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melledotca's review against another edition
4.0
Lotta fun, though not exactly rocket surgery. Thought it weakened at the end. Will definitely make you want to go and read the original Holmes stories.
roseannmvp's review against another edition
3.0
VERY Slow Reading.....interesting to a point but getting draggy past the mid-point. Would not recommend to anyone seeking the fast-paced vigor of a Holmes story. It is nothing like it, and more of a "blah" than I expected. Oh well....
goofnaggle's review against another edition
5.0
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book... and it by far encouraged me to have to read (and begin) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous works especially that of Sherlock Holmes. I thought it was an interesting and unique point of view and I particularly liked how it showed both a current and glorified historical versions of stories that meet in the middle. The ending was not quite what I hoped to have wished for, but it only reinforces the the central idea of the book that is "Is the mystery sometimes more pleasurable than the solution?" Are you sure that finding out the true answer will be as forever satisfying as wondering about the true answer?
fallingletters's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted 23 January 2011 on Falling Letters.
***
I really like the idea of Sherlock Holmes. After seeing the Robert Downey Jr. film, Moffat's Sherlock and reading Neil Gaiman's 'A Study in Emerald' I finally got around to reading A Study in Scarlet. I'm halfway through The Sign of Four right now. I've probably spent more time on Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes' Wikipedia pages than I have reading the actual books...Essentially, I like Holmes but I'm not one of those people who have read all the books and scorn adaptations. I like the characters and I like the community surrounding the books and I like all the analyzing of the stories and the real world facts and such. Just wanted to clarify that before I continue with my thoughts. I can't really speak to the accuracy or factuality of the story and I presume I would have enjoyed the book even more if I was more of a Sherlock fan, but I am enough of a fan to have enjoyed this story.
The Sherlockian tells two stories in alternating chapters. There is the story of what Arthur Conan Doyle was up to during the period for which his diaries are missing and the story of a new member of the Baker Street Irregulars trying to solve the mystery of a murder and the location of the missing diaries. I enjoyed both stories equally, which is something that doesn't happen often. They blended well with one another. Even if the characters and plot were sometimes dull or at least, not too exciting, the prose made up for it. Moore's prose is easy to read, smooth and flowing. I had fun reading this book. Even though it was a murder mystery, 'fun' is the adjective that keeps popping into my mind. Fun to read, easy to read, enjoyable to read. It was a murder mystery that someone like me, who normally despises murder mysteries, could enjoy. (Moore used the characters' first names! ;P) I could really appreciate the creativity that went into crafting this story, the explanations for what happened and why the diary went missing, etc.
As I just mentioned earlier, I enjoy reading about authors, how they lived and worked. I like the appeal of reading imagined stories about real people who lived such a long time ago. Reading about authors in a fictionalized novel makes them feel more real to me, oddly enough. You can hear various facts about someone like Conan Doyle but when you read a scene where he's chatting with Bram Stoker, I find it gives me a kind of magical feeling. The writing brings the old dead author to life, makes him feel like a real person. I like that a lot.
Overall, I enjoyed both the subject matter and the prose of this novel. I liked the connections to Sherlock Holmes and I liked that it focused on the author and not quite as much on the character. I would recommend this book if you have any interest in Sherlock Holmes, even if it is just a 'casual' interest as mine is currently. Interestingly, a lot of the story finds its roots in fact, especially the plot for the modern day story. There's a considerate afterword by the author that explains the fact from the fiction. Even if it was purely fiction, I would still recommend The Sherlockian. =)
***
I really like the idea of Sherlock Holmes. After seeing the Robert Downey Jr. film, Moffat's Sherlock and reading Neil Gaiman's 'A Study in Emerald' I finally got around to reading A Study in Scarlet. I'm halfway through The Sign of Four right now. I've probably spent more time on Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes' Wikipedia pages than I have reading the actual books...Essentially, I like Holmes but I'm not one of those people who have read all the books and scorn adaptations. I like the characters and I like the community surrounding the books and I like all the analyzing of the stories and the real world facts and such. Just wanted to clarify that before I continue with my thoughts. I can't really speak to the accuracy or factuality of the story and I presume I would have enjoyed the book even more if I was more of a Sherlock fan, but I am enough of a fan to have enjoyed this story.
