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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I'm listening to [b:Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection|34429916|Sherlock Holmes The Definitive Audio Collection|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488293263s/34429916.jpg|55535767] narrated by Stephen Fry and this is the sixth book in the collection.
Part 4 - Chapter 10 to 21
Part 5 - Chapter 1 -2
The Adventure of the Empty House: Chapter 11
5 stars
Epic return!
I could only imagine how happy Sherlock Holmes fans were with this story 12 years after his 'death'. I was excited and only had to wait a week (while [b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355929358s/8921.jpg|3311984] was published after Holmes' death the story took place way before [b:The Adventure of the Final Problem|4702372|The Adventure of the Final Problem (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, #11)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1264837462s/4702372.jpg|4766695]) and it was a stressful week. :D
I loved his reasoning and I LOVED Watson's reaction to him being back and I just really loved everything about it. One of the best!
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: Chapter 12
5 stars
This collection already feels far superior to the earlier collections. I loved the earlier collections so this makes me very excited.
I really enjoyed this adventure.
Will Lestrade ever learn though? I thought after The Adventure of the Empty House: he was going to stop questioning and challenging Holmes but this proved me wrong. I honestly think that everyone who questions him so openly or annoys him be stating how easy it to come to these conclusions once he explains them (I'm looking at you my dear Watson) deserves his ridicule because shouldn't we all just know by now?
The Adventure of the Dancing Men: Chapter 13
5 stars
Well that just made me sad.
I loved the use of ciphers in this story and I'm actually kind of shocked that this was the first real case with them. It was a complicated business listening to Holmes explain them via audio and would probably me better suited to reading so this is definitely one of the stories I plan to reread in the future. I got a good idea though and it again really shows off Holmes' analytical mind.
I found the conclusion to be a little bit flat but I think I was still bummed out be the tragic events that proceeded it so I'll stick with 5 stars. The hopelessness of it put me in mind of [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519031842s/102868.jpg|1997473] which is still one of my favourite Holmes tales even though it frightfully depressing.
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist: Chapter 14
3 stars
This is actually a tale that could have done with being shorter in my opinion. I liked the overall feel to it but it did drag out.
Holmes absolutely set Watson up in this adventure. He sent him off to investigate and we all know he was never going to do it right. Holmes' smack down had me stitches. He is hilarious.
“Your hiding-place, my dear Watson, was very faulty. You should have been behind the hedge; then you would have had a close view of this interesting person. As it is you were some hundreds of yards away, and can tell me even less than Miss Smith. She thinks she does not know the man; I am convinced she does. Why, otherwise, should he be so desperately anxious that she should not get so near him as to see his features? You describe him as bending over the handle-bar. Concealment again, you see. You really have done remarkably badly. He returns to the house and you want to find out who he is. You come to a London house-agent!”
“What should I have done?” I cried, with some heat.
“Gone to the nearest public-house. That is the centre of country gossip. They would have told you every name, from the master to the scullery-maid. Williamson! It conveys nothing to my mind. If he is an elderly man he is not this active cyclist who sprints away from that athletic young lady’s pursuit. What have we gained by your expedition? The knowledge that the girl’s story is true. I never doubted it. That there is a connection between the cyclist and the Hall. I never doubted that either. That the Hall is tenanted by Williamson. Who’s the better for that? Well, well, my dear sir, don’t look so depressed. We can do little more until next Saturday, and in the meantime I may make one or two inquiries myself.”
And you won't catch me feeling sorry for Watson because he is forever going on about how simple a thing is after Holmes explains. If things are so simple he should be able to conduct a proper investigation by now. :D
Also, how creepy were all the men in this story?
The Adventure of the Priory School: Chapter 15
4 stars
I liked this one even though it was a bit convoluted at times.
I especially enjoyed the reaming out of it that Holmes gave the Duke. The way Holmes doesn't bow down to the upper echelon is one of my favourite things about him. In fact I think the higher they are the more likely he will be rude to them. Of course it must be noted that the higher these people are on a social standing the ruder they seem to be to begin with and he does so enjoy bringing people like that down a peg or six.
The Adventure of Black Peter: Chapter 16
3 stars
This one left me a little cold but Hopkins was pleasant enough and he had a great way of revering Holmes. He did get side tracked there for a bit but he got told off and I'm sure he would never do such a thing again.
“Oh, yes, my dear Watson, I am perfectly satisfied. At the same time Stanley Hopkins’s methods do not commend themselves to me. I am disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him. One should always look for a possible alternative and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation.”
