Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
I just spent the last three weeks reading the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle relating to his famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Three. Weeks. It occurred to me that non-readers or not-very-fast readers may feel as I did when they read a regular novel… am I ever going to be finished with this book? But it was definitely worth the three weeks of my time to have read the 4 novels and 56 short stories contained within. In fact, it made me kind of sad to finish the last story… to know that there is no more of the original tales of Sherlock and Dr. Watson out there for me to read.
It was so refreshing to be back in my element of classic literature, not worrying about coming across f-bombs and other forms of vulgarity in the pages. The writing is witty and smart, the characters fascinating, and the stories engaging. They make you think. Toward the end of the 56 short stories, I must admit that the beginnings of the stories all seemed the same, but I suppose that must be forgiven, since some of them at least were originally released as part of a regular magazine publication, and were in need of supplying a slight background for the new reader. Overall, I would characterize the stories as creatively brilliant.
I must admit, I love all things Sherlock Holmes, and it’s surprising to me that I hadn’t read more of the original stories before now. I think I remember reading a short story or two in middle school, but other than that, I had read none of these original works. My husband and I enjoy watching deductive reasoning shows. We watched and enjoyed both recent Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. We loved the first two seasons of the BBC series “Sherlock” and are anxiously awaiting the third series. I must admit, as I was reading the book, the actors from this series were who I pictured most, even though we’ve also began watching the newest spin on the Sherlock stories, the CBS series “Elementary” (Also good – I love Watson as a woman).
As usual, however, the old standby of the book being better than the movie still applies. Nothing engages the mind quite like a book, and this one (or ones, as it’s a compilation) is definitely mind-engaging and well worth the read. 5 of 5 stars.
It was so refreshing to be back in my element of classic literature, not worrying about coming across f-bombs and other forms of vulgarity in the pages. The writing is witty and smart, the characters fascinating, and the stories engaging. They make you think. Toward the end of the 56 short stories, I must admit that the beginnings of the stories all seemed the same, but I suppose that must be forgiven, since some of them at least were originally released as part of a regular magazine publication, and were in need of supplying a slight background for the new reader. Overall, I would characterize the stories as creatively brilliant.
I must admit, I love all things Sherlock Holmes, and it’s surprising to me that I hadn’t read more of the original stories before now. I think I remember reading a short story or two in middle school, but other than that, I had read none of these original works. My husband and I enjoy watching deductive reasoning shows. We watched and enjoyed both recent Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. We loved the first two seasons of the BBC series “Sherlock” and are anxiously awaiting the third series. I must admit, as I was reading the book, the actors from this series were who I pictured most, even though we’ve also began watching the newest spin on the Sherlock stories, the CBS series “Elementary” (Also good – I love Watson as a woman).
As usual, however, the old standby of the book being better than the movie still applies. Nothing engages the mind quite like a book, and this one (or ones, as it’s a compilation) is definitely mind-engaging and well worth the read. 5 of 5 stars.
Some of the novels drag, but the short stories are always on point.
Oh, what a treasure trove these two volumes are for the avid fan of Sherlock Holmes, his faithful chronicler Dr. Watson, and their intrepid advocate Sir Artur Conan Doyle. An astonishing work of erudite intensity, and absolutely the cornerstone of any serious Holmes fans library, as it most certainly is of mine.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
Only have read pieces/parts....going for the whole ball of wax!
So far...
A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of Four
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (all 12 stories)
Reading other things in between!
So far...
A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of Four
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (all 12 stories)
Reading other things in between!
La obra de Conan Doyle sin dudas es maravillosa, por lo que mi reseña va a estar dirigida a esta edición en particular llamada “coleccion completa”. Recomiendo leer las novelas y los relatos por separado, no creo que sea la mejor forma de lectura ni la más llevadera leerla de forma completa, en mi caso me termino pareciendo tremendamente tedioso, pese a disfrutar las obras cada una por su cuenta.
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Complicated
An old favorite! Fun to have on hand to be able to read in small chunks. ACD is truly the unparallelled small mystery author. I love how eccentric and kind Sherlock is. My favorite novel is still The Hound of the Baskervilles. Some notes: ACD's language is really rough with regards to racism/colonialism. These were written at the height of Britain's colonial empire in India, so the colonialism/racism in stories that deal with those themes is to such an extent that it is hard to read them (The Sign of Four is particularly difficult). It is worth reading, in my opinion, for the good historical tension of seeing how ACD was actually ahead of his time in some ways (racial equality in particular) even though his language is appalling by our standards now. It's also worth reading because those attitudes were real and reading them helps us understand that better. All in all, I enjoy the stories and appreciate them as an accurate window into a historical time/place—but I would be thoughtful about who I would recommend them to, and I wouldn't recommend them without discussing these things.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Colonisation
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
I really enjoyed listening to the Sherlock Holmes collection. Stephen Fry did an amazing job narrating and having different, distinct voices for each character. Would recommend.