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linwearcamenel's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
northernfleabag's review against another edition
4.0
Certainly keeping an eye out for more of Hardwick's pastiches after reading this. Very enjoyable, fast paced, and even funny at times; the illustrations in my copy were gorgeously detailed.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
2.0
Hardwick seems determined to drag in references to as many of the original Holmes stories as possible--everyone from Lestrade to Shinwell Jones to Inspector Gregson to Mycroft Holmes appears. I'm sure if he could have found a way to bring Moriarty back from the dead, he would have. I'm surprised that after titling the story The Revenge of the Hound he didn't pull Stapleton out of the mire and have him running about.* We visit places mentioned in "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" and the "The Man with the Twisted Lip" and more. He seems to think that the more he proves how much he knows of the canon the more willing we'll be to accept his version of Holmes and Watson. But his characterization of the duo rings false throughout the first half to two-thirds of the book. Holmes is in a snit over Watson's impending third marriage and is unbelievably rude to Watson--he even throttles him quite thoroughly (supposedly to prove that a certain witness's story is a lie, but he fully admits that he feels much better after half-strangling his friend). The pair sound and act much more like themselves in the last third of the book, but by that point I'd already given up on them and the improvement didn't help much.
On top of there being too much of what I can only call "showing off my Holmes knowledge," there is way too much going on this story--to quote Watson: "The Carfax case. The hound. The disappearance of Cromwell's bones. Now this murder. Not to mention such incidentals as your concern about invasions, revolution, the 'Yellow Peril' and being commanded to act for the king....you have no time for chasing after random murderers." Hardwick may been "the first man after the late Christopher Morley to be honored the investiture of The Sign of the Four by the Baker Street Irregulars of America, one of the most prestigious honors possible for any Sherlockian." He may have known his Holmesian lore inside-out and front to back, but none of that's useful if the story isn't engaging and seems overly complex. Honestly, the best things about this one were the illustrations by Steranko. ★ and 1/2. [rounded up here]
*And speaking of the original story--it would have been nice if the plot had a real connection the original Hound of the Baskervilles instead of what we got. It felt like Hardwick just dragged that in to add some sort of Doyle legitimacy to the whole thing.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
On top of there being too much of what I can only call "showing off my Holmes knowledge," there is way too much going on this story--to quote Watson: "The Carfax case. The hound. The disappearance of Cromwell's bones. Now this murder. Not to mention such incidentals as your concern about invasions, revolution, the 'Yellow Peril' and being commanded to act for the king....you have no time for chasing after random murderers." Hardwick may been "the first man after the late Christopher Morley to be honored the investiture of The Sign of the Four by the Baker Street Irregulars of America, one of the most prestigious honors possible for any Sherlockian." He may have known his Holmesian lore inside-out and front to back, but none of that's useful if the story isn't engaging and seems overly complex. Honestly, the best things about this one were the illustrations by Steranko. ★ and 1/2. [rounded up here]
*And speaking of the original story--it would have been nice if the plot had a real connection the original Hound of the Baskervilles instead of what we got. It felt like Hardwick just dragged that in to add some sort of Doyle legitimacy to the whole thing.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
raehink's review
3.0
Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of seemingly unrelated crimes which turn out to be linked to a conspiracy to unseat the British monarchy.
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