Scan barcode
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
This was a great Sherlock Holmes story with foggy Baker Streets, Lestrade and the mysteries (and hypocracies) of Victorian London. There were a couple of comments that Watson made shoehorned into the narrative to kind of explain away Doyle's more Victorian attitudes and ommissions of the original series that jarred slightly in the context of the story. However, "the game is afoot" and it was a fun read.
webjoram's review against another edition
3.0
Como novela de suspense creo que podemos considerarla una más entre muchas, el caso a resolver es interesante pero nada más. Lo que llama la atención de esta novela y lo que supongo ha atraído a muchos lectores es el hecho de que esta protagonizada por Sherlock Holmes y obviamente eso genera cierto interés. En este punto he de decir que el autor ha conseguido imitar con bastante acierto el estilo de las novelas de Sherlock aunque la novela esta impregnada de un cierto pesimismo justificado por encontrarnos con un caso escrito por Watson en su vejez que quizás no se corresponde con los hechos relatados.
El principal defecto que le encuentro a la novela es la sensación de que estamos ante un "homenaje" a las obras de Arthur Conan Doyle, de esta manera tenemos que a lo largo de la novela aparecen todos los personajes típicos de sus novelas, algunos de ellos metidos con calzador, que desvirtúan en ocasiones el interés por el caso a resolver. Sobre este punto también hay que comentar que aunque al principio se nos presenta como un caso muy misterioso he interesante con el desarrollo de la trama las pistas dejadas a lo largo de la narración nos hacen conocer bastante antes del final la solución del mismo, lo cual, para este tipo de novelas es casi un sacrilegio.
Por último y aunque obviamente no lo voy a contar me ha defraudado bastante el final de la novela, no considero que este bien resuelto y nos deja con un mal sabor que no justifica el que en un futuro conozcamos mas casos "olvidados" de Sherlock Holmes.
Si he de reconocer que la novela esta bien estructurada, la caracterización de los personajes es muy buena y la narración no se hace pesada con lo que podemos concluir que sin ser una gran novela si es suficientemente entretenida.
A la hora de valorarla he estado dudando entre las 2 estrellas y las 3 estrellas sobretodo porque creo que su valoración esta en 2.5 o 2.6 pero al final me ha podido mi corazón de fan y le he dado las 3 estrellas ;-)
El principal defecto que le encuentro a la novela es la sensación de que estamos ante un "homenaje" a las obras de Arthur Conan Doyle, de esta manera tenemos que a lo largo de la novela aparecen todos los personajes típicos de sus novelas, algunos de ellos metidos con calzador, que desvirtúan en ocasiones el interés por el caso a resolver. Sobre este punto también hay que comentar que aunque al principio se nos presenta como un caso muy misterioso he interesante con el desarrollo de la trama las pistas dejadas a lo largo de la narración nos hacen conocer bastante antes del final la solución del mismo, lo cual, para este tipo de novelas es casi un sacrilegio.
Por último y aunque obviamente no lo voy a contar me ha defraudado bastante el final de la novela, no considero que este bien resuelto y nos deja con un mal sabor que no justifica el que en un futuro conozcamos mas casos "olvidados" de Sherlock Holmes.
Si he de reconocer que la novela esta bien estructurada, la caracterización de los personajes es muy buena y la narración no se hace pesada con lo que podemos concluir que sin ser una gran novela si es suficientemente entretenida.
A la hora de valorarla he estado dudando entre las 2 estrellas y las 3 estrellas sobretodo porque creo que su valoración esta en 2.5 o 2.6 pero al final me ha podido mi corazón de fan y le he dado las 3 estrellas ;-)
corita's review against another edition
5.0
This was a delight to read. Horowitz has captured the tone, style, and spirit of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
hdlrodriguez's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - I wish there was more Sherlock and his characteristic “deductive reasoning”
gbliss's review against another edition
3.0
I am a fan of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, and -- of course -- fan of the original Conan Doyle works.
This never felt like a marriage made in heaven to me. A tad too arranged and clever. The strength of the Alex Rider books is rooted in how contemporary they are, in vividly drawn characters, and delightfully tangled plots.
It felt at times like Horowitz was intimidated by the legacy he was asked to continue. The all-too-carefully-included references to Holmes-trivia seemed included to fend off criticism from hard core fanatics who might be hostile to Horowitz, as opposed to my skeptical. Bullets in the wall, check. Toe of the Persian slipper, check. Stradivarius, check. Baker Street Irregulars, check. Lestrade, check.
That said, I would like Horowitz to do this again. I think a second effort he might feel liberated and less intimidated.
This never felt like a marriage made in heaven to me. A tad too arranged and clever. The strength of the Alex Rider books is rooted in how contemporary they are, in vividly drawn characters, and delightfully tangled plots.
It felt at times like Horowitz was intimidated by the legacy he was asked to continue. The all-too-carefully-included references to Holmes-trivia seemed included to fend off criticism from hard core fanatics who might be hostile to Horowitz, as opposed to my skeptical. Bullets in the wall, check. Toe of the Persian slipper, check. Stradivarius, check. Baker Street Irregulars, check. Lestrade, check.
That said, I would like Horowitz to do this again. I think a second effort he might feel liberated and less intimidated.
hoodster's review against another edition
3.0
Five stars for the writing, the characters, dialogue, and setting. Spoiler alert, I dropped it down to three stars because of the unbelievability of the conspiracy and the creepiness factor.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
I was hesitant to read what is essentially a new Sherlock Holmes story but ended up thoroughly enjoying it which shouldn't be surprising since I have love other books by Horowitz. He did an excellent job of capturing Watson's tone and overall did a good job of getting Sherlock right. The mystery starts with a man who is being followed by someone from his past that he'd rather forget and then goes off in a whole other direction that somehow makes sense. Fun to be back with Holmes & Watson.
adrianneadelle's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written. An excellent mystery and surprisingly sentimental Sherlock mystery that keeps you guessing throughout.
suzemo's review against another edition
4.0
I was reluctant to read this book, because once upon a time as a wee child, I read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle and have very fond memories of it.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that Horowitz did a pretty solid job with the writing. Everything feels like the old Doyle stories - the characters feel much like the originals (and not the various versions portrayed in movies and TV series). Watson and Holmes have much of the same characteristics and feel the same as the versions I remember reading.
My only issue is that I feel like the mystery fell short, and a bit too sensationalistic, like something that should be turned into a TV show.
The foundation for this story is that old/eldery Watson is putting down this last case to paper as his life is in its twilight, he had never chronicled it before because it was too "shocking" to make an appearance. Of course, modern audiences might not feel that way, but still, solid effort and I am happy with the work.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that Horowitz did a pretty solid job with the writing. Everything feels like the old Doyle stories - the characters feel much like the originals (and not the various versions portrayed in movies and TV series). Watson and Holmes have much of the same characteristics and feel the same as the versions I remember reading.
My only issue is that I feel like the mystery fell short, and a bit too sensationalistic, like something that should be turned into a TV show.
The foundation for this story is that old/eldery Watson is putting down this last case to paper as his life is in its twilight, he had never chronicled it before because it was too "shocking" to make an appearance. Of course, modern audiences might not feel that way, but still, solid effort and I am happy with the work.