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filipacmiranda's review against another edition
3.0
The story narrated by Conan Doyle in The Sign of the Four proved to be more interesting than its predecessor. Reading A Study in Scarlet felt like the ending came too fast. In this case, it felt the exact opposite. In some situations, such as the suspect’s pursuit, having access only to Dr Watson’s perspective made it dull.
The mystery was appealing, even if the criminal’s motivations weren’t clear to me. Additionally, the fact that the author used retrospectives to reveal details from the crime seemed better in the text this time.
Lastly, even as background to all the adventures and mysteries that go on, the personal stories of Sherlock and Watson started to gain shape. On the one hand, we have access to Sherlock’s addictions and mental health problems. On the other, Watson’s future wife makes her first appearance in this novel. When it comes to this love story, all I can say is there’s something special about how less than 24 hours and a few glances were enough to fall in love…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Drug use, and Racism
christygsp's review
3.0
Meh.
First was better and hopefully others will be too.
Written in another time but racism was there.
Mystery was only okay.
First was better and hopefully others will be too.
Written in another time but racism was there.
Mystery was only okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Racism
orchidlilly's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Ok, wow, mixed bag on this one. On one hand, the mystery its self is very fun; locked room, treasure, a mysterious calling card, its all cool. On the other hand, good God is this one racist. Most of the ACD Sherlock stories I've read keep that good ole' English racism to a minimum, but The Sign of Four seems to have dialed it up to ten to make up for that. I don't think you can go two pages here without reading multiple paragraphs of Watson or some other character just using the rudest, most vile descriptions possible for Indian people. I can't say I didn't expect it, because I know just how horribly the English viewed Indian people at the time, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant to read. I'm not kidding, though, the racism in this one is really really bad, especially because we don't get the usual Holmes thing of having the story at least somewhat go 'um, actually, the people society hates are actually just people and it is in fact the rich bastards who suck'. Just yikes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Classism, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Medical content, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Slavery
theresacharlotte's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Racism, and Drug use
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Islamophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Blood
m_elisabeth's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
blackferrum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Lama banget nggak baca buku-buku Sir Arthur lagi, jadi agak-agak lupa gimana metode sama pattern tulisannya.
Hmm, soal kecerdasan Sherlock udah nggak perlu dibahas lah ya, cuman kebiasaan buruknya agak bikin kaget karena di sini sebagai pembuka buku banget gitu. Kayak, apa ini efek samping dari kecerdasannya? Ya tapi who knows, aku pun kurang paham sama detail beliau.
Kasusnya sendiri nggak terlalu panjang seperti buku2 lain. Soal perebutan harta karun dan salah satu orang terbunuh di sini. Metode penyelidikannya oke sih, terus karena ini latarnya tahun 1800-an, jadi semuanya serba klasik. Penyelidikannya sendiri juga menantang. Apalagi pas ngikutin jejak si pelaku dan ternyata salah itu, wah. Plus aksi kejar-kejaran di sungai.
Mungkin karena lupa jadi agak kaget karena metode penyampaian latar belakang si pelaku dan yang mendasari dia berbuat kejahatan tuh ditaruh di satu bab khusus (bab paling akhir). Jadi sepanjang baca (yang keburu-buru banget btw) nggak terlalu merasuk juga. Tipe misteri slow-burn, cuman biasanya di awal slow ini dibalik, di akhirnya slow karena menjelaskan lagi ini dan itu si pelaku.
Terus yang agak bikin syok romansa yang nyempil, sih. Enggak banyak, beneran cuma secuil, tapi tuh karena insta love jadinya nggak nyadar udah jauh gitu perasaan dua karakternya. Kek, haduh, bisa-bisanya yak wkwkwk dan mungkin karena Sherlock nggak begitu suka keterlibatan secara emosional semacam itu, jadinya nggak jadi fokus. Yakin deh, kalo ini pov Sherlock, bukan dr. Watson, pasti nggak bakal banyak porsi sih, atau porsinya malah dipersempit xD
Hmm, soal kecerdasan Sherlock udah nggak perlu dibahas lah ya, cuman kebiasaan buruknya agak bikin kaget karena di sini sebagai pembuka buku banget gitu. Kayak, apa ini efek samping dari kecerdasannya? Ya tapi who knows, aku pun kurang paham sama detail beliau.
Kasusnya sendiri nggak terlalu panjang seperti buku2 lain. Soal perebutan harta karun dan salah satu orang terbunuh di sini. Metode penyelidikannya oke sih, terus karena ini latarnya tahun 1800-an, jadi semuanya serba klasik. Penyelidikannya sendiri juga menantang. Apalagi pas ngikutin jejak si pelaku dan ternyata salah itu, wah. Plus aksi kejar-kejaran di sungai.
Mungkin karena lupa jadi agak kaget karena metode penyampaian latar belakang si pelaku dan yang mendasari dia berbuat kejahatan tuh ditaruh di satu bab khusus (bab paling akhir). Jadi sepanjang baca (yang keburu-buru banget btw) nggak terlalu merasuk juga. Tipe misteri slow-burn, cuman biasanya di awal slow ini dibalik, di akhirnya slow karena menjelaskan lagi ini dan itu si pelaku.
Terus yang agak bikin syok romansa yang nyempil, sih. Enggak banyak, beneran cuma secuil, tapi tuh karena insta love jadinya nggak nyadar udah jauh gitu perasaan dua karakternya. Kek, haduh, bisa-bisanya yak wkwkwk dan mungkin karena Sherlock nggak begitu suka keterlibatan secara emosional semacam itu, jadinya nggak jadi fokus. Yakin deh, kalo ini pov Sherlock, bukan dr. Watson, pasti nggak bakal banyak porsi sih, atau porsinya malah dipersempit xD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Drug use
octagon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, and Drug use
Minor: Misogyny
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Colonisation and Murder
Minor: War, Cannibalism, and Violence
stories's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This tale has not aged well, but is certainly twisty. I do enjoy the vivid characters that Conan Doyle sketches.
Not to mention the impact that Love At First Sight has on narrator reliability.
Not to mention the impact that Love At First Sight has on narrator reliability.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Racism, and Death
Minor: Racial slurs, War, Cannibalism, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Murder