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Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #27
Doctor Who: All-Consuming Fire
‘I’ve been all over the universe with you, Doctor, and Earth in the nineteenth century is the most alien place I’ve ever seen.’
England, 1887. The secret library of St John the Beheaded has been robbed. The thief has taken forbidden books which tell of mythical beasts and gateways to other worlds. Only one team can be trusted to solve the crime: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.
As their investigation leads them to the dark underside of Victorian London, Holmes and Watson soon realize that someone else is following the same trail. Someone who has the power to kill with a glance. And they sense a strange, inhuman shape observing them from the shadows. Then they meet the mysterious traveller known only as the Doctor -- the last person alive to read the stolen books.
While Bernice waits in nineteenth-century India, Ace is trapped on a bizarre alien world. And the Doctor finds himself unwillingly united with England’s greatest consulting detective.
England, 1887. The secret library of St John the Beheaded has been robbed. The thief has taken forbidden books which tell of mythical beasts and gateways to other worlds. Only one team can be trusted to solve the crime: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.
As their investigation leads them to the dark underside of Victorian London, Holmes and Watson soon realize that someone else is following the same trail. Someone who has the power to kill with a glance. And they sense a strange, inhuman shape observing them from the shadows. Then they meet the mysterious traveller known only as the Doctor -- the last person alive to read the stolen books.
While Bernice waits in nineteenth-century India, Ace is trapped on a bizarre alien world. And the Doctor finds himself unwillingly united with England’s greatest consulting detective.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 16, 1994
2 people are currently reading
420 people want to read
About the author
Andy Lane
88 books338 followersSee also works published as Andrew Lane
During 2009, Macmillan Books announced that Lane would be writing a series of books focusing on the early life of Sherlock Holmes. The series was developed in conjunction with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lane had already shown an extensive knowledge of the Holmes character and continuity in his Virgin Books novel All-Consuming Fire in which he created The Library of St. John the Beheaded as a meeting place for the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who.
The first book in the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' series – Death Cloud – was published in the United Kingdom in June 2010 (February 2011 in the United States), with the second – Red Leech – published in the United Kingdom in November of that year (with a United States publication date under the title Rebel Fire of February 2012). The third book – Black Ice – was published in June 2011 in the UK while the fourth book – Fire Storm – was published originally in hardback in October 2011 with a paperback publication in March 2012. The fifth book, Snake Bite was published in hardback in October 2012 and the sixth book, Knife Edge was published in September 2013. Death Cloud was short-listed for both the 2010 North East Book Award. (coming second by three votes) and the 2011 Southampton's Favourite Book Award. Black Ice won the 2012 Centurion Book Award.
Early in 2012, Macmillan Children's Books announced that they would be publishing a new series by Lane, beginning in 2013. The Lost World books will follow disabled 15-year-old Calum Challenger, who is co-ordinating a search from his London bedroom to find creatures considered so rare that many do not believe they exist. Calum's intention is to use the creatures' DNA to help protect the species, but also to search for a cure for his own paralysis. His team comprises a computer hacker, a free runner, an ex-marine and a pathological liar.
During 2009, Macmillan Books announced that Lane would be writing a series of books focusing on the early life of Sherlock Holmes. The series was developed in conjunction with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lane had already shown an extensive knowledge of the Holmes character and continuity in his Virgin Books novel All-Consuming Fire in which he created The Library of St. John the Beheaded as a meeting place for the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who.
The first book in the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' series – Death Cloud – was published in the United Kingdom in June 2010 (February 2011 in the United States), with the second – Red Leech – published in the United Kingdom in November of that year (with a United States publication date under the title Rebel Fire of February 2012). The third book – Black Ice – was published in June 2011 in the UK while the fourth book – Fire Storm – was published originally in hardback in October 2011 with a paperback publication in March 2012. The fifth book, Snake Bite was published in hardback in October 2012 and the sixth book, Knife Edge was published in September 2013. Death Cloud was short-listed for both the 2010 North East Book Award. (coming second by three votes) and the 2011 Southampton's Favourite Book Award. Black Ice won the 2012 Centurion Book Award.
