SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. CTHULHU: THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS
FIRST in a new series of Sherlock Holmes thrillers!
All novels are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble online and book stores, as well as other fine shops
A series of grisly murders rocks London. At each location, only a jumble of bones remains, along with a bizarre bone sphere covered in arcane symbols. The son of the latest victim seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, who discover a common thread that ties together the murders–and the persons responsible.
Bizarre geometries–based on ancient schematics–point to members of a secluded cult. These men and women build strange constructs that will enable other-worldly creatures to enter our dimension, seeking sustenance. As their power grows, even Moriarty fears that his empire is at risk—to the point that he seeks an unholy alliance with his eternal foe.
“THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS is a wild, exciting and thoroughly satisfying collision of otherworldly horror and deductive reasoning. So much fun!”
–Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-WARS and PREDATOR ONE
“An irresistible eldritch mystery! Baker Street and the Great Old Ones are made for each other.”
–Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Snowblind and Aarat
“THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS held me spellbound and kept me guessing…until 3 AM on a work day! The Great Detective has met his literary match, and ‘The Woman’ is author Lois H. Gresh. More!”
–Nancy Holder, New York Times bestselling author, the WICKED Saga
“The Great Detective confronts the Unnameable in Lois Gresh’s latest—grand fun!”
–Leslie Klinger, World Fantasy Award winning editor of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
“The name Lois H. Gresh is as much advertising as her work needs. However, it is my privilege to recommend her latest tour-de-force. Just how the literary establishment missed engineering a dream collaboration between H.P Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle before now is a mystery; but if it was waiting for Lois H. Gresh to do the thing justice, this one is all the justification necessary.”
–Loren D. Estleman, Edgar Award-Winning author
“Lois H, Gresh blends Sherlock Holmes and and the eldritch flavors of H.P. Lovecraft together brilliantly. Victorian nightmares and a properly twisted mystery make THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS a must read for fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth.”
–James A. Moore, author of Seven Forges and The Blasted Lands
“An unmissable collision of two of the finest Victorian treasures. No stranger to the Cthulhu mythos, Gresh’s Lovecraftian writings have appeared in many anthologies, so the subject matter is in safe hands, leaving the addition of Doyle’s master detective the icing on an already appetising cake.”
—This is Horror, http://www.thisishorror.co.uk
“Gresh is an excellent plotter as she weaves an engaging mystery that builds from typical Holmesian fare into pure Lovecraftian horror. Along the way, Gresh raids the toybox of both Doyle and Lovecraft and employs both of their tropes and commonly found story elements, so fans of both authors’ styles will find much to love about this novel. A rollicking read…genuinely great rendering of both Holmes and Watson, in particular the latter. The good news is that this is only the first of a planned trilogy, so we can look forward to even more ‘Cthulhu meets Conan Doyle’ goodness in future.”
—Christian Bone, Starburst, http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/book-reviews-latest-literary-releases/18643-book-review-sherlock-homes-vs-cthulhu
“You would think that no-one could recreate Holmes a century later than Conan Doyle did, but Gresh has managed to get both Holmes and his ‘assistant’ Watson pegged…In this well-written novel Gresh closely follows the Holmes conventions, whilst stepping outside of the day to day and entering the fringes of the supernatural… a fast moving and strange book.”
—Breakaway Reviewers
BIOGRAPHY
LOIS H. GRESH is the New York Times Bestselling Author (6 times) and USA Today Bestselling Author (thrillers) of 28 books and more than 65 short stories, as well as the editor of anthologies INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES and DARK FUSIONS. Her work has been published in 22 languages. SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. CTHULHU: THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS (Titan Books, July 2017) is the first in a new trilogy of Sherlock Holmes thrillers from England’s premier publisher of all things Holmes, with Random House distribution in the USA. For 5 years, Lois was a staff book reviewer at scifi.com (now SYFY.com, the Science Fiction Cable Channel), and her work has been on national/international award ballots 8 times. She is a frequent Guest of Honor Author at large genre conventions and has appeared on television series such as The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens and Batman Tech.
