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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
Sherlock keeps repeating that explaining his methodology will remove any mystic of his ability. And that was the most shocking thing while finally reading about his adventures. He's just using all the things that I expect from modern police investigators.
From the contemporary stories, I though Sherlock was just a genius, who used his intelligence for solving crimes. But "A Study in Scarlet" introduces him just a pretty smart guy who has worked hard to be as good as he is. As a side effect, he also lacks a lot of knowledge in areas that aren't crime-related. Even in the later stories, others have learned from Holmes and aren't bumbling idiots anymore. They only seem to be missing practice.
I liked the short stories a lot more than the novels. They were straight to the point. Mystery -> Investigations -> Conclusion. They were nicely bite-sized and always interesting in story and also character side. They never felt like repeating the same story over and over again.
With novels "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Valley of Fear", it seemed that the detective stuff was only half the story. The other half was background information, what was given after the mystery was solved. Scarlet's Utah part was specially tedious, and I was afraid that I will dislike most of the stories. As that was the first story in the set. I was expecting from Holmes adventures stories about "how" (investigations and as a bonuses Sherlock being smug and clever), not "why" (murder happened because here's the murderer's life story).
Luckily, "The Valley of Fear" backstory was about gangsters in America, so it was itself a lot more interesting. And the ending was also excellent. Even if it still felt like two separate stories that didn't need to be connected.
"The Sign of Four" didn't have a long backstory at the end, but the adventure itself didn't catch me as well as others.
The only one that was full five stars worth, was the most famous one: "The Hound of the Baskervilles". I had a strong and exciting mystery. A lot of chuckle worthy moments, as I was to that point used to about Holmes adventures.
Overall, it was an excellent listen. It's not surprising how famous these stories are, and they still seem to hold up. Except the colonialism and other problematic parts.
But we don't read Sherlock Holmes because of those things, but for the witty detective and his investigation adventures.
From the contemporary stories, I though Sherlock was just a genius, who used his intelligence for solving crimes. But "A Study in Scarlet" introduces him just a pretty smart guy who has worked hard to be as good as he is. As a side effect, he also lacks a lot of knowledge in areas that aren't crime-related. Even in the later stories, others have learned from Holmes and aren't bumbling idiots anymore. They only seem to be missing practice.
I liked the short stories a lot more than the novels. They were straight to the point. Mystery -> Investigations -> Conclusion. They were nicely bite-sized and always interesting in story and also character side. They never felt like repeating the same story over and over again.
With novels "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Valley of Fear", it seemed that the detective stuff was only half the story. The other half was background information, what was given after the mystery was solved. Scarlet's Utah part was specially tedious, and I was afraid that I will dislike most of the stories. As that was the first story in the set. I was expecting from Holmes adventures stories about "how" (investigations and as a bonuses Sherlock being smug and clever), not "why" (murder happened because here's the murderer's life story).
Luckily, "The Valley of Fear" backstory was about gangsters in America, so it was itself a lot more interesting. And the ending was also excellent. Even if it still felt like two separate stories that didn't need to be connected.
"The Sign of Four" didn't have a long backstory at the end, but the adventure itself didn't catch me as well as others.
The only one that was full five stars worth, was the most famous one: "The Hound of the Baskervilles". I had a strong and exciting mystery. A lot of chuckle worthy moments, as I was to that point used to about Holmes adventures.
Overall, it was an excellent listen. It's not surprising how famous these stories are, and they still seem to hold up. Except the colonialism and other problematic parts.
But we don't read Sherlock Holmes because of those things, but for the witty detective and his investigation adventures.
Had to return to the library. I read all of “A Study in Scarlet” and what a treat it was! I hope to return to these stories soon.
It took me over nine months to complete the Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle. I purchased the audiobook through my Audible subscription. Stephen Fry narrates the 72-hour-long audiobook with eloquence.
The Sherlock Holmes collection primarily consists of short stories, so I developed a habit of listening to a story after completing an audiobook. This provided a delightful break between audiobooks. Surprisingly, it became a palate cleanser before I started my next audiobook. It also helped me feel less overwhelmed by a book that spans 72 hours.
