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An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Robert Perret, A.C. Thompson
hyperashley's review
5.0
Sherlock Holmes, isn't he a dream boat? Maybe, I'm thinking about Robert Downing Jr. but in any case I'm pretty sure I love him. I've read a few Holmes inspired books before but none of them really peaked my interest before, I blame bad writing. This collection of Sherlockian stories made me a bigger Holmes fan than I was before. I am going to try and review each story separately and then review the collection as a whole because I think that will be easiest -So bare with me because this is going to be a long one. Since they are short stories I won't go into much detail about the stories so that I won't give anything away. If you are looking for spoilers you'll have to look elsewhere, sorry.
**The Fairy Pool by Lucy Blue**
Wow, that was quite the way to start off a book. It was absolutely amazing in every way. Seriously the only thing I did not like about this story was that it was so damn short. Once I started reading I couldn't stop until I was finished, which didn't take very long.
Holmes, Watson, and Mary travel to Ravenglass to help the police to find a missing little girl. Seems normal enough at first but like a true paranormal mystery it gets weird. Like with every mystery I try to solve it before the book tells me what happened and like every mystery I was wrong. My detective skills are nonexistent. The ending shocked me in a few ways which made me so happy because it's usually difficult for shorter books to have so much oomph in them. Does that make sense? Anyway this was a spectacular way to get me involved in this book and make me want to live in the victorian era.
**Sherlock Holmes and the Hungry Ghost by Katie Magnusson**
This one was okay, it wasn't my favorite but still worth the read. I did wonder if the "ghost" was a metaphor for withdrawals from cocaine. I may have been reading too much into the short story but it kind of seemed that way to me. Again not much to complain about it other than it being short.
**The Diamond Carter Ghost by Matthew Wilson**
I liked this one, it was very short but very interesting. This was more about Watson than Holmes but that made it all the more fun to read. It also went into Holmes and apparently Watsons boxing so that was different. It really showcased Holmes detective skills and how observant he was.
**The Case of the Haunted Branch Line by Tally Johnson**
For some reason this one felt slower than the rest, I had to really force myself to pay attention to what I was reading. That was only for the beginning of it though because once the paranormal aspect was introduced I was on full alert again.
**The Arendall Horror by Thomas Olbert**
Sherlock Holmes and aliens, well my life is now complete. Anyone that knows me knows about my obsession with aliens and to have Sherlock freaking Holmes thrown into the mix as well, that made it magical. Bravo, to Mr. Thomas Olbert for making me cringe at the visualization of the aliens, large spider creatures with large bat like wings, tentacle arms, human like faces- oh and they can somewhat talk. Thank you for that nightmare fuel of an image.
I think this one may have been my favorite one of this whole collection. It's hard for anything to stand a chance against aliens with me. Not even Sherlock Holmes can take away my fascination with aliens but he is a good second place, though he wouldn't be happy about that.
**Worlds Collide by S.H. Roddey**
This was a very thrilling read. I wasn't sure what to expect with it being about Gypsy's because I don't know much about them myself. I've never read a book about them either so I was completely in the dark with how this would turn out. There was kind of a lot of information thrown at me at once but I got through it and ended up enjoying it. I thought the commentary between Holmes and Watson was humorous and it made the situations more enjoyable.
**Time's Running Out, Watson by Adrian Cross**
Very, very fast paced. That being said it felt like I just kind of got dropped in the middle of the action. The story was told while everything was happening instead of getting some backstory before hand. In this case it worked out but that doesn't always work out that great. I do kind of wish it would have started a tad bit earlier in the story though because this was a good one. It's too short though. :)
**A Voice in the Blood by Dan Shaurette**
A collection of paranormal stories would not be complete without a tale about vampires. With so many people being head over heels in love with vamps, I'm sure a lot of people will like this story. I thoroughly enjoyed this story but I wish it could have ended differently but like life there aren't always happy endings. Or is it there are no happy endings in life? Well, however you want to think of it is up to you but happy ending or not this was a good story.
