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The Martian Simulacra: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (2018)

by Eric Brown

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3313727,058 (3.12)4
The year is 1907, the setting is Baker Street, London. When the Martian Ambassador arrives at Holmes' door seeking the Great Detective's help in solving a grizzly murder, how can he refuse? The case will involve a trip to the Red Planet, where few humans have been privileged enough to visit. Ever since the second wave of Martians arrived on Earth, inoculated against the germs that had halted their tripods the first time around, and humanity accepted the aliens as their overlords, Holmes has been curious... Soon he and Watson are boarding one of the great Martian spaceships, where they discover their old friend Professor Challenger has been invited along for the ride. What awaits them at their destination is a plot more dastardly than any of them could have imagined. In The Martian Simulacra, award-winning author Eric Brown delivers a glorious mash-up of Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds, seasoned with a dash of Conan Doyle's The Lost World for good measure.… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
At the opening of ‘The Martian Simulacra: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,’ it’s 1907 and Doctor Watson is having breakfast with his old friend Sherlock. Ten years earlier, the Martians returned to Earth, vaccinated against those microbes which had killed them the first time. But they were nice! It turned out that the first invasion was by a nasty faction that had temporarily taken over the government. Now they have set up peaceful embassies and share some of their wondrous science with humanity. Bless!

Suddenly a tripod looms over Baker Street! The Martian ambassador Gravlax-Xenxa-Schmee is coming to consult Holmes, who helped them out years ago on another case. Holmes has learned Martian and spends a lot of time studying the Encyclopaedia Martiannica to expand his knowledge. The ambassador manages to squeeze his tentacled, slimy form into the sitting room and enjoys a cup of Earl Grey while he explains his problem. Back on Mars, someone has murdered esteemed philosopher Delph-Smanx-Arapna, perhaps because of his controversial views. Gravlax-Xenxa-Schmee wants Holmes and Watson to come to Mars and solve the mystery. So begins another great adventure.

The narrator is Doctor Watson, a widower now and Holmes teases him about finding another woman. As it happens, he meets an attractive blonde in Hyde Park while listening to a pair of famous writers broadcasting their anti-Martian opinions at Speaker’s Corner. Then she turns up as a stewardess on the rocket to Mars. Is there more to Freya Hadfield-Bell than meets the eye? Yes.

‘The Martian Simulacra’ is a planetary romance, an old-fashioned tale of derring-do with tentacled aliens set on the lovely Mars we used to have before NASA spoiled it all with facts. Author Eric Brown gets the tone and vocabulary of Doctor Watson’s narration just right. Guest appearances by other luminaries of the day, both real and fictional, give the story added verisimilitude and the fast pace is suitable for a ripping yarn of this type. Cleverly, passengers are sedated for the week-long journey to Mars so they conk out just after take-off and wake on arrival, saving both them and the reader a tedious interlude. Verily, there’s not a tedious page in the book which is a real page-turner. My only tiny, teeny-weeny quibble is that Holmes doesn’t do a lot to help himself in the story and is instead carried along by events but I guess even the most masterful can get out of their depth in a strange new world.

‘The Martian Simulacra’ is part of a four-novella set from Newcon Press but can be read independently. Only the most solemn stuffed shirt churl would not enjoy it for the bit of fun it’s meant to be. ( )
  bigfootmurf | Sep 5, 2020 |
This is the second of the latest quartet of NewCon Press novellas, all of which are set on Mars. It’s subtitled “A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”, which is a bit of a clue to the plot. As is the cover art. It’s set after Wells’s Martian invasion. Although the invaders died, a second lot, claiming to be good Martians and the enemies of the invaders, arrived, and have pretty much taken over. Holmes is approached by a Martian ambassador, who asks for his help in solving the murder of an important Martian philosopher. On Mars. So he and Watson travel there, meeting a yuong woman en route, who appears to be involved with some sort of Martian underground. Because the good Martians aren’t so good after all. It’s exactly the sort of story you would expect from a mash-up between Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds. Brown keeps it pacey, although he perhaps relies overmuch on stock tropes and imagery. A fun novella. ( )
  iansales | May 2, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This is an amusing amalgam of Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells. The Martians have reappeared after their defeat by microbes (see War of the Worlds) with proper inoculations this time, and have conquered the world, and installed themselves as benign overlords. The Martians call upon Sherlock Holmes to assist in solving a crime on Mars and he, Doctor Watson and Professor Challenger find themselves on a rocket hurtling towards the Red Planet. The surprise they find there reveals that the Martians are not “benign” at all.

Unlike a true Holmes story, Sherlock does not control the action and deduce the solution, it's all provided by a lovely third party. There are holes aplenty in the plot and a good fact checker could have corrected the bit about G.B. Shaw using a microphone at Speakers Corner. Of course, there's a cliff hanger rather than a conclusion, as well. ( )
  wdwilson3 | Apr 27, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Really good read. I was a bit concerned about Watson and Freya, but when there was mention of Mary everything was great. ACD would've been proud of it!
  jagit | Mar 7, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I did enjoy this novella-length sequel to H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, despite not having actually read War of the Worlds before which I really should remedy soon. It's set after a second, more peaceful and more successful, Mars invasion. The first part of this story does feel very much like a typical Holmes mystery but after the duo arrive on Mars, supposedly to investigate the murder of a prominent Martian thinker, that feeling ends and it could have been just any pair of heroes trying to save the day. But it isn't badly written and you will most likely enjoy it if you're a fan of Holmes or WotW. ( )
  irapearson | Mar 1, 2018 |
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En 1907, un an après sa participation à ce que l'on avait fini par appeler la Tragique Affaire de l'Ambassadeur Martien, mon ami Sherlock Holmes fut une nouvelle fois appelé à l'aide par nos suzerains extraterrestres.
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The year is 1907, the setting is Baker Street, London. When the Martian Ambassador arrives at Holmes' door seeking the Great Detective's help in solving a grizzly murder, how can he refuse? The case will involve a trip to the Red Planet, where few humans have been privileged enough to visit. Ever since the second wave of Martians arrived on Earth, inoculated against the germs that had halted their tripods the first time around, and humanity accepted the aliens as their overlords, Holmes has been curious... Soon he and Watson are boarding one of the great Martian spaceships, where they discover their old friend Professor Challenger has been invited along for the ride. What awaits them at their destination is a plot more dastardly than any of them could have imagined. In The Martian Simulacra, award-winning author Eric Brown delivers a glorious mash-up of Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds, seasoned with a dash of Conan Doyle's The Lost World for good measure.

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