I Believe in Sherlock Holmes

This eclectic collection of parodies and tributes to Sherlock Holmes is a must for any Sherlockian. The highlights for me are the selections by Mark Twain and Vincent Starrett. I found some of the parodies a bit too silly and mocking of Holmes and Watson for my taste, but they reflect a range of response to Conan Doyle’s popular stories, which is itself of historical interest.

I would have liked an introduction before each author’s contribution(s) as I’ve seen in other anthologies. In electronic form, it’s more difficult to flip back to the introduction to get background and context for each contribution.

All in all, I enjoyed this collection and am glad that these stories have been made available in a single book for Holmes enthusiasts to enjoy.

If you've heard of a little book called Fifty Shades of Grey, you have heard of Fan Fiction. What you may not know is that this phenomenon started as early as 1892, only five years after the debut of Sherlock Holmes. Even Mark Twain got in on the action. This volume features 13 such pieces of fandom, including Twain's. The problem with these kinds of books is that the content can be uneven. Bret Harte's The Stolen Cigar Case is the best, not only in my opinion but also according to Ellery Queen, who called it "one of the most devastating parodies ever written about Sherlock Holmes." I also loved The Adventure of the Unique Hamlet, by Vincent Starrett and The Jewish Lamp, by Maurice Leblanc. The problem with the rest of the stories is that they make Holmes look like a convoluted fool who doesn't know what he's doing, and Watson as a dog in his blind adoration. I know that that’s what parodies are for, but I really, un-ironically admire Sherlock Holmes and it hurt me a little to see him made fun of. I enjoyed all the stories and, if nothing else, it is interesting to read these pieces of fan fiction.

This book is perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes. The stories span from Sherlock parodies to stories inspired by him to stories with Sherlock as a cameo appearance. Honestly I think that the weakest story in this collection would be the Mark Twain one and that's only because it is very long and can get incredibly confusing if you aren't paying attention. The texts are ordered by year published, so the Mark Twain one is around the middle, but I feel that the length of it throws off the pace of reading the book since most of the stories are short stories rather than novellas. However, I do think that it is cool that even Mark Twain loved Sherlock Holmes and was inspired by the detective stories. One of my favorite things about these stories are the various names that the authors gave to their "Watson" and "Holmes" characters. I actually got disappointed at one point because one author's name for Sherlock wasn't as funny as some of the others! It's really amazing to think about the impact Sherlock Holmes has had on the world because Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hated the stories so much and yet it is the one thing that he is most known for. I also love that even though Holmes was "killed off" other writers decided to continue the stories in their own various ways. Besides the Mark Twain story, I think that the stories were organized nicely because I would finish one and be excited to see what the new author's take on Holmes and Watson would be (although a lot of them portrayed Watson to be exaggeratedly stupid which made me feel bad for him). I wish that there were even more stories in here because I'm sure that you could find so much more. I think it would be awesome if Greene decided to compile a volume 2, but if that doesn't happen I think the selection that he as chosen shows a good variety over a long span of time that readers will find interesting and entertaining today!

This is a fantastic collection. While I didn't love every story, I did like many more than not.

This book's subtitle doesn't exactly do it many favours (and the main title isn't up to much, either, to be honest). Just by listing these tales as fan-fiction ties in with the introductory notes, that so many were invented to fill gaps left by Conan Doyle retiring, then returning to, the character, but there is more to it than that. On the whole these pieces are too professionally done to be mere homages. Some are pastiches with the intent on clearly being humorous, either in taking the mickey of Holmes and Watson in their relationship, or just by proving the master detective fallible. Generally they're serious efforts (or at least aren't amusing), and are pretty good, even if the editing could have been better – Holmes as a snakeoil salesman on a river boat is scraping the barrel (and no, that's not the Mark Twain effort, surprisingly- although both are stinkers). When the creators know their trade in telling a good story, in the detail that Conan Doyle could provide, generally they succeed, and at that level the parody of Watson's style comes easy. Certainly this is more grist to the mill of any Holmes aficionado, further proof of the timeless qualities of the character, and on the whole a pretty entertaining piece of work.

I do believe in Sherlock Holmes!