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ineffable_bowtie's review against another edition
5.0
Playing Sherlock in the background while reading a Sherlock novel.
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thenovelbook's review against another edition
1.0
Clever deductions, and the first half is not unlike most other Holmes and Watson stories, would be an interesting little story on its own. Second half (the back-story) is just miserable violence and really sad. Mildly interesting because this is the only other story besides The Final Problem in which Moriarty makes an appearance, albeit "off-screen." But I won't be revisiting this one.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
Dual-purpose Sherlock Holmes reread, as I 1) wanted to try out the e-reader on my new iPhone (it hurts my eyes), and 2) desperately needed some classic Holmes and Watson back-and-forth (*wink wink, nudge nudge*) after being thrown into a tizzy by the fantastically ridiculous new film. I always thought of The Valley of Fear as “the other one with Moriarty in it,” though upon reread I am sad to discover/recall that he really isn’t in it at all, which is a pity. Still, the first half of this is quite fun, with a lot of good classic investigation and interaction, and Holmes and Watson having to share a hotel room. Delightful!
The second half is...largely pointless, giving us backstory that we didn’t need and a lot of stuff about Freemasons. In a way its rather reminiscent of the second half of [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615J4WVK9PL._SL75_.jpg|1997473], which gives one backstory one doesn’t need and a lot of stuff about Mormons. Doyle was a weird writer. With Valley of Fear, you really get the sense that he wished he didn’t have to be writing Sherlock Holmes anymore—which is factually true. (I don’t know what his excuse was for Study in Scarlet, as that was the first Holmes story he wrote!)
Still, for me, Doyle’s Holmes and Watson are like pizza and sex for George Carlin—even when they’re bad, they’re pretty good.
The second half is...largely pointless, giving us backstory that we didn’t need and a lot of stuff about Freemasons. In a way its rather reminiscent of the second half of [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615J4WVK9PL._SL75_.jpg|1997473], which gives one backstory one doesn’t need and a lot of stuff about Mormons. Doyle was a weird writer. With Valley of Fear, you really get the sense that he wished he didn’t have to be writing Sherlock Holmes anymore—which is factually true. (I don’t know what his excuse was for Study in Scarlet, as that was the first Holmes story he wrote!)
Still, for me, Doyle’s Holmes and Watson are like pizza and sex for George Carlin—even when they’re bad, they’re pretty good.
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
It is written in style of ‘A Study in Scarlet’ – in two parts with first focused on Holmes solving case and second on history of parties involved in crime. The first part is of course more interesting. There is a problem around involvement of Moriarty – since Watson now knows about him but according to ‘The Final Solution’ he shouldn’t have heard about him till much later. A very elementary mistake!
Now I wouldn’t have written this review, if it wasn’t to raise doubt – somebody please tell me, did Doyle knew that people are going to question the platonicity(?) of relationship between the doctor and the detective? I mean just look at this conversation:
It was late that night when Holmes returned from his solitary excursion. We slept in a double-bedded room, which was the best that the little country inn could do for us. I was already asleep
when I was partly awakened by his entrance.
"Well, Holmes," I murmured, "have you found anything out?"
He stood beside me in silence, his candle in his hand. Then the tall, lean figure inclined towards me. "I say, Watson," he whispered, "would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?"
"Not in the least," I answered in astonishment.
"Ah, that's lucky," he said, and not another word would he utter that night.
Now I wouldn’t have written this review, if it wasn’t to raise doubt – somebody please tell me, did Doyle knew that people are going to question the platonicity(?) of relationship between the doctor and the detective? I mean just look at this conversation:
It was late that night when Holmes returned from his solitary excursion. We slept in a double-bedded room, which was the best that the little country inn could do for us. I was already asleep
when I was partly awakened by his entrance.
"Well, Holmes," I murmured, "have you found anything out?"
He stood beside me in silence, his candle in his hand. Then the tall, lean figure inclined towards me. "I say, Watson," he whispered, "would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?"
"Not in the least," I answered in astonishment.
"Ah, that's lucky," he said, and not another word would he utter that night.
horchata's review against another edition
WHAT A BANGER. They had us in the second half, ngl, but YEAH BUDDY. I love when Doyle’s like taking us on a horrifying journey through the annals of America. Doyle ending this on Sherlock beginning to plan how he would fake his own death??? Whew!! Cannot believe my journey through the series is almost over.