Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes [Paperback]

Despite there being a few just plain awful stories in this collection, overall, Gaslight Arcanum was a very enjoyable, readable, and at times thrilling set of stories ranging from the uncanny, to supernatural to pulpy sci-fi. But the good ones here were FANTASTICALLY chilling and make this volume more than worthwhile. Because there was such a discrepancy in quality I've done a brief review of the individual stories.

'THE COMFORT OF THE SIENE' by Stephen Volk - 5 stars
The premise was not only fantastic, but the Victorian writing was authentic and from the pen of an exceptionally talented author. Not to give away spoilers, but if you love Poe's Dupin (who Sherlock Holmes was based on), you are going to find this one fascinating. I do have to mention some of Holmes' behaviour was remarkably OOC, though.

'THE ADVENTURE OF LUCIFER'S FOOTPRINTS' by Christopher Fowler - 1 star
Uninteresting, failed attempt at a pastiche or anything resembling a mystery. Seemed rushed and scraped together, as scenes jumped erratically, situations were poorly described and sometimes a bit confusing, to where I'd need to re-read passages. The only redeeming factor here was its brevity.

'THE DEADLY SIN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES' by Tom English - 5 stars
Eerily good fun, reminded me a bit of ACD's 'The Silver Hatchet'. This is one to get caught up in, and will send the shivers down your spine. Made all the better for it capturing the essence of Sherlock Holmes - my favourite line? "Fascinating," said Holmes, yawning. Investigation played out the way Holmes of Canon would have done, down to the last letter. Supernatural or no, this was a genuinely well done pastiche.

'THE COLOR THAT CAME TO CHISWICK' by William Meikle - 3 stars
This was a so-so, almost pulpy tale and mediocre story. While suspension of disbelief is mandatory for any uncanny type story, this sometimes bordered on ridiculous not from the plot, but the freely used anachronisms. It could have had an H.G. Wells Vitcorian sci-fi feel to it were it not for the mentions of ectoplasm/protoplasm, or the fact that mustard gas was not experimented with in 1887 or used by any military until WW1, took this from "what if" to "oh, please".

'FROM THE TREE OF TIME' by Fred Saberhagen - 4 stars
I was surprisingly impressed with Saberhagen's Dracula meets Holmes story, which could have been a dozen different types of cliché, but managed to be fresh and original. A little slow paced, yet his Holmes voice and deductions were spot on, with a clever little twist for an ending.

'THE EXECUTIONER' by Lawrence C. Connelly - 3 stars
While this was a very interesting and original take on what happened after the struggle at Reichenbach Falls, it was slow moving and was just okay. Nothing special here, though not a badly written or told story.

'A COUNTRY DEATH' by Simon Kurt Unsworth - 1 star
I'm not even sure what this was supposed to be. Personally speaking, I read pastiches for the characters more than anything else, and not it's that I'm averse to character death when done well, but this was just a disgusting mess, all around. The mystery was so see-through as to be irritating, it was too long - the solution was obvious but the story kept on going, and this was the only one in this collection I eventually skimmed through and then skipped to the end. It deserves zero stars.

'SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE GREAT GAME' by Kevin Cockle - 2.5 stars
Not bad at all for all the premise was a bit out there. Fast moving, a decent attempt at characterization, and I especially enjoyed the attention paid to Watson in this one.

'SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DIVING BELL' by Simon Clark - 5 stars
AH.MA.ZING!!! One of the best supernatural tales in the entire compilation, this was especially chilling, suspenseful and a definite page turner. I could not put this down and had actual goosebumps when it ended. Was also done in an authentic Watson voice - I could see it being one of those cases the doctor teasingly alludes to but never writes down. INCREDIBLY good.

'THE GREATEST MYSTERY' by Paul Kane - 4.5 stars
An excellent story, one of the few in here that can be enthusiastically called a true horror. There were no end to the anachronisms of speech, however, and that was so jarring it did detract from the atmosphere of the tale. This is one that will stay with you, though.

'THE HOUSE OF BLOOD' by Tony Richards - 4 stars
While Sherlock Holmes in the modern era is best left in the competent hands of the BBC (and Benedict Cumberbatch), this tale of an immortal Holmes was much better and more entertaining than I thought it might be.

'THE ADVENTURE OF THE SIX MALEDICTIONS' by Kim Newman - 2 stars
Having nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes himself, this one was based around Professor Moriarity and Col. Moran in some odd alternate universe-ish setting. Admittedly, I could not finish this one, as it wasn't a bad story per se, but failed to hold my interest at all. That could be because I prefer horror/supernatural to sci-fi or the blatant lack of Holmes in a pastiche.

In the "Gaslight...." series, this third offering appears to be the weakest, despite a few bright spots. Its contents, and my personal thoughts concerning them, are:

(*) Introduction by Charles Prepolec: a candid view of the origin of this series of Holmes-dealing with-supernatural books, and some thoughts.

