David G. (topdragon) reviewed on 8/3/2013

This is, hands down, the best overall collection of short stories I have ever come across. And that's quite an admission for me because up until now I have only been a so-so fan of Sherlock Holmes. I've read all of Conan Doyle stories years ago but never became a super fan. But after this marvelous collection by some extremely well know authors (and favorites of mine) like Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman, Naomi Novik, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Laurie R. King, and Stephen Baxter, I'm feeling all fanboy now. FYI, these are not the traditional Sherlockian-type stories but rather tend to deal with aspects outside traditional Victorian England...like alternate histories, time travel, Steampunk, and the supernatural. Very cool.

Short stories, in general have never been great favorites of mine, as I prefer to really get into my characters but since this is all about Sherlock, Watson, et al, it's more like reading separate chapters of a longer book. Altogether, there are 28 stories in this collection, most of which are re-printed from other collections. But that is what makes this group truly remarkable. It seems like most of the time when I try to read a short story collection of numerous authors, I find that the editor has selected certain stories that will make him/her look good. "Look readers, I've collected all the forgotten bits that have here-to-fore been neglected or otherwise failed to find an audience. And now, in one massive volume, you too can be exposed to the most elite, hi-brow crap that everybody else has not found worthy to re-publish." Well, there's often a reason that it has remained hidden. I usually only find 2 or 3 really good stories in the typical collection, a handful of mediocre stories, and a bunch that should never have been published in the first place. Not so with this collection as I literally enjoyed every single one and was absolutely blown away by at least half. Also of note, there are several stories here that are original to this collection.

I guess I just click with Mr. John Joseph Adams, the editor of this collection. I plan to seek out more of his collections pronto.

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