Idle Hands

[kyburg]

Remember awful books brought to the tech desk at AX. I look at motorbike.

Didn't know I was a closet Holmesian, didya?

Does the absolute WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CRAP now make sense? Oh no, I can go on.

Awful book in question is this little lovely - the tale of Sherlock Holmes and his nineteen-year-old-ward Mary Russell, who eventually marries the archetype...but I digress.

THERE ARE FIVE BOOKS IN A SERIES. I might have to read them just to figure out if the writing is just that good or not. Something.

(reannon is tickled pink that her really good, original as all hell stuff finally made it to print after some of the hardest work she's had to do on her own dime promoting them, yuki_onna is flattened to discover that she really IS as good as she is, after publishing chapbooks and so forth for years, cadhla just sold books she's been working on for years and years...and here's someone who's been mining someone else's works, clearly self-inserting and got five books out of it. WHAT.)

Don't look at me like that. The 'new' BSG also gets much the same reaction. Dudes - GREAT show. Dudes - write your own stuff next time!

*pants* *snarls*

Oh, Nicholas Meyer, of Sevent-Per-Cent-Solution fame...which remains of the best re-working of the Holmesian genre, IMHO...you wouldn't do this to me. The second book you did? Not so good...what was the title of that again? Oh yeah, West End Horror (about Jack the Ripper)...what's this? A third book I didn't know about? Oh! Happy!

*looks*

Ya gotta be kidding me.

Am I the only one who remembers that Holmes was one of the most dyed-in-the wool, best examples of, no question about it, SO GAY IT HURTS misogynist?!

I guess. So.

Six more for the 50 Books Challenge list, here they come. Hope I can hang onto my lunch long enough. (Abebooks, take me away!)

Blame the Starsky & Hutch fandom. Blame blame blame.

Comments

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who remembers that Holmes was one of the most dyed-in-the wool, best examples of, no question about it, SO GAY IT HURTS misogynist?!

I always thought he was just British. OHHHHHH

Anyway I am sure you know the gay arises chiefly from fact that 90% of the time Doyle didn't give enough of a shit RE: own work to remember if Watson was married, so W comes off as having a fake wife whose vars. names he uses to cover illicit m/m Victorian couplings.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Talk about being a victim of your own success -

I've been to the Rickenbach Falls, and dang if they don't have a life-size statue of Holmes there, proud as heck that they're in the same place where Doyle KILLED the guy! (He tried...he really did.)

So most of my Holmes wank is done with tongue firmly in cheek. Doncha know.

Hmm. Zombie Holmes. It has potential.

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

Was it ever explained how the hell he survived?

ANYWAY are you reading BKA --> O Jerusalem --> rest of series. Because here we have Holmes mintily true to character and paired up with the tomboyest tomboy who ever tomboyed. Masterful! Two fandom birds with one stone! LAURIE KING Y U DO DIS

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I think Watson woke up and found him taking a shower one morning. Seriously, I'll go check and get back to you. (I've got that huge compendium someplace...I think.)

Abebooks coming through again - a buck a book!

Y?

$$$! WHEE!

It would appear she gets to do these books because she simply writes a buttload of books, period. Prolific R US.

[pagawne.livejournal.com]

I think the very best "Holmes" story I ever came across was a movie "Murder By Decree". It almost could have been written by Doyle, except *he* would never have written something that might upset his monarch in so many ways.

If you are really a Holmes fan, there is a series of books that are really fun. The main character is Irene Addler, always "the Woman" in Mr. Holmes' life.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Who, in canon, did nothing but piss him off - *laughs* - we have to rely on Watson for her name and identification.

Oh she shows up everywhere. Maybe I'm a bit too harsh on someone who actually wrote a second female character instead of rewriting an existing one into self-insertion as well....

I *do* get into these moods from time to time - *checks* - I have to wonder if Meyer was doing his own take on the Ripper angle, as your suggestion predates his work on the subject....

[ex-squashy880.livejournal.com]

I'd never heard of that Laurie whatshername woman before. When i read your description i assumed that it was some self-published rubbish. Sadly, it's not.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

No, someone got PAID. A LOT.

*head shakes* I'm in the wrong business. Or something.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

I'd say They Might be Giants was the best Holmesian tribute. I can't say Meyer's was the worst, but it made me not want to read any faux-Doyle for years afterwards, and I disliked everything Meyer did up until his Star Trek movie and Volunteers. It seemed like a parade of gratuitous meetings with famous people in between repeated foot-shootings of Holmes's character.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Gee, I thought I was previewing that so I could fine tune it. Well, I guess I've bought it now.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

My dear high school drama teacher (who was the only Trekkie I knew besides myself, and let me bring fan fiction into short story class for credit - I <3'ed him) was the one who also brought in Seven Percent Solution (and Shogun, ghad I owe him for that) and happily discussed the matter for hours.

Star Trek, Starsky & Hutch and Sherlock Holmes. Goes together like Nutella, bananas and whipped cream.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but I love the Mary Russell books, the first one is fabulous at least, O Jerusalem is not my favourite by a long shot. I never read Holmes as gay though, rather repressed and Victorian sure; the books delighted me, as did Laurie R King's Martinelli cop books, not sure on her other stuff mind.

[magaliiiii.livejournal.com]

oh don't get me wrong, nat and i adore the shit out of them much though it is, in hindsight, very much like self-insert fic. i think she got holmes pretty well on many counts.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Sadly, that's not hard to do. Most of the Holmesian folks I know bitch loudest over details NOT related to character quirks. Like - that didn't happen because....

Oh, like the falls weren't salt water or something. Really.

The rest is pretty clear - the archetype is sturdy and well-defined.

(You ever read any Nero Wolfe books?)

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who remembers that Holmes was one of the most dyed-in-the wool, best examples of, no question about it, SO GAY IT HURTS misogynist?!

No, no you aren't.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who understands that the allure of Pride & Prejudice is their inability to come together. I think I must based on the number of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy novels out there. Bleh!