The Sherlockian tells two stories in alternating chapters. There is the story of what Arthur Conan Doyle was up to during the period for which his diaries are missing and the story of a new member of the Baker Street Irregulars trying to solve the mystery of a murder and the location of the missing diaries. I enjoyed both stories equally, which is something that doesn't happen often. They blended well with one another. Even if the characters and plot were sometimes dull or at least, not too exciting, the prose made up for it. Moore's prose is easy to read, smooth and flowing. I had fun reading this book. Even though it was a murder mystery, 'fun' is the adjective that keeps popping into my mind. Fun to read, easy to read, enjoyable to read. It was a murder mystery that someone like me, who normally despises murder mysteries, could enjoy. (Moore used the characters' first names! ;P) I could really appreciate the creativity that went into crafting this story, the explanations for what happened and why the diary went missing, etc.
As I just mentioned earlier, I enjoy reading about authors, how they lived and worked. I like the appeal of reading imagined stories about real people who lived such a long time ago. Reading about authors in a fictionalized novel makes them feel more real to me, oddly enough. You can hear various facts about someone like Conan Doyle but when you read a scene where he's chatting with Bram Stoker, I find it gives me a kind of magical feeling. The writing brings the old dead author to life, makes him feel like a real person. I like that a lot.
Overall, I enjoyed both the subject matter and the prose of this novel. I liked the connections to Sherlock Holmes and I liked that it focused on the author and not quite as much on the character. I would recommend this book if you have any interest in Sherlock Holmes, even if it is just a 'casual' interest as mine is currently. Interestingly, a lot of the story finds its roots in fact, especially the plot for the modern day story. There's a considerate afterword by the author that explains the fact from the fiction. Even if it was purely fiction, I would still recommend The Sherlockian. =)
jlo615's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this book, but once I was in, I was committed. If you can set aside your own prejudices surrounding Holmes & Conan Doyle, it really is enjoyable and quite a ride.
thereclamationproject's review against another edition
2.0
I had high expectations for Graham Moore's The Sherlockian. Not necessarily because of the reviews of the book, so much as the subject. Harold White is the youngest member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of Sherlock Holmes scholars and aficionados. At their annual convention, one of their most famous members, Alexander Cale, is going to give a presentation on his finding of the infamous lost diary of Arthur Conan Doyle. The diary is reportedly from the period of Doyle's life that covers the time when he killed off Holmes and then resurrected him. It would be an incredible find for the Sherlock Holmes community. But before Cale can give his presentation, he's found murdered in his hotel room. White sets out to solve the murder and find the diary using Holmes's signature deductive reasoning. The search for the killer and diary takes him to London, retracing Cale's route of discovery.
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alireadsandknits's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the set up of the book, switching between the two story lines. I particularly liked the Doyle storyline.
The narrator was great and I think made the book for me. I'm not sure if I had read it I would have finished it (or I definitely would have skimmed the last quarter of the book). I didn't find the modern story line compelling enough to hold my attention towards the end.
I will say, I did end up doing research on several people/authors mentioned and this book peaked my interest enough to pick up a sherlock holmes book I hadn't read before.
The narrator was great and I think made the book for me. I'm not sure if I had read it I would have finished it (or I definitely would have skimmed the last quarter of the book). I didn't find the modern story line compelling enough to hold my attention towards the end.
I will say, I did end up doing research on several people/authors mentioned and this book peaked my interest enough to pick up a sherlock holmes book I hadn't read before.
capnmodesty's review against another edition
3.0
This book was very odd. I appreciated the back-and-forth between the present and Arthur Conan Doyle's present. I found the pacing to be quite slow until the very end at which point it sped up so much that I couldn't put the book down. But it took me a long time to read - I kept restarting once a month to see if it got better.
evenshadow's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though the last 30 pages were very disappointing. Worth a read if you've read all the Sherlock Holmes stories. It's not brilliant, but it is charming.
hzb333's review against another edition
2.0
This book is two stories interwoven. One story takes place in 2010. A Sherlock Holmes expert is found dead. For a variety of reasons, the death is suspicious and a fellow Sherlockian and a reporter set out to investigate his murder and look do a lost Arthur Conan Doyle diary that the murder victim had claimed to have found. The other story is about Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker who are investigating a letter bomb that Doyle was sent. If you don't like books that jump between time periods, you won't enjoy this one.
I found the Doyle story to be more interesting than the modern story. The characters in the modern story seemed really flat.
I found the story to be really conventional and not all that interesting. Not a memorable read.
I found the Doyle story to be more interesting than the modern story. The characters in the modern story seemed really flat.
I found the story to be really conventional and not all that interesting. Not a memorable read.