Sherlock Holmes: The Breath of God

This novel is full of late Nineteenth Century practitioners of magic along with a number of events that seem to defy scientific explanation. In spite of these elements, it remains a case well-suited to investigation by the techniques of the world’s first consulting detective.Holmes and Watson are solicited by one Doctor Silence, a medical practitioner who specializes in ‘psychic’ maladies. He relates a tale of his recent experiences that links Sherlock Holmes’ name with those of a new cadaver whose cause of death is undetermined and with Aleister Crowley, a member of “The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.” Other events of questionable nature thrust themselves upon Holmes and Watson, all seemingly without reason and with no apparent connections. Langdale Pike confirms several pieces of information that connect the corpse to Crowley and “The Golden Dawn,” so Holmes and Watson begin the trip with Dr. Silence to Crowley’s ‘manor’ outside Inverness.On the train to Scotland, Watson and Dr. Silence encounter a supernatural visitation that ends in the death of a bystander. As part of that conflict, they also meet Thomas Carnacki, a supernatural detective of some growing fame. Holmes is spared this experience, but is later introduced to Carnacki who fills him in on what that investigator has met to set him on the same trail to find Crowley. Holmes decides to leave the group before they get to Inverness.From this point on, the plot becomes complicated. Once at Inverness, Crowley claims that a splinter group of the Golden Dawn are planning to use an ancient magical weapon to cause chaos that will frighten society into the more traditional position of fearing the arcane arts and the powers at their command. Several lines of events are detailed and examined for pointers to the miscreants and their place of power. At least five distinct methods of individual supernatural attack are described in some detail along with defenses and counters used by the detectives.Events follow thick and fast and evidence for supernatural assaults mounts every day. Crowley’s manor is besieged and the defense is complex and exhausting. For example, Dr. Watson alternates with Carnacki in firing silver bullets to destroy invading demon figures and Crowley and Dr. Silence exhaust themselves psychically in defending against the nightly onslaughts by shadowy figures from Beyond. In the following day, Sherlock returns from his independent investigations to join the council of war. Finally, a location is pinpointed in the newly constructed portion of the London Underground System and the entire crew head back to London to ‘cleanse’ the system.Once the whole group are in place to begin the process, Holmes calls for a halt and begins to explain who has been doing what to whom. The explanation is necessarily long and complex, but it does point out who was responsible for which murders and how the magical effects were produced. The details are a bit ‘sketchy’ but the processes are identified along with the perpetrators.Taken as a whole, the book is fast paced, very interesting and very well written. The author seems to be aware of “The Illusion of Holmes” as I have called the methods used by Doyle to present Sherlock Holmes to his readers, and they are used well. For this reason, the book has much of the flavor of the Canon, even though the subject matter lies in an area Doyle would never have attempted with Holmes. Strict students of the Canon will spend most of the book waiting for the psychic ‘shoe’ to drop and for the author to identify the demon or demons plaguing mankind. Don’t be fooled. “Ghosts need not apply!”This book also has the advantage of good editing. I found only one, minor error in usage.Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, January 2012