Sherlock Holmes
Page 26
“Come now.”
“Its twilight years then. I am grateful that there are still lessons to learn, still mysteries waiting to be solved.”
“Still miracles to be performed?”
My friend’s smile grew. “You really believe what you saw as we fled, do you not?”
I sighed, shifting in my chair. My body ached even after all this time.
“I don’t know what to believe, Holmes. Agares rolled over.”
“The tilt of the ship, nothing more.”
“He looked straight at me.”
“A trick of the light.”
“He’s dead then?”
“How could it be otherwise? He went down with the ship.”
“And what of the face in the window? He was calling for help, Holmes. He was alive.”
“Did you want him to be?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Did you want to believe that after everything that had happened, Miss Honegger’s work would be a success?”
“You said yourself that it was the only plausible explanation for the body, for John.”
“A possible explanation; I am not so sure that I would describe it as plausible.”
“But all that business about science, the world being flat and so on.”
“I stand by what I said, and I admit that I don’t know for sure. As a young man, such an admission would have been unbearable, but now…”
“Don’t tell me you’re changing with the times, Holmes, no matter what they bring?”
My friend sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. “It’s a brave new world, Watson, full of new thoughts and new men to think them. As for myself, though it pains me to say it, some things are best left unknown.”
My friend, Sherlock Holmes, it seemed, was finally accepting that there were answers he would never find, mysteries he would never solve.
I didn’t believe him for a moment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks first of all to my good chum Mr George Mann for introducing me to Titan Books’ queen of Sherlockery and all-round brilliant editor, Miranda Jewess. Miranda, in turn, has been simply wonderful. Thanks for the support, the notes, the pots of tea and, most of all, a good helping of silliness en route.
Nearer to home, a big, big thank you to my darling wife Clare for reading the book chapter by chapter and persuading me that it was working at the moments I thought it wasn’t. Oh, and all the cups of coffee. Definitely the coffee.
There are so many other people I should properly thank; the authors of the various books on Holmesian lore I kept by my side (particularly Leslie S. Klinger of the spectacular New Annotated Sherlock Holmes), Emily Cartwright of the London Transport Museum for her timely assistance regarding the London Underground in 1919 and Dr. Matthew Sweet for pointing me in the direction of Dope Girls by Marek Kohn.
Finally, thank you to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mary Shelley for creating two of the biggest obsessions in my life. It’s been an honour to bring them together in this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cavan Scott is the author of over ninety books and audio dramas including the Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller Who-ology: The Official Doctor Who Miscellany, co-written with Mark Wright. He has written for such popular series as Doctor Who, Star Wars, Vikings, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Warhammer 40,000, Pathfinder, Blake’s 7, Judge Dredd and Highlander. Find out more by visiting www.cavanscott.com, or follow him on Twitter @cavanscott.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE THINKING ENGINE
James Lovegrove
It is 1895, and Sherlock Holmes and Watson learn of strange goings-on in Oxford. A Professor Quantock has built a wondrous computational device, which he claims is capable of analytical thought to rival the cleverest men alive. Holmes and Watson travel to Oxford, where a battle of wits ensues between the great detective and his mechanical counterpart as they compete to see which of them can be first to solve a series of crimes. But as man and machine vie for supremacy, it becomes clear that the Thinking Engine has its own agenda…
“The plot, like the device, is ingenious, with a chilling twist… an entertaining, intelligent and pacy read.” The Sherlock Holmes Journal
“Lovegrove knows his Holmes trivia and delivers a great mystery that fans will enjoy, with plenty of winks and nods to the canon.” Geek Dad
“I think Conan Doyle would have enjoyed reading this story: the concept of an intelligent, self-aware Thinking Engine is brilliance itself.” The Book Bag
TITANBOOKS.COM
GODS OF WAR
James Lovegrove
Dr Watson is visiting Sherlock Holmes near Eastbourne when tragedy strikes: the body of a young man, Patrick Mallinson, is found under the cliffs of Beachy Head. The dead man’s father engages Holmes to prove that his son committed suicide, the result of a failed love affair with an older woman. Yet the woman in question insists that there is more to Patrick’s death. She has seen mysterious symbols on his body, and fears that he was under the influence of a cult. When an attempt is made on Watson’s life, it seems that she may be proved right.
“Lovegrove has once again packed his novel with incident and suspense.” Fantasy Book Review
“An atmospheric mystery which shows just why Lovegrove has become a force to be reckoned with in genre fiction. More, please.” Starburst
“A very entertaining read with a fast-moving, intriguing plot.” The Consulting Detective
TITANBOOKS.COM
THE SPIRIT BOX
George Mann
Dr Watson is grieving for his nephew, killed on the fields of France. A cryptic summons from Mycroft Holmes reunites Watson with Sherlock, who comes out of retirement, tasked with solving three unexplained deaths. A politician has drowned in the Thames after giving a pro-German speech; a soldier suggests surrender before feeding himself to a tiger; and a suffragette renounces women’s liberation and throws herself under a train. Are these apparent suicides something more sinister, something to do with the mysterious Spirit Box?
“Arthur Conan Doyle was a master storyteller, and it takes comparable talent to give Holmes a second life… Mann is one of the few to get close to the target.” Daily Mail
“I would highly recommend this… a fun read.” Fantasy Book Review
“Our only complaint is that it is over too soon.” Starburst
“An entertaining read.” Eurocrime
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THE WILL OF THE DEAD
George Mann
A rich elderly man has fallen to his death, and his will is nowhere to be found. A tragic accident or something more sinister? The dead man’s nephew comes to Baker Street to beg for Sherlock Holmes’s help. Without the will he fears he will be left penniless, the entire inheritance passing to his cousin. But just as Holmes and Watson start their investigation, a mysterious new claimant to the estate appears. Does this prove that the old man was murdered? And does his death have anything to do with the terrifying “iron men”?
“Mann clearly knows his Holmes, knows what works… the book is all the better for it.” Crime Fiction Lover
“Mann writes Holmes in a eloquent way, capturing the period of the piece perfectly… this is a must read.” Cult Den
“An amazing story… Even in the established world of Sherlock Holmes, George Mann is a strong voice and sets himself apart!” Book Plank
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THE ARMY OF DR MOREAU
Guy Adams
Dead bodies are found on the streets of London with wounds that can only be explained as the work of ferocious creatures. Sherlock Holmes is visited by his brother, Mycroft, who is only too aware that the bodies are the calling card of Dr Moreau, a vivisectionist who was working for the British government, before his experiments attracted negative attention and the work was halted. Mycroft believes that Moreau’s experiments continue and he charges his brother with tracking the rogue scientist down before matters escalate any further.
“Succeeds bot
h as a literary jeu d’esprit and detective story, with a broad streak of irreverent humour.” Financial Times
“Deftly handled… this is a must read for all fans of adventure and fantasy literature.” Fantasy Book Review
“Well worth a read… Adams is a natural fit for the world of Sherlock Holmes.” Starburst
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