The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
by John Joseph Adams, Stephen King, Robert J. Sawyer, Michael Moorcock, Sharyn McCrumb, Stephen Baxter, Anne Perry, Barbara Hambly, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Rob Rogers, Naomi Novik, Anthony Burgess, Dominic Green, Laurie R. King, Barbara Roden, Tim Lebbon, Peter Tremayne, Bradley H. Sinor, Edward D. Hoch, Vonda N. McIntyre, Darrell Schweitzer, Mary Robinette Kowal, H. Paul Jeffers, Geoffrey A. Landis, Amy Myers, Chris Roden, Tony Pi, Chris Roberson, Mark Valentine
Why You'll Love This
Thirty authors — including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Naomi Novik — took Sherlock Holmes somewhere Conan Doyle never dared, and the results are genuinely strange and brilliant.
- Great if you want: Holmes reimagined across horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy
- The experience: Anthology pacing — dip in anywhere, each story lands differently
- The writing: Voices range wildly: King broods, Gaiman unsettles, Novik delights
- Skip if: You want a single sustained narrative, not 30 distinct tones
About This Book
Sherlock Holmes has always belonged to every genre, not just Victorian drawing rooms and foggy London streets. This anthology takes that truth seriously, unleashing the world's greatest detective into science fiction, fantasy, horror, and the outright strange—where the cases are impossible, the stakes occasionally cosmic, and the deductive method meets challenges Conan Doyle never imagined. Whether Holmes is confronting supernatural menace, paradoxes of time, or adversaries who defy rational explanation, his needle-sharp mind remains the constant. The result is a collection that feels less like pastiche and more like a genuine expansion of what Holmes can be.
What makes this volume rewarding is the sheer range of craft on display. With contributors including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Naomi Novik, Anne Perry, Michael Moorcock, and Laurie R. King, each story arrives with its own distinct voice and approach—some reverent, some subversive, some deeply unsettling. Editor John Joseph Adams has curated for quality and variety, so the collection never settles into a predictable rhythm. Readers encounter Holmes anew with every story, which is the most any anthology of this ambition can promise.