The Holmes-Dracula File (1978)

For Halloween, here's a look back at Fred Saberhagen's The Holmes-Dracula File, the second book in his ten-book Dracula series. This is the first U.S. paperback edition.

From the writing of the late John H. Watson, M.D. 

It is with emotions doubly strange that I at last take up my pen to write the story involving the creature I have elsewhere referred to as the Giant Rat of Sumatra–a story, I may add that until quite recently I had thought likely would remain forever unrecorded . . . surely the most bizarre case in all the long and illustrious career of my friend Sherlock Holmes.

By Holmes' own instructions, it must go with some few private papers of his own, into the deepest vaults of the Oxford Street bank. There it is to remain for years or decades, for centuries if need be, until a mist singular password shall be presented for its removal . . . .

And so, at last:

THE HOLMES-DRACULA FILE 

Title: The Holmes-Dracula File

Author: Fred Saberhagen

Year: 1978

Publisher: ACE Science Fiction

Purchase: Amazon.com.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1977)

This is the 1977 movie tie-in edition of Nicholas Meyer's bestselling Holmes pastiche, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. The movie starred Nicol Williamson as Sherlock Holmes, Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson and Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud.

Little could Dr. Watson believe that the pathetic figure huddle before him was the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Alas it was his old friend Holmes, but a Holmes in bondage – not to any arch villain – but to a 7% solution of cocaine and sterile water. Driven by the drug to wild ravings, Holmes had to be duped into rehabilitation – before it was too late....

Title: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Author: Nicholas Meyer
Year: 1977 (first published 1974)
Publisher: Ballantine
Purchase: Amazon.

The Earthquake Machine (1976)

I've not read this Holmes pastiche by Austin Mitchelson & Nicholas Utechin, but I do love the cover!

EXPERIMENT IN TERROR

In the autumn of 1906, a telegram was delivered to 221B Baker Street. It contained a message which was to plunge Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson into their most terrifying adventure, which would threaten the very existence of the British Empire and bring the world to the edge of destruction.

This message set the two detectives on a relentless search for a group of terrorists bent on world war. It read simply: "Come at once, your country at stake."

Title: The Earthquake Machine
Author: Austin Mitchelson & Nicholas Utechin
Year: 1976
Publisher: Belmont Tower Books
Purchase: Amazon.

Also see: Hellbirds (1976).

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Undead Client (2019)

A new final case of Sherlock Holmes by M. J. Downing. Sounds like Jack the Ripper is also in the mix.

Sherlock Holmes' devoted friend Dr John Watson takes the lead in a case so bizarre that it could only be revealed after Holmes’ death. 

Sherlock Holmes has only been deceased a month when Dr. John Watson, still grieving, recounts his final case with Holmes. A terrifying mystery, it sends Watson and Holmes into the dark reaches of London’s back alleys – and the human soul. 

It begins when Anne Prescott, a lovely Scottish nurse, begs Sherlock Holmes and Watson to help her find her fiancé and her sister, who have gone missing in the teeming streets of London. Immediately, Watson feels an attraction to her that shocks him. Newly married to Mary, and deeply in love with her, he struggles to put Anne out of his mind. 

As Watson and Holmes dig into the slums and sewers of London looking for Anne’s fiancé and sister, they uncover a deadly web of bloody murders, horrific medical experiments, and even voodoo ritual that threatens not only London, but the entire British empire, and beyond. 

Watson must call on his unique combination of expertise in the medical sciences, as well as his military training to stop this killer before London – and Anne -- are lost to the killer’s bloody plan. But time is short and the mystery ever more complex. How can he manage his feelings for Anne? What about his loyalty to Mary? He can’t have both.

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Undead Client
Author: M. J. Downing
Year: 2019
Publisher: Burns and Lea Media
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes (1960)

Likely the first collection of Sherlock Holmes science fiction self published by four Sherlockians from Denver who called themselves The Council of Four. Includes two stories co-authored by August Derleth of Solar Pons fame.

"But", you say, "Conan Doyle never wrote any science fiction stories involving Holmes." Well, this is a debatable point, for the opposing viewpoint see Anthony Boucher's introduction. Regardless of whether or not he did, there are some science fiction authors who felt that Holmes should have had some more adventures, preferable in the future. Now not only did they feel this way but they actually sat down and did something about giving the world more Holmes stories. 

The Council of Four of Denver, scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, has published this book for science fiction fans and Holmes enthusiasts wherever they may be. We trust you will enjoy the book.