**The Hunt of the Red Boar by Thomas Fortenberry**
This was a very thrilling mystery, it was insanely easy for me to get lost in this story- in a good way. Once I started this I did not stop until it was over, it was another one that I really didn't want it to end. I liked how Holmes detective skills and his keen eye for details were showcased in this story. I have to say I'm jealous of his knowledge. I would love to be able to look at something and make everyone else in the room look stupid with how much I knew about the subject or any subject. I guess I will always have Google to help me.
**The Canaries of Clee Hill Mine by Robert Perret**
Hmmm...I'm kind of indifferent about this one. It had so many things that I love in a good paranormal tale but it seemed to take me sometime to get into the story. I liked Holmes and Watson's back and forth commentary at the beginning and Mrs. Hudson joining in made it golden. Then when the letter arrived and the story started to unfold I got kind of lost. I spent too much time trying to figure out what "the feeders" were before it was brought to light. I liked the concept of the story and the ending was pretty good too. It was kind of cool that it made both Holmes and Watson, question everything.
**The Chase by Melissa McArthur**
Oh my gosh...this story was so fast paced and so incredibly thrilling. This is yet another story that you get thrown in at the peak of the action, sort of like hitting the ground running. I absolutely loved this one even though it was so short it was filled with action. I didn't get confused by what the heck was going on around them throughout the story, even though I knew as much as Watson did - which was nothing. Easily one of my favorites in this collection.
**The Adventure of the Missing Trophy by Mark W. Coulter**
This one was so weird but that's okay because I like weird. I wish I could say this is the first time ever reading about these kinds of creatures but it's not. Weres whether they are werewolves or weretutrles are always interesting to read about. (no there are not wereturtles in this story). I did not see that twist at the end coming though, bravo Coulter for surprising me.
**The Case of the Rising dead by Trenton Mabey**
Yes, finally some zombie action! Well zombie-ish, kind frankensteins-monster-ish but either way I'll take it. I thought it was clever that the person raising the dead's last name was Shelley- like Mary Shelley. I hope that was intentional because it was genius. For those of you that don't know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. I loved this story too and not only because it had the walking dead in it but because it was freaking amazing.
**The Adventure of the Slow Death:From the Scourge Diaries of Emily Watson by Harding McFadden**
This was the right way to end this book. It was dark and apocalyptic. Though I didn't know what the heck I was reading at times, I didn't care because I liked it. It's good to know that even in his old age Holmes is still kicking butt. It was fun that it was Emily Watson in this one instead of John, that was different from all of the rest and really set apart.
All in all this is an amazing book and I think everyone will enjoy it. Even if you don't like Sherlock Holmes, which means your not human but you'll still like it. There wasn't a story in here that I didn't like there were just ones that I liked more. My favorite was the one by Tom Olbert because aliens, enough said. This book does make me want to live in Victorian era London so if someone could build a time machine that would be great.
This really showed each authors different style of writing and they all blended well together to make this book. They played well together. One had creep-tastic scenes, the next had humorous commentary, the next was thrilling it made it fun to read because they were all different. The only thing I have to complain about other than the length of these stories is I was told this would be scary. I was told that some of these would be sleep with the light on scary but they were not. Maybe I'm harder to scare than the average joe, I don't know but it was still good.
"When you eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
**The Fairy Pool by Lucy Blue**
Wow, that was quite the way to start off a book. It was absolutely amazing in every way. Seriously the only thing I did not like about this story was that it was so damn short. Once I started reading I couldn't stop until I was finished, which didn't take very long.
Holmes, Watson, and Mary travel to Ravenglass to help the police to find a missing little girl. Seems normal enough at first but like a true paranormal mystery it gets weird. Like with every mystery I try to solve it before the book tells me what happened and like every mystery I was wrong. My detective skills are nonexistent. The ending shocked me in a few ways which made me so happy because it's usually difficult for shorter books to have so much oomph in them. Does that make sense? Anyway this was a spectacular way to get me involved in this book and make me want to live in the victorian era.
