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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A book with unbelievable amount of racism. This book just made me never want to touch a book by such a bigot of a writer.
Brown skin are called unreliable servants, monkey faced, savages, hideous, black devil, idol worshiping false god hindoos. I'm surprised so many of the review do not mention this.
The plot is boring about a treasure stolen from the above mentioned 'savages'.
Brown skin are called unreliable servants, monkey faced, savages, hideous, black devil, idol worshiping false god hindoos. I'm surprised so many of the review do not mention this.
The plot is boring about a treasure stolen from the above mentioned 'savages'.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation
Perhaps it is that second acclimation to the Victorian romanticism writing style of Doctor John H. Watson, but among the earliest works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four (1890) feels more exceptional than the first. It is still a convoluted piece of mystery fiction; the devil is in archaic details and chemistry of crime, and every other sentence requires a remarkable amount of vocabulary search for nautical and goldsmith lingos — but it is still worth reading between the lines.
For some reason, the chapters feel shorter this time—and unlike the first novel, each ends with a thought-provoking spectacle or indelible twist that has this particularly amusing and haunting effect in the following pages. The plot, which centers on the stolen Indian treasure, is so cinematic that the thrill of the chase pulsates from the streets of South London to River Thames and across the prose.
One of the fascinating moments of this is ‘The Episode of the Barrel’ in chapter seven, when John and Sherlock spend an entire graveyard shift looking for the culprit, only to realize that it is a false trail; the two, although having no sleep, end up in fits of laughter instead. It is monumental because it depicts Sherlock as capable of human emotions and frailties, perhaps the first of many, thus rendering the tale as more than an omnipotent casebook; it is also a friendship adventure. There is more of it in this second novel—ample enough to make you root for Holmes and Watson’s friendship more.
For some reason, the chapters feel shorter this time—and unlike the first novel, each ends with a thought-provoking spectacle or indelible twist that has this particularly amusing and haunting effect in the following pages. The plot, which centers on the stolen Indian treasure, is so cinematic that the thrill of the chase pulsates from the streets of South London to River Thames and across the prose.
One of the fascinating moments of this is ‘The Episode of the Barrel’ in chapter seven, when John and Sherlock spend an entire graveyard shift looking for the culprit, only to realize that it is a false trail; the two, although having no sleep, end up in fits of laughter instead. It is monumental because it depicts Sherlock as capable of human emotions and frailties, perhaps the first of many, thus rendering the tale as more than an omnipotent casebook; it is also a friendship adventure. There is more of it in this second novel—ample enough to make you root for Holmes and Watson’s friendship more.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Arthur Conan Doyle solidifies Holmes as a character to be remembered in this second novel. The Sign of Four takes a more traditional structure compared to A Study in Scarlet, for which I am grateful.
This tale is filled with mystery, intrigue, death, complicated stories, and the spectacular deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes. It is very entertaining and moves along at a good clip most of the time. One thing I appreciate about Doyle's writing is that he takes the occasional opportunity to really set the mood by describing the environment or the state of being which many later mystery writers omit.
We get to know Holmes and Watson a little better, and we become more entranced by Holmes' abilities and peculiar views of life. My only complaint is that it does feel a little stretched thin at times--as if certain parts could easily have been shortened without losing and of its potency.
This tale is filled with mystery, intrigue, death, complicated stories, and the spectacular deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes. It is very entertaining and moves along at a good clip most of the time. One thing I appreciate about Doyle's writing is that he takes the occasional opportunity to really set the mood by describing the environment or the state of being which many later mystery writers omit.
We get to know Holmes and Watson a little better, and we become more entranced by Holmes' abilities and peculiar views of life. My only complaint is that it does feel a little stretched thin at times--as if certain parts could easily have been shortened without losing and of its potency.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
my favorite part was sherlock’s incel moment and then him leaving to do cocaine