Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol. 1
Published by Cornerstone Books
Produced by Ron Fortier, Airship 27 Productions
This volume contains five new classic mysteries starring the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion, Dr.Watson. Writers Aaron Smith, Andrew Salmon, Van Allen Plexico and I.A. Watson put forth clever, twisted puzzles that only the Baker Street sleuth can unravel. Edited by Ron Fortier, interior illustrations and design by Rob Davis with a stunning cover by Mark Maddox. Once again, the game is afoot!
2 comments:
I'm fortunate to have a story in this volume and I'm pleased as punch at how the book came out. The amazing cover by artist Mark Maddox says it all! This book is class from start to finish and a labor of love for all involved. I hope folks will check it out!
I have never read a Sherlock Holmes story before this and I feel that that allows me a rather unusual perspective on the book and the stroies within. My origional motive in reading the book was that one of the stories was written by my father and I was curious as to how his work was presented and compiled with that of other authors I had never countered before; indeed the closest I came to a 'proper' Shelock Holmes story before picking up this book was helping to proof-read some contributions my father had prepared for later volumes, though not the tale included in this book. It is quite likely that my view was therefore slightly biased by my personal wish that the book would be a success but I would like to beleive that I did not allow myself to be swayed too greatly by this and that my views and opinions will be shared by any other reader who approaches this book.
The stories were engaging, reasonably well varied as to allow for variety and all of generally good quality. I feel that the mysteries are all capable of passing the test of being reread, after some time, by a person who is already aware of the resolution and still being worth the time taken to read them. As a first time reader I am delighted to say that after enjoying this book I am not adverse to the idea of at some point exploring deeper into the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes to discover some of the adventures hinted at in this book. Though only one of the stories contained footnotes all of them explained themselves well enough that my lack of foreknowledge about the characters and continuity did not hinder my ability to enjoy the tales put foreward but rather allowed me pleasure of discovering the world portrayed whithin the book's pages for the first time.
In regards to presentation, the artwork both on the cover and in the book was quite good though far from amazing and the stories were separated from each other clearly and in such a way that it was fairly simple to leave the book and return to it some while later. Of particular intrest to me was the insightful comments made by each writer about Sherlock Holmes in general and their story in particular, the placement of these summaries after rather than before each tale was helpful as it allowed the actual stories to enfold unhampered by any spoilers which the author might otherwise let slip and the analysis of how each author went about developing their story was of particular intrest to me as an amateur writer as well as being a fascination examination of how each author veiws his tale allowing them to be seen in a new light.
In conclusion I would like to say well done to everyone involved in producing this book as the effort and though they have put into it is clearly apparent and lend it a strength that shouls keep readers entertained for some time yet. May many more volumes follow on.
Rhiannon Rose Watson
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