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pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Blood, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, War, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Cannibalism, Infertility, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
wordsareworlds'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Overall I liked it quite a bit! According to the Author's Note it started as Sherlock wingfic but it doesn't read any differently than any of the hundreds of other adaptations/reimaginings of the Sherlock stories. If you're very familiar with the canon you'll know the solutions, but in a lot of ways everything but the first mystery and the Jack the Ripper parts are much kinder to side characters than the original ever was. As always, the real star is the Holmes/Watson (or Crow/Doyle) relationship, and I adored it. Crow has many of the classic Sherlock characteristics but with an excitement and curiosity and actual caring that most Sherlocks lack.
I enjoyed the Moriarty twist and the way she uses both the twist and the obvious previous knowledge of the reader to ramp up tension in all their interactions. I was also relieved at how Addison treated Doyle's limp, and continuing treatments for injuries. The worldbuilding felt true to both the original Sherlock stories and integrated well with the supernatural aspects.
A word of warning/possible pain points for trans readers regarding the character of Doyle and angels. it is implied at first that Doyle is a trans man, but revealed that she is a bisexual woman who is pretending to be a man to the public. She does not regard herself as actually a man, but instead has adopted the persona in order to pursue her career as a doctor. Angels are revealed to all be trans men, made so by human expectations when they emerge from being Nameless. While I believe there is nuance given to both of these elements, I can also easily see them feeling like a bait-and-switch or otherwise harmful as well.
I enjoyed the Moriarty twist and the way she uses both the twist and the obvious previous knowledge of the reader to ramp up tension in all their interactions. I was also relieved at how Addison treated Doyle's limp, and continuing treatments for injuries. The worldbuilding felt true to both the original Sherlock stories and integrated well with the supernatural aspects.
A word of warning/possible pain points for trans readers regarding the character of Doyle and angels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault
The ableism is both internal and external towards the character of Doyle. Antisemitism is challenged on page. There is the strong implication that Crow wasobviousthings's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Well... it was okay. As someone who's VERY familiar with the Holmes stories, this book stuck too close to the plot of the originals for my taste, particularly with A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four in the first half. I liked how Addison treated women and characters of colour from the Holmes canon with much more respect than they get in the original books, and I liked the supernatural elements that were added (especially the hellhounds and cerberi), but this feels more like Sherlock Holmes with some fantasy set dressing than an original novel.
It's worth noting that there are three Holmes novels, multiple short stories, and the Jack the Ripper case compressed into one book here. I can see why that was done - does anyone actually like the part of A Study in Scarlet that's just about the mormons? - but I feel like some of the themes were lost in the abridgement, and there wasn't enough added to replace them. I would have liked to see a stronger character arc for Dr. Doyle, with fantasy elements more thoroughly incorporated into the plot. The setting has a ton of potential, but it wasn't explored as much as it could have been in this book.
It's worth noting that there are three Holmes novels, multiple short stories, and the Jack the Ripper case compressed into one book here. I can see why that was done - does anyone actually like the part of A Study in Scarlet that's just about the mormons? - but I feel like some of the themes were lost in the abridgement, and there wasn't enough added to replace them. I would have liked to see a stronger character arc for Dr. Doyle, with fantasy elements more thoroughly incorporated into the plot. The setting has a ton of potential, but it wasn't explored as much as it could have been in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Confinement, Homophobia, Medical content, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Abortion, Racial slurs, Rape, and Suicide
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