Author Archives: JD DeLuzio

Saturday Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Perhaps the most famous of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures, the novel also takes the great detective furthest into horror territory, as he contemplates whether or not he may be facing a supernatural adversary. The Hound has been filmed perhaps twenty times, with actors as diverse as Basil Rathbone, Peter Cook, Peter Cushing, Tom Baker, and Matt Frewer playing the man from Baker Street.1

Perhaps the best comes from Grenada-TV’s extraordinary 1980s series, which features the late Jeremy Brett as the definitive video Holmes and Edward Hardwicke, the second of the two actors who portrayed his Watson.

Add to that list of stars with genre credentials William Shatner, who plays Stapleton in the 1972 adaptation.

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Novel Review: Anansi Boys

“I think this is probably yours,” said Charlie.

Spider took the tongue from his brother, with an exaggerated thank you gesture, placed it into his mouth, pushed it in, and held it down. Charlie watched and waited. Soon Spider seemed satisfied—- he moved his mouth experimentally, pushing his tongue to one side and then to the other, as if he were preparing to shave a moustache, opening his mouth widely and waggling his tongue about. He closed his mouth and stood up. Finally, in a voice that was still a little wobbly around the edges, he said, “Nice hat.”(351)

Neil Gaiman’s comical novel features doppelganger brothers, sons of the West African god Anansi, and their problematic reconciliation.

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