Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows by James Lovegrove

Sherlock and Cthulhu: while seemingly a crossover that should sell itself, few creative types of any stripe have managed to hit commercial gold with it -- until now. James Loverove has, in my unreserved opinion, emerged the uncontested master of a niche pairing that almost no one manages to get right.

Attempts to pit of the avatar of New World deductive intellect against the agents of primordial forces beyond the ken of man have largely been fumbling at best and awful at worst. In 2003 the anthology Shadows Over Baker Street made an attempt with none other than Neil Gaiman heading the list, but the hard-to-find compilation yielded only a few decent stories.

Perennial mid-tier jobber PC studio Frogwares produced the glacially slow and atmosphereless Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened in 2005 to zero acclaim, and since then nothing much has blipped the radar. Then, in 2013 Lovegrove cracked his knuckles and started churning out darker-edged Holmesian fare at the rate of a title a year or more. 2016-2018 saw a trilogy that had Sherlock and Watson squaring off against the agents of Lovecraft’s rogue’s gallery, and I can say easily that no one does it better. Our journey begins in the slum back alleys of Shadwell.

The story

Lovegrove is, in my unreserved estimation, the writer that can positively nail the tone and feel of the characters from Doyle’s own works. We join Dr. John Watson going AWOL with a company of his men in an effort to find glory in the form of rumored ruins hidden in the forsaken wastelands of Afghanistan. Their efforts are tragically successful, given that Watson is the only survivor; he barely manages to escape the race underground monstrosities they’ve disturbed. His compatriots are slaughtered and he is maimed, saved only making it into the light of the sun they so fear. Haunted by frequent nightmares, he scurries into the soothing lie that they fell victim to an ambush party to cope with the trauma.

He is alone and close to destitute when he is introduced to Holmes in disguise trailing a suspect in a pub, who happens to be an old university colleague of Watson’s. Becoming more closely acquainted after a resulting backalley foot chase, Watson eventually moves into 221B Baker street proper, in need of distraction and friendship. It doesn’t take long before their attention is drawn to a series of deaths in the Shadwell district of London. Victims turn up, their corpses gaunt and emaciated despite having only recently gone missing. Holmes quickly deduces that the deaths are occurring on each new moon, and when an opium-addicted suspect of theirs starts shrieking in a tongue Watson hadn’t heard since that fateful day in Afghanistan, their trail takes them into the grimy depths of London’s opium dens and far, far worse.

The characters

Lovegrove’s core cast of characters will suit even the stodgiest of Holmesian purists. These are the characters played in the classic (and in my opinion, best) sense, wholly free of gimmickry. Holmes is in the infancy of his career, a bit younger and bolder than we may be used to, but the probing, pensive mind and all-seeing, all calculating eyes are very much there. Watson is every bit his role as trusted sidekick; no peer of Holmes in a deductive sense, but a war-toughened confidant who doesn’t shrink from a fight and whose knowledge is vital to supplying key medical insight and advice. Inspectors Gregson and Lestrade also make their appearances. Gregson plays the everyman, His position in Scotland Yard can sway police attention away from or towards the groups’ schemes as need be. Lastly, Mycroft Holmes joins in as the only member of the group able to intellectually knock Sherlock down a peg occasionally, and whose resources and contacts at the private and exclusive Diogenes Club become valuable to their aid.

Oh, the villain of the book? Yes, he is very much present, and he’s working with powers of eldricht sorcery this time around.

The world

It’s 1880 Victorian London in all its gray, dirty squalor. Shadwell is a particularly run-down section of the city, evoking a similar feel to Whitehall during Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror. Poverty is life here, and its many drug-addled, poor and unknown denizens make for easy victims under cover of night. The gaslight lamps that line its streets do little to push back the darkness, and the long, black shadows they cast offer plenty of places for dangers both natural and supernatural to hide in.

The politics

None.

Content warning

In terms of violence, what’s on the page is adventurous and pulpy, with more greusome fates happening off screen or described in some muted way. The story is never even remotely in danger of swearing or including anything carnal. It’s frankly a great gateway read to help get an adolescent interested in the character and perhaps into Doyle’s classic stories -- with one caveat.

Magic. More specifically, occult magic, is featured heavily and is the primary means by which our heroes combat their enemies. While this is true to Lovecraft’s own worldbuilding (The Dunwich Horror is perhaps the best example of this), anyone who has strong aversions to this sort of thing should take this into account before getting the book. Lovecraft’s world is one in which the Christian God does not exist in any real sense. Doyle was a lapsed Catholic who turned to Spiritualism. Holmes as written was functionally an atheist. It was this aspect of his character that partially inspired G.K. Chesterton, a Holmes fan himself, to create his own iconic detective figure in Father Brown. Chesterton admired Doyle and enjoyed Holmes’ adventures, but disliked his ascetic and cold methodology, divorced from the human heart’s chaotic passions and sinful nature.

While there is always some dim feeling of the urge to roll my eyes when reading about the might of the Great Old Ones & Co., it’s something I can safely set on the back burner of my mind to simmer while I enjoy a Lovecraft story unimpeded. Divine assistance is not available, so magic must suffice; okay, fine. For a short while, it’s a trade off I can make. If it’s something you’re not sure you’ll want your kids reading, you might want to give it a read beforehand. Otherwise, what’s inside is standard lovecraftian magic(k).

Who is it for?

Most obviously fans of Sherlock Holmes and/or Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos who have been waiting since forever to see this pairing done justice.

Why read it?

It’s as good as Doyle’s own work, with better and more snappily written action sequences. Lovegrove’s writing transcends mere pastiche to Doyle and Lovecraft; it is honor. The lore and characters are treated with utter respect, the rules dictating the supernatural are kept painstakingly intact. I’m halfway through the sequel, Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities, and it’s proving just as good.