Scan barcode
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER is a Sherlock Holmes retelling which is witty and delightful, with Watson (Captain John Wyndham) as a trans man, Sherlock (Ms. Shaharazad Haas) as a bisexual woman, and Irene Adler (Miss Eirene Viola) as a former lover being blackmailed in her engagement. The setting is fantastical, time travel is a matter of connection and logistics, other dimensions are distant but accessible, and Captain John Wyndham is too aghast to actually write how many times Shaharazad says "fuck" (though he faithfully chronicles his reticence at every turn). I adore retellings, and this was a special treat since, having begun with Sherlock Holmes in a queernorm fantasy setting, it pulled in pieces of at least two other stories I could identity, weaving them in to give me no fewer than three retellings in one.
As a narrator, Captain John Wyndham is torn between fascination with Shaharazad's hedonism and a need to maintain his own sense of propriety. He grew up in a strictly religious environment, implicitly having chosen to live away from home due to some degree of transphobia which he never quite describes. I like how his words convey so much of his personality along with Shaharazad, making his paraphrases of her language quite clear and not just pretending she has more decorum than she does. He also makes reference to the serial release of this story's chapters, discussions with his editor, and the fact that he's writing this several decades after the events. Instead of just infodumping, he flags any particularly dense descriptions as skippable for a reader who is already familiar with the setting and recent history, at once providing guidance for readers who dislike dense descriptions, and also deepening the sense of immersion by making the reader party to the world.
Things I love, in no particular order: The clever use of parts of Dracula; the resolution to Eirene Viola's problem; the way Wyndham keeps so tightly to propriety even when it's comically unsuitable to the situation; the narrative style, Shaharazad's bravado and continual attempts to plan as little as possible and still have things work out well enough.
As a narrator, Captain John Wyndham is torn between fascination with Shaharazad's hedonism and a need to maintain his own sense of propriety. He grew up in a strictly religious environment, implicitly having chosen to live away from home due to some degree of transphobia which he never quite describes. I like how his words convey so much of his personality along with Shaharazad, making his paraphrases of her language quite clear and not just pretending she has more decorum than she does. He also makes reference to the serial release of this story's chapters, discussions with his editor, and the fact that he's writing this several decades after the events. Instead of just infodumping, he flags any particularly dense descriptions as skippable for a reader who is already familiar with the setting and recent history, at once providing guidance for readers who dislike dense descriptions, and also deepening the sense of immersion by making the reader party to the world.
Things I love, in no particular order: The clever use of parts of Dracula; the resolution to Eirene Viola's problem; the way Wyndham keeps so tightly to propriety even when it's comically unsuitable to the situation; the narrative style, Shaharazad's bravado and continual attempts to plan as little as possible and still have things work out well enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Classism, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Confinement, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Transphobia, Self harm, Sexism, Animal death, and War
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I was curious to see how this book would tackle retelling Sherlock Holmes. I was honestly pretty impressed with it.
The world felt very vibrant and chaotic in a way that new elements could be introduced without feeling out of place. I was willing to buy almost anything the book tried to sell, simply from how well it established the strangeness of the world. The chaotic nature of the world lent well to writing ancient eldritch entities, and allowed for some hints of eldritch horror. This aspect was only a detriment when it left the story feeling a bit muddled during busier or more action packed aspects, but it wasn’t anything that took too much from the story.
All the characters felt very interesting and I wanted to learn more about them. I was left to taken with each character and their bright personalities to the degree I was disappointed to find this was the only book featuring them. John, Shaharazad, and the Second Auger especially stood out to and fascinated me. I found everyone extremely enjoyable, even when they weren’t the most morally upstanding.
Finally, the casual queerness of the characters was really nice. I enjoy when it doesn’t feel like a big deal that characters are queer in some way. There’s just a comfort provided by a simple mention of queetness that I appreciate.
Overall a great read, and I definitely recommend it to people looking for a fresh spin on Sherlock Holmes or that enjoy the game Fallen London.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Drug abuse, Murder, Drug use, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Minor: Police brutality
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
'The Affair of the Mysterious Letter' by Alexis Hall is a fun, fantastical retelling of Sherlock Holmes.
The story is told from the point of view of Captain Wyndham, a doctor who was previously a soldier. The story begins when Captain Wyndham is searching for lodgings and takes up an offer from the eccentric sorceress Shaharazad Haas. When one of Ms. Haas' acquaintances shows up with a mysterious letter that is trying to blackmail her, Haas takes up the case, pulling Wyndham along on a series of increasingly more intense adventures.
Hall has created a fun homage to Sherlock Holmes that injects fantasy and a touch of science fiction. Wyndham is a good point of view character and Ms. Haas is a fitting gender bent, fantastically inclined rework of Sherlock Holmes. The world is vast and I found that in some places it did feel a little bit underbaked. There is so much going on and such a wealth of history that Wyndham infuses into his narrative that it feels surface level at best. I think this does work with the story as long as you know it going in and are really looking for a fun, fantastical romp. The plot did feel like it stretched over a bit more time than it needed to and I wonder if two cases within the novel would have worked better. I did absolutely love the ending and the ultimate conclusion of the mystery though. It was a great piece of character work. This feels like the start of a series but to the best of my knowledge is a standalone (at least in 2023). I will definitely be picking up more of what Hall writes as he seems to do a great job with intriguing characters.
The story is told from the point of view of Captain Wyndham, a doctor who was previously a soldier. The story begins when Captain Wyndham is searching for lodgings and takes up an offer from the eccentric sorceress Shaharazad Haas. When one of Ms. Haas' acquaintances shows up with a mysterious letter that is trying to blackmail her, Haas takes up the case, pulling Wyndham along on a series of increasingly more intense adventures.
Hall has created a fun homage to Sherlock Holmes that injects fantasy and a touch of science fiction. Wyndham is a good point of view character and Ms. Haas is a fitting gender bent, fantastically inclined rework of Sherlock Holmes. The world is vast and I found that in some places it did feel a little bit underbaked. There is so much going on and such a wealth of history that Wyndham infuses into his narrative that it feels surface level at best. I think this does work with the story as long as you know it going in and are really looking for a fun, fantastical romp. The plot did feel like it stretched over a bit more time than it needed to and I wonder if two cases within the novel would have worked better. I did absolutely love the ending and the ultimate conclusion of the mystery though. It was a great piece of character work. This feels like the start of a series but to the best of my knowledge is a standalone (at least in 2023). I will definitely be picking up more of what Hall writes as he seems to do a great job with intriguing characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: War and Police brutality
purplepenning's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry
More...