Ce roman court de l'écrivain britannique Eric Brown est un pastiche de Sherlock Holmes se situant dans la continuité du roman La Guerre des mondes de H. G. Wells. Œuvre plutôt sympathique et rafraichissante, ce récit semble néanmoins n'être qu'une introduction à des romans de plus grandes envergures que l'auteur a commencé à faire publier. En effet, l'auteur met en place la tentative d'une faction martienne pour annihiler l'espèce humaine mais, après l'échec de la première invasion martienne, cet affrontement se fait plus sournoisement par le remplacement des êtres humains les plus importants par des simulacres dirigés par des Martiens. Sherlock Holmes et fon idèle acolyte le docteur John Watson sont réquisitionnés sur Mars pour une prétendue affaire de meurtre mais ils découvrent petit à petit la machination martienne. Parvenant à revenir sur Terre à la fin de l'ouvrage, ils vont s'atteler à empêcher la destruction de l'humanité. ( )

At the opening of ‘The Martian Simulacra: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,’ it’s 1907 and Doctor Watson is having breakfast with his old friend Sherlock. Ten years earlier, the Martians returned to Earth, vaccinated against those microbes which had killed them the first time. But they were nice! It turned out that the first invasion was by a nasty faction that had temporarily taken over the government. Now they have set up peaceful embassies and share some of their wondrous science with humanity. Bless!

Suddenly a tripod looms over Baker Street! The Martian ambassador Gravlax-Xenxa-Schmee is coming to consult Holmes, who helped them out years ago on another case. Holmes has learned Martian and spends a lot of time studying the Encyclopaedia Martiannica to expand his knowledge. The ambassador manages to squeeze his tentacled, slimy form into the sitting room and enjoys a cup of Earl Grey while he explains his problem. Back on Mars, someone has murdered esteemed philosopher Delph-Smanx-Arapna, perhaps because of his controversial views. Gravlax-Xenxa-Schmee wants Holmes and Watson to come to Mars and solve the mystery. So begins another great adventure.

The narrator is Doctor Watson, a widower now and Holmes teases him about finding another woman. As it happens, he meets an attractive blonde in Hyde Park while listening to a pair of famous writers broadcasting their anti-Martian opinions at Speaker’s Corner. Then she turns up as a stewardess on the rocket to Mars. Is there more to Freya Hadfield-Bell than meets the eye? Yes.

‘The Martian Simulacra’ is a planetary romance, an old-fashioned tale of derring-do with tentacled aliens set on the lovely Mars we used to have before NASA spoiled it all with facts. Author Eric Brown gets the tone and vocabulary of Doctor Watson’s narration just right. Guest appearances by other luminaries of the day, both real and fictional, give the story added verisimilitude and the fast pace is suitable for a ripping yarn of this type. Cleverly, passengers are sedated for the week-long journey to Mars so they conk out just after take-off and wake on arrival, saving both them and the reader a tedious interlude. Verily, there’s not a tedious page in the book which is a real page-turner. My only tiny, teeny-weeny quibble is that Holmes doesn’t do a lot to help himself in the story and is instead carried along by events but I guess even the most masterful can get out of their depth in a strange new world.

‘The Martian Simulacra’ is part of a four-novella set from Newcon Press but can be read independently. Only the most solemn stuffed shirt churl would not enjoy it for the bit of fun it’s meant to be. ( )

This is the second of the latest quartet of NewCon Press novellas, all of which are set on Mars. It’s subtitled “A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”, which is a bit of a clue to the plot. As is the cover art. It’s set after Wells’s Martian invasion. Although the invaders died, a second lot, claiming to be good Martians and the enemies of the invaders, arrived, and have pretty much taken over. Holmes is approached by a Martian ambassador, who asks for his help in solving the murder of an important Martian philosopher. On Mars. So he and Watson travel there, meeting a yuong woman en route, who appears to be involved with some sort of Martian underground. Because the good Martians aren’t so good after all. It’s exactly the sort of story you would expect from a mash-up between Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds. Brown keeps it pacey, although he perhaps relies overmuch on stock tropes and imagery. A fun novella. ( )

This is an amusing amalgam of Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells. The Martians have reappeared after their defeat by microbes (see War of the Worlds) with proper inoculations this time, and have conquered the world, and installed themselves as benign overlords. The Martians call upon Sherlock Holmes to assist in solving a crime on Mars and he, Doctor Watson and Professor Challenger find themselves on a rocket hurtling towards the Red Planet. The surprise they find there reveals that the Martians are not “benign” at all.

Unlike a true Holmes story, Sherlock does not control the action and deduce the solution, it's all provided by a lovely third party. There are holes aplenty in the plot and a good fact checker could have corrected the bit about G.B. Shaw using a microphone at Speakers Corner. Of course, there's a cliff hanger rather than a conclusion, as well. ( )

Really good read. I was a bit concerned about Watson and Freya, but when there was mention of Mary everything was great. ACD would've been proud of it!