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fleabook's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
tessakris's review against another edition
3.0
Halloween season read #6. 3 1/2 stars. I was really into and excited about this at first. But then it became drudging work to keep reading it. First of all, this wasn't available on my Kindle, so I had to read it on my phone which I really don't like. It starts with the Tales of Terror and then goes into the Tales of Mystery and I enjoyed the Tales of Terror much more. This is what I said about those: "I'm done with the tales of terror! Super fun. Some of the stories definitely have overlapping features. The terror of Blue John Gap basically felt like a combo of The horror of the heights and The new catacomb. The case of Lady Sannox was definitely my least favorite. I think my favorite was The new catacomb." I didn't particularly like any of the Tales of Mystery, but that might have been because I lost interest. This definitely had some sexist elements being from 100 years ago.
Recommendation from a Spanish student, Elie
Recommendation from a Spanish student, Elie
_lilbey_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5 probably... I likely rounded down in my head bc the last story was not one that I particularly enjoyed. And the "stories of terror" seem really tame compared to current things. However, Doyle was, as usual, entertaining, and to my amusement, despite his proclaimed fatigue of Sherlock Holmes, he was clearly included in one of these stories.
debyik's review against another edition
3.0
Not a huge fan of short stories, but this collection had a couple of really good ones. Once you get past the first story, there are 4 or 5 pretty good tales with some good spooky vibes. Great for a spooky story each night before bed.
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
I might be missing out on good stories in here, but the first one was incredibly boring, and I didn't find anything that grabbed my interest by flipping through a few more.
trisha76's review against another edition
2.0
Het boek was niet wat ik had verwacht.
Het was niet spannend en ik vond het onsamenhangend. Daarnaast vond ik het saai.
Dit maakte dat ik niet veel behoefte had om het te luisteren, maar heb het toch maar geprobeerd in de hoop dat het nog anders zou zijn. Maar voor mij helaas.
Het was niet spannend en ik vond het onsamenhangend. Daarnaast vond ik het saai.
Dit maakte dat ik niet veel behoefte had om het te luisteren, maar heb het toch maar geprobeerd in de hoop dat het nog anders zou zijn. Maar voor mij helaas.
doitsushine92's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
The most average collection of stories I have ever read. I did not rate any story in here above a 3.5. Some stories had some promise, but then the ending would either drop the ball, or yet another woman would be brutalized, or shown to not be able to think for herself.
The following are each story in this collection, a brief summary, and my individual ratings.
Tales of Terror
The Horror of the Heights (1913) - A journal owned by a missing aviator is discovered in a field. It chronicles his journey into breaking the record for highest flight, but also his quest into exploring “air jungles” where he believes monsters lurk. 3 Stars
The Leather Funnel (1902) - A man visits his friend in Paris. This friend is a collector of all things antique and odd. The man asks for the story behind a leather funnel that leads him into the credibility of dreams. 3.5 Stars
The New Catacomb (1898) - An Englishman and a German are both archeologists, as well as friends, in Rome. The German man discovers a catacomb that is incredibly significant, but is reluctant to share it with his colleague until the Englishman tells him about his relationship with a certain woman. 3.5 Stars
The Case of Lady Sannox (1893) - A woman, Lady Sannox, very openly cheats on her husband, Lord Sannox, with a well known surgeon. 1 Star
The Terror of Blue John Gap (1910) - A man suffering from tuberculosis moves to the countryside for the fresh air. Here he hears rumors of a great beast living deep in the depths of the mine, Blue John Gap. 3 Stars
The Brazilian Cat (1898) - A man who comes from a wealthy family, but has blown his inheritance, visits a cousin he has never met in hopes of receiving financial aid. This cousin has imported a whole menagerie of animals from Brazil, including a rare Brazilian cat. 3.5 Stars
Average: 2.92 Stars
Tales of Mystery
The Lost Special (1898) - A man arranges a train to take just him to his destination as he is in an urgent hurry. However, the train never makes it to the final stop as it, the man, and the crew have seemingly disappeared into thin air. 3 Stars
The Beetle-Hunter (1898) - A medical student with an interest in insects sees an ad in the paper asking for a strong man who’s medically trained and has a knowledge of beetles. Feeling that this ad was written for him he heads to the location, is immediately hired, and follows this Lord to a location for reasons unknown. 3 Stars
The Man with the Watches (1898) - A train pulls into its destination, and the crew realizes that the first class cabin door is open. Inside they discover the body of a young man who was apparently shot. Three others are also missing. 2 Stars
The Japanned Box (1899) - A man takes a japanned box wherever he goes. At night his servants hear a woman’s voice coming from the room he keeps the box in. Rumors spread, and some think he has gone back to his old ways, while other believe something more ghostly is afoot. 3 Stars
The Black Doctor (1898) - A doctor is murdered in his home after he breaks off his engagement to his fiancée. The fiancée’s brother is the only suspect until someone comes forward with a statement that changes the direction of the entire trial. 3.5 Stars
The Jew’s Breastplate (1899) - A man who just recently became the director of a museum receives an anonymous letter warning him that a burglary will occur soon in the museum. 3.5 Stars
The Nightmare Room (1921) - A man is aware of the plot his wife has to poision him so she can be with his friend. 3.5 Stars
Average: 3.1 Stars
Overall Average: 3 Stars
As you can see the Tales of Mystery came out a bit better than the Tales of Terror, which is to be expected of someone who writes so many crime stories. However, I actually found some of the Mystery stories to feel more horror-esque than the Terror ones.
