Yet another geek blog

12 November 2011

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds By Manly Wade Wellman , Wade Wellman

In Short

What Sherlock Holmes got up to when the Martians were invading.

Things to Like

A better premise for a steampunk novel simply cannot be imagined. Because the world of Sherlock Holmes is so familiar, the reader can experience some of the thrill in its destruction that the original readers of The War of the Worlds must have felt. The lesser known Professor Challenger is also bought into the mix and there is a wonderfully cheeky revelation about Holmes' private life.

Things not to Like

The authors have taken all this potential and done absolutely nothing with it. Separated and alone, Challenger and Holmes simply wonder around following the exact events described in Wells' book and understand them. That is pretty much it.

The bombastic and arrogant Challenger should be a joy to write for. But, as he is alone he has nobody to be bombastic and arrogant to. Holmes conducts no experiments, makes no deductions. He just understands what is happening because he is so clever. You would at least expect some sparks when the men are finally bought together, but no. It is just mutual appreciation.

Even the cheeky idea about Homes' private life is handled in the most boring way imaginable. The reader is just told what it is near the beginning of the story.

I suspect that the authors were just too timid to add anything, but in places it feels as if they are actually trying to be dull.