I thoroughly enjoyed each detective story and cherished my time spent with Holmes and Watson. The mysteries were captivating, and the characters were entertaining. Stephen Fry’s narration was exceptional. I particularly enjoyed his personal introductions at the beginning of each title.
Before embarking on the Sherlock Holmes collection, I had listened to the podcast, The Real Sherlock by Lucinda Hawksley, on Audible. This podcast provided valuable insights into Doyle and the creation of the renowned character, which was beneficial before reading the collection. You can read my review of that podcast here. (See below for link to my blog.)
While there are various collections of Doyle’s masterful writing available, I am highly satisfied with this audiobook, which is exclusively available through Audible. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet read Doyle’s magnificent stories.
I’m concluding my review with an interview with Stephen Fry, where he expresses his deep love for Sherlock Holmes. (See link below.)
I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
<a href="https://abookandadog.com/blog/sherlock-holmes-the-definitive-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Book And A Dog</a>
The Sherlock Holmes collection primarily consists of short stories, so I developed a habit of listening to a story after completing an audiobook. This provided a delightful break between audiobooks. Surprisingly, it became a palate cleanser before I started my next audiobook. It also helped me feel less overwhelmed by a book that spans 72 hours.
I thoroughly enjoyed each detective story and cherished my time spent with Holmes and Watson. The mysteries were captivating, and the characters were entertaining. Stephen Fry’s narration was exceptional. I particularly enjoyed his personal introductions at the beginning of each title.
Before embarking on the Sherlock Holmes collection, I had listened to the podcast, The Real Sherlock by Lucinda Hawksley, on Audible. This podcast provided valuable insights into Doyle and the creation of the renowned character, which was beneficial before reading the collection. You can read my review of that podcast here. (See below for link to my blog.)
While there are various collections of Doyle’s masterful writing available, I am highly satisfied with this audiobook, which is exclusively available through Audible. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet read Doyle’s magnificent stories.
I’m concluding my review with an interview with Stephen Fry, where he expresses his deep love for Sherlock Holmes. (See link below.)
I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
<a href="https://abookandadog.com/blog/sherlock-holmes-the-definitive-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Book And A Dog</a>
Now that I have completed The Complete Sherlock Holmes, I have fallen in love with the Neurotic sleuth all over again! I read a few of the stories when I was around 8 and it certainly jumpstarted my imagination for crime fiction. I continued my love for Sherlock by watching tv shows, my favourite being The hound of the Baskervilles - I watched this as a teen and it was the Hammer Horror version that featured the great Peter Cushing.
Sir Arthurs writing in style is flawless and I consider him to be one of the greats. The way in which he wrote Sherlock always fascinated me - the way Sherlock's brain seemed to travel at 100 mph and pick up minute details that everyone around him, Watson included would miss completely. The stories really did come alive for me.
Sir Arthurs writing in style is flawless and I consider him to be one of the greats. The way in which he wrote Sherlock always fascinated me - the way Sherlock's brain seemed to travel at 100 mph and pick up minute details that everyone around him, Watson included would miss completely. The stories really did come alive for me.
Such a lovely collection of books, superbly narrated by the legendary Stephen Fry. It is a classic set of books, Sherlock Holmes has been interpreted into several series and movies, and listening to the original books is something that I would recommend everyone does
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation
Minor: Racial slurs
These content warnings vary throughout the collection due to the time period. These content warnings appear the most in The Sign of the Four.
What a fabulous audio collection, of all the Sherlock Holmes stories. From stories I have read many times to ones (especially in the later years) that I experienced for the first time - it was wonderful. Plus, having Stephen Fry narrate was an absolute treat.
I loved going back and re-reading all of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories (and then some). While it took me longer than I wanted to to get through this book, I did thoroughly enjoy it.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have always had this on my to be read list and finally got to read it. Wow, what a great book. Loved getting to know Holmes and Watson better. Better than I thought it would be. One of those that you can read and re-read.