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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
A Study in Scarlet: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sign of Four: ⭐⭐⭐
The Hound of the Baskervilles: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sign of Four: ⭐⭐⭐
The Hound of the Baskervilles: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
I really cannot give this a star rating because there's both stories that I loved, like The Valley of Fear, and stories that I hated (beause they scared me), like the Hound of the Baskervilles.
I loved the Sign of Four, because it really gives us some more information about Watson. Seeing him fall in love with Mary was so cuteee.
I hated the Hound of the Baskervilles, because it was gloomy and scary. If you think I will ever set foot on a moor again, you are sorely mistaken (for now).
Knowing I would have enjoyed it more had I not been obliged to read it also does not help in the slightest. Because I read so many of them so close together I really do not know if I enjoyed most of them or not.
What I do know is that Sherlock Holmes slayed all day. So did Watson. Reading about Holmes from his perspective was so interesting, because he looks at him differently than lots of other people. Figuring out the way that Sherlock thinks is not as impressive anymore in modern-day society, since we have so many tools to help us uncover crimes nowadays. But still, he's so yes. Imagine loving your work so much that you literally hope people will commit crimes, or you'll be bored out of your mind. Pop off, king. You do you.
Yet, realising that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this late 19th century is insane. How did he come up with all of this???? That's so impressive????? I'm not trying to say people were dumb a century ago, but they kind of were. Lots of people wouldn't even be able to write this now, so Conan Doyle deserves all the credits for that.
Moral of the story, I'm not giving it a star rating, but I did love it, I'm just not sure how much.
I loved the Sign of Four, because it really gives us some more information about Watson. Seeing him fall in love with Mary was so cuteee.
I hated the Hound of the Baskervilles, because it was gloomy and scary. If you think I will ever set foot on a moor again, you are sorely mistaken (for now).
Knowing I would have enjoyed it more had I not been obliged to read it also does not help in the slightest. Because I read so many of them so close together I really do not know if I enjoyed most of them or not.
What I do know is that Sherlock Holmes slayed all day. So did Watson. Reading about Holmes from his perspective was so interesting, because he looks at him differently than lots of other people. Figuring out the way that Sherlock thinks is not as impressive anymore in modern-day society, since we have so many tools to help us uncover crimes nowadays. But still, he's so yes. Imagine loving your work so much that you literally hope people will commit crimes, or you'll be bored out of your mind. Pop off, king. You do you.
Yet, realising that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this late 19th century is insane. How did he come up with all of this???? That's so impressive????? I'm not trying to say people were dumb a century ago, but they kind of were. Lots of people wouldn't even be able to write this now, so Conan Doyle deserves all the credits for that.
Moral of the story, I'm not giving it a star rating, but I did love it, I'm just not sure how much.
Enjoyable, but a bit long to get through. Stephen Fry is a very, very good narrator, and might be the only reason I pushed myself to get all the way through each part rather than listening to a story here and there in isolation and not getting through for a year or more. The problem with going through all these in a short time period is that you start to notice the patterns of plot, the similarities of names, and a few other recurring oddities. Still, it was overall enjoyable, and it's clear why the stories have lasted. One note: there is another volume of ACD Holmes stories that is nearly always left out of "complete" collections, probably because it tends towards the SF of Doyle's later years. It is also left out of this one.
A Study in Scarlet - Were it not for Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone, I might not have noticed that that Lucy fails the "sexy lamp" test. In SiB, she is replaced by a fancy donut wrapper, and the story works about as well. I also found myself yelling first a Lucy's father and later at Jefferson Hope. The father had a month and the only action he took was to send word to Jefferson? He didn't look for other help when he received no reply? Why was he just sitting there, waiting? Then Jefferson had a month in which he could have rescued Lucy before she pined to death, and, no, he just waited for her to die, then swore unending revenge ... which took 20 years?!? And even then, he had to play around with the villains before killing them. Kinda glad Lucy didn't get to marry this guy. The most compelling part is Holmes' deductions about the case.
