The Game Is Afoot: Parodies, Pastiches, and Ponderings of Sherlock Holmes [Hardcover]

Marvin Kaye (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

A comprehensive collection of writings about the inimitable Sherlock Holmes offers parodies, essays, and pastiches on the world's greatest consulting detective by writers including Bret Harte, Isaac Asimov, Fritz Leiber, and Basil Rathbone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This book by novelist/anthologist Kaye ( Penguin Book of Ghosts ) is a compilation of good-natured lampoons, clever spoofs and somewhat academic examinations of Sherlock Holmes's cases. No matter what form the considerations take, all are motivated by an obvious affection for the Great Detective. The ponderings include a reflection by Dr. Joseph Bell, who was Arthur Conan Doyle's teacher and the model for Sherlock Holmes. Also included is Kaye's lengthy "Histrionic Holmes," a study of Holmes's skill and technique as an actor. Several entries are quite obscure, including "Sherlock Holmes Umpires Baseball," an anonymous piece published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1906; others, like "Our American Cousins" by Roberta Rogow, were penned especially for this book. The selections, loosely organized in such chapter titles as "Pieces Problematic," might have been more informative if arranged chronologically to illustrate the reading public's changing image of Holmes. Nevertheless, the newcomer to Holmes, as well as the established Sherlockian, will relish having the best efforts of the best writers who have taken a turn at immortalizing the detective collected in one book.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The magic phrase that rouses joy in the heart of any Holmes fan is an apt title for this latest of many well-deserved paeans to the world's first consulting detective and his friend and Boswell to appear since their introduction in 1887. Although several of the 53 pieces, ranging from the sublime ("Sussex Interview") to the ridiculous ("The Sinister Cheesecake"), might be familiar to serious Holmesians, there are also a number of original adventures commissioned fresh for this volume. Included are contributions by James M. Barrie, Bret Harte, Fritz Leiber, Robert Bloch, and Basil Rathbone, as well as Dr. Joseph Bell, upon whom Holmes is based and, of course, two rarities by the master himself, Conan Doyle. Together the assorted dispositions by the authors--some to bury Holmes, others to praise him--produce an appropriate equilibrium in the collection. Rich with thrills and laughter, this is a true delight for all students of the Baker Street menage. Recommended for public libraries.
- Michael Rogers, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312104685
• ISBN-13: 978-0312104689
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,518,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jolly Good! Except....., November 12, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Mohegan Lake, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Game Is Afoot: Parodies, Pastiches and Ponderings of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

I enjoyed this anthology immensly. Some of the pastiches Mr. Kaye included were among the best Neo-Sherlocking I've ever read (I particularly enjoyed "The Unmasking Of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Chapman.) and I agree with most of his opinions on The Canon. But who does he think he is calling the brilliant performance of Jeremy Brett as Holmes an "outrage and an abomination"?! He also says he will not mention the Brett series in his Holmesian catalogue. You just did Marv!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag..., June 11, 2001

By 

Dr S McCrea (Guildford, Surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Game Is Afoot: Parodies, Pastiches and Ponderings of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

...mostly interesting, occasionally excellent or pedestrian. I found the editor's own essay tedious. Overall good fun.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Torn, October 12, 2010

By 

King Julian (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Game Is Afoot: Parodies, Pastiches and Ponderings of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

I have to admit I had a hard time to decide how to rate this book. The collection of pastriches and parodies is delightful, absolutely no question about that. However, it was all ruined with the author's very personal and uncalled for bashing of Jeremy Brett's performance as Sherlock Holmes in the Granada series. Ironically a series and interpretation that is, with very few exceptions, regarded as the ultimate Sherlock Holmes and the only version close to canon. Unfortunately the author does not grace us with an explanation for his slandering of the probably most beloved embodiment of Holmes. His comments are nothing short of immature and insulting and personally I think while everyone is entitled to her/his opinion I expect objective criticism and an explanation for personal dislike in a book that combines stories and essays. What the author did here is unforgivable and highly unprofessional. Hence the one star rating dispite the overall fine content of this publication. I do not think a writer should get away with stooping that low. There you go, Marvin.