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jkribbit's review against another edition
3.0
I've grown up knowing who Sherlock Holmes was, but most of my knowledge base was from Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective." More recently, I enjoyed the Robert Downey Jr. movie and the British tv series. I decided to give the actual literature I try. I'm half way through my second short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and am enjoying them. So I was excited about the premiss of this book, especially since it's endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estate.
Even with that limited exposure to the world of Sherlock Holmes, I had some expectations. And most of them were not met. I found this book rather disappointing. First of all, the mystery surrounding the eponymous 'death cloud' was given away in the dedication at the beginning of the book. There went much of the sleuthing excitement. But my biggest problem was that I didn't buy that the main character was a teenage Sherlock Holmes. He was too...normal. Obviously Sherlock had to come by his knowledge somehow, but the Sherlock in this story doesn't even seem interested in study.
I had a few quibbles about the contemporary writing style, fantastical adventure, etc., but I don't think those would have bothered me too much if I didn't have certain "Sherlock" expectations. The book is well written and kept my interest. It just didn't live up to my expectations and I'm not interested In reading more of the series.
Oh well. Back to the original source. :)
Even with that limited exposure to the world of Sherlock Holmes, I had some expectations. And most of them were not met. I found this book rather disappointing. First of all, the mystery surrounding the eponymous 'death cloud' was given away in the dedication at the beginning of the book. There went much of the sleuthing excitement. But my biggest problem was that I didn't buy that the main character was a teenage Sherlock Holmes. He was too...normal. Obviously Sherlock had to come by his knowledge somehow, but the Sherlock in this story doesn't even seem interested in study.
I had a few quibbles about the contemporary writing style, fantastical adventure, etc., but I don't think those would have bothered me too much if I didn't have certain "Sherlock" expectations. The book is well written and kept my interest. It just didn't live up to my expectations and I'm not interested In reading more of the series.
Oh well. Back to the original source. :)
fairybookmother's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but just not great. I think I had too high hopes for it, and I think I just have a different idea of what Holmes' childhood was like. However, I do think it's a good read for younger readers, those who are too "old" for most juvenile fiction but aren't quite ready to take the plunge into some of the darker adolescent fiction stuff that's out there. It's well-paced with a lot of good action scenes.
I read it out of curiosity, mostly because it had been approved by the Conan Doyle estate and whatnot, but Sherlock has no real personality whatsoever. Maybe it's because of how I've thought of Holmes' youth, as a young someone who is brash, who doesn't fully recognize the power of his mind, gets into too much trouble because of it, deduces because it comes naturally to him (before he learns to hone and perfect it, of course)... Or maybe it's because it was told in a third-person perspective, rather than from the first person perspective of Watson, or someone similar, as I'm used to. Something was just ... off. Even if Holmes is only fourteen in this novel, we as readers should still be dazzled by something going on in his mind. We're not ever supposed to know what goes on inside that mysterious, magnficent head. We're only supposed to watch, to admire. There's not much mystery to admire here.
I read it out of curiosity, mostly because it had been approved by the Conan Doyle estate and whatnot, but Sherlock has no real personality whatsoever. Maybe it's because of how I've thought of Holmes' youth, as a young someone who is brash, who doesn't fully recognize the power of his mind, gets into too much trouble because of it, deduces because it comes naturally to him (before he learns to hone and perfect it, of course)... Or maybe it's because it was told in a third-person perspective, rather than from the first person perspective of Watson, or someone similar, as I'm used to. Something was just ... off. Even if Holmes is only fourteen in this novel, we as readers should still be dazzled by something going on in his mind. We're not ever supposed to know what goes on inside that mysterious, magnficent head. We're only supposed to watch, to admire. There's not much mystery to admire here.
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
As a generic childrens detective story it was a pretty good one, but for using the name Sherlock Holmes it just didn't feel right. Understandably it is showing the youngster and how he became the man we all know, but the character just didn't feel to me remotely like Sherlock Holmes.
annaketamina's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing! Andrew Lane is a genius!!!!!
But of course, they just had to make the boy on the cover have a modern hairstyle, making him look like Justin Bieber my orchestra stand partner. *sigh*
But of course, they just had to make the boy on the cover have a modern hairstyle, making him look like
marite's review against another edition
4.0
Spennende og stemningsfull roman om den unge Sherlock Holmes og hans første sak. Her er nok av spenningstopper, et forsåvidt logisk plot, og interessante personer. Dette er en serie en trygt kan anbefale til spenningssøkende med brukbare engelskkunnskaper.
sarahkatie's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Pleasantly surprised by this book. Some lovely little nods for those who have already read Conan Doyle, a fun adventure. My son loved this book!
vint4gegh0st's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
lucyjunee's review against another edition
2.0
I love Sherlock Holmes. I grew up with “Basil the Great Mouse Detective” being my absolute favourite movie, so much I acted out scenes of it as if I were Olivia helping Basil solve the murder of Ratigan. I am utterly in love with the BBC adaptation of it (and consequently, Benedict Cumberbatch too!) I love the stories by the master, Conan Doyle himself and I am head over heels for “Murder most unladylike” by Robin Stevens. To say I was excited for this one is an understatement.
Andrew Lane's adaptation of the eccentric Sherlock Holmes fell flat for me. The iconic literary character is known to be extraordinary clever, insanely witty and incredibly interesting but the young Sherlock was none of these things. In fact, he lacked personality completely. He wasn’t much smarter than those around him, his intelligence is his defining feature and this was completely taken from him. His insatiable curiosity failed to shine through and he seemed rather plain.
The book had so much potential. So much. The writer had to continuously throw in wild action scenes as an endeavour to keep the reader engaged but is unsuccessful. I found them rather boring and I was counting down the pages to the end. This is such a shame, I was convinced this was going to be my new obsession. I was prepared to utterly fall in love this one. Shame.
In conclusion, I will definitely not be continuing with the series, not when the first instalment was that terrible.
Love, Lucy x
Andrew Lane's adaptation of the eccentric Sherlock Holmes fell flat for me. The iconic literary character is known to be extraordinary clever, insanely witty and incredibly interesting but the young Sherlock was none of these things. In fact, he lacked personality completely. He wasn’t much smarter than those around him, his intelligence is his defining feature and this was completely taken from him. His insatiable curiosity failed to shine through and he seemed rather plain.
The book had so much potential. So much. The writer had to continuously throw in wild action scenes as an endeavour to keep the reader engaged but is unsuccessful. I found them rather boring and I was counting down the pages to the end. This is such a shame, I was convinced this was going to be my new obsession. I was prepared to utterly fall in love this one. Shame.
In conclusion, I will definitely not be continuing with the series, not when the first instalment was that terrible.
Love, Lucy x
manarelkodes's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 stars ..
It was a decent book , i have fan reading it though , not like the second and the third .. but it was amazing in it's way ..
and yes i start reading the second then the third .. after that i decide to read the first ..
i will continue reading the whole book series ..
and now let's read the forth ..
It was a decent book , i have fan reading it though , not like the second and the third .. but it was amazing in it's way ..
and yes i start reading the second then the third .. after that i decide to read the first ..
i will continue reading the whole book series ..
and now let's read the forth ..