Showing results by author "Paul Hiscock" in All Categories

As a scientist, Sherlock Holmes would have certainly been familiar with the famous dictum attributed to Aristotle: Nature abhors a vacuum. In that same vein, fans of the Great Detective must look at 1885 and 1886 and see a somewhat similar void. Conan Doyle set no cases during those years; in fact, if you believe Doyle, Holmes and Watson remained inactive for a period of some 30 months.

For all we know, or think we know, about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, what we don't know is far, far greater. In one of the duo's most exciting cases, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, we know when Helen Stoner arrives "in a considerable state of excitement" at the door of 221B Baker Street, seeking the assistance of Holmes and Watson: "It was early in April in the year '83..." But what happened during the rest of 1883? Or all of 1884?

For all we know, or think we know, about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, what we don’t know is far, far greater. In the duo’s first case, A Study in Scarlet, we learn that Holmes and Watson met on January 1st, 1881, and subsequently moved into an apartment together at 221b Baker Street. Their first case officially began on March 4th of that year, and it is argued that “The Adventure of the Resident Patient” possibly took place in October of 1881, depending on which version of the story you read. But what happened during the rest of 1881? Or all of 1882?

As a scientist, Sherlock Holmes would have certainly been familiar with the famous dictum attributed to Aristotle: Nature abhors a vacuum. In that same vein, fans of the Great Detective must look at 1885 and 1886 and see a somewhat similar void.

1888 was a busy year for Holmes and Watson. If Dr. Watson is to be believed, The Sign of Four, A Scandal in Bohemia, and The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor all took place in this year (I would also argue that The Valley of Fear is set in the same year — ed.). As if that weren’t enough, 1888 is remembered (albeit infamously) as the year that Jack the Ripper unleashed an autumn of terror on the citizens of London. While there are no Holmes vs. the Ripper stories in this volume, the authors of the later stories have all alluded to the atmosphere of terror permeating Holmes’s London at that time.

For all we know, or think we know, about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, what we don't know is far, far greater. In one of the duo's most exciting cases, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, we know when Helen Stoner arrives "in a considerable state of excitement" at the door of 221B Baker Street, seeking the assistance of Holmes and Watson: "It was early in April in the year '83..." But what happened during the rest of 1883? Or all of 1884?

Beyond the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a special three-volume collection of sequels to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Each original tale is paired with an all-new adventure, spinning our hero off into plots and directions that Sir Arthur may never have considered. In many cases, years have passed by since the events of the canon.

What if the darkness of Lovecraft’s decadent New England overlapped into the Victorian era of Sherlock Holmes? Twenty-five new stories across two volumes pit Holmes and Watson against myriad nightmares from Lovecraft’s fiction—and against those nightmares which his writings have inspired. Join us as we journey from the familiar fog of Baker Street to the rotting gambrel roofs of Arkham, the blasphemous library of Miskatonic University, and beyond....

Sherlock Holmes —the name immediately brings to mind an image of the great detective sitting in his rooms in 221B Baker street, his fingers steepled before his hawkish nose, his sharp grey eyes focused on the client who has brought a little puzzle for him to solve. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when one reads the names of the other literary detectives of the time period, sometimes referred to as the rivals of Sherlock Holmes.

In this two-volume collection of traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures, the good doctor himself is given a chance to shine. These two volumes contain 26 mysteries involving such maladies as plagues, poisonings, cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, somnambulism, and many more! The stories are traditional Holmes pastiches and are written by some of today’s top Sherlockian writers!

Imagine a slight change to our historical timeline where the Industrial Revolution heated up much quicker than expected. Technological marvels such as airships, trains, battleships, and submarines came into being much earlier. They were followed by steam-powered wonders such as mechanical men, flying ships, and even crafts capable of reaching the deepest fathoms of the sea or traveling to distant celestial orbs.

In these two volumes are 24 stories examining the best-known villains–Professor Moriarty, for instance, and Colonel Moran, and Dr. Grimesby Roylott–and some others who might not be quite as famous, but who were just as vexing to the detective and doctor: names like Culverton Smith, Baron Maupertuis, and Abe Slaney. Discover their histories and find out the events behind the stories that you think you know. Settle back for an exceptional Holmes anthology and a walk along the dark side of the canon....

What do you do when it's raining cats and dogs...and pigs and whales? Take refuge in 15 stories of wild and wicked weather. They will freeze you to the core, they will soak you to the bone. You will find no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, no sunshine after the rain. Just thunder and lightning that's very, very frightening. There's a storm coming....