Early in 2012, Macmillan Children's Books announced that they would be publishing a new series by Lane, beginning in 2013. The Lost World books will follow disabled 15-year-old Calum Challenger, who is co-ordinating a search from his London bedroom to find creatures considered so rare that many do not believe they exist. Calum's intention is to use the creatures' DNA to help protect the species, but also to search for a cure for his own paralysis. His team comprises a computer hacker, a free runner, an ex-marine and a pathological liar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
July 8, 2019
I first read this 25ys ago this month when came it out.But I lost my copy.Over the last 20ys I have tried get another as one of all time best Who adventures. I once saw copy on Amazon for £295 !
Finally I got one from eBay .
Sherlock Holmes Doctor Watson Vs The 7th Doctor, the Old God from H.P.Lovecraft, Ace, Benice Summerfied the for runner of River Song.
Lane has Done great Holmes story here it great shame he has not written any others.As has got the real Holmes dead right. This very much Sherlock Holmes book as much as it is a Doctor Who book.
This has great cover too. If are wanting a Doctor Who book this is not really the one because it is more Holmes but as love SH even more ( how is that possible ?) Than The Doctor.So no worries there .Ace has only been in it at very start for page she not been in flashback by page 200.
Finally I got one from eBay .
Sherlock Holmes Doctor Watson Vs The 7th Doctor, the Old God from H.P.Lovecraft, Ace, Benice Summerfied the for runner of River Song.
Lane has Done great Holmes story here it great shame he has not written any others.As has got the real Holmes dead right. This very much Sherlock Holmes book as much as it is a Doctor Who book.
This has great cover too. If are wanting a Doctor Who book this is not really the one because it is more Holmes but as love SH even more ( how is that possible ?) Than The Doctor.So no worries there .Ace has only been in it at very start for page she not been in flashback by page 200.
February 4, 2016
So The Doctor teaming up with Sherlock Holmes to fight Lovecraftian monsters. Is there a combination more likely to sing sweet songs to my inner geek?
The result is actually a lot of fun. The Seventh Doctor here is a much more playful presence than he is in some of the other Virgin New Adventures, Holmes and Watson are for the most part captured beautifully and the story races along excitingly whilst staying just the right side of ludicrous. Okay, it does fall a bit flat in the last third, The Victorian set-up grounds it in a recognisable literary construct, but that’s jettisoned and the book find itself flailing a bit from there. Part of the problem – as the narrative acknowledges – is that once you take Sherlock Holmes out of his comfort zone he becomes a lot less effective. A lot of his genius is derived from the fact he knows how things are supposed to work, and when he doesn’t – when he truly enters the Doctor Who world – the fantastic deductions and observations totally dry up. As such it becomes a Doctor Who novel with a bit part for Sherlock Holmes, and that’s a shame as it works so much better with these two titans on a level footing.
Still, even though it doesn’t hold together right to the end, there are cameos from the Third Doctor, the First Doctor and Susan, and ultimately this is a novel that made me incredibly happy.
The result is actually a lot of fun. The Seventh Doctor here is a much more playful presence than he is in some of the other Virgin New Adventures, Holmes and Watson are for the most part captured beautifully and the story races along excitingly whilst staying just the right side of ludicrous. Okay, it does fall a bit flat in the last third, The Victorian set-up grounds it in a recognisable literary construct, but that’s jettisoned and the book find itself flailing a bit from there. Part of the problem – as the narrative acknowledges – is that once you take Sherlock Holmes out of his comfort zone he becomes a lot less effective. A lot of his genius is derived from the fact he knows how things are supposed to work, and when he doesn’t – when he truly enters the Doctor Who world – the fantastic deductions and observations totally dry up. As such it becomes a Doctor Who novel with a bit part for Sherlock Holmes, and that’s a shame as it works so much better with these two titans on a level footing.
Still, even though it doesn’t hold together right to the end, there are cameos from the Third Doctor, the First Doctor and Susan, and ultimately this is a novel that made me incredibly happy.
February 9, 2024
I liked the first half but it became such a mess at the end. 3.5 ultimately.
Read
April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1106827.html[return][return]I enjoyed this tremendously. The Doctor, Ace, and Bernice Summerfield, in nineteenth-century London, get mixed up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson; and all five of them are then confronted with an invasion of Earth by the forces of Azathoth from the planet Ry'leh (sic). Mixing the mythoses (mythoi?) of Arthur Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft is risky, but Lane has done it very well - lots of borderline steampunk in his Victorian settings, most of the narrative told in the first person by Watson (who inevitably develops a liking for Benny), cameo appearances from Pope Leo XIII, the San Francisco fire of 1906, and the smart missiles from Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. [return][return]Apart from the wonderful romp of the setting, Lane is also pretty smart about reinforcing our willing suspension of disbelief. Is Sherlock Holmes real or fictional in the Whoniverse? We get a rather neat answer here. On top of that, the entire narrative is nicely presented as a flashback, Benny and Ace perusing Watson's account, and then critiquing him as an unreliable narrator.[return][return]Strongly recommended, especially for fans of Holmes or Cthulhu who may for some reason not have encountered Doctor Who.
