Finished!

Finished!

Jun 05

I finished Holmes on the Range over the weekend. I had to put it aside for awhile, due to work, but plowed through on Saturday. I whole heartedly approve. I don’t know if Hockensmith is in the Baker Street Irregulars already or if he even gives a shit, but if this doesn’t gain him access, it’ll be a crime.

For those not in the know, the Baker Street Irregulars, currently, are a prestigious gathering of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts in the US. Prestigious to the point that you can join a local chapter, but you can’t just join the main group – that’s by invite only, and to get invited you either have to make a name for yourself in a local chapter (“Bob made cookies for our meetings, every meeting for 25 years. Let Bob in.”) or you’ve made a name for yourself in Sherlockian publications. It’s pretty vague, and since it’s invite only, they’ve never bothered to outline the path to initiation very well – it’s one of those you-have-to-throw-yourself-into-it sort of deals. You know. You have to nerd out – but I seem to recall that authors of notable Holmesian books count.

After all the dreadful pastiche shit I’ve read over the years, Hockensmith deserves a medal. I don’t want to give anything in the book away, but he didn’t just place his characters in the same universe, he actually manages to weave faith, whispy elements of some Holmes stories along the way. It’d be a great story all by itself, but as an homage to the canon, it makes me giggle.

Being a member of the BSI would be ginchy – I don’t have many aspirations, but that one would certainly be sweet (truthfully, I’d also like to be a Blue Blazer Irregular, but I’m not sure how one would go about achieving that.) But frankly, like all fandoms, they’ve been a bunch of spazzes in the past. Rex Stout (author of the equally spiffy Nero Wolfe books) was invited to present a lecture at one of their dinners – they were a men-only group at the time. And he argued, in spectacluar fashion, that Dr. Waston wasn’t who they thought he was (Attacking Fangirls take note – you might find it amusing.) And boy howdy, did it make a stink. So, while I’m sure they’re a fun bunch these days, it doesn’t sound like my cup of tea. That said, it doesn’t change my feelings that Holmes fans everywhere need to stand up and give a nod to Hockensmith.

Yeehaw.

WikiWikiWhack: The Baker Street Irregulars, Rex Stout.