A Study in Emerald - Gaiman
Audio performance by Neil Gaiman
4 stars
A Neil Gaiman mashup of Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft read by Neil Gaiman.
I know this story appeared in a Holmes pastiche short story collection that I read some time ago. I enjoyed having Gaiman read it to me. ( )

interesting. Pretty good mimicking of Doyle’s writing style. Nice twist at the end. Nice job seeding in all the worldbuilding for the alternate history. The ads at the beginning of sections were a little confusing and jarring, but fun, and a nice nod to the original publication method of the Holmes stories as serialized in The Strand. ( )

Also known as that time Gaiman wrote fanfiction and got a fucking Hugo for it. (Yay!!! Also, life goals?)

But seriously, this thing is great. In the beginning, you're led to believe that everything is fine and normal... until it really isn't. I'm catching up on my Lovecraft as I write this, but for the Conan Doyle and Victorian London aspects alone this is fantastic. ( )

Summer 2018, audiobook:

Neil Gaimen's masterpiece in honor of Arthur Canon Doyle & HP Lovecraft, based on "A Study in Scarlet."

I had a delightful time watching this play out as a "Sherlock Story" far into the future, with our unnamed duo sluthing the case, of The Great Old Ones. I laughed delightedly at the inworld advertisements showcasing even more literary characters (Vlad Tepes/Dracul, Victor Frankenstein, Spring Heeled Jack, and Dr. Jekyl). A short fast read, I can still see why this masterpiece won so many awards and is constantly on several recommendation lists. ( )

"A Study in Emerald" is a cool short story written by Neil Gaiman, one of today's masters of weird fiction, and can be found for free here. If you have half an hour of your time left to be spent with one of Gaiman's best short stories, then you should right now click on this link instead of reading my thoughts about it disguising themselves as a review.

As the title already implies, the entire story alludes to Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348362236s/102868.jpg|1997473], but only upon closer observation does it become clear that Gaiman also spends those nine pages with references to the works of [a:H.P. Lovecraft|9494|H.P. Lovecraft|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1299165714p2/9494.jpg]. As I don't know any of his stories, the internet had to assist me with getting to this conclusion, but I do know the original Sherlock Holmes canon quite well by now, and not only was it interesting to see classic characters like Greg Lestrade and Mrs. Watson included in this story, but also to follow the hints leading back to Doyle's original tale. The plot premise was similarly structured, yet turned out to be completely misleading and full of surprises as the ending drew closer, turning "A Study in Emerald" into an independent short story which Neil Gaiman once again used to prove his creativity and his talents as a writer.

The story's originality unfolds not only in the plot itself, but also in the structure of the story. With each chapter being introduced by different advertisements referencing to well-known characters of classic literature like Viktor Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll, Gaiman produced a mysterious atmosphere, which only added to the story's charm. And I totally fell for it.

"If there's one thing that a study of history has taught us, it is that things can always get worse."

This story includes cool stuff (not without reason did Neil Gaiman include this in the "cool stuff" section of his website) and certainly a few surprises you will not have guessed at the beginning of the first chapter. Tadiana's review includes an interesting step-by-step suggestion for reading this, which I might have followed as well (if I had not read "A Study in Scarlet" already months prior to this one). I can recommend this story for fans of Neil Gaiman and/or Sherlock Holmes, but also generally for readers looking for a fast-paced little distraction. ( )