Book Review — Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell

Title:  Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell
Author:  Paul Kane
Genre:  Horror/mystery crossover
Pages:  Paperback, 274
ISBN:  978-7-1-78108-455-7
Opening Lines:  "The box was full of possibilities; full of answers to questions he didn't even know he'd asked.  It was a puzzle, yes, but so much more than that."

Rating

"Late 1895, and Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Dr John Watson are called upon to investigate a missing persons case. On the face of it, this seems like a mystery that Holmes might relish — as the person in question vanished from a locked room. But this is just the start of an investigation that will draw the pair into contact with a shadowy organization talked about in whispers, known only as the 'Order of the Gash.'

"As more people go missing in a similar fashion, the clues point to a sinister asylum in France and to the underworld of London. However, it is an altogether different underworld that Holmes will soon discover — as he comes face to face not only with those followers who do the Order's bidding on Earth, but those who serve it in Hell: the Cenobites. Holmes' most outlandish adventure to date, on that has remained shrouded in secrecy until now, launches him headlong into Clive Barker's famous Hellraising universe . . . and things will never be the same again."

~ Jacket copy

Hellraiser was my first introduction to Clive Barker.  I remember sitting on my friend's couch during our weekly "beer and pie" nights.  We were slowly working our way through 80's horror flicks.  For him, he was reliving old childhood memories.  For me, I was finally able to watch many of the movies my mother forbade.  (And, in the case of Jason X, wondering why people decided to drag out a franchise.) 

My brother had always been fascinate with Pinhead; however, the knowledge was always over my head.  After watching Hellraiser and taking part in underage drinking, I was excited to phone my brother.  During our conversation, he inquired as to whether I had actually read Clive Barker's works.  My brother has always been a voracious reader (it runs in the family), so I was not surprised to learn he knew Clive Barker was actually the author of novels about Pinhead.  What surprised me was the knowledge of written work about Pinhead and the world of Hellraiser.  Being the gracious older brother that he is, he let me borrow his copy of The Hellbound Heart.  I was forever lost to the world of Hellraiser.

And it cannot be surprising to anyone that I married a Hellraiser junkie . . .

Fast forward to the Books of Horror community on Facebook and my introduction to the Sherlock Holmes crossover world! 

Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell has been in our Amazon cart for a dog's age; however, for some reason or the other, we kept putting it off.  At the beginning of the month, during our mad dash to finish our horror swap boxes, we finally decided to take the plunge.

I have always known about Sherlock Holmes (who hasn't?), but, aside from the RDJ movies, my experience with him is rather limited.  Unlike Holmes, I do know Clive Barker's world of the Cenobites! 

The story started off with a bang!  The prologue had me begging for me, and I was honestly intrigued to see how it would play out.  The story of the first disappearance mirrored Barker's novella, which brought back wonderfully warm feelings of nostalgia.  Kane did a wonderful job building the story and keeping me on the edge of my seat. 

Based on conversations with a aunt (a Holmes fan), Kane is able to stay true to the Holmes mythos.  And, based on The Hellbound Heart, the Lament Configuration, the Cenobites, and so on are spot on.  All of these elements mesh well and work together to make an edge-of-your-seat mystery.  However, Kane lost me in the last me around chapter 23.  Without spoiling the ending, the climax and resolution seemed a bit out of character for Barker's world.  Maybe diving into the graphic novels would shed a bit more light on the subject, but it just seemed . . . Out of place.  Further, the ending was a bit lackluster after the maelstrom of the first 22 chapters. 

For a crossover, this was a fun adventure!  The only thing that lost it a skull was the last part of the book.  It was too out of place, which pulled me entirely out of the story.  Nevertheless, the book is a creative addition to the Sherlock Holmes and Hellraiser canon.  Besides, you cannot go wrong when the author receives the seal of approval from the female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Clive Barker himself.