Shadowfall: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 19 DEC. 2011

Being able to digest Revels's reinterpretation of Holmes as a wizard with some elvish blood is essential for any enjoyment of his sequel to 2010's Shadowfall that unsuccessfully mixes disparate elements such as Lizzie Borden, Ponce de Leon, and H.P. Lovecraft. Watson has been stricken with a baffling illness that leaves him physically and spiritually wasted. To speed his recovery once he finally regains consciousness, Holmes arranges for him to convalesce at the country estate of a friend, Thomas Darby. Shortly after his arrival, Watson is visited by Edgar Telfair, an American millionaire, who, along with his daughter Alice, has led a reclusive existence nearby. Telfair demands that Watson summon Holmes for help, explaining that Alice has been kidnapped, adding that he and Alice had been regular consumers of water from the legendary Fountain of Youth in Florida, and he is actually about 200 years old. When a pastiche is as outr as this one, finding traces of Doyle's original creations becomes very hard, and Revels does nothing to make swallowing his riff either easy or desirable.