I picked this book up second hand which is always nice. The title of Sherlock Holmes in Orbit is a wee bit misleading as it not just yarns about the Great Detective in space (and beyond) but rather a book which is pretty much a science fiction / Holmes crossover.
The book itself is a hardback with a really nice cover, well drawn and great to hold when reading. You can entice me with all your kindles and iBooks but there is just something nice about holding a hardback book and turning page after page.
Sherlock Holmes in Orbit is an anthology made up of 26 original stories. It is laid out in a nice order and each story is standalone, with editor Mike Resnick doing a great job of mixing the different styles and takes to make the book flow from one story to the next quite well.
Broadly speaking the book has four sections; past, present, future and after death. All of them have their own wee quirks. Makes it fun you see. My two favourites were The Musgrave Version and the quite brilliant The Adventure of the Missing Coffin, the latter more so for the vampire crossover.
The representation of Holmes version here but this is a true fan-fiction book, approved by Dame Jean herself and it shows that the authors of each story are students of Holmes, rather than lazy parody writers.
The great man is his usual brilliant self, the stories engage, energise, in some places are witty and in some poignant. If you are a fan of sci-fi and a fan of Holmes, this a nice collection of works with a couple of right wee gems in it.
No longer in print but can be bought pretty cheap on Amazon right now.
7/10
James Stewart 