Warlock Holmes - A Study In Brimstone is a fantasy twist on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and famous sidekick Watson, only this time Sherlock is named Warlock and not all can be explained through logic and reasoning. Many of the crimes the duo are enlisted to help solve are steeped in and surrounded by mystery, magic and monsters.
The stories here have many likenesses to the tales of Sherlock Holmes that I already knew, only Watson is the purveyor of observation and reasoning, trying desperately to educate Holmes in these abilities whilst Warlock insists on using his own unique talents to help the duo solve cases.
I could not help but imagine the magical crime fighting duo as the actors Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch, which is no bad thing! They suit the roles in my head even in this fantasy setting of 221b Baker street.
The short stories are filled with interesting, lovable and suitably evil characters and bad guys, both magical and none, many twists and turns and lots of humour, and I often found myself chuckling out loud as I read through their missions in my favourite coffee shop. The writing style is worded similarly to the original Victorian settings of the Sherlock tales, yet it was not any more challenging to read than a book of modern dialect. The dialogue throughout was absorbing and entertaining and I really struggled to put the book down for any length of time.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in detective fiction, the Sherlock TV show, dark(ish) humour and good, absorbing storytelling. The final story also concludes with an epic cliff-hanger, making me yearn for the next entry in the tales of Warlock and Watson.
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