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton: Chapter 17
5 stars
What an absolutely odious little man. Seeing both Holmes and Watson's moral grey area was wonderful and I'd love to see more.
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons: Chapter 18
4 stars
For some reason this is one of the stories I know the best. I know it was featured in the TV show Sherlock which I've seen a million times but so are many other adventures so I've no idea why this one is so clear. I think maybe I just found the reasoning particularly clever.
The Adventure of the Three Students: Chapter 19
2 stars
Not a favourite to be honest. It felt a bit silly truth be told.
The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez: Chapter 20
3 stars
Another odious little man involved in this adventure but one that didn't get punished. That annoyed me. Hopkins makes another appearance which was nice as I like him.
I will say that I'm noticing Holmes to be an awful lot more aggressive in this collection especially in these later stories. I'm left wondering if Doyle went this route in a passive aggressive stance to the general public who insisted he bring Holmes back or if it's that transition from him identifying with Holmes and seeing himself more like Watson. Either way it's fascinating and I hope I can continue to remember the Holmes from the earlier works as I found him much more interesting and much easier to forgive his back handed compliments and general superiority.
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter: Chapter 21
4 stars
Jesus!!
I had to put my sunglasses on at the end of this one while there was no sun out because I was having a proper cry. Very bleak. Very bleak indeed.
How did it get so dark so quickly? I'm very upset!! :(
Poor, poor, poor Godfrey!
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: Chapter 1
5 stars
I'm pretty sure my love of morally grey Holmes and Watson says something bad about me but I really like these ones.
"There was a scandal about his drenching a dog with petroleum and setting it on fire—her ladyship’s dog."
I felt little to no sympathy for our victim after reading this so I was delighted to see Holmes acting like a decent human being.
The Adventure of the Second Stain: Chapter 2
4 stars
This is one of the more well known and celebrated stories and it was very good but not my favourite. I personally much preferred The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.
_____________________________________
I did enjoy this collection but as mentioned above I find Holmes to be an awful lot more aggressive and self important in these later collections. It makes sense I suppose since I'm sure Arthur Conan Doyle felt like he had no choice but to bring Holmes back but I suspect that these are the stories that give Holmes the reputation as being 'superior'.
The lack of explanation about Mary is puzzling as well.
Part 4 - Chapter 10 to 21
Part 5 - Chapter 1 -2
The Adventure of the Empty House: Chapter 11
5 stars
Epic return!
I could only imagine how happy Sherlock Holmes fans were with this story 12 years after his 'death'. I was excited and only had to wait a week (while [b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355929358s/8921.jpg|3311984] was published after Holmes' death the story took place way before [b:The Adventure of the Final Problem|4702372|The Adventure of the Final Problem (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, #11)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1264837462s/4702372.jpg|4766695]) and it was a stressful week. :D
I loved his reasoning and I LOVED Watson's reaction to him being back and I just really loved everything about it. One of the best!
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: Chapter 12
5 stars
This collection already feels far superior to the earlier collections. I loved the earlier collections so this makes me very excited.
I really enjoyed this adventure.
Will Lestrade ever learn though? I thought after The Adventure of the Empty House: he was going to stop questioning and challenging Holmes but this proved me wrong. I honestly think that everyone who questions him so openly or annoys him be stating how easy it to come to these conclusions once he explains them (I'm looking at you my dear Watson) deserves his ridicule because shouldn't we all just know by now?
The Adventure of the Dancing Men: Chapter 13
5 stars
Well that just made me sad.
I loved the use of ciphers in this story and I'm actually kind of shocked that this was the first real case with them. It was a complicated business listening to Holmes explain them via audio and would probably me better suited to reading so this is definitely one of the stories I plan to reread in the future. I got a good idea though and it again really shows off Holmes' analytical mind.
I found the conclusion to be a little bit flat but I think I was still bummed out be the tragic events that proceeded it so I'll stick with 5 stars. The hopelessness of it put me in mind of [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519031842s/102868.jpg|1997473] which is still one of my favourite Holmes tales even though it frightfully depressing.
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist: Chapter 14
3 stars
This is actually a tale that could have done with being shorter in my opinion. I liked the overall feel to it but it did drag out.
Holmes absolutely set Watson up in this adventure. He sent him off to investigate and we all know he was never going to do it right. Holmes' smack down had me stitches. He is hilarious.