**Sherlock Holmes and the Hungry Ghost by Katie Magnusson**
This one was okay, it wasn't my favorite but still worth the read. I did wonder if the "ghost" was a metaphor for withdrawals from cocaine. I may have been reading too much into the short story but it kind of seemed that way to me. Again not much to complain about it other than it being short.
**The Diamond Carter Ghost by Matthew Wilson**
I liked this one, it was very short but very interesting. This was more about Watson than Holmes but that made it all the more fun to read. It also went into Holmes and apparently Watsons boxing so that was different. It really showcased Holmes detective skills and how observant he was.
**The Case of the Haunted Branch Line by Tally Johnson**
For some reason this one felt slower than the rest, I had to really force myself to pay attention to what I was reading. That was only for the beginning of it though because once the paranormal aspect was introduced I was on full alert again.
**The Arendall Horror by Thomas Olbert**
Sherlock Holmes and aliens, well my life is now complete. Anyone that knows me knows about my obsession with aliens and to have Sherlock freaking Holmes thrown into the mix as well, that made it magical. Bravo, to Mr. Thomas Olbert for making me cringe at the visualization of the aliens, large spider creatures with large bat like wings, tentacle arms, human like faces- oh and they can somewhat talk. Thank you for that nightmare fuel of an image.
I think this one may have been my favorite one of this whole collection. It's hard for anything to stand a chance against aliens with me. Not even Sherlock Holmes can take away my fascination with aliens but he is a good second place, though he wouldn't be happy about that.
**Worlds Collide by S.H. Roddey**
This was a very thrilling read. I wasn't sure what to expect with it being about Gypsy's because I don't know much about them myself. I've never read a book about them either so I was completely in the dark with how this would turn out. There was kind of a lot of information thrown at me at once but I got through it and ended up enjoying it. I thought the commentary between Holmes and Watson was humorous and it made the situations more enjoyable.
**Time's Running Out, Watson by Adrian Cross**
Very, very fast paced. That being said it felt like I just kind of got dropped in the middle of the action. The story was told while everything was happening instead of getting some backstory before hand. In this case it worked out but that doesn't always work out that great. I do kind of wish it would have started a tad bit earlier in the story though because this was a good one. It's too short though. :)
**A Voice in the Blood by Dan Shaurette**
A collection of paranormal stories would not be complete without a tale about vampires. With so many people being head over heels in love with vamps, I'm sure a lot of people will like this story. I thoroughly enjoyed this story but I wish it could have ended differently but like life there aren't always happy endings. Or is it there are no happy endings in life? Well, however you want to think of it is up to you but happy ending or not this was a good story.
**The Hunt of the Red Boar by Thomas Fortenberry**
This was a very thrilling mystery, it was insanely easy for me to get lost in this story- in a good way. Once I started this I did not stop until it was over, it was another one that I really didn't want it to end. I liked how Holmes detective skills and his keen eye for details were showcased in this story. I have to say I'm jealous of his knowledge. I would love to be able to look at something and make everyone else in the room look stupid with how much I knew about the subject or any subject. I guess I will always have Google to help me.
**The Canaries of Clee Hill Mine by Robert Perret**
Hmmm...I'm kind of indifferent about this one. It had so many things that I love in a good paranormal tale but it seemed to take me sometime to get into the story. I liked Holmes and Watson's back and forth commentary at the beginning and Mrs. Hudson joining in made it golden. Then when the letter arrived and the story started to unfold I got kind of lost. I spent too much time trying to figure out what "the feeders" were before it was brought to light. I liked the concept of the story and the ending was pretty good too. It was kind of cool that it made both Holmes and Watson, question everything.
**The Chase by Melissa McArthur**
Oh my gosh...this story was so fast paced and so incredibly thrilling. This is yet another story that you get thrown in at the peak of the action, sort of like hitting the ground running. I absolutely loved this one even though it was so short it was filled with action. I didn't get confused by what the heck was going on around them throughout the story, even though I knew as much as Watson did - which was nothing. Easily one of my favorites in this collection.
