Reviews - The Sign of the Four Illustrated

3.32k reviews for:

The Sign of the Four Illustrated

Arthur Conan Doyle

3.61 AVERAGE

yumducko's review against another edition

1.75

adventurous challenging 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

Not my cup of tea. But better than agatha christie

themtj's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to the new Stephen Fry recording of this and the audiobook is excellent. His introduction comments on the slight shift in tone with this work and connects it to Doyle's introduction to Oscar Wilde. Some of Wilde's extravagance is folded into the Holmes character and gives him a little more flair and depth. Both Watson and Holmes are richer characters in this than Study in Scarlet.

Doyle's lengthy explanations from the villains are thus far the least interesting sections in my mind, although this account was a vast improvement on the middle third of "Study in Scarlet."

duggireads's review against another edition

3.0

I understand that Sherlock Holmes was the original in detective stories, and I know of huge fans of these books, but I don't understand, as someone reading this for the first time, how people can see past the racism, colonial mindset and vilification of disabled people in this book. I know that it is of its time, but as a modern reader, I really struggled with it. I enjoyed the mystery and the tension between John and Mary but I also found it quite slow and unexciting. I was really excited to try the Sherlock Holmes books out, but I really think these aren't for me.