SAMPLE COVERS
THE OTHER SIDE OF LOIS
My life used to be straight out of Office Space, which is still one of my favorite films, right up there with Misery and Spinal Tap.
Technical Background:
LOIS H. GRESH served as Technical Communications Director for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at the University of Rochester, where she created and programmed the original University Science Portal (then at www.science.rochester.edu), which was later transformed into the futurity.org site. She wrote close to 100 research stories, as well as a 100-page pop science book for the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and a 50-page Chemistry book. Earlier, as Creative-Technical Director for computer consultant companies, Lois managed internet-based marketing and training projects for Bausch & Lomb, Xerox, Kodak, RIT, the U.S. Government Small Business Administration, Time Warner, and others. Her work included shooting/editing 90 videos for Kodak, as well as training artists how to use special effects and touch-up software on films such as Men in Black 2 and Spider-Man. Earlier, she was Lead Systems Analyst for the internet training sites of Element K, Micron, Adobe, Gateway, and Macromedia. For two years in her teens, she wrote and programmed a computerized biweekly medical newsletter for the National Institute of Health Library. At nineteen, she became Manager of Publications, Training, and Systems Analysis for Bradford National Corporation for two years, then served for four years as Publications Manager at Computer Consoles. Lois won a Best of the Web OmniVision Award from Omni Magazine in 1996 for her work in internet-based virtual reality.
CULT OF THE DEAD AND OTHER WEIRD AND LOVECRAFTIAN TALES
(Hippocampus Press, Spring 2015)
Black Static magazine review
Cult of the Dead: The supernatural aspects are fascinating and have a novelty to them that is missing from most material in this vein, while playing counterpoint to the outré elements is an awareness of human suffering and human greed, things that negatively impact on each other. And while it may not be entirely agreeable to non-Incans, there is a rightness to the story’s end that makes the reader want to cheer.
Dreams of Death: It’s a fascinating tale, one in which even though the protagonist is doomed to fail we cannot help but feel for him and share in the triumphalism of his end.
Necrotic Cove: an engaging study of resentment and what it can do, how we use each other even when we don’t intend to do so
Old Enough to Drink: remarkable and disturbing imagery
Death Doll: Beautifully written, ‘Death Doll’ gives us an original take on the Grim Reaper, with a baby spared only to cause complications further down the line, the story arguing for the rightness of death in its time. I loved the ideas being put forth, and the first person off kilter narration by Death.
Let Me Make You Suffer: a fascinating brew of science, sex, and horror.
The Lagoon of Insane Plants: Endless invention and a constant playing with the tropes of this sub genre. Enjoyable and provocative.
Debutante Ball: a strange and savage story, one in which the feminism bleeds from the text.
Snip My Suckers: the narrative reading like a version of Little Shop of Horrors on speed, I loved every blackly comedic moment of it.
PsychoMildew Love: There’s a gonzo quality to ‘Psychomildew Love’, the story of witch Cora and how she realises her passion for neighbour Warren by turning him into an ant eater, and while it should be absurd, Gresh’s prose and her willingness to go the extra bit further into madcap invention result in a story that I thoroughly enjoyed
Algorithms and Nasal Structures: It’s full of ideas and has about it a feel of just desserts served for those most deserving. I liked Amy, and Frank was believable, but not especially likable, which worked fine for the story. And the thing with the scents added an element of novelty.
Digital Pistil: We get another manic story with ‘Digital Pistil’, the tale of two digital flowers in love, which is as crazy as it sounds, but done with considerable panache and conviction, so that their affair plays out like the mirror image of so many unhappy human relationships, with the cat High and Mighty performing a catalytic role.
