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Complete BBC Sherlock: The Baker Street Series by magicbunni - Sherlock

Discussion in 'Television and Movies' started by Ched, Sep 6, 2012.

4.5/5, 4 votes
  1. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    Sep 6, 2012 #1
    Title: BBC Sherlock: The Baker Street Series
    Author: magicbunni
    Rating: PG13
    Genre: General, Adventure, Mystery
    Status: 4 Complete Stories (~50k each)
    Fandom: Sherlock (BBC series)
    Pairings: John/Sarah are together, but very little Romance
    Summaries:

    1. The Ninth Muse - Conspiracy and murder find Sherlock Holmes and John Watson surrounded by covert enemies in the heart of Scotland Yard. Together, they unearth clues that illuminate the scope, depth, and distorted psychology behind the crime! And, after a pre-emptive strike ordered by the mastermind they pursue, Holmes elects to continue the investigation under conditions that will force John Watson to fight for his friend's -- colleague's -- life.
    2. The Photography Club - An evening out is interrupted by a cryptic call from Lestrade, and the doctor and Consulting Detective are greeted at Scotland Yard by CIA Agents looking to work with Sherlock Holmes. The Agency needs to leverage Sherlock's unorthodox knowledge of London while investigating a missing CIA mole they presume dead... only it's proving tricky to identify the body, and even more of a challenge to unravel the mystery behind the murder.
    3. The Burning Question - Hot on the heels of solving a missing person's case, Sherlock finds Lestrade and John at the door. Downtown London is burning and no one knows exactly why. But who better to tease a pattern from utter chaos than Sherlock Holmes?
    4. The Double Walker - With John caught in the middle of staffing changes at the clinic, and Sherlock's boredom reaching ever more grandiose heights, it was the right time for a case. A missing corpse and a crime scene so bloody it's impossible the victim could've survived means there's more than enough to keep Sherlock occupied, even before it becomes clear this victim is no stranger. Can Sherlock and John interpret three words, left as clues, in time to catch the culprit?
    Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/349243

    I went ahead and put all four stories in one thread. They can be read as stand-alones but they read best in order, as in some cases something that came up in an earlier story will make an appearance in a later one. They can also be found on fanfiction.net under the same author name but I linked to the other site because it has a "collection" page and I'm lazy.

    They're not perfect, but they are probably the best non-crossover Sherlock stories I've read. There's no slash. The author obviously plays favorites with some characters. Sarah takes on a larger role as John's girlfriend and becomes a secondary character on par with Lestrade or Mycroft from the TV show. Mycroft has very small roles and some of them don't quite seem in-character for him. Lestrade is less buddy-buddy than he was at some points in the TV show and the copper aspects are played up a bit more, but it works. Molly is almost non-existent as it seems the author wasn't too fond of her. I can't even remember if Mrs. Hudson made an appearance.

    Some of the stuff is... strange. I wasn't a big fan of the "Think Tank" in the second story, but it was established that Sherlock was naturally better than them so it worked out. Also wasn't too fond of Mycroft in that one, but whatever I suppose. There's a lot of minor things that bug me like that. Or like John and Sarah still not having slept together despite all the stuff that's been going on. But on the whole...

    The mysteries, action, and characterizations of John and Sherlock are quite good. That's what carries the show, and it's what kept me reading. Well worth a read. HP fanfics of this quality would almost certainly make the library.

    I think it's roughly a 4.5 and overall a solid 4/5 for the series.

    Edit: I talked to the author a bit on fanfiction.net in response to some of my reviews, and they seem pretty cool. Addressed some of the things I mentioned in my reviews, discussed the stories, etc. So kudos to the author for being good about that sort of thing.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012
    TheWiseTomato
  2. yak

    yak Moderator DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    Sep 6, 2012 #2
    I've only read The Photography Club, but was very impressed. It's hard to find an author who can write good BBC Sherlock, but Magicbunni nails it. Characterisation is solid. Everyone feels unique and their reactions are in line with their personalities. The dialogue is brilliant, and there's no hand-holding for the reader when characters are conversing obtusely - you're expected to be able to get it. The plot was decent and unfolded in a satisfying manner. It wasn't the greatest mystery ever, but it wasn't bad either. Character development was also well handled, which is something I wasn't really expecting in a Sherlock story. I was pleasantly surprised.

    In fact, pleasantly surprised nicely sums up my reaction to The Photography Club. I'll be digging into the rest too. 5/5

    If anyone wants the ff.n link so that you can do your favourites/subscription/etc. stuff: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3079928/magicbunni
     
    Ched
  3. Platypus

    Platypus Groundskeeper

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    Sep 6, 2012 #3
    Each one of these stories is a good little standalone mystery with gratifyingly solid characterizations for the main cast - complementary or otherwise. Sherlock and John seem closer to their book counterparts than usual - emphasized by John's restrained, limited point of view. I like Sarah a great deal (for once), especially as she's given her own quirks and foibles and opinions without being turned into an idiot, a psycho, or a hidden genius.

    yak and CheddarTrek have covered the strengths of these stories well, so I feel safe enough criticizing them without feeling the need to gush over them first.

    The stories waver between the classic short stories and the BBC narrative: the action reflecting the nature and presentation of the show is well done. The sections that focus on investigating the mystery leave me immensely irritated with every character but Sherlock, if only because the characters aren't written with as much intelligence as they are actually due. This is especially apparent in The Photography Club, where I felt like I was two steps ahead of each and every character. With the exception of Sofia, the OCs were ridiculous and wooden by turns, their shortsightedness driving me up the wall. (Possibly fixable if the story hadn't been dragged out so long.)

    Some of the writing itself is also extremely irritating. The author can't decide whether John and Sherlock consistently think of each other by their first names or last names, sometimes switching three or four times a paragraph. The Ninth Muse in particular I remember thinking needed a beta for occasional typos and misspellings. There are several instances (possibly poorly done scene breaks) where I'm left wondering what just happened - a product of poor description offset by those times where magicbunni describes too much inanity irrelevant to the overall story.

    The Burning Question and The Double Walker improve dramatically in all respects, both well worth reading. I'd give the entire series a 4/5.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012