395
Essay: “Designing People and Societies: C. J. Cherryh’s Cyteen” 408
Essay: “The Most Expensive Plumbers in the Galaxy: Louis McMaster Bujold’s Falling Free” 411
1990 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 413
1991 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 426
1992 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 439
1993 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 452
Essay: “The Net of a Million Lies: Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep” 465
Essay: “Time Travel and the Black Death: Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book” 468
1994 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 475
1995 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 487
1996 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 499
1997 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 513
1998 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 525
Essay: “Transformative in This as Everything Else: Walter Jon Williams’s Metropolitan and City on Fire” 535
1999 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 538
2000 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees 552
Essay: “So High, So Low, So Many Things to Know: Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky” 565
Conclusion 571