Mandelbrot Moldrot: charming and inventive…the reader can’t help but be entertained
“Cult of the Dead and Other Weird and Lovecraftian Tales by Lois H Gresh contains many good things in the Lovecraftian tradition. The stories are forceful and visceral in their execution, and varied in their settings—most of which make Innsmouth seem like the most exclusive garden suburb continually bathed in sunshine. For example, the vivid title story is set in the catacombs of a monastery in Lima, where an illegal excavator discovers that the past is not as dead as it seems (or should be) and the current order is revealed for the transitory situation in reality it always was.”
– John Howard, Wormwood 27 magazine review
“Gresh’s elegant and mellifluous prose, the imaginative power of her weird conceptions, and her skill in leading the reader step by step to a terrifying denouement make every one of her tales a well-crafted jewel of weird fiction.
— S.T. Joshi
Available at Amazon & elsewhere
INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES (Lois H. Gresh, editor) – now available as a $5.49 e-book!
FOUR stories are reprinted in top BEST OF THE YEAR 2015 anthologies:
- Steve Rasnic Tem’s excellent INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES story, Beneath the Pilings, THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR 2015 (editor, Ellen Datlow)
- John Shirley’s excellent INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES story, Windows Underwater, THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY & HORROR 2015 (editor, Paula Guran)
- Tim Lebbon’s excellent INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES story, Strange Currents, YEAR’S BEST WEIRD FICTION 2015 (editors, Michael Kelly & Simon Strantzas)
- Richard Gavin’s INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES story, The Barnacle Daughter, in BEST NEW HORROR 2015/#27 (editor, Steve Jones)
SIX stories received Honorable Mentions in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR 2015 (editor, Ellen Datlow)
INNSMOUTH NIGHTMARES is now available as a $5.49 e-book!
BOOKS
FICTION
Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Deadly Dimensions (Titan Books, July 2017)
Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Neural Psychoses (Titan Books, April 2018)
Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Innsmouth Mutations (Titan Books, April 2019)
Cult of the Dead and Other Weird and Lovecraftian Tales (Hippocampus, 2015)
Innsmouth Nightmares (ed., PS Publishing, 2015)
Dark Fusions (ed., PS Publishing, 2013)
Eldritch Evolutions (Chaosium 2011 & BookViewCafe)
Blood and Ice (Elder Signs, 2011)
TechnoLife 2020 (ECW, 2001)
Chuck Farris and the Cosmic Storm (ECW, 2002)
Chuck Farris and the Labyrinth of Doom (ECW, 2001)
Chuck Farris and the Tower of Darkness (ECW, 2001)
The Termination Node (Random House/Del Rey, 1999)
SPECULATIVE SCIENCE
The Many Mysteries of Indiana Jones (John Wiley & Sons, 2008)
The Science of Stephen King (John Wiley & Sons, 2007)
The Unauthorized Guide to His Dark Materials (St. Martin’s Press, 2007)
The Science of James Bond (John Wiley & Sons, 2006)
The Science of Anime (Running Press, 2005)
The Science of Supervillains (John Wiley & Sons, 2004)
The Science of Superheroes (John Wiley & Sons, 2002)
The Computers of Star Trek (Harper/Basic Books, 2000)
COMPANION GUIDES
The Divergent Companion (St. Martin’s Press, 2014)
The Mortal Instruments Companion (St. Martin’s Press, 2013)
The Hunger Games Companion (St. Martin’s Press, 2011)
The Twilight Companion (St. Martin’s Press, 2008)
The Unauthorized Guide to Artemis Fowl (St. Martin’s Press, 2008)
The Fan’s Guide to the Spiderwick Chronicles (St. Martin’s press, 2007)
The Unauthorized Eragon Guide (St. Martin’s Press, 2006)
Exploring Lemony Snicket (St. Martin’s Press, 2004)
Dragonball Z (St. Martin’s Press, 2000)
SHORT STORIES – Partial List
• Cafebabe, Infinite Loop SF Anthology, Miller Freeman hardcover, 1993
• Watch Me If You Can, Infinite Loop SF Anthology, Miller Freeman hardcover, 1993
