loved all the detailed references to Holmes, easy to miss if you're not a fan of Doyle's detective... but the steampunk angle was a bit overwrought and didn't work for me... a few too many plot angles (mystery, automaton rights, feminism, alternate history) that don't get fleshed out in this medium... still, a fun read...

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone

Steampunk short story, freely found online. Two (or three) main characters (also available in an earlier story) visit Mycroft Holmes, Watson and Sherlock can't be far behind. Quite cute, and well written.

A fun sequel to "The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor", one of my favorite stories from Sherman's collection. I've recently read a lot of mysteries riffing or referencing Sherlock Holmes, so a lot of the tie-in details felt tired to me. But otherwise a fast, fun mystery, and I need more Angharad!

I gave up. Steampunk clearly is not my thing, plus I can't suspend disbelief for a villain named Gotobed. I just can't.

http://www.tor.com/2016/02/17/the-gre...Description: When Sir Arthur Cwmlech’s home is robbed and the Illogic Engine–his prize invention–stolen, it is only natural that he and his clever assistant Miss Tacy Gof consult with another inventor, the great Mycroft Holmes, about who has taken it. But it is really Mr. Holmes’ Reasoning Machine who they are there to see, for it is only fitting for one automaton to opine on a matter concerning the fate of another of its kind. This charming story by award...

A steampunk story with Welsh flavours, set in 1880s' London, includes both a detective story and a ghost living in an automaton fighting for mechanicals to have rights, although there are no discussion about laws or ethics. This is kind of a sequel to The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor (it can be read on its own without any problem), but the timing unfortunately doesn’t add up, as 19 years passed since (1861->1880), but they aged only 2-3 years (Tacy was 16-17 and now is 18-20)..I really liked the Sherl...

Full review at my blog.The novelette reflects the contemporary futuristic discussion of human rights and artificial intelligence - of course, our current A.I. systems are not self-aware, yet, and this problem is as far away as wondering about overpopulation of Mars. One miss in the story is that it doesn't touch Robot ethics, i.e. the risks coming along with robots, at all: Everything about mechanics is happy sunshine and working absurdely perfect. That is another problem with the story that I h...

You may read online at Thor.com.Openin lines:November 1880On a foggy autumn morning, a horseless carriage chugged slowly along a fashionable London street. The carriage was of antique design, steam-driven instead of the more modern clockwork, with a tall chimney pipe that added its acrid mite to the smoky air. A burly footman sat on its box, peering through the gloom at the house numbers. As they passed a pleasant Georgian lodging-house, he hastily pulled the brake and the carriage came to a hal...

This is a steampunk short fiction focusing on a stolen android in 1880 London, featuring Mycroft Holmes as a side character. Don't read this if you've read a lot of 19th-century novels - you'll only notice all the inauthentic details, for example in social conventions and etiquette. E.g. a baronet who introduces himself as "I am *Sir* Arthur..." (even today, one never uses titles when introducing oneself), and also failing to introduce the ladies accompanying him? A woman introduces herself as "...

A clever steampunk story where Sherlock Holmes is an automaton built by Mycroft. Sherman plots it well and the tale is filled with overt and subtle Holmes references, and the whole is quite light. For me, much of the English-ism - and Welsh-ism - sounded a little twee; for the latter, somewhat heavy on the "look you"s and sentence construction that verges on the Yoda-esque.

Sherman has a likable, compact and uncomplicated writing style. Her steampunk London described in this short story was rich in detail, lively, and clever (but not witty). The various nods to steampunk are both broad (automatons galore) and subtle (for example, Morris wallpaper called "Bird and Gear," which I had to google - it's a play on Morris wallpapers from the era called "Bird and Pomengranate"). There is quite possibly a longer novel at work behind the scenes here; without giving too much

I'm currently reading the Sherlock Holmes books, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this little gem over at Tor.com. Even though this was a short story, the characters were well developed, and the story was fully realized. This is the second story with the character of Tacy Gof, the first being "The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor" which can also be found over at tor.com. I recommend reading them both.

This should be developed as a complete novel. (I would probably give the full book a'10'). It has a compelling steampunk world and interesting characters. As a 44 page short story, it was too choppy and the plot was not fully realized. It felt as if I read a book with sections missing.

4.5 Brilliant

Heads up: you need to read The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor first otherwise like me you will have no idea why everyone is shouting about a Mr Gotobed suddenly when he's not mentioned until pulled out of the blue as if we should know who he is and how he's connected.I didn't, so got massively confused and annoyed by this random leap of unforeshadowed logic. I only found the previous short story mentioned in reviews.

An entertaining steampunk short story, in a clockwork version of Sherlock Holmes' UK. While it can be enjoyed on its own, this is the sequel of The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor, and I recommend reading the stories in order to enjoy them at the fullest (I did not, and I regretted it).In this second installment, Sir Arthur Cwmlech's home is robbed and the Illogic Engine, his prize invention, stolen, it is only natural that he and his clever assistant Miss Tacy Gof consult with another inventor, the grea...

Great fun! An interesting twist on the Sherlock Holmes line of stories.

Dire.

★★☆☆☆ (2/5) Great writing style but disappointing premise.A selection of my favourite passages from the book • Angharad launched into a thoroughly seventeenth-century rodomontade on the subject of the encroaching ways of the lower classes when given the least measure of power • To Ethel, the workshop was a wilderness of tiny objects she was not allowed to move. To Tacy, it was a model of Sir Arthur’s mind and hers. She knew precisely where she might lay her hand on any tool or paper she needed •...