Sherlock Holmes is everywhere lately. There’s the Guy Ritchie film, BBC’s Sherlock (which is excellent, by the way)—it’s even infiltrated my comics circle in the form of Daniel Corey’s Moriarty.
In short, my interest has been piqued. Mystery may not be my normal genre, but Holmes is a classic all to himself, and as a result I’ve been reading Doyle’s classic stories on my iPad—and quite enjoying them.
It was at this point that I rather fortuitously discovered Guy Adams’The Breath of God, in which Watson and Holmes must seek the aid of Aleister Crowley (among others)—which caused a bit of ambivalence for me.
On the one hand, mashups sometimes work rather well; I love the idea of Holmes and Watson interacting with the real-life Crowley and other literary characters such as John Silence and Thomas Carnacki.
But on the other, the publisher’s summary leans quite heavily towards actual supernatural events, which I have a hard time reconciling with Holmes’ character—especially this particular quote from the back cover:
“Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson travel to Scotland to meet with the one person they have been told can help: Aleister Crowley. As dark powers encircle them, Holmes’ rationalist beliefs begin to be questioned.”
I needn’t have worried, however—Adams’ version of Holmes is as cynical towards the otherworldly claims as you’d expect, and while the novel’s supernatural bent isn’t my preferred cup of tea, even Doyle dove into that realm from time to time.
The important part for me is that Adams’ intrigue and sense of adventure are worth the price of admission. He captures the spirit of the characters, and once he gets going you’re securely in Watson’s shoes—no longer sure of the world you live in.
It bears mentioning that Adams’ style isn’t a dead-ringer for Doyle’s (the author even addresses this in the afterword); upon reading the original Holmes I was surprised at how much of it was simply dialogue, and trying to replicate that in modern day would seem a bit odd.
However, Adams does an excellent job of capturing the feel of a Holmes adventure, and I particularly enjoyed his fleshing out of Langdale Pike (a character created by Doyle for The Adventure of the Three Gables) and his poignant portrayal of Watson as a widower, demonstrating how much the author cares for these characters.
Perhaps that above all secures The Breath of God as a must-read for fans of Sherlock Holmes.
This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher. As always, the opinions expressed are mine alone.