May 1, 2010
Ah, now this is high-concept. Collide two well-loved fictional universes and create a story that feels as though it fits into both of them by adopting a neat hybrid narrative style that encompasses both.
It was probably only a matter of time before Sherlock Holmes turned up properly in Doctor Who. The original series had toyed with him before, but it was generally presumed that he was fictional in the Whoniverse.
What Andy Lane does is to employ the trick of suggesting that Holmes and Watson were indeed pseudonyms, although he carefully refrains from identifying them (which is a bit of a cheat.) This enables the conceit to work without compromising either scenario.
There are some seriously good ideas in here. The Library of St John is a very good addition to both canons, and the main alien adversary is quite cleverly handled, with the various story twists working well.
And the style is generally well maintained. Watson mostly sounds like Doyle's Watson even if the story is definitely nothing Doyle (even in his Challenger stories) would have considered.
Oh, and the crossed time-streams implication is carefully skated over, whilst being perhaps the most interesting idea of all - that the Doctor sometimes takes a long time to get around to sorting something out, but that time-travel makes that less of an issue than it should be.
It was probably only a matter of time before Sherlock Holmes turned up properly in Doctor Who. The original series had toyed with him before, but it was generally presumed that he was fictional in the Whoniverse.
What Andy Lane does is to employ the trick of suggesting that Holmes and Watson were indeed pseudonyms, although he carefully refrains from identifying them (which is a bit of a cheat.) This enables the conceit to work without compromising either scenario.
There are some seriously good ideas in here. The Library of St John is a very good addition to both canons, and the main alien adversary is quite cleverly handled, with the various story twists working well.
And the style is generally well maintained. Watson mostly sounds like Doyle's Watson even if the story is definitely nothing Doyle (even in his Challenger stories) would have considered.
Oh, and the crossed time-streams implication is carefully skated over, whilst being perhaps the most interesting idea of all - that the Doctor sometimes takes a long time to get around to sorting something out, but that time-travel makes that less of an issue than it should be.
December 19, 2018
During the Steven Moffat era of New Who, there was a portion of fandom calling out for a crossover between that program and his 21st century update of Sherlock Holmes. Little did those fans seem to know that, back in 1994, someone else had already written a crossover between the Seventh Doctor and the great detective.
All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane is an example of how to do a crossover right. Largely written as a Holmes pastiche (that is, from the point of view of Watson) which gives it the authentic Holmes flavor. Indeed, it’s no surprise that Lane went on to write for the Young Holmes books. And yet the TARDIS crew of the Doctor, Bernice Summerfield, and Ace all read correctly if with notes of exasperation and confusion from Watson. Add in some references to the larger canons of both characters and the results are immensely pleasing.
If you can’t track down the novel, the Big Finish audio drama adaptation is quite faithful to its source material. It loses a little of the depth but not much that is to its detriment. Either way, if you’ve been craving a dose of what Wholock (as the kids call it) might be like, All-Consuming Fire is worth seeking out.
All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane is an example of how to do a crossover right. Largely written as a Holmes pastiche (that is, from the point of view of Watson) which gives it the authentic Holmes flavor. Indeed, it’s no surprise that Lane went on to write for the Young Holmes books. And yet the TARDIS crew of the Doctor, Bernice Summerfield, and Ace all read correctly if with notes of exasperation and confusion from Watson. Add in some references to the larger canons of both characters and the results are immensely pleasing.
If you can’t track down the novel, the Big Finish audio drama adaptation is quite faithful to its source material. It loses a little of the depth but not much that is to its detriment. Either way, if you’ve been craving a dose of what Wholock (as the kids call it) might be like, All-Consuming Fire is worth seeking out.