• Digital Pistil, Tales of the Unanticipated, November 1994
• Digital Pistil (reprint), The Cyborg Handbook, Routledge Press, 1995 (story was sole winner of national contest and represents future of cyborg SF)
• Digital Pistil (reprint), 1994 Year’s Best Fantastic Fiction
• AnOde to Thee: or Surfing those Tubular Waves, Mindsparks SF, 1994
• Mandelbrot Moldrot, Miskatonic University, DAW Books, November 1996
• Let Me Make You Suffer, Interzone, Spring 1995
• Algorithms & Nasal Structures, Aboriginal SF, Summer 1998
• Sole Man, Hot Blood: Fear the Fever, Pocket Books, July 1996 (story was on the prelim 1996 HWA Stoker Award Ballot; story received Honorable Mention in 1996 Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, St. Martin’s Press)
• Snip My Suckers, 100 Vicious Little Vampires, Barnes and Noble, 1995 (story was on the prelim 1995 HWA Stoker Award Ballot; story received Honorable Mention in 1995 Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, St. Martin’s Press)
• Psychomildew Love, 100 Wicked Little Witches, Barnes and Noble, 1995 (story was on the prelim 1995 HWA Stoker Award Ballot)
• Cocci’s Blood-Fueled Feud, 100 Vicious Little Vampires, Barnes and Noble, 1995
• Fish Witch, 100 Wicked Little Witches, Barnes and Noble, 1995
• Birches & Murk, Horror a Day, Barnes and Noble, August/September 1998
• Engorged Pereute, Horror a Day, Barnes and Noble, August/September 1998
• Little Whorehouse of Horrors, Dark Regions Virtual Reality, 1998
• Instant Gratification, Manifest Destiny, Winter 1994
• The Last Real Rat, The Urbanite, 1997
• Lucky Albumin, The Urbanite, 1997
• Where I Go, Mi-Go, Singers of Strange Songs, Chaosium Press, 1997
• Memories of Home, Terminal Fright, 1993
• The Adventure of the Parisian Gentleman, New Sherlock Holmes Adventures, Robinson Publishing (London) and Carroll and Graf, Mike Ashley, ed., 1997
• Julius Caesar: Three Meetings and a Funeral, Shakespearean Detectives (also: More Shakespearean Whodunnits), Robinson Publishing (London) and Carroll and Graf, Mike Ashley, ed., 1998
• Death Rides the Elevator, Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes, Robinson Publishing (London) and Carroll and Graf, Mike Ashley, ed., 2000
• Nada Nother Nite, Inhuman Magazine, AllenK, ed., October 2009
• Murder in Monkeyland, Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes — Volume 2, Robinson Publishing (London) and Carroll and Graf, Mike Ashley, ed., 2006
• There’s No Place Like Void, Tales Out of Miskatonic, Mythos Books, 2011
• The Lagoon of Insane Plants, Ancient Shadows, Elder Signs Press, 2011
• Julia Brainchild, Hungry for Your Love: Zombie Romance, e-format from Ravenous Romance, Oct 2009; print edition from St. Martin’s Press, Oct 2010
• Cuspid Cupid: What’s the Difference?, Fang Bangers, e-format from Ravenous Romance, August 2010
• The Scourge of the Sea, High Seas Cthulhu 2, Elder Signs Press, 2011
• Debutante Ball, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Smokestack Snout Neurology, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• The Battle of Batbrew Bulge, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Underground Pipeline, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Lust of the Giant Sloth, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Geisha Black, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Skinhead Bonehead, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Wee Sweet Girlies, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011 (story was short-listed and received Honorable Mention in 2011 Year’s Best Horror, ed. Ellen Datlow)
• Showdown at Red Hook, Eldritch Evolutions, Chaosium, 2011
• Mhy’Os Mythos, Holiday Cthulhu, Miskatonic River Press, 2012
• Dreams of Death, Eldritch Chrome, Chaosium, 2014
• Werewolf Root Canal, Mark of the Beast, Chaosium, 2014
• Mandelbrot Moldrot (reprint), Mountain Walked, Centipede Press, 2014
• Mandelbrot Moldrot (reprint), Mad Science Cafe, BookViewCafe, 2013
• Necrotic Cove, Black Wings III, PS Publishing, 2014
