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A review by sbsenpai
Watson and Holmes - A Study In Black by Karl Bollers
5.0
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Jon Watson as you’ve never seen them before.
Set in modern Harlem, we see the duo rebooted as black men, still solving crimes.
Watson here is a intern at a hospital newly divorced and a father. It’s something we rarely see in other Holmes stories and adds a new sense of depth to the character. Holmes is the master of deduction, but I will say that this is the most empathetic I’ve ever seen him done, which is great because the “rude genius” trope is over played and needs to die. Watching him care for others doesn’t hinder his intelligence or his ability to catch criminals, so this was a nice change of pace.
Out of all the Holmes stories out there, this was probably the most realistic, since they made good use of Harlem by showing its rough crime, but also the good sense of community with the neighbors. Doesn’t hold back any punches either by having one case be about babies in dumpsters.
One thing I really love is how Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson are all here and while their race has been changed, they’re personalities are affected due to the circumstances of both race and location, but they’re over core character traits are still the same as they’ve been in over 100 years. Watson still has strong morality, Holmes is still clever, Mrs. Hudson is still the kind landlady, and Mycroft is the smartest person in the room. Unfortunately this has only one other book, but this is great if you want to read a different yet familiar Holmes.
Set in modern Harlem, we see the duo rebooted as black men, still solving crimes.
Watson here is a intern at a hospital newly divorced and a father. It’s something we rarely see in other Holmes stories and adds a new sense of depth to the character. Holmes is the master of deduction, but I will say that this is the most empathetic I’ve ever seen him done, which is great because the “rude genius” trope is over played and needs to die. Watching him care for others doesn’t hinder his intelligence or his ability to catch criminals, so this was a nice change of pace.
Out of all the Holmes stories out there, this was probably the most realistic, since they made good use of Harlem by showing its rough crime, but also the good sense of community with the neighbors. Doesn’t hold back any punches either by having one case be about babies in dumpsters.
One thing I really love is how Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson are all here and while their race has been changed, they’re personalities are affected due to the circumstances of both race and location, but they’re over core character traits are still the same as they’ve been in over 100 years. Watson still has strong morality, Holmes is still clever, Mrs. Hudson is still the kind landlady, and Mycroft is the smartest person in the room. Unfortunately this has only one other book, but this is great if you want to read a different yet familiar Holmes.