Will I read more Arthur Conan Doyle ? Nah. After this stint of short story books I think I'm good on bland and mediocre writing for awhile.
The following are each story in this collection, a brief summary, and my individual ratings.
Tales of Terror
The Horror of the Heights (1913) - A journal owned by a missing aviator is discovered in a field. It chronicles his journey into breaking the record for highest flight, but also his quest into exploring “air jungles” where he believes monsters lurk. 3 Stars
The Leather Funnel (1902) - A man visits his friend in Paris. This friend is a collector of all things antique and odd. The man asks for the story behind a leather funnel that leads him into the credibility of dreams. 3.5 Stars
The New Catacomb (1898) - An Englishman and a German are both archeologists, as well as friends, in Rome. The German man discovers a catacomb that is incredibly significant, but is reluctant to share it with his colleague until the Englishman tells him about his relationship with a certain woman. 3.5 Stars
The Case of Lady Sannox (1893) - A woman, Lady Sannox, very openly cheats on her husband, Lord Sannox, with a well known surgeon. 1 Star
The Terror of Blue John Gap (1910) - A man suffering from tuberculosis moves to the countryside for the fresh air. Here he hears rumors of a great beast living deep in the depths of the mine, Blue John Gap. 3 Stars
The Brazilian Cat (1898) - A man who comes from a wealthy family, but has blown his inheritance, visits a cousin he has never met in hopes of receiving financial aid. This cousin has imported a whole menagerie of animals from Brazil, including a rare Brazilian cat. 3.5 Stars
Average: 2.92 Stars
Tales of Mystery
The Lost Special (1898) - A man arranges a train to take just him to his destination as he is in an urgent hurry. However, the train never makes it to the final stop as it, the man, and the crew have seemingly disappeared into thin air. 3 Stars
The Beetle-Hunter (1898) - A medical student with an interest in insects sees an ad in the paper asking for a strong man who’s medically trained and has a knowledge of beetles. Feeling that this ad was written for him he heads to the location, is immediately hired, and follows this Lord to a location for reasons unknown. 3 Stars
The Man with the Watches (1898) - A train pulls into its destination, and the crew realizes that the first class cabin door is open. Inside they discover the body of a young man who was apparently shot. Three others are also missing. 2 Stars
The Japanned Box (1899) - A man takes a japanned box wherever he goes. At night his servants hear a woman’s voice coming from the room he keeps the box in. Rumors spread, and some think he has gone back to his old ways, while other believe something more ghostly is afoot. 3 Stars
The Black Doctor (1898) - A doctor is murdered in his home after he breaks off his engagement to his fiancée. The fiancée’s brother is the only suspect until someone comes forward with a statement that changes the direction of the entire trial. 3.5 Stars
The Jew’s Breastplate (1899) - A man who just recently became the director of a museum receives an anonymous letter warning him that a burglary will occur soon in the museum. 3.5 Stars
The Nightmare Room (1921) - A man is aware of the plot his wife has to poision him so she can be with his friend. 3.5 Stars
Average: 3.1 Stars
Overall Average: 3 Stars
As you can see the Tales of Mystery came out a bit better than the Tales of Terror, which is to be expected of someone who writes so many crime stories. However, I actually found some of the Mystery stories to feel more horror-esque than the Terror ones.
Will I read more Arthur Conan Doyle ? Nah. After this stint of short story books I think I'm good on bland and mediocre writing for awhile.
shirezu's review against another edition
3.0
This was an ok collection of short stories. The endings were pretty obvious in the majority. The terror stories weren't exactly scary but maybe they were back then. The mystery stories felt like Sherlock Holmes lite, Conan Doyle's way of writing mysteries without having to include Holmes.
I prefer his actual Holmes stories, at least this was fairly short and free thanks to Project Gutenberg.
I prefer his actual Holmes stories, at least this was fairly short and free thanks to Project Gutenberg.