A fun dark fantasy take on the classic Sherlock Holmes story featuring faint Lovecraft overtones. Fans of Delilah S. Dawson and Vivian Shaw will enjoy this fast-paced adventure with promises of more tongue-in-cheek stories.
There have been more Sherlock Holmes adaptations that I can keep track of, and I have read a fair share of them. Like many of the more recent forays, Hall twists the original story by gender flipping Sherlock Holmes, but stands out by embracing the serial format of the source material and going full-tilt towards campy fun. Told from the perspective of Captain John Wyndham, the story follows his introduction and initial exploits with the sorceress Shaharazad Haas.
They reside in the city of Khelathra-Ven, which is a true melting pot of horror and fantasy tropes, including a sunken city with unfathomable gods. In their first case, they attempt to discover the identity of a blackmailer of one Eirene Viola, who is clearly a version of Irene Adler. This adventure takes them all around the invented land of the book, which shows off Hall’s incredible world-building. The mad-cap escapades also feature a great deal of literary allusions, though I must admit that I missed most of them.
I particularly loved the juxtaposition of the Victorian demeanor of Wyndham with the absurd setting and events that result from his time with Ms. Haas. At times, the obnoxious prudishness of Wyndham becomes overwhelming until you realizes that it is a very accurate portrayal of the character. All the characters are well-developed which is in part aided by the top notch narration by Nicholas Boulton who employs accents to great effect. Hall clearly wanted the reader to have a grand old time reading his book and has succeeded in writing a cracking comic tale that will remind readers of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Lemons & Lemonade 