Tue 28 Jun 2011
A Review by Geoff Bradley: DANIEL STASHOWER – The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
DANIEL STASHOWER – The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man. William Morrow, hardcover, 1985. Penguin, paperback, 1986. Titan Books, trade paperback, 2009.
I’m a sucker for Sherlock Holmes stories written by hands other than Conan Doyle not because I think they’re good, but because I’m always hoping they will be. I had read some good things about this book so with fingers crossed I decided to try it.
Watson, on the death of Houdini, sends Houdini’s widow a manuscript detailing the adventure where Holmes untangled, in 1910, a plot to discredit Houdini, who was performing in London, and blame him for murder and crimes against the state.
The book could be described, I suppose, as a romp rather than an accurate pastiche. Holmes is larger that life, naturally, but his techniques seem a little far-fetched and it was surprising that he knew how to fly a plane. Still it was a light and fast read, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it, without, for a moment, taking it seriously.
Bibliographic Notes: (1) Ectoplasmic Man was nominated for an Edgar (Best First Novel) by the MWA in 1986.
(2) Several years after this book appeared, Daniel Stashower wrote a series of three novels in which Harry Houdini himself was the primary detective:
The Harry Houdini series —
1. The Dime Museum Murders (1999)
2. The Floating Lady Murder (2000)
3. The Houdini Specter (2002)
July 1st, 2011 at 9:21 am
I haven’t read this one, but I like the Harry Houdini series (without Holmes) Stashower wrote. Houdini comes across as an utter egotist and arrogant to the point of incompetence. It’s his brother Theo (aka Hardeen) who is the real detective of the series.
One other mystery novel by Stashower not mentioned above by Steve, also featuring magic and stage illusions, is ELEPHANTS IN THE DISTANCE.
I’m surprised this review is not a rave. Stashower is one of the foremost Conan Doyle scholars. He wrote an award winning biography, and was one of the few allowed access to the papers from his estate. He’s written two other books on Doyle that I know of. But I guess being an expert on the author does not automatically make you a good pastiche writer when using that author’s character.
July 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Thanks, John, for the info about the Houdini books. I don’t know if Al Hubin might want to add brother Theo as a series character, but I’ll ask.
I’ve not read this one, either, but I did read ELEPHANTS IN THE DISTANCE when it first came out. I’d have to find my review of it to be sure, but as I recall, I found the plot more complicated than it needed to be. I may be wrong about this and there was some other reason I found it disappointing. Maybe I was looking for more and didn’t find it.
As for Geoff’s reaction to ECTOPLASMIC MAN, I’m a little hesitant in pointing this out, not wishing to speak for him, but quoting from his review, he does say that he “quite enjoyed it.”
July 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I’m afraid I found this one to be wanting in several ways, mostly because it is so far from the canon that it loses sight of the character completely. Change the names and you’d likely never know it was intended to be Holmes.
July 1st, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Even though Geoff ended up saying that he enjoyed it, he does say, quoting again:
“Holmes is larger that life, naturally, but his techniques seem a little far-fetched and it was surprising that he knew how to fly a plane.”
I think that’s losing sight of the character myself, Richard.
This has to be one of those books where you really have to suspend your disbelief before you can enjoy it.
Which I can do, but for the most part, I don’t enjoy most Holmes pastiches, even though they sell well (or why would publishers keep printing them?). I especially don’t care for stories in which Holmes meets all sorts of real life personages of the day.
One exception to the statement above is the collection of stories that Adrian Conan Doyle did with John Dickson Carr.