February 24, 2010
Not high art, by any means, but a hell of a lot of fun. "Doctor Who by way of Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Lovecraft" sounds like the recipe for the worst fanfic imaginable, but Andy Lane pulls it off admirably. And actually writing it as a Holmes pastiche, telling the tale from Watson's and (intermittently) Bernice Summerfield's perspectives, was a brilliant touch, making the Doctor a secondary character in his own story while placing him on the same narrative plateau as Holmes at the same time. Maybe it suffers a bit from the same curse as all non-Doyle Holmes stories in that Lane feels the need to reference every conceivable Sherlockian detail - Reference to the giant rat of Sumatra? Check. Mycroft appearance? Yup. Moriarty? What do you honestly think? - but given that at least two other Doctors put in cameos here, it's not like he's limiting himself to overindulging in just one character's world. And really, if you get to play in such an awesome sandboxes, it makes sense that you'd want to use as many of the toys as possible.
July 30, 2007
The Seventh Doctor meets Sherlock Holmes. How can that not be full of win? And it pretty much is—unlike a lot of the Holmes pastiches I've read, Lane isn't afraid to actually do things with Holmes canon; many pastiche writers seem VERY AFRAID that they're somehow going to damage Sir Arthur's toys, which 1) is ridiculous, and 2) leads to very boring stories. Lane, meanwhile, is more willing to take Holmes canon in hand—he allows for character development and doesn't simply maintain the status quo. He also, bless him, lets Watson shine; in fact, this novel ends up being much more about Watson than about Holmes, or even the Doctor. It's probably a better Holmes novel than it is a Doctor Who one, honestly. But I love both worlds so I enjoyed it.
August 18, 2020
I loved this melding of old-school Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who right from the first page.
Most of the narrative is written from the POV of Dr Watson, like in the original Conan Doyle adventures. Conan Doyle is even name-checked as being a friend of Watson. The author does a brilliant job of mimicking Conan Doyle's narrative style.
The action takes place in a variety of locations - London, of course, also India, an alien world which I believe is based on something from a Lovecraft story, and they end up in San Francisco.
The characters are well-written and even the irritating Bernice isn't quite as annoying as I usually find her.
A great adventure which would have made a thrilling TV adaptation in the style of the classic era Doctor Who.
Most of the narrative is written from the POV of Dr Watson, like in the original Conan Doyle adventures. Conan Doyle is even name-checked as being a friend of Watson. The author does a brilliant job of mimicking Conan Doyle's narrative style.
The action takes place in a variety of locations - London, of course, also India, an alien world which I believe is based on something from a Lovecraft story, and they end up in San Francisco.
The characters are well-written and even the irritating Bernice isn't quite as annoying as I usually find her.
A great adventure which would have made a thrilling TV adaptation in the style of the classic era Doctor Who.
August 27, 2014
This has certainly been the most entertaining Doctor Who novel I've read so far. It's the crossover fans have been waiting for: the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes on the case to stop an invasion, with bonus Lovecraft! The story is told as a Holmes pastiche, primarily from Watson's pov with a few chapters contributed by Benny Summerfield. It does get quite silly around the climax, but I didn't even care. The author knows his material and has a good time with it. I'm certain there were plenty of clever references that I missed, though I enjoyed the ones I caught.
Fun for fans of Seven, Benny and Ace, and for open-minded Holmesians.
Fun for fans of Seven, Benny and Ace, and for open-minded Holmesians.
January 3, 2012
That was brilliant. Easily the first New Adventure book that really worked for me from start to finish.
I've been lucky enough to have read Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories previously, and it was uncanny how close this came to mimicking Doyle's style.
The ending on the (spoilers!) alien planet was a teensy bit weak, mainly due to the sudden shift to a realm waaaaaay outside anything Doyle ever wrote Sherlock doing and Ace forgetting she'd gotten over her "I'm a massive bitch" arc a few books back, when she met up with Watson. But still great fun.
I've been lucky enough to have read Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories previously, and it was uncanny how close this came to mimicking Doyle's style.
The ending on the (spoilers!) alien planet was a teensy bit weak, mainly due to the sudden shift to a realm waaaaaay outside anything Doyle ever wrote Sherlock doing and Ace forgetting she'd gotten over her "I'm a massive bitch" arc a few books back, when she met up with Watson. But still great fun.
June 26, 2024
My favourite of the New Adventures so far. Bernice is reading a novel in which Sherlock Holmes meets the Doctor and they investigate an adventure told in a clever pastiche of Conan Doyle in which the sci fi elements could have been written in the 1890s. I like Who, I like Holmes, this is a good example of both and has a bit of meta fun with whether it's "fictional" or not. Well played, that man!
