As Titan begins an ambitious Sherlock Holmes reissue programme (focussing on non-Conan Doyle material), David Stuart Davies talks to Crime Time about his impressive contributions to the series...
In creating Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle not only presented the world with the greatest fictional character, but also with a fascinating template which other writers could adapt and develop. I have always enjoyed playing about with the concept, wanting to add a new dimension to the stories. I don't just want to just reproduce a copy cat Doyle story – he's already done that. It is fun and challenging to plumb the depths further of Holmes and his Baker Street world.
While remaining true to the spirit of Conan Doyle, in The Veiled Detective I have added my own dark and controversial take on the relationship between Holmes, his friend and chronicler Dr John H. Watson and the sinister Professor Moriarty. The novel deconstructs the myth and reveals a fascinating and excitingly dramatic reinterpretation of the events in Holmes' life leading up to his titantic struggle with Moriarty on the edge of the Reichenbach Falls.
A young Sherlock Holmes arrives in London to begin his career as a private detective, catching the eye of the master criminal, Professor Moriarty who decides that he must control this fledgling genius. Enter the vulnerable Dr. Watson, newly returned from war service in Afghanistan in disgrace. What happens next is both shocking and thrilling. The novel will amaze and excite readers of crime fiction as the veil is finally drawn to reveal the truth concerning the world's most famous detective.
Communicating with the dead may not be a situation which is readily associated with Sherlock Holmes, but in the early pages of The Scroll of the Dead we find the detective attending a séance to unmask an impostor posing as a medium. This is just the beginning of a dramatic chain of events which pits the Holmes against one of his most obsessive and dangerous foes, Sebastian Melmoth, a man hell-bent on obtaining immortality through secrets contained in an ancient Egyptian papyrus. He will let nothing or no one stand in his way to achieve his nefarious goal. In this fast-paced, thrilling adventure the action moves from grimy London to the picturesque Lake District, as Holmes and Watson once more fight the forces of evil. But even when the case appears to be over, there is still danger for Sherlock Holmes.
David Stuart Davies
There are two titles by other authors in the reissue sequence:
Manly Wade Wellman's Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds takes H.G. Well's classic story and throws Holmes into the mix, as the master detective, Professor Challenger and Dr. Watson meet their match when the streets of London are left decimated by a prolonged alien attack. Who could be responsible for such destruction? Sherlock Holmes is about to find out.
In The Ectoplasmic Man, when Harry Houdini is framed and jailed for espionage, Sherlock Holmes vows to clear his name, and the two join forces to take on blackmailers who have targeted the Prince of Wales. It's a case that requires all of their skills — both mental and physical. Can the daring duo solve what people are calling "The Crime of the Century"?
