The Affair of the Mysterious Letter By Alexis Hall

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Name: Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION
Rating: 10 (2002 reviews)
Author: Alexis Hall

Books,Literature & Fiction,Genre Fiction The Affair of the Mysterious Letter Alexis Hall

4,3

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION Download Now!

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters. Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark. But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas' stock-in-trade.

At this time of writing, The Ebook The Affair of the Mysterious Letter has garnered 8 customer reviews with rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Not a bad score at all as if you round it off, it’s actually a perfect TEN already. From the looks of that rating, we can say the Ebook is Good TO READ!

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION!

OmG, that was good! Whew! What an utter tour-de-force!This book is full of *squee*! 😊But, okay, now let me try to compose myself and review this properly!So, as you will have gathered, and to my complete lack of surprise, The Affair of The Mysterious Letter is an unqualified delight and charming as all get out. What a wildly happy ride!Opening this book is like opening the gates to the most amazing and immersive adventure park ever, a gloriously queer-normative and mind-boggling Wonderland full of magic, fantastical beings, extraordinary places, fascinating (if not bizarre) characters, and many other delights.The writing is witty, adroit, and gorgeous, and rendered in charmingly wordy Victorian-ish style amusingly peppered with *seemingly* anachronistic modern slang – a thing I super-adore. I loved the narrative style so much that . . . well, you know that thing where you watch a show or a movie set in 1880’s London or whatever, and end up talking like an upper class British Victorian for the rest of the day? (Or is that just me?) Anyway, it’s kinda like that. So if at any point I sound like I’m writing this in John Wyndham’s voice, please forgive me!The story itself is a captivating fantasy twist on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, set in an alternate, notably Lovecraftian, universe wherein “Sherlock Holmes” becomes “Shaharazad Haas”, an extravagantly eccentric, pansexual sorceress, and “Doctor John Watson” gives way to “Captain John Wyndham”, a shyly puritanical and compulsively polite, gay, trans man with a heart of gold.Staggeringly original and imaginative, the book is also liberally strewn with the loveliest literary and pop culture Easter eggs, paying loving homage first and foremost to Holmes and Watson, and to the Lovecraftian style of surreal, dread-filled fantasy/horror. But scattered throughout are also hints of steampunk, adventure story, fractured fairy tales, screwball comedy, even a nod to classic Agatha Christie, and probably more that I’ve missed, all tumbled together, cheek-by-jowl, in the most delightfully chaotic way.The book is also richly veined with humor and frequently hilarious. I especially loved how enchantingly absurd it was. This is possibly my favorite kind of humor and one this author excels in. I spent a significant portion of this book *snortling* with glee! To paraphrase more than one other reviewer, this book is utterly, joyfully bonkers!But it’s also so much more. There were moments of haunting disquiet, even of horror, that were somehow, also eerily beautiful. And there were scattered moments that surprised me with a tug on my heartstrings, including the final sentence of the book which brought an unexpected rush of tears to my eyes. And there’s plenty of insightful human commentary tucked in there among the other treasures.Now a little more about the main characters.John Wyndham, it must be said, is simply *the best*: Endearingly prim and fastidiously courteous, kindhearted and honorable to a fault, a bit naïve and pedestrian in his thinking (at least in the beginning), he’s also admirably open-minded given (or perhaps because of) his upbringing. And though frequently bewildered and more than a little out of his depth hanging out with the likes of Ms. S. Haas, what I loved was how he’s always absolutely *up for it*. He’s also admirably resourceful, braver than he gives himself credit for and, on occasion, pretty darn dashingly heroic. Not to mention genuinely humble and self-effacing! Aaand I’ve probably made him sound like an insufferable Mary Sue now, but he’s not in the least. He’s the loveliest; a good friend, the perfect foil for his more glamorously drawn partner in crime-solving, and I adored him.And then we have the inimitable Ms. Haas, or “The Sorceress Shaharazad Haas”! as she is fond of announcing herself. A strange woman with a number of strange habits, among which a proclivity for drugging herself to the gills when not more entertainingly or profitably engaged is perhaps the *least* remarkable. Whose penchant for joyfully flouting the rules forms the perfect counterpoint (and possible antidote?) to John Wyndham’s ingrained habit of upholding them. And, as we quickly discover, a woman also as formidable as she is outrageous, with zero patience for fools, and altogether magnificent. On the more human side, we also get the feeling that behind that rather grandiose exterior she’s probably a lonely and not terribly happy person (I mean, the *drugs alone*/ . . .), but she’s a bit of a fortress, only giving brief glimpses of her more vulnerable side before slamming the door.For fans of the author's other work who may be wondering how this stacks up, it’s important to note this is not a romance but does contain romantic elements, including some adorable flirtations, with a sly hint of more to come should there be more books about these characters. I’d also say this contains the best adventure, fantasy, and humor elements of the author’s Prosperity (sans dialect) and his Kate Kane series (sans detective noir tone). It also reminded me at times of the completely bananas “Squamous with a Chance of Rain” (a personal favorite from the Prosperity follow-up “Liberty & Other Stories”). Especially in its zanier moments, and with its similar theme of a sensible Victorian (ish) protagonist thrown suddenly into outlandish circumstances and gamely making the best of them with a kind of bemused aplomb. Something about the absurdity of that juxtaposition delights and amuses me to no end, both in that book and this one, though I think this book is a little more serious and a little less intensely Lovecraft-on-acid. All in all, I think if you read and enjoyed any of those books you will probably like this one too, and if you’ve read this one and not the others, you might want to check them out! 😊Now, before I go, here is but a small sampling of my favorites among the riches to be found in this book:This book contains the most *fantastic* swordplay sequence, of sorts, played out against a thrillingly dramatic background and narrated by the protagonist in such excitingly detailed play-by-play that I could see the whole thing as if it was playing out before my eyes. So awesomely cinematic!And then we have Chapters 50 and 51, wherein things get mega-bizarre and mega-serious: A standout not to be missed, like, whoa! Equally spellbinding and disturbing, the action building to a nightmarish crescendo, these 2 chapters were a hallucinatory, heart-pounding masterpiece. I read this part at a full gallop, with a death grip on my Kindle and finished literally breathless. Damn!Finally, here, have a lovely, haunting quote: "The sky began to fall. I appreciate that this phenomenon may prove difficult for some readers to visualise, but I fear that, since I mean it literally, it is hard for me to explain it in any other terms. Flakes of what I can only call firmament descended from above and settled upon the crowd like pieces of blue-tinged, star-dusted eggshell. It was oddly beautiful in the way that only ruination can be."Okay, I could go on and on some more, but I guess I should probably stop.I *love* this book; it made me supremely happy and I didn't want it to end (which is why I’m currently re-reading it)! I really, really hope there will be more stories about these characters and their world, because already I can't wait for them!❤❤❤❤❤

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION Download Now!

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Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION Download Now!

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION!

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Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with Free PDF EDITION Download Now!

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION Download Now!

Related Ebook :

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION Download Now!

Best Edition The Affair of the Mysterious Letter with FREE PDF EDITION!

Related Ebook :

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