There are a few similes that Lane overuses: shafts of sunlight appear to be beams holding up a ceiling in at least three cases, and I lost track of how many times Sherlock thought something seemed like hours but was only a matter of minutes. It almost seems like a step down from his childhood feats. I do think it’s a bit funny, though: here Sherlock is battling an international conspiracy that seeks to overthrow entire governments and establish a new world order as an adult, his cases include things like affairs and burglary and murder attempts. These books tend to have more action scenes, and Sherlock and Matty get themselves into one deadly predicament after another.
Lane isn’t trying to replicate Conan Doyle-young Sherlock is definitely a distinct character, even when you can see hints of who he will eventually become. I do have to wonder where these relationships are headed, given that none of these characters (aside from Mycroft) exist in Conan Doyle’s stories but they clearly have a huge influence on Sherlock in this series. And, of course, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, who even at this point is already a prominent figure in the British government. Virginia Crowe, Amyus’ daughter, is a tomboy and becomes Sherlock’s love interest, though it takes him a few books to understand his emotions toward her. Matty Arnatt is a street urchin whom Sherlock befriends, and is sort of like a young Watson-always present and ready for adventure but with a very different set of skills.
Crowe is hired as his tutor, but quickly becomes more than that-he’s a mentor and demonstrates many of the astute observational skills that Sherlock becomes known for. In these books, Sherlock has a lot of raw talent, but there is also a lot that he just hasn’t learned about yet. If you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes, this is a fun way to explore his character. Finally, in Fire Storm, Amyus Crowe and his daughter have vanished-Sherlock tracks them to Scotland and discovers the one thing that Crowe is afraid of. Sherlock eventually winds up in Russia, still piecing together exactly who the enemy is and what they are plotting. Black Ice starts with a murder mystery in which Sherlock’s brother Mycroft is found holding a knife in a room with a dead body-but clearing Mycroft’s name is just the first step. Rebel Fire takes Sherlock to America-it turns out that John Wilkes Booth is apparently alive, and is somehow involved in a plot to revive the Confederacy. With the help of his tutor Amyus Crowe (who has a mysterious background), Sherlock investigates the murders and uncovers something significantly larger. But then two bodies turn up with similar appearances-boils on the body, and a mysterious cloud seen departing shortly after their deaths. Sherlock has just been sent to Farnham to live with his estranged uncle and aunt, and is expecting to spend a very boring summer. The first book, Death Cloud, finds Sherlock solving his first murder mystery. Plus, the books are intended for young adults so they needed to be easily accessible. Although it can sometimes seem out of place reading about events from the 1860s in a contemporary style, I’ve read enough poorly-done imitations that I appreciate this approach. The story is told in third-person view rather than being narrated by any of the characters, and it’s done in Lane’s own style rather than trying to imitate Conan Doyle. How did he learn his incredible deductive skills? Where did he pick up the violin? How did he learn boxing, martial arts, and all of those other things? Throughout the series, we get bits and pieces of how Sherlock became interested in this or that. He weaves in real historical events with Sherlock’s fictional adventures, showing how he became the man we know from the original stories. Lane takes us back to Sherlock at age 14. (It’s interesting to note that Sherlock has passed into public domain in the UK, but in the US he’s still copyrighted until 2020, so he needed the estate’s permission to publish in the States.)
YA NOVEL SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES
This is actually the first young adult series endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estate. The author, Andrew Lane, has written spin-off novels based on Doctor Who, and has been a fan of the great detective since he discovered him at age ten. But first let me go back and fill you in a little in case you’re also new to the series. Fire Storm, the fourth volume, was released in the US last month (in the UK, they’re up to book six already).
Somehow I missed it when it first started, but I’ve been catching up over the past two weeks. Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins is an ongoing young adult series that explores Sherlock’s past.
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