The Sign of Four Listening to this right after Study in Scarlet, I couldn't help but notice that it was another tale of someone going to fairly ridiculous lengths for revenge, though this time the perpetrator was not intended to be particularly sympathetic. I'm not entirely sure what to make of the portrayal of people-of-color in this one. It was varied, but I always had the sense that they weren't quite being portrayed as people in the same sense as the white characters. The pygmy, in particular, is described in an extremely white-centric way (barbaric, cannibal, hideous). Additionally, the only character who seems to treat them as people is the villain of the piece, and I can't help but wonder if this was intended to make him less sympathetic to the original audience. Still interesting for the mystery itself, but ... more problematic than I remember from my first read.
A Scandal in Bohemia - Much better than the first two, and the first of the shorter stories in the collection. Irene Adler is probably the most reused side character after Moriarty in updates and later versions of the Holmes stories, and for good reason. I still find it odd that Watson was perfectly happy to throw a smoke bomb through a window for Holmes, without even asking why.
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League - One of the sillier ones, as it's fairly obvious that the so-called "League" is a dodge of some sort from the beginning, and there are only so many reasons for getting someone out of a building for specific hours each day. Still fun, though.
A Case of Identity - Disappointing ending (I think Holmes could have, for instance, made sure the young lady was present for the confession), but an interesting case otherwise.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery - One that illustrates Holmes' priorities are not always the same as those of the police would be.
The Five Orange Pips - Two thoughts. (1) All top results for a web search related to the KKK and orange pips are related to this story, so I have no idea if this was a messaging tactic they ever actually used (but suspect it was not); (2) This is another instance where more action on Holmes part.
The Man with the Twisted Lip - Amusing case of, shall we say, mistaken identity.
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Christmas hijinks, with a stolen gem hidden in a goose, and an overly detailed analysis of a hat.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band - Another that is shown up by the Warlock Holmes version, which asks the pertinent question:, and omits treating the Roma people as ominous harbingers of doom.
The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb - Deals that sound too good to be true usually are. I find it rather surprising that the Engineer didn't complain more about what the loss of his thumb, as it seems like he's in a business where not having both thumbs would be a significant disadvantage. I'm not sure if I remembered the trick with the carriage from earlier reading or not (as I don't specifically remember anything else about this one), but the solution to him finding himself so close to the station seemed fairly obvious to me.
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - Sometimes a bride has a good reason to run away.
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - Another where I'd figured out who the most likely culprit was, for the same reason Holmes did.
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches - See above, re: Deals that sound too good to be true usually are. Also, we finally have some female characters who are NOT named "Mary". Seriously, there have been at least 4, including Watson's wife.
End of Part 2 (weirdly, the linked pdf claims Copper Beeches is in Part 3)
Part 3
Silver Blaze Okay, this one is as enjoyable now as it was the first time I read it. There is a brief mention of the Roma people, but only as a red herring, and Homes immediately dismisses them as unlikely to be involved.
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box Okay, yet another "Mary", and yet another revenge-killing-over-a-woman. A few interesting points, but Warlock Holmes' "The Case of the Cardboard ... Case" was much more enjoyable.
The Adventure of the Yellow Face Finally one done by Warlock Holmes where the original can stand on its own (though the WH solution was certainly weirder and less expected).
The Adventure of the Stock-broker's Clerk Another on the theme of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott One that acknowledges that Sherlock's showing off can occasionally annoy and worry people, but with an interesting enough mystery at its heart.
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual Interesting, but the "ritual" is so obviously directions like those of a treasure map that I found it difficult to believe that its readers had not realized that simple fact (more believable would be that they'd lost track of some aspect of it, making it impossible to finish).
The Adventure of the Reigate Squire Bad luck to stage a crime when Sherlock is out in the country, settling his nerves. Of course, having a case to solve steadies his nerves more than a rest cure would...
The Adventure of the Crooked Man Odd vignette, where the mysterious death is not the real mystery.
The Adventure of the Resident Patient Another one where Holmes doing more could have prevented a death (though he seems rather self-satisfied about that in this case). I suspect this one is the primary inspiration for the Warlock Holmes tale featuring a box that is also a portal.
The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Another long-mysterious carriage ride into trouble (this time for a translator rather than an engineer). At least the translator got out of it with both thumbs...
The Adventure of the Naval Treaty One of the more interesting ones, solution-wise. Also contains a female character not named Mary.
The Final Problem Reichenbach Falls, here we come. Introduces Moriarty as Holmes' equal.
Another inconsistency in the pdf: it claims Hound of the Baskervilles starts in Part 3 and is concluded in Part 4, but the whole thing seems to actually be in Part 4.
Part 4
The Hound of the Baskervilles Of the longer pieces, I enjoyed this one the most this time around. Partly because the female characters are more interesting than in most (and neither is named Mary!), and partly because it reminded me of one of the Simon Feximal stories (a paranormal detective created by KJ Charles). Both feature a villainous collector, trying to claim something that does not belong to him, and a beast
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - Fascinating murder case.
The Adventure of the Dancing Men - Another "revenge over a woman" tale, but I do like the device of a cipher intended to pass as silly drawings rather than as a coded message.
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist - Attempted forced marriage, thwarted by Holmes. The female cyclist is one of the better female characters to appear in the stories thusfar.
The Adventure of the Priory School - Odd mix of things, with a possibly unintended message that one should not acknowledge one's bastard children. I also get the impression that Conan Doyle approves of the "entail" system, as it keeps property away from such bastard children. Interesting story and set of clues, at least.
Part 5
The Adventure of Black Peter - Overall enjoyable yarn about a corrupt seadog getting his comeuppance, complete with red herring, but I question the level of erudite discourse the captured murderer engaged in. A lot of incoherent yelling and attempting to escape would have been more believable.
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton - Ah, this one was done early on in the Warlock Holmes series, which made the engagement an accident and featured "the woman" as the murderer. My favorite moment in this one is Holmes' blithely telling Lestrade that the description of one of the people seen running from the crime was so vague it could even have been of Watson (It was of Watson).
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons - Enjoyable yarn where I remembered the twist (and it seems fairly obvious, all things considered).
The Adventure of the Three Students - This one I figured out because I remembered the Warlock Holmes tale that was based on it. Both versions are quite entertaining.
The Adventure of the Golden Pince Nez - One that I don't remember at all, but where I rather liked the way Holmes went about solving it.
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter - Missing football player. Probably the least interesting of this set, so far. I found myself wondering if it was inspired by Conan Doyle running into a footballer who rambled on about the sport at great speed.
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange Much better than the one above, though we have yet another female character named "Mary". There's a suggestion here that Conan Doyle was in favor of more equal divorce laws, which inspired me to research a bit. That was the case, but he was against women's suffrage (because, ahem, they would be influenced by their husbands; * sigh *).
The Adventure of the Second Stain Rather odd one, dependent on the utter naivete of a politician's wife. On the plus side, her name is Hilda (not Mary). The Warlock Holmes version was more entertaining, and introduced a second woman, impersonating Hilda, which helped.
The Valley of Fear, Part I Much better written than the earliest full length novels, with a satisfyingly circuitous solution (at least, to Part I). I saw it coming very shortly before Holmes announced it, which made me happy. I have no idea what Mrs. Douglass' first name was, other than not Mary, which is good.
Part 6
The Valley of Fear, Part IIAnd, well, YAWN. Tiresomely long tale of a violent "union" and its eventual downfall, at the hands of the person known as Douglass in part I. At least Moriarty gets a mention at the end.
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge - Feels a bit like passing the torch, as the featured inspector, Baines, only tangentially needs Holmes' help. There are some unfortunate racial references (a primitive savage who practice voodoo, a reference to a "yellow devil").
The Adventure of the Red Circle - It's starting to feel a bit formulaic. This is another with a sinister organization and people fighting boldly against it. Also another where the police only tangentially needed Holmes' help.
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans - Enjoyable spy caper, but I find I like the smaller mysteries better. Still, at least this one didn't involve yet another secret American organization.
The Adventure of the Dying Detective - The most interesting thing about this one is how many versions of Holmes have drawn on his behavior here and taken it as the default. The next most interesting bit was the lengths that Holmes would go to in order to catch someone.
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax - Odd and interesting one, and one of the few where I figured out part of the solution before Holmes did.
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot - Another good one, despite being a revenge tale. It doesn't feel like a copy of the others, and is notable shorter than they are. I had a strong suspicion about the second murder, but had not figured out the first before the reveal.
His Last Bow - Rather propagandist, but does the "fictional local hero pulls one over on the country's enemies" thing decently well.
A Study in Scarlet - Were it not for Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone, I might not have noticed that that Lucy fails the "sexy lamp" test. In SiB, she is replaced by a fancy donut wrapper, and the story works about as well. I also found myself yelling first a Lucy's father and later at Jefferson Hope. The father had a month and the only action he took was to send word to Jefferson? He didn't look for other help when he received no reply? Why was he just sitting there, waiting? Then Jefferson had a month in which he could have rescued Lucy before she pined to death, and, no, he just waited for her to die, then swore unending revenge ... which took 20 years?!? And even then, he had to play around with the villains before killing them. Kinda glad Lucy didn't get to marry this guy. The most compelling part is Holmes' deductions about the case.
The Sign of Four Listening to this right after Study in Scarlet, I couldn't help but notice that it was another tale of someone going to fairly ridiculous lengths for revenge, though this time the perpetrator was not intended to be particularly sympathetic. I'm not entirely sure what to make of the portrayal of people-of-color in this one. It was varied, but I always had the sense that they weren't quite being portrayed as people in the same sense as the white characters. The pygmy, in particular, is described in an extremely white-centric way (barbaric, cannibal, hideous). Additionally, the only character who seems to treat them as people is the villain of the piece, and I can't help but wonder if this was intended to make him less sympathetic to the original audience. Still interesting for the mystery itself, but ... more problematic than I remember from my first read.
A Scandal in Bohemia - Much better than the first two, and the first of the shorter stories in the collection. Irene Adler is probably the most reused side character after Moriarty in updates and later versions of the Holmes stories, and for good reason. I still find it odd that Watson was perfectly happy to throw a smoke bomb through a window for Holmes, without even asking why.
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League - One of the sillier ones, as it's fairly obvious that the so-called "League" is a dodge of some sort from the beginning, and there are only so many reasons for getting someone out of a building for specific hours each day. Still fun, though.
A Case of Identity - Disappointing ending (I think Holmes could have, for instance, made sure the young lady was present for the confession), but an interesting case otherwise.
The Boscombe Valley Mystery - One that illustrates Holmes' priorities are not always the same as those of the police would be.
The Five Orange Pips - Two thoughts. (1) All top results for a web search related to the KKK and orange pips are related to this story, so I have no idea if this was a messaging tactic they ever actually used (but suspect it was not); (2) This is another instance where more action on Holmes part
Spoiler
could have prevented a tragic result. Why not go with the fellow to protect him, or get him local police, or ... something? * sigh *The Man with the Twisted Lip - Amusing case of, shall we say, mistaken identity.
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Christmas hijinks, with a stolen gem hidden in a goose, and an overly detailed analysis of a hat.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band - Another that is shown up by the Warlock Holmes version, which asks the pertinent question:
Spoiler
Why didn't she just say, "Oi! A bloody great snake!" (in defense of the Conan Doyle version, it could be argued she was delirious from the snake bite, and not thinking clearly)The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb - Deals that sound too good to be true usually are. I find it rather surprising that the Engineer didn't complain more about what the loss of his thumb, as it seems like he's in a business where not having both thumbs would be a significant disadvantage. I'm not sure if I remembered the trick with the carriage from earlier reading or not (as I don't specifically remember anything else about this one), but the solution to him finding himself so close to the station seemed fairly obvious to me.
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - Sometimes a bride has a good reason to run away.
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - Another where I'd figured out who the most likely culprit was, for the same reason Holmes did.
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches - See above, re: Deals that sound too good to be true usually are. Also, we finally have some female characters who are NOT named "Mary". Seriously, there have been at least 4, including Watson's wife.
End of Part 2 (weirdly, the linked pdf claims Copper Beeches is in Part 3)
Part 3
Silver Blaze Okay, this one is as enjoyable now as it was the first time I read it. There is a brief mention of the Roma people, but only as a red herring, and Homes immediately dismisses them as unlikely to be involved.
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box Okay, yet another "Mary", and yet another revenge-killing-over-a-woman. A few interesting points, but Warlock Holmes' "The Case of the Cardboard ... Case" was much more enjoyable.
The Adventure of the Yellow Face Finally one done by Warlock Holmes where the original can stand on its own (though the WH solution was certainly weirder and less expected).
The Adventure of the Stock-broker's Clerk Another on the theme of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott One that acknowledges that Sherlock's showing off can occasionally annoy and worry people, but with an interesting enough mystery at its heart.
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual Interesting, but the "ritual" is so obviously directions like those of a treasure map that I found it difficult to believe that its readers had not realized that simple fact (more believable would be that they'd lost track of some aspect of it, making it impossible to finish).
The Adventure of the Reigate Squire Bad luck to stage a crime when Sherlock is out in the country, settling his nerves. Of course, having a case to solve steadies his nerves more than a rest cure would...
The Adventure of the Crooked Man Odd vignette, where the mysterious death is not the real mystery.
The Adventure of the Resident Patient Another one where Holmes doing more could have prevented a death (though he seems rather self-satisfied about that in this case). I suspect this one is the primary inspiration for the Warlock Holmes tale featuring a box that is also a portal.
The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Another long-mysterious carriage ride into trouble (this time for a translator rather than an engineer). At least the translator got out of it with both thumbs...
The Adventure of the Naval Treaty One of the more interesting ones, solution-wise. Also contains a female character not named Mary.
The Final Problem Reichenbach Falls, here we come. Introduces Moriarty as Holmes' equal.
Another inconsistency in the pdf: it claims Hound of the Baskervilles starts in Part 3 and is concluded in Part 4, but the whole thing seems to actually be in Part 4.
Part 4
The Hound of the Baskervilles Of the longer pieces, I enjoyed this one the most this time around. Partly because the female characters are more interesting than in most (and neither is named Mary!), and partly because it reminded me of one of the Simon Feximal stories (a paranormal detective created by KJ Charles). Both feature a villainous
Spoiler
butterflySpoiler
or swarm of beastsThe Adventure of the Empty House - Another where Watson is disbelievably agreeable. Holmes dead and missing for some unspecified amount of time, and he just turns up with no warning? Despite that, I think the writing is better on this one than on most of the early ones. And I'm curious if an air-powered long-range rifle is really feasible.The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - Fascinating
Spoiler
fakedThe Adventure of the Dancing Men - Another "revenge over a woman" tale, but I do like the device of a cipher intended to pass as silly drawings rather than as a coded message.
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist - Attempted forced marriage, thwarted by Holmes. The female cyclist is one of the better female characters to appear in the stories thusfar.
The Adventure of the Priory School - Odd mix of things, with a possibly unintended message that one should not acknowledge one's bastard children. I also get the impression that Conan Doyle approves of the "entail" system, as it keeps property away from such bastard children. Interesting story and set of clues, at least.
Part 5
The Adventure of Black Peter - Overall enjoyable yarn about a corrupt seadog getting his comeuppance, complete with red herring, but I question the level of erudite discourse the captured murderer engaged in. A lot of incoherent yelling and attempting to escape would have been more believable.
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton - Ah, this one was done early on in the Warlock Holmes series, which made the engagement an accident and featured "the woman" as the murderer. My favorite moment in this one is Holmes' blithely telling Lestrade that the description of one of the people seen running from the crime was so vague it could even have been of Watson (It was of Watson).
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons - Enjoyable yarn where I remembered the twist (and it seems fairly obvious, all things considered).
The Adventure of the Three Students - This one I figured out because I remembered the Warlock Holmes tale that was based on it. Both versions are quite entertaining.
The Adventure of the Golden Pince Nez - One that I don't remember at all, but where I rather liked the way Holmes went about solving it.
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter - Missing football player
Spoiler
not actually missingThe Adventure of the Abbey Grange Much better than the one above, though we have yet another female character named "Mary". There's a suggestion here that Conan Doyle was in favor of more equal divorce laws, which inspired me to research a bit. That was the case, but he was against women's suffrage (because, ahem, they would be influenced by their husbands; * sigh *).
The Adventure of the Second Stain Rather odd one, dependent on the utter naivete of a politician's wife. On the plus side, her name is Hilda (not Mary). The Warlock Holmes version was more entertaining, and introduced a second woman, impersonating Hilda, which helped.
The Valley of Fear, Part I Much better written than the earliest full length novels, with a satisfyingly circuitous solution (at least, to Part I). I saw it coming very shortly before Holmes announced it, which made me happy. I have no idea what Mrs. Douglass' first name was, other than not Mary, which is good.
Part 6
The Valley of Fear, Part IIAnd, well, YAWN. Tiresomely long tale of a violent "union" and its eventual downfall, at the hands of the person known as Douglass in part I. At least Moriarty gets a mention at the end.
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge - Feels a bit like passing the torch, as the featured inspector, Baines, only tangentially needs Holmes' help. There are some unfortunate racial references (a primitive savage who practice voodoo
Spoiler
At least he's a red herringThe Adventure of the Red Circle - It's starting to feel a bit formulaic. This is another with a sinister organization and people fighting boldly against it. Also another where the police only tangentially needed Holmes' help.
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans - Enjoyable spy caper, but I find I like the smaller mysteries better. Still, at least this one didn't involve yet another secret American organization.
The Adventure of the Dying Detective - The most interesting thing about this one is how many versions of Holmes have drawn on his behavior here
Spoiler
while feigning a serious illnessThe Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax - Odd and interesting one, and one of the few where I figured out part of the solution before Holmes did.
Spoiler
Hiding a body in a coffin (or place) known to already contain a body. I don't know how often this has been used in murder stories, but it shows up in Dexter at least.The Adventure of the Devil's Foot - Another good one, despite being a revenge tale. It doesn't feel like a copy of the others, and is notable shorter than they are. I had a strong suspicion about the second murder, but had not figured out the first before the reveal.
His Last Bow - Rather propagandist, but does the "fictional local hero pulls one over on the country's enemies" thing decently well.
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
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Not much can be said about the timelessness of Sherlock Holmes and his adventures, other than its easy to understand his popularity throughout history. One thing is certain: It's going to take a while to get over Stephen Fry's impeccable narration.
Only took me three and a half years but, it was worth it, definitely enjoyed this collection, especially all those of Sherlock Holmes.
Well it took me nearly 3 1/2 years to listen to this audio collection. In 2020, just as I was beginning to admit that perhaps COVID would be around longer than my initial hopes. I settled in to listen to Sherlock Holmes and work on a jigsaw puzzle. It takes me right back to when my dad used to read to us from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.