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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
7.11p.m.
Just finished reading. Took me around 3 hours I guess.
Unlike some other Sherlock Holmes stories, this one had a completely different story that only makes sense at the very end. Sherlock Holmes part was only important in the first half of the story. The other half was about why it happened the way it happened, which felt like a completely different story until the very end. It was very interesting though. But there was a very little bit that I wanted to know that wasn't described in the story. I'm curious whether Mr. Douglas got punishment, if he did what type of punishment it is. And I'm curious to know whether he got forgiveness from the court or a special treatment from the American government or something like that.
However it was very interesting though. I was so stupidly believing that Mr. Douglas's wife and friend killed him together. Especially the friend. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle proved that he's a genius & I'm a stupido once again. 😂
7.23
Just finished reading. Took me around 3 hours I guess.
Unlike some other Sherlock Holmes stories, this one had a completely different story that only makes sense at the very end. Sherlock Holmes part was only important in the first half of the story. The other half was about why it happened the way it happened, which felt like a completely different story until the very end. It was very interesting though. But there was a very little bit that I wanted to know that wasn't described in the story. I'm curious whether Mr. Douglas got punishment, if he did what type of punishment it is. And I'm curious to know whether he got forgiveness from the court or a special treatment from the American government or something like that.
However it was very interesting though. I was so stupidly believing that Mr. Douglas's wife and friend killed him together. Especially the friend. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle proved that he's a genius & I'm a stupido once again. 😂
7.23
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Me ha parecido súper interesante. La obra se divide en dos partes: en la primera, se produce un asesinato que Holmes tiene que investigar; en la segunda, nos desplazamos veinte años atrás para conocer el pasado de la víctima y conocer las causas de su asesinato. En toda la segunda parte no aparece el personaje del detective, y para mí no ha sido algo negativo, sino al contrario.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Average. A novel of two halves. Almost came good in the end but not very impressed to be honest.
While the first half of this is decent as it focuses on the actual crime being solved, the format of this book mirrors that used in A Study in Scarlet where the second part of the book focuses on an extensive backstory explaining the events which eventually lead to the crime Holmes is solving. In this case also, that backstory is set in the "exotic" United States of the 1800s, and draws from period-specific news reporting on current events in the US. However, where the angle in A Study in Scarlet is relatively accurate, the "current events" being discussed in this book are the Coal Wars, so the common information Doyle is pulling from is the coal baron propaganda that was being published in newspapers during this period and we have to sit through a truly insane set up demonizing . By far my least favorite Sherlock Holmes read to-date.
As I work my way through them, I've found most of the Sherlock Holmes stories to be surprisingly fair-handed in how they ultimately feel about who deserves justice (tho recognizing the the use of racist language and caricatures common to the period, period-typical perspectives on non-English persons, and Doyle's love of phrenology...), and I think that's what shocked me the most about this completely deluded crime drama about the Coal Wars.
Spoiler
Mormon historySpoiler
coal worker unions and where you're expected to root for a main character who is, literally, a PinkertonAs I work my way through them, I've found most of the Sherlock Holmes stories to be surprisingly fair-handed in how they ultimately feel about who deserves justice (tho recognizing the the use of racist language and caricatures common to the period, period-typical perspectives on non-English persons, and Doyle's love of phrenology...), and I think that's what shocked me the most about this completely deluded crime drama about the Coal Wars.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Holmes and Watson investigate a murder in a country mansion, a man shot in the face with a sawn off shotgun. Things quickly prove not to be as they seem. But what does the murder have to do with the Valley of Fear...
First off, I'm not the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan and was at a loss when Valley of Fear was announced as a book in the Hard Case line. While I respect Arthur Conan Doyle as one of the pioneers of detective fiction, I was never really interested in him or Holmes. In my quest to read all of the Hard Case Crime books, I finally had to bite the bullet and give Valley of Death a try. I wasn't disappointed.
The initial mystery was well done, though I tipped to what actually happened fairly early on, probably because I'd seen the same scenario before, most recently in an episode of the X-Files. The flashback provided most of the action of the story but was also the part I had a problem with. Did half of the story have to be a flashback?
Valley of Fear was a good read and I'm glad I read it. I'll probably read more A.C. Doyle in the future but hopefully not as part of the Hard Case library.
First off, I'm not the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan and was at a loss when Valley of Fear was announced as a book in the Hard Case line. While I respect Arthur Conan Doyle as one of the pioneers of detective fiction, I was never really interested in him or Holmes. In my quest to read all of the Hard Case Crime books, I finally had to bite the bullet and give Valley of Death a try. I wasn't disappointed.
The initial mystery was well done, though I tipped to what actually happened fairly early on, probably because I'd seen the same scenario before, most recently in an episode of the X-Files. The flashback provided most of the action of the story but was also the part I had a problem with. Did half of the story have to be a flashback?
Valley of Fear was a good read and I'm glad I read it. I'll probably read more A.C. Doyle in the future but hopefully not as part of the Hard Case library.