"He was a great mind once. Now he haunts his cavernous rooms on Moloch Street, half out of his mind on prisoner's honey. He still take clients, but he passes the work on to promising outsiders. Lucky for you."[1]
The Honey-Addled Detective was once one of the greatest detectives in London, but has been crippled by his addiction to prisoner's honey, leaving his glory days far behind him.
It's Elementary, My Dear
He resides in solitude on Moloch Street, though his exact address is kept secret[2] thanks to well-paid neighbours sworn to silence.[3] His apartment is immaculate, yet always tinged with the unmistakable scent of honey.[4] More often than not, he is honey-mazed: his mind wandering Parabola,[5] chasing phantoms of unsolved cases[6] or endlessly reliving old victories.[7] He has never dared red honey, though he once dabbled in black honey.[8] Aside from his honey habit, he also has a smoking pipe.[9]
Despite his affliction, his intellect has not wholly dimmed, being able to deduce someone's residence and employment from just one look.[10] His counsel is sought by young detectives and seasoned professionals alike.[11] He occasionally takes on a case himself, though more often, he delegates the work to rising talents.[12]
The Detective is extremely attentive to minute details[13] and can draw clues from the most minor of evidence.[14] He takes great joy in solving cases[15] and foiling villains.[16] He believed that the search for knowledge would help his fellow man,[17] but that same relentless pursuit led him into addiction.[18] There are entire books to be formed from the cases the Honey-Addled Detective has solved without knowing it. The constabulary has only heard a quarter of his solutions. His own clients rarely get the whole story.[19]
The Illuminated Archivist at Avid Horizon, a historian of old London, identified the Detective as the "honey-wrecked detective".[20] This unfortunately implies he did not recover from his addiction in the Sunless Skies timeline, and possibly succumbed to it.
Literary Inspiration
The Honey-Addled Detective is a clear literary allusion to Sherlock Holmes. He resides on Moloch Street, formerly known as Baker Street before the Fall, a deliberate nod to the address of Doyle’s detective. Like Holmes, he smokes a pipe and has a drug addiction.
In Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, Holmes has a drug addiction. It is implied that his extraordinary intellect demands constant stimulation, and in the absence of challenging cases, he turns to narcotics (notably cocaine and morphine) to dull the edge of boredom. These substances serve as a substitute for the mental engagement he craves. While his use is often treated matter-of-factly, it is at times shown to be deeply troubling, with implications that his addiction could become, or already is, a serious and debilitating condition.
The Honey-Addled Detective can be read as a deconstruction of Sherlock Holmes, a vision of what Holmes might have become had his addiction been allowed to consume him entirely.
↑Set out to track him down, Fallen London"He's known to keep apartments somewhere in Moloch Street – but he also keeps to himself, and has taken some pains to hide his whereabouts."
↑Making Your Name – Closing the Case: the Honey-Addled Detective, Fallen London"The inhabitants of Moloch Street are reticent. The Detective must have paid them for their silence. But you're certain that's his apartment – there on the top floor, where the candle-flame swims behind the window in a green glass lobster-pot."
↑Approach him boastfully, Fallen London"His rooms are scrupulously clean, but the sweetish fug of prisoner's honey hangs in the air, and his eyes are hooded with dreams. "No doubt," he says. "I'm honoured to make your acquaintance." It's difficult to read his tone."
↑Dreams: A Choice of Reverie, Fallen London"The Detective's body is elsewhere – back in a flat in Moloch Street, most likely. But his mind is here, as present in Parabola as any dream-shade. He is kneeling on the jungle floor, measuring the pawprint of a panther."
↑Reconnecting to Reality, Fallen London"When you next visit the Honey-Addled Detective, he's threatening his hat stand with a cane. "The chase is at its end. Surrender her Ladyship's jewels and come with me." […] An empty jar of honey lies by his chair."
↑The Case of the Empty Belfry, Fallen London"Honey, you say?" The Honey-Added Detective rouses in his chair, almost knocking over an empty glass of port. "I never touched the scarlet myself, however tempted by its stygian fancies. But once, long ago, I dabbled in the midnight..."
↑Test the man's skills, Fallen London"Why [...], it's not difficult to get the measure of you." He takes a deep breath. "Mmm. Books. You keep many at your home? Ah, but surely even you wouldn't keep that many. A shop, then?" He turns his attention to your hands. "Are those ink-stains I see? The pen must never be far from your hand."
↑Working with the Honey-Addled Detective, Fallen London"He was a great mind once. Now he haunts his cavernous rooms on Moloch Street, half out of his mind on prisoner's honey. He still take clients, but he passes the work on to promising outsiders. Lucky for you."
↑Improve the statistical rigour of this investigation, Fallen London"All the botanical character recedes […] In their place is a regimented space, mathematically perfect[…] The density of the mud at […] the Stolen River; the proportion of coal dust in Ealing fireplaces; the frequency of arrest for friends of the Gracious Widow."
↑Introduce your own evidence, Fallen London"Your mind is thickly furnished with evidence – evidence of every kind. Gossip read […], names whispered […] At the Honey-Addled Detective's feet, you cause a pile of distinctly recognisable cigar ash. He sinks his hands in it to the wrists, delighted."
↑Knowledge is power, Fallen London[…] "Ah, yes – pitting wits against thieves and murderers. Tossing them up into New Newgate with your intellect alone. […] I... appreciate spending time with someone who understands. […] You may have surpassed me. Don't squander it."
↑You pursue knowledge because you must, Fallen London"I fear I understand the sentiment all too well." […] "If only I'd been more careful where I sought understanding." He pauses […] "Search for knowledge we would never find above. You may have surpassed me. Don't squander it."
↑Extract clues from his thoughts, Fallen London"There are entire books to be formed from the cases the Honey-Addled Detective has solved without knowing it. The constabulary has only heard a quarter of his solutions. His own clients rarely get the whole story."
