Book Review: The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles by G.S. Denning
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Warlock Holmes: The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles by G.S. Denning
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of Warlock Holmes
Publisher: Titan Books (May 16, 2017)
Length: 320 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The thing about Warlock Holmes is, you can’t stop at just one. A Study in Brimstone was so much fun, I simply couldn’t bear the thought of letting book two go unread for one second longer. Almost as soon as I finished the first book, I fell upon the sequel The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles like a ravenous zombie on a fresh brain.
Last we left our characters, Warlock’s arch nemesis Moriarty had just revealed himself, setting off a chain of events that left the brilliantly dim detective in a strange state of dead-but-not-dead. Not knowing what to do with the inert and decomposing body, Dr. Watson has decided to conceal the truth behind his friend’s apparent passing—at least for the time being. After making up a cover story to explain Holmes’ whereabouts and filling their flat at 221b Baker Street with flowers to hide the smell, Watson sets his sights on finding a way to bring Warlock back to life.
This second novel closely mirrors the format of the first, containing a series of stories following Warlock Holmes’ eventual resurrection and recovery from a being a rotting corpse. From a not-so-relaxing jaunt to the peaceful countryside of Surrey to an outlandish tricycle race in Farnham, our characters are once again embarking upon a number of adventures inspired by the original tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, the book’s tour de force is without a doubt its title story “The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles” which makes up more than half its pages, and features the culmination of everything that has happened in the series so far.
I picked up this sequel expecting more hilarity and fun times, and I was definitely not disappointed. In fact, the author appears to have raised the humor to a whole other level—the situations Holmes and Watson find themselves in are even more extreme and absurd, and on the whole I found the jokes a lot less subtle. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword since I’ve always preferred my humor on the understated side, i.e. less overt and in-your-face, but I also can’t deny that when G.S. Denning does silliness, the results work a lot better for me.
More importantly, the increase in madcap humor is also balanced out by the darker, more macabre moments. There are more of those in this sequel as well, as the series is in the process of maturing in story scope and content. This is most obvious in “The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles”, based off of perhaps one of the most well-known Sherlock Holmes stories, and I am happy to report Denning does it justice. Giving depth to Warlock by filling in some of the details behinds his tragic backstory, we are gradually built up to a suspenseful climax filled with some pretty shocking twists.
The characters are generally more developed in this second installment, and I continue to enjoy their hilarious interplay. The premise of the series is that Holmes is actually a witless buffoon who couldn’t solve his way out of a paper bag if it weren’t for Watson’s levelheaded assistance, and it’s a joke that hasn’t worn out its welcome yet. In fact, the Warlock/Watson dynamic is better than ever, with their personalities playing off each other in more complex, meaningful ways. I really enjoyed the revelations into their friendship at the end of book, and I hope that Denning will continue exploring this aspect in the next installment.
Honestly, there’s not much left for me to say except I’m completely addicted to this series, and here’s hoping I won’t have too long to wait until my next Warlock Holmes fix! I’ll be waiting on pins and needles to see what Denning has in store for us in book three.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of A Study in Brimstone (Book 1)
The BiblioSanctum 
I started watching Elementary after reading book 1 😉 More Holmes for me
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I gave my husband these books and after he read them he went and picked up the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Guess these books have a way of giving you a hankering for more Holmes!
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Oh yes I saw a good review about this one and I was quite curious about it! I’m happy to see you had a nice time as well. I want to try!
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I hope you get a chance to! I’m loving these books!
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This one sounds right up my alley! I enjoy clever and absurd retellings and your excellent review has certainly whetted my appetite:). Thank you for sharing,
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You’re welcome! I hope you get a chance to try these out!
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A series that becomes so addictive in such a short span of time is one to keep on one’s radar, indeed! What draws me more is your mention of the Holmes/Watson dynamic: I know I would love that 🙂
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Their friendship/dynamic is what makes these books such a joy, imo. I can’t wait to see how their partnership will evolve in the next one 🙂
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Excellent! Glad I added these to my tbr…
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I look forward to your thoughts! 🙂
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Coming soon to a post near you [in 2018…]
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LOL! I found this recently and couldn’t decide what to make of it! Thank you for an awesomely funny review — I am still not sure if it’s my cup of tea, but I shall ponder it and add it to my TBR.
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No problem, and I hope you get to give these books a try! Humor can be tricky, here’s hoping the author’s style will work for you 🙂
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I’m excited that you’ve already reviewed the second one. It makes me even more anxious to get my hands on the first one.
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Yeah, very rarely do I jump into a sequel immediately after the first book, but I really couldn’t wait any longer for Warlock Holmes – I loved the first one so much!
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I’m keeping my eye on this series… I do love that hard to get balance between humor and horror, some of my favorite books are able to nail that!
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I agree! I would say this series is more humor than horror, but things did take a darker turn in this one!
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I bought book 1 already and can’t wait to give it a go – I’ve got a lot on for July though so it might be August. Good to see this one was also good. I wonder how many are planned?
Lynn 😀
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Yay, I’m giddy with excitement to hear that! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. And I’m not sure how many books there will be, but there will definitely be a book three because I believe the author said he was working on it currently.
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I still can’t wait to read these! I too prefer my humor more subtly interwoven with the narrative, but your positive review pretty much sold it!
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Same here, when it comes to my taste in humor. Which was why I was surprised these books worked so well for me! 😀
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How have I never heard of these?!?! They look like such good fun! Definitely going to add them to my list 😀
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Sweet! I hope you enjoy! 😀
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I need to order this one. I love the cover even more than the first! Great review.
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Agreed, they are pretty striking covers, but the color here is very eye-catching!
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I’ve ordered the first book from Amazon and hope to get it early next week. I’m looking forward to trying it!
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Nice! I hope you’ll enjoy it! 😀
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found it really interesting im sure ill read the book
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