Sunday, July 23, 2017

The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles - Review

Author: GS Denning
Publisher: Titan Books
Genre: Paranormal / Retelling
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320




The game's afoot once more as Holmes and Watson face off against Moriarty's gang, the Pinkertons, flesh-eating horses, a parliament of imps, boredom, Surrey, a disappointing butler demon, a succubus, a wicked lord, an overly-Canadian lord, a tricycle-fight to the death and the dreaded Pumpcrow. Oh, and a hell hound, one assumes.





The Hell-hound of the Baskervilles takes place not long after the first book, A Study in Brimstone, ends, and I've been waiting since then to get my hands on this book! Unlike the first book the main story takes place at the end. Believe me it's worth the wait. The short stories that G.S. Denning chose were ones I haven't read in years. In fact most I haven't read more than once.

This book is everything I loved about the first book, and more. Watson has always been my favorite of the duo, and G.S. Denning writes one of my favorite versions of Dr. John Watson. So I loved that he got the first story all to himself. However, it wasn't my favorite my story. That goes to the The Adventure of the Solitary Tricyclist. It was seriously adorable and I love Grogsson. He's so precious.

So what did I love about this book?

Well I love the paranormal take on Sherlock Holmes, in fact I'm a sucker for it. Add in the comedy and I'll just throw my money at you. However, what I adore about this book is Warlock himself. I love the bumbling and confused Detective of Baker Street. I love how Watson has to constantly remind Warlock how to do things like a mortal and stop having demons toss dead horses into their living room. Also, we finally get to see how Warlock Holmes became the, well, warlock that he is.

Warlock's backstory comes at the end of the book the Hell-hound of the Baskervilles, and it was wonderful. The original version is my favorite of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, because it was the first I ever read. And I loved G.S. Denning's version of that story. It had everything I loved about the original, plus so much more.

Another thing I love is the humor in this book. Waston's narrative is always fun and full of sass. I love the back and forth between Warlock and Watson, how comfortable they are with each other. But, what I liked the most was how much Watson had grown into the paranormal world since the first book. While he's still uncomfortable with most of it, he's started taking some of it with stride. Not much had changed with Warlock, except for the missing bits, but that was okay. I like Warlock the way he is. Strange and unusual.

Honestly, there wasn't much I didn't like about the The Hell-hound of the Baskervilles. The stories all flowed well together. Each happening not long after the other, and I felt like each one flowed without pause. I think my biggest upset was the fact I have to wait a while for the third book, but I'm super excited. There might be more Moriarty in the next one!

P.S. I love that the book is orange!

Buy, Borrow, and Skip: Buy! Buy them both! Read them and love them and then share them with all your friends!

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