A delightful spin on Sherlock Holmes, complete with angels, hellhounds, vampires, etc.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Tor) and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Angel of the Crows is basically Sherlock fan-fiction. I can’t even say it’s thinly veiled, because it isn’t veiled at all. And I am completely okay with that. “I may be on the side of the angels, but don’t think for a second that I am one of them.” There were a couple of pretty big twists here and there, but for the most part this book is a collection of faithful retellings of some of Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories. A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Sign of Four, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, and more are covered in this collection. The still unsolved case of Jack the Ripper, which has been included or alluded to in many secondary works about Holmes written by other authors, is the thread which ties all of these separate cases into one cohesive narrative. But what sets this book apart from other Sherlockian stories outside of Doyle’s original canon is the author’s truly fascinating addition of the supernatural. This is not mere whiffs of supernatural in and around certain cases. Addison created a world in which the supernatural runs rampant and is accepted as reality but civilization at large. “You can not keep faith with the faithless.” Where the supernatural is seen most interestingly is in the Sherlock and Watson characters. Crow, the Sherlock character in this story, is an angel. Kind of. He doesn’t have his own habitation, which is what gives angels their identity. He isn’t one of the Nameless, because he managed to wrest an identity almost out of thin air. And he isn’t one of the Fallen, who are basically angels who lost their habitations and went crazy. Crow is something that no one can define, and it freaks everyone the heck out. Everyone, that is, except for Dr. J.H. Doyle, the Watson character in this tale. After being wounded in the war in Afghanistan, Doyle finds himself sharing a flat with Crow at 221B Baker Street. Addison barely deviated from the original meeting of the two, which I appreciated. From there they embark on the adventures that have become so well known over the past century, with just enough differences to keep things interesting. “Shepherds watch over their flocks. And angels watch over shepherds.” The Angel of the Crows is very much rooted in the Victorian London of Doyle’s original canon. Addison stays incredibly true to the stories that provided her inspiration. But what kept this book from feeling like a stale rehashing, besides the supernatural elements, were all of the references to the BBC series that Addison included. Some of the dialogue was word for word from the show. I’ve read and loved every Sherlock story Doyle penned, but the reason behind that love is my adoration for the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I have watched each and every episode multiple times; the first six episodes I’ve watched half a dozen times at least. It’s my sentimental favorite series ever. When Addison opened the book with a quote from the show, I was already won over. But every time she gave the series even the slightest of nods in the narrative it made me giddy. I mean, she gave Crow wings with the same level of moodiness and sass as Sherlock’s coat gave him in the show. The biggest change was Crow’s complete innocence and joy over the smallest things. Since these personality traits make him very believable as an angel, so I’m totally in favor of them. And I really don’t think they’re too far off from Sherlock’s portrayal in the show. “Your real name has power.” If you’re a fan of the original Doyle canon, this is a fun replay of some of its greatest hits, so to speak. Does it do anything truly new? No. The core of the stories are exactly the same. But the trappings are a lot of fun. And if you’re as obsessed with BBC’s Sherlock as I am, The Angel of the Crows is going to make you really happy. It’s as light and sweet and frothy as any plot relying on murder can get. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. All quotations above were taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon publication.

There was a lot of potential here to break fun new ground in the Sherlock Holmes pastiche and it some ways it works. Explaining Holmes's (Crow's) idiosyncrasies by making him an angel that had no need to eat or sleep and has a peripheral understanding of human emotion worked beautifully, though he somethimes veers more into BBC Sherlock territory than the Consulting Detective as written by Arthur Conan Doyal. Addison also manages to recreate ACD's tone without having her characters regurgitate dialogue directly from the originals. The supernatural element adds a fun twist and I enjoyed the way episodes from Sherlock Holmes were adapted to this strange new world. The problem that I had, and I imagine other readers who have read and re-read Holmes's and Watson's adventures are that the actual storylines stick too rigidly. In many of the cases, apart from the odd quirk and werewolf the story is virtually identical and therefore less engaging than they might have been. Despite the early promise the alternative world is under-developed and begins to read like an afterthought rather than integral part of the story, which is a shame because this was what promised to bring fresh life to the old material. I'll also admit to being squeamish whenever Jack the Ripper is wheeled out. Yes, the real crimes were contemporaneous with the Great Detective. Yes, many Sherlockians long for the murderer to come up against Holmes. But this story has been rehashed so many times that's it's become meaningless and that is a horrifying state of affairs when there were real victims who have never really been given their due or the justice they deserve.

3 1/2 stars. Sherlock Holmes fan fic. I loved and was intrigued by some parts of the book but at other times I found things confusing and would have liked more time spent on explaining the creatures and history of this alternative England/world. I did enjoy the main characters of Dr Doyle and Crow and their character development even when they were also meant to be Holmes and Watson.

This is a solid, well written book. With a brilliant central conceit, an Angel who doesn't quite get normal human boundaries and behaviour makes a brilliant Holmes.

This book sounded so interesting to me. Alternate London with Angels, werewolves and vampires. A Sherlock Holmes retelling. That sounds amazing. Sadly, it wasn't my favorite. Even with all the supernaturals, it wasn't anything special. It was ok, but I wasn't wowed. I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I WANT THE NEXT ONE GAHAHAHHA. I really enjoyed this novel and how it bent so many things in this Sherlock re-telling. Honestly, I just want a sequel in my hands.

This is the most marvelous take on Sherlock Holmes that I have read in ages, and coming from a completely unexpected set of angles, too. I would describe the concept as roughly “Sherlock Holmes is so weird that he’s practically inhuman, so what if we just stopped trying to pretend that he was human at all; and then we could do many interesting things that make him just as weird in new directions; like how’s about we make him a lot more like a cat? That’d be cool, right?” And the genius of Katherine Addison is that she can take something with a bit of silliness to it, and still make it overflowing with heart, and thrilling to boot. I don't know that I can adequately capture what Addison pulls off with this -- because I started reading Sherlock Holmes when I was 8 or so, and rereading and rereading until I practically had some stories memorized, and it is utterly clear that Addison has been incredibly thorough in her grasp and reuse of those details. At the same time, Doyle and Crow are certainly *not* Holmes and Watson -- not in the ways that you would expect, and indeed, halfway through, we learn that they are not Holmes and Watson in ways that you would not have expected, either. I loved the worldbuilding - and it's carefully constructed, even when it's not taking centerstage (as it mostly isn't). The concept of angels, and the Consensus, and the Nameless, seems perfectly matched to London and its palimpsest of buildings and monuments remembered and forgotten. Though we don't learn much about the Fallen, I really, really hope that Addison will write more in this world; and that we'll learn more about them in future volumes. But even if we don't, this is a triumph, and I've preordered both the hardcover and the audiobook. Highly, highly recommended.

** spoiler alert ** “I think you are making this complicated because you love complicated things.” What I enjoyed: Dr. Doyle and Crow’s friendship, that this started as a wingfic turned novel, and Doyle as the narrator. What I didn’t enjoy quite as much: the constant introduction of new characters, confusing and sometimes incomplete plots, and not enough time spent on world-building. This is a complex novel and perfect for an October read; I overall think this was a good read but I had a hard time following a lot of what was going on.

I enjoyed it. I don't have a deep history with Sherlock Holmes, so these were good and (to me) original stories. Katherine Addison writes about two more fundamentally decent characters, like Maia from The Goblin Emperor. This time, Doyle and Crow. Loved them both. But there were several passages where I had to work hard to figure out the leaps between. Just took me slightly out of the flow.