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hjb_128's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, and Confinement
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Racism, Addiction, and Confinement
Minor: Racial slurs, Drug use, and Drug abuse
jmorateck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug use and Murder
Minor: War
stories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Less… complete? Cohesive? Certainly, Silver Blaze ended prematurely, if only by a scene or two.
I was somewhat surprised also by the time jump. I don’t know if I’m correct, but it seemed these were amongst the later tales.
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Body horror, Drug use, Confinement, and Death of parent
nubecato's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Gun violence, and Confinement
Minor: Drug use, Sexism, and Alcoholism
mistystar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Blood, Murder, and Infidelity
katievh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Racism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Animal death, Confinement, and Racial slurs
maren_hemsath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, and Drug abuse
Minor: War, Sexism, Medical content, and Animal death
ayushk21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
There was only one instance, in A Case of Identity, in which I felt that Arthur Conan Doyle really mistreated one of his female characters: Holmes works out exactly how his client, Miss Sutherland, was manipulated and deceived but declares that she won’t believe him if he tells her, so just leaves her to get on with her unhappy life! Clearly, it’s the solving of the puzzle that matters to Sherlock (and Dr Watson), and not the actual result of his actions. That would be okay, except that I increasingly feel as though the same is true of Arthur Conan Doyle, and what’s forgivable in a flawed character is less so in a real person.
For the most part, the beginnings of the stories were a little tediously repetitive: Watson notes that Sherlock solves cases for the nobility, but says that these are sometimes less interesting and shows off Sherlock’s skills less well than whichever case he’s introducing. There’s nothing wrong with a formula that works, I suppose, but I might recommend not reading these stories back to back to back.
The problems and their solutions are clever, and anyone reading these for the first time would likely be carried along by that alone. (Except in the case of The Five Orange Pips, which is sadly incredibly obvious to a modern reader. I can only assume that the Klu Klux Klan was less familiar to British readers in 1892 than it would be today.) Remembering the endings of ten out of twelve stories definitely put me in a position to notice more of the flaws!
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail