We’re pleased to once again bring you an excerpt, this time from James Lovegrove’s new novel, Sherlock Holmes: Gods of War (available this week from Titan Books)!

Here’s what the book is about:

1913. The clouds of war are gathering. The world’s great empires vie for supremacy. Europe is in turmoil, a powder keg awaiting a spark. A body is discovered on the shore below Beachy Head, just a mile from Sherlock Holmes’s retirement cottage. The local police are satisfied that it’s a suicide. The victim, a young man, recently suffered a disappointment in love, and Beachy Head is notorious as a place where the desperate and depressed leap to their deaths. Holmes, however, suspects murder. As he and Watson investigate, they uncover a conspiracy with shocking ramifications.

Read on for an excerpt!

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This month, Titan has published Further Encounters of Sherlock Holmes edited by George Mann, a brand-new collection of Sherlock Holmes stories exciting voices in modern horror and steampunk.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the stories from that anthology: “The Snowtorn Terror” by Justin Richards…
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Ever since childhood, Emma Jane Holloway refused to accept that history was nothing but facts prisoned behind the closed door of time. Why waste a perfectly good playground coloring within the timelines? Accordingly, her novels are filled with whimsical impossibilities and the occasional eye-blinking impertinence-but always in the service of grand adventure. Struggling between the practical and the artistic — a family tradition, along with ghosts and a belief in the curative powers of shortbread — Emma Jane has a degree in literature and job in finance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest in a house crammed with books, musical instruments, and half-finished sewing projects. In the meantime, she’s published articles, essays, short stories, and enough novels to build a fort for her stuffed hedgehog. She is the author of The Baskerville Affair trilogy, consisting of A Study in Silks, A Study in Darkness, and A Study in Ashes (available December 31). You can vist Emma Jane on the web at www.emmajaneholloway.com and on Facebook.

by Emma Jane Holloway

Whether we like to admit it or not, the dividing line between fact and fantasy is a moving target. Our ancestors mucked about with alchemy, phrenology and table-rapping, and no doubt we’re doing something our great-grandchildren will find quaint. The definition of “science” is subject to interpretation over time.

I write Victorian-set steampunk with both mechanics and magic and my main character is the niece of Sherlock Holmes. Yes, mixing Holmes with the supernatural may sound odd, but back in the day of gaslight and corsets, laboratories and the land of spirit were far from strangers.

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Settle in, dear reader. We have for you today an excerpt from George Mann’s new novel, Sherlock Holmes: The Will of the Dead.

Here’s the book description:

A young man named Peter Maugram appears at the front door of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson’s Baker Street lodgings. Maugram’s uncle is dead and his will has disappeared, leaving the man afraid that he will be left penniless. Holmes agrees to take the case and he and Watson dig deep into the murky past of this complex family.

A brand-new Sherlock Holmes novel from the acclaimed author of the Newbury & Hobbes series.

Read on for an excerpt…
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Hi guys!  I’m new here and, while I will rarely ever write reviews,* I plan on putting pen to paper (figuratively speaking of course) to share all sorts of geeky and genre related goodies with you beginning today.  So, I thought I’d break the ice with some amazing cookie cutters based on a few of our favorite bookish fandoms.  Who doesn’t like cookies, right?**

Here goes nothin’…

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The Mythgard Institute, home to learning courses geared towards genre fans, introduces a new course for the Fall 2013 session: Sherlock, Science and Ratiocination with Dr. Amy H. Sturgis.

Here’s the course description and video explaining what it’s about:
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Lavie Tidhar, author of the steampunk series The Bookman, will be writing a 5-part comic mini-series called Adler, described “The League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen”…

Press release follows…
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I’m at it again over at the Kirkust Reviews Blog, where I name my SF/F picks for May.

Check it out!

It’s no secret that science fiction has its share of fun with literature’s most beloved consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. What I didn’t know was that there were way more crossovers that I would have thought.

At the Kirkus Reviews blog today, I continue my look at Speculative Fiction’s Love Affair with Sherlock Holmes (Part 2).

Check it out!

It’s no secret that science fiction has its share of fun with literature’s most beloved consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. What I didn’t know was that there were way more crossovers that I would have thought.

At the Kirkus Reviews blog today, I start looking at Speculative Fiction’s Love Affair with Sherlock Holmes.

Check it out!

REVIEW SUMMARY: Silly, with too many subplots and not quite enough brain, this follow-up to 2009′s Sherlock Holmes still manages the same level of energy and dynamism, helped in large part by Guy Ritchie’s energetic pace and Robert Downey, Jr.’s return as the iconic sleuth.

RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: On the eve of Dr. John Watson’s wedding night, Sherlock Holmes investigates the death of an Austrian prince, whom Holmes believes has been murdered by Professor James Moriarty.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: The chemistry between Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr., again; the fully-realized Victorian London; outstanding battle aboard a train hurtling through the English countryside as well as the Holmes-Moriarty fight over Reichenbach Falls.

CONS: Lack of memorable lines; emphasis on action over intellect; a screenplay that makes too little use of deductive reasoning and far too many subplots; Guy Ritchie occasionally losing control as director.

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Editor John Joseph Adams has launched the website for his anthology, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which sports nice cover art by David Palumbo. Check out the site for lots of cool info about the anthology, like links to online versions for some of the stories and non-fiction pieces, in multiple formats. This is not just a collection of detective stories; they span multiple genres. Here’s the table of contents:

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