{"id":9337,"date":"2021-03-03T11:24:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T11:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=9337"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:35:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T13:35:42","slug":"review-under-a-ravens-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/archive\/review-under-a-ravens-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"[Review] Under A Raven’s Wing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Under A Raven's Wing<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By Stephen Volk<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ann Laabs reviews Under A Raven\u2019s Wing<\/em>, Stephen Volk\u2019s collection of Sherlock Holmes prequel stories featuring Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s detective Dupin…<\/strong><\/h2>

\u00a0 \u00a0In Under A Raven\u2019s Wing<\/i>, two new stories (\u2018Language of Terror<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018Mercy of the Night<\/em>\u2019) join seven previously published stories. Fortunately, this collection is 100% \u2018new to me\u2019. While I\u2019ve read plenty of Sherlockian pastiches (from Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula<\/em> by Loren D Estleman to ‘Sherlock Holmes IS Jack the Ripper!’) since discovering Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce on Saturday Mystery Matinee<\/em>, few collections have proven to be such a treasure trove of quality and originality as this one.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Here is my review.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Seven words.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Buy it. Read it. Luxuriate in it.<\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Need a bit more encouragement? A bit more persuasion as to why this collection is a must for any fan of mysteries, The World\u2019s Greatest Detective, and\/or 19th Century ratiocination? To answer those questions, I will be going on for a bit about\u2026 Christmas desserts.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0What, I hear you ask, do the exploits of a pre-canon Sherlock Holmes, learning the art and science of detection from the supposedly fictitious French detective C. August Dupin, have to do with holiday bakery?<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Allow me a few moments, my friend.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Whether a Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, or a slice of stollen, these calorie-laden treats all feature disparate elements that \u2013 once put together \u2013 seem made for each other. Just as the pairing of Conan Doyle\u2019s analytic sleuth Holmes with Poe\u2019s florid genius Dupin may seem like a highly unsuitable mix of crime-solving chalk and cheese\u2026 until you read these stories, and realise that, in the right hands, chalk and cheese are made for each other.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Like a loaf of perfectly baked marzipan-frosted stollen (my personal favourite), each story in Under A Raven\u2019s Wing<\/em> is a delectable treat. And like a slice of festive cake, it\u2019s impossible to stop at just one.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Approaching a new book by an author or creator you greatly admire is admittedly difficult: you feel both the anticipation of reading something wonderful, and a dash of apprehension at possible disappointment. For anything written by the co-writer of one of my favourite cinematic ghost stories (The Awakening<\/em>, Murphy, UK, 2011) and writer of the flat-out classic found-footage broadcast Ghostwatch<\/em><\/a> (BBC, 1992), that level of anticipation and apprehension notches up a bit higher.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Fortunately, Stephen Volk<\/a>‘s\u00a0Under A Raven\u2019s Wing<\/em> joins the small category of prequel stories (like Bates Motel<\/em>, A&E, 2013-2017) that take an original and audacious path to a predetermined destination. You embark on a journey with a character you think you know everything about, but by the end, you (and your beloved character) arrive at an endpoint that shines in a new light.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0From the first story, the reader is immersed in a gloriously atmospheric introduction of Holmes in the streets of 19th Century Paris, meeting the supposedly fictional Dupin: you find yourself luxuriating in the literary mash-up as you would a fine piece of baking. As I read, I imagined myself into the past, casting myself as a Victorian reader enjoying a new Sherlock Holmes story in the latest Beeton\u2019s Christmas Annual. It gave me a sense of stepping back in time to a fantastically real and beloved world. While the culprit in one story, in my reading, lacked the character and motivation of the other rogues featured in these chronicles (as well as a description of the Statue of Liberty that will seem off to any history buff or viewer of the TV show Fringe<\/em> (Fox, 2008-2013)), I shall \u2013 as Volk suggests in his Afterword \u2013 lay that charge against the narrator.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0Both in the UK and worldwide, I hope PS Publishing gets Under a Raven\u2019s Wing<\/em> into bookstores and makes it widely available to order online: the beautiful design by Pedro Marques creates an immersive reading environment surrounding Volk\u2019s prose. This newest of Sherlockian pastiches makes a wonderful gift for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Victorian-era genre fiction, or any lovers of 19th-century weirdness.<\/p>

Pre-order Under A Raven’s Wing<\/em><\/strong> by Stephen Volk by clicking the image below…<\/p>

\"under<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Born and raised along the shores of Lake Michigan, Ann lives with one husband and two black cats. Her horror habit started with 1970s UHF Saturday matinee movies, before discovering Edgar Allan Poe and eventually settling into the ghost story wing of the Horror Mansion. Her employment in an office setting may not be glamorous, but does provide a great benefit \u2013 steady income for books, Blu-rays and a subscription to Shudder! After writing movie, book and TV reviews, and deep dives for TV shows The Exorcist, Bates Motel, and the first two seasons of Channel Zero at http:\/\/www.SciFi4Me.com, Ann currently publishes when she can at her blog www.FangandSaucer.com.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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More To Explore<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTales From The Crypt (1972)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tales From The Crypt 1972 \/ Freddie Francis Where does one start with examining arguably Amicus\u2019 greatest portmanteau film? Well, for me, wiping away the<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe People That Time Forgot (1977)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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The People That Time Forgot 1977 \/ Kevin Connor The success of Amicus\u2019 first two Edgar Rice Burroughs-based fantasy adventures in 1975 and 1976 led<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tAt The Earth’s Core (1976)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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AT THE EARTH’S CORE 1976 \/ Kevin Connor Amicus\u2019 first foray into the science fiction adventure, The Land That Time Forgot (UK, Kevin Connor, 1974)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ann Laabs reviews Under A Raven\u2019s Wing, Stephen Volk\u2019s collection of Sherlock Holmes prequel stories featuring Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s detective Dupin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2030],"tags":[510,1355,507],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/EvK1vYTXcAML5xC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122718,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9337\/revisions\/122718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}