The Martian Crown Jewels by Poul Anderson

The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson

The Anomaly of the Empty Man by Anthony Boucher

The Greatest Tertian by Anthony Boucher

The Adventure of the Stitch in Time by Mack Reynolds & August Derleth

The Adventure of the Ball of Nostradamus by Mack Reynolds & August Derleth

The Return by H. Beam Piper & John McGuire

Title: The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes
Editor: Robert C. Peterson
Year: 1960
Publisher: The Council of Four
Purchase: Amazon.com

Island of the Mad (2018)

The 15th Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes adventure from Laurie R. King. The popular series kicked off in 1994 with The Beekeepers Apprentice.

The last thing Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, need is to help an old friend with her mad, missing aunt. Lady Vivian Beaconsfield has spent most of her adult life in one asylum after another, since the loss of her brother and father in the Great War. Although her mental state seemed to be improving, she’s now disappeared after an outing from Bethlem Royal Hospital . . . better known as Bedlam. 

Russell wants nothing to do with the case—but she can’t say no. To track down the vanished woman, she must use her deductive instincts and talent for subterfuge—and enlist her husband’s legendary prowess. Together, the two travel from the grim confines of Bedlam to the murky canals of Venice—only to find the shadow of Benito Mussolini darkening the fate of a city, an era, and a tormented English lady of privilege.

Title: Island of the Mad
Author: Laurie R. King
Year: 2018
Publisher: Bantam
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XV: 2019 Annual (1898-1917)

The latest collection of Sherlock Holmes stories published by MX to help preserve the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Third of three new volumes for 2019.

Part XV: Mark Mower, Thomas Fortenberry, Robert Perret, Tracy J. Revels, Robert Stapleton, Peter Coe Verbica, Maurice Barkley, Edward A. Enstrom, William Todd, Roger Riccard, Kelvin Jones, Arthur Hall, Jack Grochot, David Marcum, Dick Gillman, Will Murray, Tim Symonds, Mike Hogan, Leslie Charteris and Denis Green, Nick Cardillo, and Darryl Webber with Two Poems by Christopher James and Forewords by Will Thomas, Roger Johnson, Melissa Grigsby, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum. 66 Stories New Holmes Adventures in 3 Simultaneously Published Volumes. 

All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XV: 2019 Annual (1898-1917)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2019
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIV: 2019 Annual (1891-1897)

Latest collection of Sherlock Holmes stories published by MX to help preserve the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Second of three new volumes for 2019.

Part XIV: Charles Veley and Anna Elliott, Mark Sohn, David Marcum, S. Subramanian, Roger Riccard, Marcia Wilson, Tracy J. Revels, Arthur Hall, GC Rosenquist. Edwin A. Enstrom, Jayantika Ganguly, C.H. Dye, Matthew Booth, Stephen Herczeg, Geri Schear, Liz Hedgecock, Carl Heifetz, Gayle Lange Puhl, Harry DeMaio, I.A. Watson, and Thomas A. Burns, Jr. with a Poem by Jacquelynn Morris and forewords by Will Thomas, Roger Johnson, Melissa Grigsby, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum. 66 Stories New Holmes Adventures in 3 Simultaneously Published Volumes. 

Over 150 contributors (so far) to the accumulated volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories have joined together from around the world to produce over 330 new Holmes adventures, each donating their royalties to the Stepping Stones School and the continuing restoration of Undershaw, as well as to honor Sherlock Holmes, the man described by Watson as “the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known.” 

All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIV: 2019 Annual (1891-1897)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2019
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIII: 2019 Annual (1881-1890)

Latest collection of Sherlock Holmes stories published by MX to help preserve the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First of three new volumes for 2019.

Part XIII: Derrick Belanger, Mark Mower, Brenda Seabrook, David Marcum, Robert Stapleton, S.F. Bennett, Edwin A. Enstrom, M.J.H. Simmonds, Andrew Bryant, Tim Gambrell, Tracy Revels, Hugh Ashton, Sean M. Wright, Marino C. Alvarez, Paul Hiscock, Arthur Hall, Kevin P. Thornton, Stephen Seitz, Jim French, David Friend, Shane Simmons, Peter Coe Verbica, and Mark Wardecker with a Poem by Jacquelynn Morris and Forewords by Will Thomas, Roger Johnson, Melissa Grigsby, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum. 66 Stories New Holmes Adventures in 3 Simultaneously Published Volumes. 

All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIII: 2019 Annual (1881-1890)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2019
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk