Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

10 reviews

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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? No

3.5

I think that Sherlock Holmes' adventures are much better suited in the short story format, but I am glad that there were the two novels to establish the characters first (though there was some changes as the characters developed). I would have liked to have more stories where Sherlock and Watson are roommates, rather than having Watson immediately marry Mary. There were a few like this, but I wish there were more. My favorite of the collection was the one I had already read beforehand: The Speckled Band.

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kloughlin's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No

4.0

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blueberry_bean's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ayushk21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense 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

4.0

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ambb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

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chalkletters's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

After getting angry at period-typical misogyny and racism in the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, Nickie suggested that I might find the short stories to be more palatable, so I was curious to find out whether that would be true for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Though I’ve read (or listened to) all twelve stories before, it’s been a long time, so my tastes might definitely have matured out of them.

There was only one instance, in A Case of Identity, in which I felt that Arthur Conan Doyle really mistreated one of his female characters: Holmes works out exactly how his client, Miss Sutherland, was manipulated and deceived but declares that she won’t believe him if he tells her, so just leaves her to get on with her unhappy life! Clearly, it’s the solving of the puzzle that matters to Sherlock (and Dr Watson), and not the actual result of his actions. That would be okay, except that I increasingly feel as though the same is true of Arthur Conan Doyle, and what’s forgivable in a flawed character is less so in a real person.

For the most part, the beginnings of the stories were a little tediously repetitive: Watson notes that Sherlock solves cases for the nobility, but says that these are sometimes less interesting and shows off Sherlock’s skills less well than whichever case he’s introducing. There’s nothing wrong with a formula that works, I suppose, but I might recommend not reading these stories back to back to back.

The problems and their solutions are clever, and anyone reading these for the first time would likely be carried along by that alone. (Except in the case of The Five Orange Pips, which is sadly incredibly obvious to a modern reader. I can only assume that the Klu Klux Klan was less familiar to British readers in 1892 than it would be today.) Remembering the endings of ten out of twelve stories definitely put me in a position to notice more of the flaws!

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novelyon's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative 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? No

5.0

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

3.5

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

4.0

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literalottie's review

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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

4.0

These short stories were surprisingly fun! I don't have a whole lot to say about them - except that this collection worked better for me when I read the stories one-at-a-time rather than trying to binge through them all at once. I think that might be because there's a certain formula to them, but they're enjoyable and it's always fun to see how the many little details come together in the end of each one. Holmes is, of course, an iconic character, and given how many times he's been reimagined throughout the past century it's nice to see what the "original" is like (more eccentric than I was expecting!). I can definitely see myself coming back to the rest of the Holmes canon to see what else it has to offer.

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