# Please recommend me some non-Doyle Sherlock Holmes novels/stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518 "2006-03-15T21:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/21 "2006-03-16T15:51:14Z")
> [@beowulf573](#): > > Neil Gaiman wrote a Lovecraft/Holmes pastiche called “A Study in Emerald”. It was available on the web for a while when it was nominated for a Hugo. It’s part of a collection of stories called “Shadows over Baker Street”. > > (Running late for work otherwise I’d google for links.) I found it [here](http://www.mikeshea.net/A_Study_in_Emerald.html). It was an interesting story. Tell me, I got the role reversal revealed at the end. Was that a Lovecraft version of Holmes? I don’t know much about Lovecraft, so the world in which the story was set is not one which I am familiar. Could you provide me a little background so that I might better understand the story? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/22 "2006-03-16T16:00:03Z")
> [@beowulf573](#): > > Neil Gaiman wrote a Lovecraft/Holmes pastiche called “A Study in Emerald”. It was available on the web for a while when it was nominated for a Hugo. It’s part of a collection of stories called “Shadows over Baker Street”. Yep, got that one! I’m a Lovecraft fan too, so I was all over that collection when it came out. Two great tastes that taste…well…weird together! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/23 "2006-03-16T16:01:39Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Stephen King once wrote a Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson story. It appeared in _Nightmares and Dreamscapes_, and it states that that case was the first one in which Watson solved the mystery before Holmes did. King is an idiot at the best of times, and never more so when he makes pronouncements about things he knows nothing about. (He would fit in great on the Dope, come to think about it.) There have been a zillion stories about Watson outsmarting Holmes and they go back to the early days of Holmes parodies. My favorite among these is “the Adventure of the Remarkable Worm” by Stuart Palmer, which appeared in _Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine_ in July 1944. Beats King by more than half a century. And it’s also famous in mystery circles and much reprinted, so there’s no excuse for him not knowing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/24 "2006-03-16T16:06:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > If you’re using “Victorian boring” to describe laborious and unsuccessful efforts to ape Doyle’s style, then it’s clever. But if you really feel that Doyle (and his successful imitators) is “Victorian boring”, then what are you doing reading Holmes in the first place? Mostly the former. I enjoy Doyle’s short stories, Victorian prose and all. But it’s not the style that makes me enjoy them as much as the character of Holmes–his intellect, his quirks, his flaws, his relationship with Watson–just the whole package. I would likely enjoy Holmes no matter what style he was written in–as long as he remained Holmes. I really appreciate all the suggestions from everyone! I’ve already ordered a Val Andrews book from Ebay based on one of the pages posted upthread a bit, and I’ve got a list of possibilities to keep me happy for awhile. 🙂 (For some reason, I start getting the Holmes bug right around this time every year, extending through the summer. They make great airplane stories for my trips to gaming conventions. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/25 "2006-03-16T16:32:25Z")
I have heard good things about The Final Solution by Pittsburgh writer Michael Chabon. He’s old in that, though, and it’s a bit more “literary” than mystery so you might not like it. I plan to read it once I finally get around to reading The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay since it is really short (more of a novella than a novel). ---
**Author:** ![beowulf573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@beowulf573](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulf573)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/26 "2006-03-16T16:35:16Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve ready “A Study in Emerald” but my guess is… Lovecraft’s Old Ones (basically foul demons) have come forth and replaced the British Royalty. So the Queen and Prince Albert aren’t human. The person we’re led to believe is Holmes is really Moriarty and the writer of the tales is Sebastian Moran, Moriarty’s right hand man. And in the end we discover it’s Holmes and Watson working against them. The actor was Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/27 "2006-03-16T16:48:19Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > I have heard good things about The Final Solution by Pittsburgh writer Michael Chabon. He’s old in that, though, and it’s a bit more “literary” than mystery so you might not like it. I plan to read it once I finally get around to reading The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay since it is really short (more of a novella than a novel). I looked into that one last time I got on a Holmes kick, but the description didn’t really appeal to me–mostly because I don’t care for stories where Holmes is really old (he’s 89 in this one). I like him a bit more in his prime than that. 🙂 Thanks, though! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/28 "2006-03-16T16:52:24Z")
I recommend [Sherlock Holmes’ War Of The Worlds](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BD134S/qid=1142527883/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-9607823-9818313?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) by Wellman. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/29 "2006-03-16T17:03:37Z")
Actor/humourist Stephen Fry wrote an excellent short story pastiche of Holmes (he’s a big fan, apparently), in which a manuscript goes a-missing (“The Adventure of the Laughing Jarvey,”). It’s in his entertaining collection of newspaper columns and radio broadcasts entitled “Paperweight,” well worth owning on its own merits. Out of print, but found on ebay or amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/30 "2006-03-16T17:10:41Z")
“The List of 7” is a horror/mystery based on certain adventures of young Dr Conan Doyle. It is, in a way, a Sherlock Holmes story. Mark Frost, who also wrote for “Twin Peaks” wrote this truly ripping yarn. “6 Messiahs” was a sequel. I was initially disappointed but later began to appreciate it. How sad that a series did not materialize. “Shadows Over Baker Street” is the aforementioned Holmes/Lovecraft merger. Eldritch doings abound. Fred Saberhagen wrote “The Holmes-Dracula File.” Out of print but worth a search. Roger Zelazny’s “A Night In the Lonesome October” features many familiar figures–The Count, The Mad Monk & The Great Detective. Only peripherally Sherlockiana, it is still a wonderful book. Criminally out of print but findable. (People wonder why I hold on to those ratty-looking paperbacks!) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/31 "2006-03-16T17:48:04Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > Out-there pairings and supernatural stuff (for example, Holmes vs. Dracula, Holmes meets Houdini) are great–love 'em! ! How about Doctor Who & Sherlock Holmes team up to fight Lovecraftian monsters? [here](http://tinyurl.com/plsjr) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518/32 "2006-03-16T17:54:39Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > How about Doctor Who & Sherlock Holmes team up to fight Lovecraftian monsters? [here](http://tinyurl.com/plsjr) Oh, yeah–I am _so_ there! 🙂 Just ordered it from Amazon. Thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-me-some-non-doyle-sherlock-holmes-novels-stories/348518.md?page=1)