• Devil’s Bathtub, Madness of Cthulhu, Titan Books, 2014
• Willie the Protector, Searchers After Horror, Fedogan & Bremer 2014
• Of Queens and Pawns, That is not Dead, PS Publishing, 2014
• Death Doll, Expiration Date, Edge SFF Publishing, 2014
• Old Enough to Drink, Dark Fantastique, Cycatrix Press, 2014
• Nameless and Shameless, Jews vs. Aliens, Jurassic London, 2014
• Night Trippers, Summer of Lovecraft, Chaosium, 2016
• Square of the Inquisition, Gothic Lovecraft, Cycatrix Press, 2015
• Necrotic Cove (reprint), New Cthulhu 2: More Recent Weird, Prime Publishing, 2015
• Dearest Daddy, Dreams from the Witch House, Dark Regions, 2015
• Cult of the Dead, Black Wings IV, PS Publishing, 2015
• In the Sacred Cave, The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu: New Lovecraftian Fiction, Constable-Robinson, 2015
• All Choked Up, The X-Files: Secret Agendas, IDW Publishing, 2016
• Bloodline, V-Wars: Shockwaves, IDW Publishing, 2016
• The Adventure of the Pin-Pricked Corpse (Sherlock Holmes), Hardboiled Horror, JournalStone Publishing, 2017
HIGHLIGHTS
• Writer Guest, Ancient Aliens, History Channel, airs often
• Writer Guest, Batman Tech, History Channel, airs often
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2018
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2017
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2016
• Special Guest of Honor (GOH), NecronomiCon 2015, Providence, RI
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2015
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2014
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2012
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Eeriecon 2011
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH), Roc-Con 2011
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH) Speaker, Hofstra University Conference, November 2007
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH) Speaker, New York Academy of Sciences, NYC, November 2007
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH) Speaker, The Century Club, Rochester, NY, September 2007
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH) Speaker, University Librarian Conference, Colorado, June 2007
• After Dinner Speaker, Ninth Rochester International Conference on Coherence and Quantum Optics, June 2007
• Writer Guest of Honor (GOH) and Speaker, Perugia Science Festival, Italy, 2006
• Featured by Scientific American Book Club, Science Fiction Book Club, and Library of Science Book Club
• Featured in New York Times Book Review, USA Today, Science News, Publisher’s Weekly, National Geographic, Physics Today, New Scientist, U.S. News and World Report, Entertainment Weekly, many others
• On Nebula preliminary ballot for Best Novel of 1999, Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc.
• On national fiction ballots six times for Best Story of the Year
• Won national award for best modern cyborg science fiction; story published in international graduate-level cyborg Handbook/Routledge Press
• Television: Interviewed on national Fox News television, BBC World Science News, live news programs & talk shows in NYC, Connecticut, Virginia, Rochester, Canada; featured in Batman Tech & Ancient Aliens, History Channel; interviewed by television producers from Discovery Channel, ABC News
• Radio: Interviewed by hundreds of radio stations, including National Public Radio, the BBC, 5 cable networks in Canada
• Best of Show Award (top award given), Rochester Society for Technical Communications, 2003, for The Science of Superheroes; entry went to the International Competition
• Teen science books and novels endorsed by the American Library Association, Voice of Youth Advocates, School Library Journal, Today’s Librarian
• Books published in 22 languages & available worldwide: Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, Germany, Portugal, France, Brazil, Thailand, Korea, China, Estonia, England, Canada/French, Finland, Poland, Czech, etc.
• Staff novel reviewer – Science Fiction Cable Channel, Nov 2004-Dec 2009, RIP