Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk - Tales of a Retro Future

I’ll admit, I approached this with skepticism—steampunk can so easily tip into gimmickry, all top hats and gears with no substance. But Belanger’s collection *works* because it treats the genre as a lens, not a crutch. The standout story, *The Case of the Clockwork Corpse*, twists a classic locked-room mystery into a meditation on artificial life, with Holmes dissecting not just alibis but the ethics of sentient machinery. Kendrick’s performance sells it: his Watson is warm but never bumbling, and his Holmes carries the weight of a man who’s seen too much progress to stay romantic about it. The pacing is brisk, though one or two tales (*The Aether Thief*) rush their denouements—you’ll wish for another five minutes to savor the reveal. My only real critique? The sound design, while atmospheric, occasionally *overcommits*. A faint metallic echo during dialogue scenes in *The Iron Submarine* distracts more than it immerses, and the abrupt gear-noise transitions between chapters might jolt you out of the narrative if you’re listening at high volume. Still, these are quibbles. For fans of Holmes who’ve exhausted the canon but crave something fresh—or steampunk enthusiasts tired of style-over-substance—this is a rare hybrid that delivers on both counts. Just don’t expect cozy: this London runs on coal, cogs, and cold, calculating genius.