January 17, 2012
All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane is a pretty cool novel that teams up Sherlock Holmes and Watson with the Doctor, Ace and Bernice. It wins you over by being written in mock Arthur Conan Doyle, as one of Watson's unpublished adventures, with contributions from Bernice's journal entries (her voice is just as interesting). It is FULL of period detail, showing off Lane's research (he's also written a lot of Holmesian articles) while remaining entertaining. The story itself brings in Lovecraftian elements (the Mythos was introduced into the Whoniverse in White Darkness) which are imaginative, but eventually those elements take over and the Holmes detective story becomes a Who science fiction adventure and loses something in the process. In other words, I would have been happy if the Doctor had never showed up!
December 31, 2022
REREAD #2: 8 June 2022 - 11 September 2022 (8/10)
To go along with "The Read McCoy" podcast.
REREAD #1: 29 February 2016 - 3 March 2016 (8/10)
I recently bought and listened to Big Finish's audioplay adapted from this novel. I highly recommend it, by the way.
I enjoyed it to the point I found myself wanting to read the actual book again. It was a fun reread and the book was again very good. I was surprised at how much verbatim dialogue they had managed to get into the play considering it was only 2 hours long.
I recommend both the book and the audioplay. If you like Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes, give a try to whichever medium appeals to you most.
To go along with "The Read McCoy" podcast.
REREAD #1: 29 February 2016 - 3 March 2016 (8/10)
I recently bought and listened to Big Finish's audioplay adapted from this novel. I highly recommend it, by the way.
I enjoyed it to the point I found myself wanting to read the actual book again. It was a fun reread and the book was again very good. I was surprised at how much verbatim dialogue they had managed to get into the play considering it was only 2 hours long.
I recommend both the book and the audioplay. If you like Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes, give a try to whichever medium appeals to you most.
February 8, 2021
TW: Animal abuse, mentions of groping.
I really enjoyed this one! This was such a fun ride and I have enjoyed Andy Lane's previous books such as the Empire of Glass which is one of my favourites.
This was told from a total different perspective from all the previous vnas: John Watson and Benny's diaries and I really enjoyed the change and the flow.
I loved the continuity of Professor Litefoot being mentioned here too and Benny had a lot of great moments. It's nice to see that this book was more focused on her.
I loved Sherlock initial reaction to the Doctor and Watson having a crush on Benny. That's a mood.
I really enjoyed this one! This was such a fun ride and I have enjoyed Andy Lane's previous books such as the Empire of Glass which is one of my favourites.
This was told from a total different perspective from all the previous vnas: John Watson and Benny's diaries and I really enjoyed the change and the flow.
I loved the continuity of Professor Litefoot being mentioned here too and Benny had a lot of great moments. It's nice to see that this book was more focused on her.
I loved Sherlock initial reaction to the Doctor and Watson having a crush on Benny. That's a mood.
July 9, 2023
This book was a cross-over story between Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes. It was fast and entertaining, but it did play fast and loose with the Holmes Canon. I did like the way the author represented Watson as intelligent and not a bumbling sidekick. I did have problems with the way the POV was switched up between narrators, sometimes within the same chapter. It is for this reason and that of some editing slips that I have rated it as such.
May 26, 2021
The only problem I have with these Doctor Who novels is that I get them done in an hour. They are so entertaining!
Ingenious reproduction of Conan Doyle’s style and it was very clever how they introduced the Victorian characters to the Whoniverse without having to do do too much recap.
All in all, a terrific read.
Ingenious reproduction of Conan Doyle’s style and it was very clever how they introduced the Victorian characters to the Whoniverse without having to do do too much recap.
All in all, a terrific read.
March 15, 2010
The first half of this book is absolutely sensational, as pure Conan Doyle as you can get outside of the man himself. The second half, while good, alters as it drifts into proper fantasy, but the first half gives it a high rating.
January 4, 2011
For those of you pining for Steven Moffat to arrange a meeting between the Doctor & Sherlock Holmes...you're over a decade late. Read this wonderful adventure and luxuriate in the ultimate mash-up of genres and British archetypes.
April 23, 2011
As these are two of my absolute favourite characters, I had high expectations for this book. And it did not let me down in any sense. It is a wonderful juxtaposition of two personalities that clash so perfectly. A must read for fans of Doctor Who and Holmes.
