Review: A Study in Brimstone (Warlock Holmes #1)

 Happy Sunday everyone!

I'm back to teaching this week. I feel like that cuts far too much into my reading time (And would into my writing time except due to this damn pandemic and social bans, I have had almost no creative energy TO write, so I can't very well blame my job for that). 

I'm up to book 4 in this series, but due to laziness and the fact that I don't want to post spoilers, I'm only going to do the review for the first book.

I solemnly swear, I will get back to fiction work. I'm hoping seeing humans at work will boost my creativity.

 

 

BOOK TITLE: A Study in Brimstone

AUTHOR: G.S. Denning

DESCRIPTION OF BOOK COVER: Black heraldic like emblem with the title in the middle in Green and White. On the corners are two silhouettes of a head in profile (one the traditional Sherlock Holmes and the other, Warlock who looks like Sherlock but with green eyes and an upside-down pipe). Author’s name is in a banner at the bottom.

GENRE (optional): Fantasy/Mystery/Humor

PAGES (optional): 336

BLURB: Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius. 

Warlock Holmes is an idiot. A font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim. Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only thing he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart companion. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety… and save him from a gruesome death every now and again.

# OF STARS: 4

To be fair, this is probably my third or fourth time reading this book. I read it this time around because I got the fourth and fifth book in the series for Christmas, so obviously I had to read the first three all over again in order to read the fourth and fifth.

It’s a rule. You should have seen me with Dresden Files when Book 18 was coming, haha.

Anyway, I quite enjoy this mash-up of Sherlock Holmes with magic, demons, other troubles. Each character has been reimagined into characters that are far more arcane, save for poor Dr. Watson who is more reimagined as Sherlock rather than the side character. The stories are familiar enough to draw you back in, but different enough to keep you there.

And the humor is so demented, especially when picking apart British customs in the Victorian era. My favorite parts are when Watson comes into contact with a Canadian who has inherited a British title and how horrified Watson is over the Canadian’s lack of British propriety. (That’s in Book 2). And the running gag about how a walking stick is not a weapon, no matter how many fine gentlemen carry them.

*achem*

I am a thorough fan of mash-ups when they are done well and Warlock Holmes is done well. It can be a little dark and fairly gruesome at times and the humor is demented. It will likely not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll probably enjoy it. And there are five books out now, so there’s plenty to read, though none of them are very hard to read.

A Study in Brimstone takes the first five Sherlock Holmes stories and reimagines them if Sherlock was a warlock who ends up getting tossed at solving mysterious and magical crimes. He’s not very good at it, but Dr. John Watson is trying very hard to teach him how to use deductive reasoning (instead of demons). Carried throughout is the Brimstone thread which binds people to each other and to the possibility of a horrific fate for the entire world. The characters are obviously headed for some big trouble, but along the way, they are getting better at solving crimes and occasionally help people, though sometimes it’s by pure accident.

I don’t want to spoiler because a lot of the charm of these books is to read them and see the familiar Sherlock Holmes stories in a twisted light, so I’ll leave it at that.

Pros: The humor, the making fun of Victorian Britain, Warlock Holmes is amazing, and the arc for Watson throughout the series is really good.

Cons: This humor is very much an acquired taste. If you don’t like Pratchett, Douglas Adams, or writers who take common themes and add a weird kink to them, you probably won’t like this. You’ll also have to leave behind any thought that Warlock is going to be like Sherlock. He really isn’t. And Warlock’s adventures are inspired by the Sherlock ones, but there’s a lot that is different too (of course).

I love this series! For all of them, you’re looking at: A Study in Brimstone, The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles, My Grave Ritual, The Sign of Nine and The Finality Problem. I'm reading The Sign of the Nine right now, then The Finality Problem.

**

I volunteered to review a thriller that is coming out in a couple of months. I don't read many thrillers, so this should be interesting. The review will be in a couple of weeks most likely.