1) The Comfort of the Seine by Stephen Volk: a sad piece that suggests why & how Sherlock Holmes might have caught the fever (addiction?) of solving mysteries. Very gothic, very Poe-esque. "A".
2) The Adventure of Lucifer's Footprints by Christopher Fowler: good mystery, but not even an ambiguous solution, only a few scattered thoughts. "B"
3) The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes by Tom English: a chilling & succinctly told tale of Holmes pursuing a deadly grimoire. "A"
4) The Colour that Came to Chiswick by William Meikle: an adventure that belongs to the "X-Files" genre unabashedly, and is a 'fun' read. "A"
5) A Country Death by Simon K. Unsworth: another grim & unrelenting story that is well told, but which uses Holmes only for his name, and in connection with bees. This is more sci-fi horror than a mystery as such. "A"
6) From the Tree of Time by Fred Saberhagen: a short, compact, muted and beautiful piece, from the pen of a master. "A+"
7) Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell by Simon Clark: a superb mystery squarely fitting the "X-Files" genre. As a matter of fact, the publishers should seriously rechristen the series as "Holmes-meets-X Files" rather than "uncanny tales of Holmes", if these stories are going to be staple in future (since even in the previous volume Niel Jackson's "Celeste" was one of the high-points). "A+"
8) The Executioner by Lawrence C. Connolly: a gentle, serious, somewhat philosophical story dealing with "what might have happened if Holmes had indeed fallen down at the Reichenbach falls". "A"
9) Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game by Kevin Cockle: an incompetent piece of mystic hotchpotch that undermines this volume substantially. "B-"
10) The Greatest Mystery by Paul Kane: another mystic piece with too many open ends. Not good. "B"
11) The House of Blood by Tony Richards: a proper gothic horror story that surprisingly manages to blend Sherlock Holmes into present-day Vegas rather neatly. Good pastiche, good horror. "A+"
12) The Adventure of the Six Maledictions by Kim Newman: the best piece in the entire collection, without a single mention of Sherlock Holmes, but with lots of 'arcane' stuff thrown around for pure fun & adventure. If you feel tempted by this piece to read more Moriarty & Moran adventures, then I would like to recommend Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the DUrbervilles (Professor Moriarty Novels). "A+"

So, if "A+" is 5, "A" is 4, "B" is 3 and "B-" is 2, then what is the weighted average score of this book? 4.0 out of 5! Recommended, obviously.

This collection is the fifth by this pair of editors and it is, perhaps, their best yet. The first two collections consisted mostly of more conventional writings that told some of the Untold Tales. The three later collections lean strongly toward the eerie and outré. A few of the tales in this book can be explained by modern science and rational circumstances, but even that is not always comforting. All are interesting, some are exceptional and a few are unpleasant.

"The Comfort of the Seine" is a novella by Stephen Volk. In it we watch a painfully young Sherlock Holmes take a vacation from his studies at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (where I have always believed he studied) to visit Paris with friends. There Sherlock falls in love, acquires a mentor and selects a profession, all with a large dose of adolescent angst. Strict Sherlockians may disagree with the author's premise, as do I, but it is still an interesting and insightful tale. "The Adventure of Lucifer's Footprints" is a short story by Christopher Fowler that tells of an evil done during the Crimean war and its ghastly punishment in Devon. "The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes" is a imaginative novella by Tom English that provides an alternative cause for "The Great Hiatus" and a name source for the "Napoleon of Crime."

"The Color That Came to Chiswick" is a short story by William Meikle that tells about sabotage in a brewery, or of something in a brewery. What is really going on or growing up in Chiswick is open to question. "From the Tree of Time" is a short story by Fred Saberhagen that tells an incident in his `life of Dracula' series. The Count is asked by Holmes to lend his expertise to an investigation and his comments lead to a quick solution. "The Executioner" is a short story by Lawrence C. Connolly that takes place following events in "The Final Problem." There seems to be an unnamed book by the original Dr. Frankenstein, known to Sherlock but not to the reviewer, that explains much about the central character in this tale. In the end, Sherlock sets out on "The Great Hiatus" for far different reasons than those given in "The Adventure of the Empty House."

"A Country Death" is a short Novella by Simon Curt Unsworth that describes the death of Holmes and its investigation by some unfortunate policemen. Sadly, a countryman or a biologist would find serious problems with the evidence and events as presented. "Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game" is a short story by Kevin Cockle that tells of a mission by Holmes and Watson to the Canadian Arctic at the behest of the Crown, or of some higher Authority. "Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell" is a short story by Simon Clark that is a bit confusing and disjoint.

"The Greatest Mystery" is a short story by Paul Kane that pits Holmes and Watson against their greatest opponent. While final victory is unsure, a small battle is won. "The House of Blood" is a short story by Tony Richards. It presents Holmes in 21st Century Las Vegas and is a more interesting story than one would expect from the premise. "The Adventure of the Six Maledictions" is a novella by Kim Newman that is worth the price of the entire book. It is an even more hilarious narrative by the Colonel Moran of "A Volume in Vermillion" that tells the problems he and Professor Moriarty encounter dealing with the minions of `a one-eyed yellow idol.'

This compilation is certainly worth the price. If all of the stories are not to your taste, some certainly will be. The variety of tales is wide, with something (or things) for everyone's tastes.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, November 2011