Book Review: Bait & Switch: A sci-fi Sherlock Holmes by Ashley Marie Bergner

This is a review of the Kindle version.

The author, Ashley Marie Bergner is a fan of the science fiction genre and Sherlock Holmes. This book successfully combines both these components and the end product is a delightful Sherlock Holmes pastiche with a sci fi flavor.

There are a total of 6 cases in this pastiche. The first one begins with Sherlock Holmes and Jaymie Watson meeting at building 221 in Quadrant B. A woman disappears shortly and our duo is off on their first case together. The second and third cases have Holmes solving the murder of an actress and the theft of a precious diamond respectively.

The final 3 cases have Holmes piecing together the pieces that would help him stop a criminal mastermind with unlimited resources and power at his command.

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Here are the things I liked the most:

1. Good representation of the Canonical Holmes – Calm with a dry/sarcastic sense of humor. Some of his exchanges with other characters are similar to those of Cumberbatch’s version.
2. Nods to classic Holmesian traits – Conducting experiments, operating outside the law, thorough knowledge of London, lack of respect for social titles and designations, breaking into buildings as part of investigations, using his memory to store facts only when needed, knowledge on poisons, Holmes’s penchant for adopting disguises and accents.
3. Lestrade is featured heavily in this pastiche. As can be expected, there are familiar jabs by Sherlock at the efficiency of the Official Police force and the “little sallow, rat-faced, dark-eyed fellow” in particular.
4. Good sci-fi flavor to the Legendary Detective – All the familiar settings and characters but cast in a different universe. Couple of examples: London is Loudron and Scotland Yard is Civic Security Station.
5. My favorite character is Miles Zawker. To reveal more will be spoiling the fun and I will leave it at that!

Ashley Marie Bergner

Canonical References

1. When Watson first meets Holmes, the latter is conducting a chemical experiment.  A very similar scenario happens in A Study in Scarlet.
2. This line from the pastiche - “… his eyes quickly darting about the room like a praxit cat’s, taking in every detail.” is a nice variation on following observation made by Dr Watson in The Sign of the Four: “So swift, silent, and furtive were his movements, like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent..”.
3. There is a reference to this line in The Adventure of the Three Garridebs – “The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain.”
4. One of the characters refers to Holmes as a meddlesome, far-too-nosy busybody. Readers familiar with the Canon will recognize the “Holmes, the busybody!” line spoken by Dr. Grimesby Roylott in The Adventure of the Speckled Band.
5. Sherlock Holmes cautions Watson against judging her date based on his (seemingly) nice behavior. Reference to The Sign of Four - "It is of the first importance not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities… The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning."
6.  I especially loved "room No. 1893". Very subtle and yet very satisfying!

I found some nods to the current Sherlock Holmes adaptations:

Guy Ritchie directed movies

• Holmes pastes pictures, words and thoughts on his bedroom wall. He calls the wall his "association map". This is similar to the diorama maintained by Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes in Watson’s office.

Diorama from the movie 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' 

• Holmes enacts his plans as a digi-drama in his mind before things happen. This reminded me of the Holmavision of Robert Downey Jr.'s version.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) performing his Holmesavision 

• The plot of Case # 4 has some similarities to the first movie.

BBC series Sherlock

• The sci-fi version of Holmes is verbose and wears a trench coat and scarf.

BBC Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) in his signature trench coat

• Anderson, Sherlock's nemesis in the Scotland Yard is referred to indirectly.

Anderson in 'A Study in Pink'

Some things that did not work out:

1. In Case # 1, Holmes guesses some things about Watson. This is a significant departure from the Canon. In The Sign of the Four, Holmes makes the following observation - "No, no; I never guess. It is a shocking habit - destructive to the logical faculty." But to the author’s credit, this is a rare misstep.
2. Case # 5 - I personally found it to be considerably less involving than the rest. There is not much mystery or suspense in this section and the main focus is on Watson’s date with another character.
3. The final case contained some melodramatic elements and the resolution was a bit clichéd.
4. Too many times, the words “meddling” and “meddler” are used with reference to Holmes. I can only guess that the author likes Scooby Doo a lot!

In conclusion, this pastiche is a good example of how to give a futuristic update to the Victorian settings of the Canon. It is an excellent homage to the legend of Sherlock Holmes.

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TV Review: Elementary Episode # 7 - "One Way to Get Off "

Aidan Quinn, Jonny Lee Miller and Callie Thorne in CBS Elementary

A copycat killer has sprung up and Captain Toby Gregson (Aidan Quinn) promptly contacts Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) for assistance. Holmes is convinced that something more sinister is afoot as he deduces way too many similarities to previous crimes committed by one Wade Crews (Keith Szarabajka) now serving his jail sentence.

In the previous episode, it was revealed that Sherlock was involved with Irene Adler back in London. Sherlock is still hesitant to share any details and even conducts his investigation alone.

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) hands over Irene Adler's letters to Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller)

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) however is persistent and visit Hemdale Rehabilitation Facility to find out more about Sherlock’s past. She finds out that Sherlock has not revealed a single aspect of his life to any of his handlers. His only confidant/friend is Groundskeeper Edison (Stephen Henderson), who happens to tend to bees as well. Edison hands over some stuff left behind by Sherlock. These include letters sent by Irene to Sherlock.

Gregson’s old partner, Terry D'Amico (Callie Thorne) who worked with him on the Wade murders is back, thanks to Sherlock. Gregson believes that Wade is guilty. Holmes seems to have reservations. Is Holmes correct in his thoughts?

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Jonny Lee Miller continues to impress as Sherlock Holmes. Miller presents a version of Holmes that is faithful to the Canon. His sense of humor is fast becoming the signature trait of this version of Holmes.

Here are the Canonical references:

1. Miller’s Sherlock knows a lot of details about the Wade murders. This seems to surprise Gregson, considering that these murders took place almost 15 years ago. Dr Watson made the following observation about Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet – “Sensational Literature. -- Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.”
2. Interestingly, Miller’s Holmes also contradicts what we know about the Canonical Holmes. Miller’s Holmes recognizes a couple of lines spoken by a character as being written by Leo Tolstoy and Oscar Wilde. In A Study in Scarlet, Dr Watson lists Sherlock’s knowledge of Literature as Nil.
3. Miller’s Holmes uses Social Engineering to obtain information about a hotel guest. The Canonical Holmes used similar tactics to obtain information from Milverton’s housemaid in The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.
4. Miller’s Holmes changes his voice to gain entry into a hotel room. This is the closest I have seen this version of Holmes come to acquiring a disguise as part of an investigation. The Canonical Holmes adopted many disguises on a regular basis in a number of cases.
5. Miller’s Holmes indulges in lock picking to enter a hotel room. In the story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Holmes displays his burgling kit, complete with keys, glass-cutter and a jimmy.

Jonny Lee Miller makes a remarkable Sherlock Holmes

I also liked a couple of other things:

1. Miller’s Holmes speaks fluently in Russian. He was also seen conversing very freely in Chinese in one of the earlier episodes. Though there was never any mention in the Canon, it is not a far stretch to assume that the Canonical Holmes would have been fluent in many languages.
2. Miller’s Holmes asks to use the "Lavatory". Gregson has to explain to the puzzled American character that Holmes is actually looking for a bathroom. This was a nice touch and emphasized the very British nature of Miller’s Holmes.

As much as I liked the way Miller portrayed Holmes, the episode dragged throughout its running time. Despite a twist in the climax, this was one of the weakest episodes with a boring screenplay.

Callie Thorne as Terry D’Amico, Gregson's old partner

CBS, better luck next time!

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