The Automatic Detective: Review

This is what I've been looking for. Good pulpy detective fiction with a main character who's a robot built to take over the world and his pal a talking Gorilla? How the hell could I not love this?

The Automatic Detective follows the story of our hero, Mack Megaton (again, look at this name! Genius!), an eight-foot tall sapient robot who has developed a glitch in his programming, and instead of taking over the world for his creator, the evil and insane Professor Megalith, he rebelled, and applied for citizenship in the home of the weird, Empire City.

Empire City is every 1950s futurist's dream come to life. Cars are no more, replaced with helo-cars, walking cars, jumping cars, basically you name a method of locomotion that doesn't evolve four-wheeled travel then Empire City uses it. Science reigns supreme, with the Learned Council overseeing the regulation of it and the rest of the laws in the city. Weird science abounds, radiation is so prevalent that mutations are just something you deal with, and robots are a part of everyday life.

Which is why Mack wants to make an honest go of it. So the Council gives him the benefit of the doubt, and he is put on close watch until he demonstrates that he's not going to go crazy and try to bring mankind to its knees. So he gets a job to pay for his electric bill as a taxi driver, and every day he goes next door to his neighbor's apartment so they can tie his bowtie for him (which is apparently something he wasn't really designed for).

Which is when things get messy. The family is kidnapped, and he's taken it upon himself to find them no matter the cost.

This book is pretty fantastic. It has all the conventions of classic noir-detective stories, with a femme fatale, mouthy sidekick, and hero-detective with a devil may care attitude and nothing left to lose. Martinez even nails the style:

She had long legs that went on forever, circling the curve of space and meeting themselves back at the end of eternity. And her face: it belonged in movies. Monster movies. The kind where some thing with six eyes and a lamprey mouth sucks teenagers' brains.

A. Lee Martinez did a really great job with the story, crafting a mystery that kept you wondering but was also fast paced and filled with robot-pounding-action, The Automatic Detective is an instant recommendation for anyone who thinks that Dashiell Hammet, Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov could combine to form some sort of Voltron-esque story of pulpy fun and just pure awesomeness.

My only complaint with the book is that it's perfectly set up for a sequel, or even a series, but so far there has been no word of any. Please, Mr. Martinez, please return to the world of Mac Megaton and Empire City and show us what happens next. I'd be forever in your debt.

Rating: 9/10

The Valley of Fear: A Review

We reach the end of the cycle of Sherlock Holmes novels with the Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In it, we are treated to two separate, but related, stories. The first follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate a gruesome murder that is somehow related to the dreadful Professor Moriarty (despite the fact that his involvement creates a pretty big continuity error and/or retcon on Doyle's part), which is followed by a story of organized crime in the good old US of A.

the Valley of Fear is an interesting read, and I'll be honest, I didn't like it at first. The mystery with Holmes and Watson was all well and good; the American sawed-off shotgun as the murder weapon and the possible involvement of Moriarty made for an interesting case. I liked where it was going, though I was not surprised in the least by the conclusion.

Then the story shifts gears, and we are treated to the recollections of a man who spent time in a place nicknamed the "Valley of Fear" by many of the locals, a place that is run by a secret society that has no problems killing people that refuse to pay protection money. I won't go too much further into the details for fear of spoiling the twist that made the story worthwhile, suffice to say that the end of this diversion was both interesting and a nice turn that made for a good story, overall.

While this is certainly better than the Sign of the Four, I rate it at about even with A Study in Scarlet, which it shares the same structure with. Despite this, it is nowhere near the level of the Hound of the Baskervilles, which remains the best of the Holmes canon that I have read so far.

An entertaining read, if you like reading of the adventures of Holmes and Watson, and if you enjoyed A Study in Scarlet at all, then you will certainly enjoy this. That said, this is probably not a great starting place for a newcomer.

Rating: 7/10

The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Review

Sherlock Holmes had seen it all. One murder after another, you name it, he's seen it stolen (and returned). Hundreds of cases solved, but of them all, this may very well be the most unusual, and fortunately for the reader, the most entertaining.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third book that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote concerning the famous consulting detective, published several years after he killed off Holmes in "the Final Problem," though it takes place before that story.

This book shows Sherlock, Dr. Watson, and Doyle himself all at the top of their game. Within its pages, Doyle has decided to try something a little new. Not only does the story involve a potentially supernatural threat (a family is cursed to be haunted/hunted by an actual "Hellhound," and murders are starting to pile up), but Holmes himself is in a relatively small percentage of the book. Instead, we are treated to Dr. Watson on his own, using the skills he has cultivated over so many years at Holmes' side to solve the multitude of mysteries that plague the countryside.

The point-of-view changes several times, from the typical writings of Watson's recounting, to actual letters written to Holmes reporting on discoveries he has made in the course of his own investigations. This mix of styles keeps the story moving quickly, and always kept me interested. Also, the decision to actually exclude Holmes from such a large portion of the story kept the suspense high; we know that while Watson is an extremely intelligent man, he has no abilities that are nigh-supernatural, and thus no safety net.

Lastly, Doyle did a masterful job interweaving disparate mysteries into a cohesive whole. The plot dips and turns, dropping a clue large enough for the reader to notice, but not necessarily able to connect to the proper mystery. The red herrings and false leads are well done, and in the end everything ties together quite nicely.

