Scan barcode
A review by ericbuscemi
Sherlock Holmes in America by Martin H. Greenberg
2.0
In one word: Underwhelming.
Many of these stories were too intricately interwoven with Holmes' canon (most notably [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473] and [b:The Valley of Fear|736131|The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes, #7)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348134179s/736131.jpg|1343585]) for the casual reader to enjoy, but at the same time, the mysteries in these short stories were so elementary -- if existent at all -- that the serious Holmes fan could not have any appreciation for them.
Many of the stories seemed more preoccupied with guest appearances by famous historical Americans, such as Doc Holliday, Davy Crockett, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, Albert Spalding and Pop Warner, than in telling a compelling detective yarn -- and the Houdini tale, 'The Seven Walnuts', did not even feature an appearance by Sherlock Holmes.
There were a few stories I enjoyed in spite of themselves, as none held a candle to the actual detective's stories. 'Excerpts from an Unpublished Memoir Found In the Basement of the Home for Retired Actors' was humorous and unique, despite having a middling mystery; 'The Adventure of the Boston Dromio' was a good revenge tale, despite Holmes acting out of character by employing burglary and blackmail instead of detection; and 'The Song at Twilight' was well written, despite its absurdity.
What I found most baffling was why the essay 'Moriarty, Moran, and More: Anti-Hibernian Sentiment in the Canon' was included at the end of this collection. As someone that has read Holmes' entire canon, I don't see the anti-Irish angle the essay accused of [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289836561p2/2448.jpg], but more importantly, shoehorning this political piece into a book about Sherlock Holmes in America made no sense. If an essay was to be inserted at the end of this edition -- and none were needed -- surely an essay on Doyle's portrayal of Mormons in his first novel would be more appropriate, as they have a correlation with the collection's common thread, being an American religion.
Many of these stories were too intricately interwoven with Holmes' canon (most notably [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473] and [b:The Valley of Fear|736131|The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes, #7)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348134179s/736131.jpg|1343585]) for the casual reader to enjoy, but at the same time, the mysteries in these short stories were so elementary -- if existent at all -- that the serious Holmes fan could not have any appreciation for them.
Many of the stories seemed more preoccupied with guest appearances by famous historical Americans, such as Doc Holliday, Davy Crockett, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, Albert Spalding and Pop Warner, than in telling a compelling detective yarn -- and the Houdini tale, 'The Seven Walnuts', did not even feature an appearance by Sherlock Holmes.
There were a few stories I enjoyed in spite of themselves, as none held a candle to the actual detective's stories. 'Excerpts from an Unpublished Memoir Found In the Basement of the Home for Retired Actors' was humorous and unique, despite having a middling mystery; 'The Adventure of the Boston Dromio' was a good revenge tale, despite Holmes acting out of character by employing burglary and blackmail instead of detection; and 'The Song at Twilight' was well written, despite its absurdity.
What I found most baffling was why the essay 'Moriarty, Moran, and More: Anti-Hibernian Sentiment in the Canon' was included at the end of this collection. As someone that has read Holmes' entire canon, I don't see the anti-Irish angle the essay accused of [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289836561p2/2448.jpg], but more importantly, shoehorning this political piece into a book about Sherlock Holmes in America made no sense. If an essay was to be inserted at the end of this edition -- and none were needed -- surely an essay on Doyle's portrayal of Mormons in his first novel would be more appropriate, as they have a correlation with the collection's common thread, being an American religion.