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Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine No. 29

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine No. 29

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine [Vol. 8 #1, #29, January 2022] ed. Carla Kaessinger Coupe (Wildside Press, 149p, 6” x 9” Print $13.00, Kindle $3.99) Cover by Faye Simms, cartoon by Marc Bilgrey
3 • From the Editor • Carla Kaessinger Coupe • ed
5 • Marvin Kaye Remembered • Darrell Schweitzer • ob
7 • Ask Mrs Hudson • Mrs Martha Hudson • lc
12 • Screen of the Crime • Kim Newman • rc
17 • Beauty and the Beyotch • Barb Goffman • ss
30 • The Case of the Colonel’s Suicide • Rafe McGregor • ss
47 • The Holmes Impersonator and the Baker Street Irregulars • Janice Law • ss
54 • The Body in the Backyard • Peter DiChellis • ss
57 • The Adventure of the Geek Interpreter • Hal Charles • ss
71 • Cereal Killing • J.P. Seewald • ss
80 • Last Wish and Testament • V.P. Kava • ss
93 • From Greed to Red • Mike McHone • ss
105 • Failure to Obey • Rebecca K. Jones • ss
116 • Trace Evidence • Keith Brooke • ss
130 • The Adventure of the Second Stain • Sir Arthur Conan Dolye • ss; Classic Sherlock Holmes

Contents gleaned from contents page.

Sherlock Holmes on Wildside Press website

Contents formatted for inclusion in Phil Stephensen-Payne’s Galatic Central reference website.
FictionMags Index Family Item Types & Other Abbreviations key.

A Sorcerer of Atlantis by John Shirley

A Sorcerer of Atlantis by John Shirley

I had the pleasure of interviewing John Shirley for The Digest Enthusiast No. 12 about Weirdbook No. 42 the special John Shirley issue. His novella, “Swords of Atlantis,” is the cornerstone of the issue.

In need of a quick payday, Snoori convinces his companion, Brimm the Savant, that treasure awaits them on Poseidonia, one of the ten kingdoms of Atlantis. “It is circled with fields and orchards and stream jumping with curious but delicious fish. And there, in an old palace, waits the beauteous Cleito, a princess who has offered ten bushels of gold to any ten men who will become the Swords of her Heart: the champions who will destroy a minor demon set in place by an addle-pated old sorcerer—a sorcerer long dead.”

Seeking passage to the island, Brimm and Snoori soon find themselves manacled in a ship’s bowels, shanghaied as galley slaves. The two irreverent heroes tax their wits and luck to escape one danger only to land in the midst of another. A rollicking, ricocheting adventure bordered by peril, magic, gold, and romance.

The story begged for a follow-up, so I asked John if it was part of a series. Below is his reply:

“While ‘Swords of Atlantis’ is self-contained, a complete tale (with several parts) in and of itself, it is indeed also designed to be the first half of a novel, and the beginning of a series of novels. The second half has been roughly outlined. I would like to write a series of stories about Brimm and Snoori. They are an amusing duo. I wanted to write something that, while not satire or parody, still had a sense of humor. While the novella has its horrific and traditionally fantastic core, I was looking for every possible way to make the story more entertaining, and having a sense of humor about the heroes is another facet. In this I’m a bit influenced by certain Jack Vance tales, perhaps especially the Cugel stories. I grew up loving the sword and sorcery fantasy stories of Robert E Howard and Fritz Leiber, and, when I was in my early teens, Moorcock’s Elric stories. I’ve always wanted to explore that genre in my own way and thus, here is “Swords of Atlantis.” Additionally, the Atlantis story has always held a certain fascination for me. I tried to ground the novella in a reasonably real-seeming setting, as it might have been in ancient times, centuries before Anno Domini.”

Approximately twleve months later, Hippocampus Press has published A Sorcerer of Atlantis with further adventures of Brimm and Snoori as well as the novella “A Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts.”

For more background on the book see Doug Draa’s interview with John Shirley at BlackGate.com.

A Sorcerer of Atlantis by John Shirley

Rish Outfield’s Trick

Weirdbook No. 34 page 179From Weirdbook No. 34:

In “Trick” by Rish Outfield, a self-absorbed dad gets a handful on Halloween when he takes his daughter trick or treating.

I imagine poetry is even more challenging to write and sell than fiction. Weirdbook provides six poems in this issue, the short ones used to fill out the last page of a story, and the longer ones to provide a break between the fiction. This issue includes verses by Steve Dilks (2), Darrell Schweitzer, Ashley Dioses (2), and Lucy A. Snyder.

Editor Doug Draa has done excellent work curating a diverse mix of weird fiction and poetry
for Weirdbook No. 34. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy, horror, supernatural, and science fiction. Every story was entertaining and worth reading. My favorites were those by Adrian Cole and Sean Patrick Hazlett. And I’d rate James D. Mabe’s “Touched” as the best of the book by a shake—a tremble actually.

Greg Jenkins’ Thrill

Weirdbook No. 34 page 170From Weirdbook No. 34:

A short excerpt from Greg Jenkins’ “Thrill My Soul” provides both the tone and gist of his story: “Right away, I had a bad feeling about what I was in for. Anytime Death offers you his hand and says Come with me, chances are you’re not going to Disney World.”

James Ward Kirk’s Personal Dream

Weirdbook No. 34 page 152From Weirdbook No. 34:

The champion of weird in this particular Weirdbook is likely Dan Teagarden, protagonist of “My Personal Dream” by James Ward Kirk. Teagarden smirks at the funeral of his abusive father but writhes in agony at the death of his mother, whom he loves beyond reason. Afterward, his dallies with whores and an elusive theologian offer only meaningless diversion from his descent into madness—one that twists his perception of his own demise into the ultimate bliss.

D.J. Tyrer’s Blood of God

Weirdbook No. 34, page 125From Weirdbook No. 34:

“Blood of God” by D.J. Tyrer takes place on an Anglo-Russian survey platform off Russia’s arctic coast. When the survey team discovers an extra-heavy oil deposit things turn dire. Tyrer’s frigid, isolated setting conjures memories of The Thing. As the crew opens a sample deposit it transforms their mission from research to survival in this tension-packed monster meddler.