January 25, 2013
I'm a long time Doctor Who and Sherlock holmes fan, so I was thrilled when Andy Lane had the genius idea to team them up to fight an evil force from outside the universe. I keep hoping they'll find some way to adapt this into a live action adventure.
February 7, 2017
One of the better Doctor Who books I've re-read lately. A good solid Holmes pastiche, for the most part, getting weaker whenever it strays way from that. The Lovecraft aspect's undercooked and unnecessary, though.
May 27, 2014
Very much enjoyed this. I thought the Doctor meeting Sherlock Holmes and Watson would be hokey, and it was, a little, but in a good way. Love Ace and Bernice Summerfield as always.
June 27, 2017
Rather campy, but wonderful read. Interesting look at the Watson/Sherlock relationship.
February 5, 2023
A Doctor Who book about The Doctor and his companions meeting Sherlock, Watson, and Mycroft? What more can you possibly want?
August 18, 2024
All-Consuming Fire is a dreadful double crossover story, the kind that certain types of fans think are "a good idea." This one takes Doctor Who, places it into the world of Sherlock Holmes, and then transfers that mashup to the Cthulhu Mythos. The result is a nonsensical story with weak plotting, poor characterization, and more useless trinkets for fans than the last merch table at a ComiCon. The story is told primarily from the point of view of Watson, and in this respect is more Sherlock Holmes than anything else. In the first half of the novel, The Doctor is just an annoying side character, Benny gets no mention at all (except in the very brief prologue), and Ace is reduced to one short report. In fact, throughout the novel Ace is almost nonexistent. The story, such as it is, involves Holmes being commissioned by the Vatican (a meeting with the Pope, no less) to recover some books stolen from a secret library. This leads to Holmes and Watson meeting The Doctor in said library, some running around dodging danger in London, a trip to India where things get mystical, and from there a trip across a magic tunnel opened by intoning a nonsense incantation, leading to an alien world. In this novel, we return to the ultra canny Doctor 7, who uses oh so many words to say almost nothing, gives no information to anyone, and is just really irritating with his smug, evasive answers to any question. He is also the manipulative Doctor, planting his agents in dangerous foreign locations, Benny in India and Ace on the alien world, without telling them what to expect, how to get around, or any of the basics of survival, let alone what they are supposed to do there. And indeed, the reader never finds out what The Doctor does or does not know about this situation, why he has planted his agents in these places, how he knows where to plant them, or what he is trying to accomplish with this elaborate scheme. With the companions, Andy Lane has gone for the badass women characterization, so mostly they bully, blast, shoot, beatup and generally show off their fighting skills. It's utterly boring 1990s action film stuff. Ace is particularly irritating when she finally makes a real appearance in the last 30 or so pages. This is "military" Ace as fans who know nothing about soldiers understand it. All she wants to do is shoot things and blow things up and talk tough and condescend to everyone around her. One good thing about this novel is that Lane does a passable pastiche of Conan Doyle's style. This, however, does not elevate a novel of thin plot, riddled with holes, unimaginative characterization, and a portrayal of the TARDIS crew that is, frankly, reprehensible.
February 25, 2025
Sherlock Holmes meets Doctor Who (and then cod Lovecraftian horror) is a thunderingly obvious fanfic setup yet here we have an official licenced Doctor Who tie-in novel doing exactly that. What's more, it does a good job being a Holmes pastiche, perhaps too good at times. While the Doctor says much about the evils of British imperialism, author Andy Lane's depiction of India isn't much better than what you'd find in Victorian literature and perhaps that's the point, but if it is then the Doctor's denouncements of Empire ring even more desperate than they do in context, a weak attempt to cover for the racism you get when imitating Author Conan Doyle. There's no attempt at all to question or subvert the Lovecraftian elements, unless you count stripping away any horror and wonder to make a generic planetary adventure with a few Lovecraftian names a particularly clumsy go at this. There's an interesting idea about taking the British Empire to other planets to colonize but it doesn't go far enough with it. Even so, All-Consuming Fire's a fun, breezy read which is more than can be said about some of the other New Adventures. And again, it's Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes! It's shameless fanfic but it's fun and pretty well-written.
Read
May 11, 2021One of the 'Doctor Who new adventures' series from the wilderness years between the classic show and the new show. I started reading this a while ago but kept putting it down in favour of other books (I own this one and the other ones were library books or being borrowed from other people).
