The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes

Rating:
Summary: Can this be woven into Holmes' biography?
Review: This is quite a different take on Holmes. The writing style, the atmosphere, the characters and the scenery are very good, and some parts of the plot have been cunningly devised to provide better explanations for post-Richenbach Sherlockiana.
I understand why some people did not like this book, despite the excellent writing; the end of the book weaves Holmes' rationality with the occult and the mystical. Reading this book was a special experience for me; it does add a layer to Holmes' already complex nature, which may be challenging to reconcile with the image we know so well from Conan-Doyle's works. But if you're open enough to absorb different takes on our hero, you'll enjoy this immensely, as have I.

Rating:
Summary: Shame on you, Norbu
Review: This terrible book should be anathema to any true reader of the Holmes Canon. SH once said "no ghosts need apply" when first confronted with the Baskerville legend but the author fills the book with mystical nonsense -- duels with energy bolts! - levitation! - alternate lives! -Moriarty rising from Reichenbach falls (the shock of iminent death reminded him he was a powerful llama). Very silly stuff -- but in the context of a Holmes pastiche it's sacrilegious.
My only regret is that true readers cannot mount a class action suit against this twisted mockery of Holmes' logic-based adventures. Give this book to your enemies.