**The Adventure of the Missing Trophy by Mark W. Coulter**
This one was so weird but that's okay because I like weird. I wish I could say this is the first time ever reading about these kinds of creatures but it's not. Weres whether they are werewolves or weretutrles are always interesting to read about. (no there are not wereturtles in this story). I did not see that twist at the end coming though, bravo Coulter for surprising me.
**The Case of the Rising dead by Trenton Mabey**
Yes, finally some zombie action! Well zombie-ish, kind frankensteins-monster-ish but either way I'll take it. I thought it was clever that the person raising the dead's last name was Shelley- like Mary Shelley. I hope that was intentional because it was genius. For those of you that don't know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. I loved this story too and not only because it had the walking dead in it but because it was freaking amazing.
**The Adventure of the Slow Death:From the Scourge Diaries of Emily Watson by Harding McFadden**
This was the right way to end this book. It was dark and apocalyptic. Though I didn't know what the heck I was reading at times, I didn't care because I liked it. It's good to know that even in his old age Holmes is still kicking butt. It was fun that it was Emily Watson in this one instead of John, that was different from all of the rest and really set apart.
All in all this is an amazing book and I think everyone will enjoy it. Even if you don't like Sherlock Holmes, which means your not human but you'll still like it. There wasn't a story in here that I didn't like there were just ones that I liked more. My favorite was the one by Tom Olbert because aliens, enough said. This book does make me want to live in Victorian era London so if someone could build a time machine that would be great.
This really showed each authors different style of writing and they all blended well together to make this book. They played well together. One had creep-tastic scenes, the next had humorous commentary, the next was thrilling it made it fun to read because they were all different. The only thing I have to complain about other than the length of these stories is I was told this would be scary. I was told that some of these would be sleep with the light on scary but they were not. Maybe I'm harder to scare than the average joe, I don't know but it was still good.
"When you eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
claudia_is_reading's review
3.0
Like every anthology, there is a mix of good, mediocre and plain bad stories in this one. And some of these authors seem to have known Sherlock Holmes through BBC Sherlock. Which it's great, the more the merrier, but, you know, when you're reading canon Holmes, and Christian names are tossed around... it feels awkward. There is one story in which even Mrs Hudson calls Holmes, Sherlock! The word sociopath is also mentioned. And there is a Holmes' whisperer Mary :P
But, there are also some really good stories, like the first one, The Fairy Pool by Lucy Blue, or The Adventure of the Missing Trophy by Mark W. Coulter, both of which are 5-star stories for me. And The Arendall Horror by Thomas Olbert, Time is Running Out, Watson by Adrian Cross, A Voice in the Blood by Dan Shaurette, The Canaries of Clee Hills Mine by Robert Perret, and The Case of the Rising Dead by Trenton Mabey (with a delightful steampunk sense to it) are quite good.
But then, there are 14 stories here, and the rest are mediocre, with 4 of them quite bad. So, it's up to you. If you are, like me, a completist, then, no matter what, you are going to read it. But if you are a purist when it comes to canon, sorry, this is not for you.
But, there are also some really good stories, like the first one, The Fairy Pool by Lucy Blue, or The Adventure of the Missing Trophy by Mark W. Coulter, both of which are 5-star stories for me. And The Arendall Horror by Thomas Olbert, Time is Running Out, Watson by Adrian Cross, A Voice in the Blood by Dan Shaurette, The Canaries of Clee Hills Mine by Robert Perret, and The Case of the Rising Dead by Trenton Mabey (with a delightful steampunk sense to it) are quite good.
But then, there are 14 stories here, and the rest are mediocre, with 4 of them quite bad. So, it's up to you. If you are, like me, a completist, then, no matter what, you are going to read it. But if you are a purist when it comes to canon, sorry, this is not for you.
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