Sherlock Holmes meets H.P. Lovecraft in 'Shadows Over Baker Street'

Why, oh why, did I wait eight years to read “Shadows Over Baker Street: New Tales of Terror!”?

I’ve known about this book since its publication and have actually owned a copy of it for a couple of years, but only got around to reading it a week or so ago. Now I’m kicking myself for having waited so long to read this fun and outstanding book.

Originally published by Random House in 2003, this 464-page book is a collection of 18 short stories that features the famed fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in “the nightmare world of H.P. Lovecraft.”

I’m a huge fan of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft (and Holmes), and I can say without a doubt that this book is one of the most fun and enjoyable books that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long, long time. I highly recommend it to everyone in the reading audience, especially to those who enjoy Lovecraft, Holmes, horror, detective fiction or just a good, old-fashioned short story.

Here’s how the editors billed this outstanding anthology – “What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself? In this collection of original tales, twenty of today’s cutting-edge writers provide answers to that burning question.”

Edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan, the stories in this book are arranged according to year in which they take place. They include:

- “A Study in Emerald” (1881) by Neil Gaiman
- “Tiger! Tiger!” (1882) by Elizabeth Bear
- “The Case of the Wavy Black Dagger” (1884) by Steve Perry
- “A Case of Royal Blood” (1888) by Steven-Elliot Altman
- “The Weeping Masks” (1890) by James Lowder
- “Art in the Blood” (1892) by Brian Stableford
- “The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone” (1894) by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson
- “The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece” (1894) by Barbara Hambly
- “The Mystery of the Worm” (1894) by John Pelan
- “The Mystery of the Hanged Man’s Puzzle” (1897) by Paul Finch
- “The Horror of the Many Faces” (1898) by Tim Lebbon
- “The Adventure of the Arab’s Manuscript” (1898) by Michael Reaves
- “The Drowned Geologist” (1898) by Caitlin R. Kiernan
- “A Case of Insomnia” (1899) by John P. Vourlis
- “The Adventure of the Voorish Sign” (1899) by Richard A. Lupoff
- “The Adventure of Exham Priory (1901) by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
- “Death Did Not Become Him” (1902) by David Niall Wilson and Patricia Lee Macomber
- “Nightmare in Wax” (1915) by Simon Clark

“A Study in Emerald,” which was the first story in the book, is arguably the best story in the entire edition. First appearing in “Shadows Over Baker Street,” this story went on to win the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and the 2005 Locus Award for Best Novelette. It was later reprinted in a collection of Gaiman’s stories called “Fragile Things.”

A quick note about the book’s title, “Shadows Over Baker Street.” This is a play on two Lovecraftian and Holmesian themes, combining the title of one of Lovecraft’s most famous stories, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” and Sherlock Holmes’ fictional address, 221B Baker Street in London. If you travel to 221B Baker St. in London today, you’ll arrive at the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

In the end, I really enjoyed “Shadows Over Baker Street” and will likely read it again and again. How many of you have had a chance to read this book? What did you think about it? Which of the 18 stories was your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments section below.