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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
More very enjoyable short stories! I don't know that I liked these more or less than the other collections, but all the stories included were solid, fun reads.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More of the same of mini-mysteries, in the same vein as Adventures and Memoirs; short mysteries of 20-30 pages each, which could have been newspaper serials at the time? I liked the novels, but none were literary masterpieces. The characters and plots of the mysteries were noteworthy, but I felt the short stories were to brief (not particularly as clever as earlier stories or perhaps just they were wearing thin and not as novel) and added very little to the characters... just more of the same in brief chunks.
The actual return was a bit daft but I let it go because they are such fun!
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Although enjoyable and by no means bad, I found these stories to be lacking somewhat for me compared to the earlier works. Perhaps because I read them knowing well how desperately ACD tried to rid himself of Holmes, I expected to find them less exciting. I think back to my experience of reading Adventures a few years back, and more recently reading the Memoirs, and these did seem to captivate me. I was also often struck happily by phrases Holmes used and impressed, yet ACD's reluctance seemed to come across in these. I found myself completely unsurprised with many stories, immediately able to assume the outline as Holmes himself often does. In particular, I had barely read a few lines into one story when I knew the "motive" to the mysterious destruction of busts of Napoleon. As I went on I found myself skipping chunks too because often, the only reason you can't figure the story out is because of information Holmes keeps from Watson, and Watson from you. With some stories I even stopped because I was thinking, haven't I read this one before? Off the top of my head there were at least two stories involving lost documents in this collection, in which there was no real drama or jeopardy... and I could swear there was at least one other very similar story of a document going missing in a previous collection. There were, however, a few stories that did stand out (especially The Empty House) and despite a general sense of disappointment, I do still adores Holmes and his faithful companion (and laughed aloud when I found little images that had been taken and used in BBC Sherlock, such as that with the harpoon)
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-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
"I have said that he is the worst man in London, and I would ask you how could one compare the ruffian, who in hot blood bludgeons his mate, with this man, who methodically and at his leisure tortures the soul and wrings the nerves in order to add to his already swollen money-bags?"
*4.5 stars.
This book reminded me again of why I love the Sherlock Holmes books. They're just so brilliantly paced and fun to read, and Sherlock Holmes as a character is iconic for a reason. One gets enraptured in his genius and his crime-solving. This short story collection had some really great stories, and I loved all of them, but I would say my top three favourites would be "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons". I also liked the introduction of Stanley Hopkins and hope for his return in more short stories.
*4.5 stars.
This book reminded me again of why I love the Sherlock Holmes books. They're just so brilliantly paced and fun to read, and Sherlock Holmes as a character is iconic for a reason. One gets enraptured in his genius and his crime-solving. This short story collection had some really great stories, and I loved all of them, but I would say my top three favourites would be "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons". I also liked the introduction of Stanley Hopkins and hope for his return in more short stories.