I could definitely see Steven Moffatt having read this one as it features a secret Vatican library of forbidden books (much like the "Extremis" episode in season 10), and is barely a doctor who book, being mostly told from the perspective of Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes, with the Doctor and his companions becoming more and more a part of the action as it progressed (Moffatt being the writer/showrunner of the Sherlock tv series too).
An enjoyable enough story with a few surprising twists and turns. These 'new adventures' and the 'missing adventures' series can occasionally be brilliant and occasionally terrible. This one sits in the middle somewhere. It feels like the writer partly wanted to write a Sherlock Holmes book but still writes McCoy's doctor quite ably.
I could definitely see Steven Moffatt having read this one as it features a secret Vatican library of forbidden books (much like the "Extremis" episode in season 10), and is barely a doctor who book, being mostly told from the perspective of Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes, with the Doctor and his companions becoming more and more a part of the action as it progressed (Moffatt being the writer/showrunner of the Sherlock tv series too).
An enjoyable enough story with a few surprising twists and turns. These 'new adventures' and the 'missing adventures' series can occasionally be brilliant and occasionally terrible. This one sits in the middle somewhere. It feels like the writer partly wanted to write a Sherlock Holmes book but still writes McCoy's doctor quite ably.
March 28, 2024
Rereading after listening to the Big Finish audio drama...
A more than passable Doctor Who novel featuring Holmes and Watson, plus a nunber of other Doyle characters - Lord John Roxton (Professor Challenger is mentioned in passing as being on another expedition), Mycroft, Moriarty - as well as the odd historical name (Baden Powell, Inspector Abberline). Most potential inconsistencies can be explained away as being 'fictionalisation' by Arthur Conan Doyle: here Holmes and Watson are real people (with different names). Part of the fun is in references to other Victorian characters (Sergeant Cribb!) as well as Benny disguised as a young man... Ace is separated for much of book, scouting ahead on the planet Ry'leh where the climax occurs.
It's not entirely perfect - Holmes and Watson dine on Coronation Chicken some 60 years before the coronation for which it was created (time travel licence, perhaps? Benny remarks at one point that it was easy to 'get ahead of oneself') - but enormous fun. And there are cameos from the First and Third Doctors (unnamed) as well as a possible dream about the Fourth in Weng-Chiang costume.
Watson is the narrator of the book wihin the book, with extracts from Benny's journal, so there are several layers of potential 'unreliable narrator', with the fictionalisation on top of that. Amusingly, as audio and television stories both struggle to utilise a large TARDIS crew effectively, the Doctor muses at one point that perhaps just the three regulars are too few to avoid getting bored with each other and almost invites H&W to join...
A more than passable Doctor Who novel featuring Holmes and Watson, plus a nunber of other Doyle characters - Lord John Roxton (Professor Challenger is mentioned in passing as being on another expedition), Mycroft, Moriarty - as well as the odd historical name (Baden Powell, Inspector Abberline). Most potential inconsistencies can be explained away as being 'fictionalisation' by Arthur Conan Doyle: here Holmes and Watson are real people (with different names). Part of the fun is in references to other Victorian characters (Sergeant Cribb!) as well as Benny disguised as a young man... Ace is separated for much of book, scouting ahead on the planet Ry'leh where the climax occurs.
It's not entirely perfect - Holmes and Watson dine on Coronation Chicken some 60 years before the coronation for which it was created (time travel licence, perhaps? Benny remarks at one point that it was easy to 'get ahead of oneself') - but enormous fun. And there are cameos from the First and Third Doctors (unnamed) as well as a possible dream about the Fourth in Weng-Chiang costume.
Watson is the narrator of the book wihin the book, with extracts from Benny's journal, so there are several layers of potential 'unreliable narrator', with the fictionalisation on top of that. Amusingly, as audio and television stories both struggle to utilise a large TARDIS crew effectively, the Doctor muses at one point that perhaps just the three regulars are too few to avoid getting bored with each other and almost invites H&W to join...
July 19, 2020
Any book with the premise 'Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who team up to fight colonialism already has my vote so I definitely enjoyed this. Would have preferred the Fu Manchu references not to be there (a yellow peril character being real has a different kind of weight to it than Sherlock Holmes being real) and I felt some of the anti-colonialism fell a bit short. There were moments where India and its people felt more like an exotic backdrop than a country with characters in it like England - Benny's first diary entry especially.
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