As of this point, I've read three of the four Holmes novels, and two of the short story collections, and the Hound of the Baskervilles is by far my favorite. The atmosphere is thick with a feeling of dread, the plot is fast and entertaining, and the mystery itself keeps you guessing but rewards the hopeful detective with the payoff. If you haven't read any of Sherlock Holmes, make this the one you read. You can't go wrong with it.

Rating: 10/10

Note on Edition: I experienced the story as part of the "Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes" audio edition, purchased on Audible.com. The narrator was Charlton Griffin, who did an amazing job with this story. The production value involved here is phenomenal, and really brought the story to life.

Audiobook Rating: 9/10

the Return of Sherlock Holmes: Review

The Return of Sherlock Holmes, from the same audio collection that I had the pleasure of listening to for the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, was overall a much better collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective and his faithful companion. The book starts off with "The Adventure of the Empty House," a story that picks up three years after "the Final Problem," the story that Doyle had intended to complete his writings of Holmes once and for all. 

We discover that Holmes being the clever man that he is, faked his death and had been in hiding for several years, using the opportunity to work under the radar to rid England of the most dangerous men that remained at large from Moriarty's gang.

From then on few of the stories actually take place after "the Empty House," instead Watson returns to the archives and tells stories that take place at different chronological points in Holmes' career. The collection ends with "The Adventure of the Second Stain," which Watson describes as being Holmes' most important case (politically speaking), and the last story that Holmes will allow him to publish, as at the time of the writing he has decided to retire to bee-keeping in the countryside.

As I said before, this is a much better collection than Memoirs, and overall is very well done. There is the occasional story that has a rather obvious conclusion, but those are in the great minority.

If you're looking for a good collection of fast and entertaining Sherlockian fiction, this is a very good edition to read. The stories move at a brisk pace, are interesting and varied in their subject matter, and are, for the most part, classic Holmes. Again, for the simplicity of actual ratings, I will rate each story individually.

• "The Adventure of the Empty House"  Rating: 8/10
• "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"  Rating: 5/10
• "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Priory School"  Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of Black Peter"  Rating: 8/10
• "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"  Rating: 9/10
• "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Three Students"  Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Second Stain"  Rating: 8/10

Further Note on Audio edition: since this is the same collection that I mentioned in my review of Memoirs, I will not expound on that any furhter here, suffice to say that it continues its excellent performance, and that I highly recommend it.

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes, the world's first and foremost consulting detective, is a legend. His adventures with his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson have enchanted readers for generations, and have inspired countless authors to take part in the craft and pen their own mystery novels. Holmes is in a league of his own, but in that case why are his Memoirs a little disappointing?

I love Sherlock Holmes stories, though for some reason up until very recently I have never actually read the source material. I've seen many adaptations, and for years now I've loved getting in my car at 1 pm (sharp!) to listen to the Jim French Production's "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," a series of radio plays that adapted the multitude of Holmes short stories into half-hour dramas. If you ever have a chance to listen to them, please do, they're extremely well done.

Lately, I've enjoyed the Robert Downey, Jr. depictions on the big screen, and far more I have enjoyed the BBC's "Sherlock" series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the modern day consulting detective. This series is one of my favorite things on any television right now, and I highly, highly recommend tracking that down at your first opportunity.

Excuse me, I am veering from the point. As I was saying, it is not until recently that I decided to go and read the source material for myself. Last year I read a Study in Scarlet, which I hugely enjoyed, and the Sign of the Four, which I enjoyed despite the fact that it took me several months to actually finish. Now, after I finished reading Thirteen, I found The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes on Audible, and grabbed up the first two volumes.

So far, the narration is well done (even if I do wish they had gotten the exceptional actor who plays him in the Jim French versions), and the stories are entertaining. Comparing the audio and book versions that I've read, so far the stories are actually more enjoyable in the audio format. You can almost see the mysteries play out in front of you.

My biggest complaint with Memoirs is that for the most part, Sherlock does very little in them. In several stories he is either a narrator recalling an early case, or an observer as someone else spins a tale for him to then comment on. A desperate client will come to the fabled detective, spin his own tale, and things will have already been settled.

Needless to say, for the most part Sherlock is not at his most exciting. The exception here is in "The Final Problem," one of the most famous of the Sherlock canon, wherein we are introduced to one of the most famous villains in literature, Professor Moriarty. This story somewhat makes up for the rest; it is well written, exciting, and seeing the duo of Holmes & Watson on the run from Moriarty and his vicious gang of miscreants is a nice change of pace.

Unfortunately, these seem to be the least interesting of the Holmes canon that I've read so far, the stories just acting as backdrops for completely different stories that don't involve Holmes or Watson at all. Doyle's desire to write something other than Holmes seems to become rather obvious over the course of these stories, culminating in his attempt to end the series once and for all.

Instead of rating the book with a single score, here is a rating for each of the stories contained within:

• "Silver Blaze" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk" Rating: 5/10
• "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire" Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Resident Patient" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty" Rating: 7/10
• "The Final Problem" Rating: 8/10

Audible Edition Rating: 8/10