Book Review: Warlock Holmes: My Grave Ritual 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: My Grave Ritual by G.S. Denning
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of Warlock Holmes
Publisher: Titan Books (May 15, 2018)
Length: 425 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
It’s a little ridiculous how much I’m loving this series. Despite the mountain of books in my TBR waiting to be read, I picked this one up as soon as it arrived on my doorstep because you know you’re always guaranteed a fun time with a Warlock Holmes book. While My Grave Ritual might have been a little bit less cohesive and a bit more meandering compared to the two previous volumes, I was happy to see that once again it did not disappoint in bringing the humor and hellfire.
Like the previous novels, My Grave Ritual plays on the original Sherlock Holmes tales and is presented as a narrative made up of a sequence of skit-like shorts featuring our protagonists Warlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. John Watson. But of course, those of us who have been following the series so far know that the real brain behind the operation is Watson. The so-called great detective here, Warlock, is in fact a bumbling idiot. Sure, he may possess the fearsome ability to commune with demons and wield untold powers of the arcane, but without Watson keeping an eye on him, Warlock couldn’t be counted on not to set fire to his own shoes. That said, to his credit, Warlock Holmes is something of an expert in the cryptic and occult. While the man can be exasperating, Watson can’t deny that by pooling their skills and resources, the two of them make a rather formidable team.
This time, Holmes and Watson find themselves embroiled in more adventures involving the paranormal and uncanny, including a disastrous Christmas dinner with a magical goose and a run-in with a betentacled eldritch messenger from Bohemia. Not to mention, of course, the trouble that still plagues their lives in the form of Moriarty, Holmes’ greatest nemesis who is waiting patiently in the shadows for the perfect time to strike.
Despite the short story format of these books, all the tales here are interconnected and come together to form a greater narrative. In this manner, G.S. Denning continues to develop the overall series arc for Warlock Holmes and Watson, expanding upon the characters’ lives and their unique setting. As I have alluded to before, however, things felt a little more disjointed this time around, perhaps due to the shorter length of the stories in this installment. As a result, I felt that this book lacked the focus of the two previous volumes, with a plot that bounced around a bit too much. Clearly, the story is starting to build towards a major confrontation with Moriarty, but there’s still a lot of groundwork to cover in the meantime. The series is still in the process of bringing many of the elements from the original source, putting a new and magical spin on them at the same time.
As always though, my favorite thing about these books is the humor, especially the witty laugh-out-loud banter between Watson and Holmes. These are wonderful characters, and the author has done a great job making them his own by offering a fresh and fun perspective on this classic duo. I also liked how Warlock got to play a bigger role in this book, and there were even a couple sections of the story from his point of view. Don’t get me wrong, while I still think it’s hilarious that Holmes is a depicted as an eccentric and incompetent buffoon, it was a bit refreshing to see him become a stabilizing force for Watson for a change, instead of it constantly being the other way around. In essence, I’ve been given exactly what I wanted—more developments in the two men’s friendship and seeing their characters interact with each other in more meaningful and interesting ways.
In sum, I’m loving these books, and despite the somewhat rambling nature of this one, I still think the series as a whole is progressing in the right direction. Warlock Holmes has become my go-to for some light and fluffy fun because I know these characters will never let me down when I want a good laugh. I really hope this trend will continue for the next installment and beyond, because I just can’t wait to read more.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of A Study in Brimstone (Book 1)
Review of The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles (Book 2)
The BiblioSanctum 
Very nice review! The premise sounds like great fun, and I always need an easy, humorous read. Just added it to my TBR. 😉
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Yay! I always think this series deserves a lot more attention, so I’m glad I was able to put it on your radar! 🙂
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Daaaaaang it! This just keeps sounding like a series I need to read. Good to know this isn’t the final book. I guess I’ll keep on waiting 😀
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I heard somewhere that there will be five books all together, but I got this info secondhand from another fan who follows the author and not from Denning himself, so I don’t know. At the current pacing, it sounds right though!
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Copy that!
I can deal with that kind of time frame no problem…
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I have the first book in my house but haven’t got round to reading it yet! The series looks really good!
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The first one was probably my favorite – I hope you enjoy it! 😀
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I hadn’t heard of this series and have just gone back to read your other reviews – sounds like heaps of fun and right up my alley! Thank you for another one for the TBR. 😀
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Thanks for checking out my past reviews! The first book was my favorite, I had a lot of fun writing about it! I hope you get to check out this series 🙂
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I forgot all about this book. I own the first 2 and they do look like a lot of fun. Better make plans to add this one to my shelves soon. Great review and I’m glad you’re enjoying them all so much!
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These books are hilarious and they are easy, fluffy reads so I hope you get a chance to check them out! 🙂
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I read the first and it was fun and weird
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Yeah, fun and weird is a good way to describe the first one! It was probably my favorite, gotta love the origin story of how Warlock and Watson met 🙂
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I always have so much fun with Sherlock Holmes retelling and this one looks good! I should try the first one
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Me too, I enjoy Sherlock retellings and what I loved best about this series is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it isn’t afraid to have a little fun. I didn’t think I would like this style so much!
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This series does indeed possess all the elements to make it a perfect read between more… ponderous books: what I love is the idea that the great Holmes is not so great after all and that Watson is more than the required sidekick – and your mention of the hilarious repartees between the two of them sounds like the kind of banter I enjoy.
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
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Yeah, and I’ve had a few heavier books lately, or books that I didn’t like as much as I’d hoped – so Warlock Holmes was the perfect salve for those frustrations!
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I SO want to read these!!!
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They’re super fun! I hope you’ll enjoy when you get the chance to check them out!
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I love the sound of this series and in fact bought the first one a while ago. I’ll just have to read more quickly!!
Lynn 😀
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