“Your hiding-place, my dear Watson, was very faulty. You should have been behind the hedge; then you would have had a close view of this interesting person. As it is you were some hundreds of yards away, and can tell me even less than Miss Smith. She thinks she does not know the man; I am convinced she does. Why, otherwise, should he be so desperately anxious that she should not get so near him as to see his features? You describe him as bending over the handle-bar. Concealment again, you see. You really have done remarkably badly. He returns to the house and you want to find out who he is. You come to a London house-agent!”
“What should I have done?” I cried, with some heat.
“Gone to the nearest public-house. That is the centre of country gossip. They would have told you every name, from the master to the scullery-maid. Williamson! It conveys nothing to my mind. If he is an elderly man he is not this active cyclist who sprints away from that athletic young lady’s pursuit. What have we gained by your expedition? The knowledge that the girl’s story is true. I never doubted it. That there is a connection between the cyclist and the Hall. I never doubted that either. That the Hall is tenanted by Williamson. Who’s the better for that? Well, well, my dear sir, don’t look so depressed. We can do little more until next Saturday, and in the meantime I may make one or two inquiries myself.”
And you won't catch me feeling sorry for Watson because he is forever going on about how simple a thing is after Holmes explains. If things are so simple he should be able to conduct a proper investigation by now. :D
Also, how creepy were all the men in this story?
The Adventure of the Priory School: Chapter 15
4 stars
I liked this one even though it was a bit convoluted at times.
I especially enjoyed the reaming out of it that Holmes gave the Duke. The way Holmes doesn't bow down to the upper echelon is one of my favourite things about him. In fact I think the higher they are the more likely he will be rude to them. Of course it must be noted that the higher these people are on a social standing the ruder they seem to be to begin with and he does so enjoy bringing people like that down a peg or six.
The Adventure of Black Peter: Chapter 16
3 stars
This one left me a little cold but Hopkins was pleasant enough and he had a great way of revering Holmes. He did get side tracked there for a bit but he got told off and I'm sure he would never do such a thing again.
“Oh, yes, my dear Watson, I am perfectly satisfied. At the same time Stanley Hopkins’s methods do not commend themselves to me. I am disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him. One should always look for a possible alternative and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation.”
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton: Chapter 17
5 stars
What an absolutely odious little man. Seeing both Holmes and Watson's moral grey area was wonderful and I'd love to see more.
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons: Chapter 18
4 stars
For some reason this is one of the stories I know the best. I know it was featured in the TV show Sherlock which I've seen a million times but so are many other adventures so I've no idea why this one is so clear. I think maybe I just found the reasoning particularly clever.
The Adventure of the Three Students: Chapter 19
2 stars
Not a favourite to be honest. It felt a bit silly truth be told.
The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez: Chapter 20
3 stars
Another odious little man involved in this adventure but one that didn't get punished. That annoyed me. Hopkins makes another appearance which was nice as I like him.
I will say that I'm noticing Holmes to be an awful lot more aggressive in this collection especially in these later stories. I'm left wondering if Doyle went this route in a passive aggressive stance to the general public who insisted he bring Holmes back or if it's that transition from him identifying with Holmes and seeing himself more like Watson. Either way it's fascinating and I hope I can continue to remember the Holmes from the earlier works as I found him much more interesting and much easier to forgive his back handed compliments and general superiority.
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter: Chapter 21
4 stars
Jesus!!
I had to put my sunglasses on at the end of this one while there was no sun out because I was having a proper cry. Very bleak. Very bleak indeed.
How did it get so dark so quickly? I'm very upset!! :(
Poor, poor, poor Godfrey!
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: Chapter 1
5 stars
I'm pretty sure my love of morally grey Holmes and Watson says something bad about me but I really like these ones.
"There was a scandal about his drenching a dog with petroleum and setting it on fire—her ladyship’s dog."
I felt little to no sympathy for our victim after reading this so I was delighted to see Holmes acting like a decent human being.
The Adventure of the Second Stain: Chapter 2
4 stars
This is one of the more well known and celebrated stories and it was very good but not my favourite. I personally much preferred The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.
_____________________________________
I did enjoy this collection but as mentioned above I find Holmes to be an awful lot more aggressive and self important in these later collections. It makes sense I suppose since I'm sure Arthur Conan Doyle felt like he had no choice but to bring Holmes back but I suspect that these are the stories that give Holmes the reputation as being 'superior'.
The lack of explanation about Mary is puzzling as well.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
I call this one “Conan Doyle Wanted to Stop Writing About Sherlock Holmes But People Wouldn’t Let Him”
The Adventure of The Empty House ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Norwood Builder ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Dancing Men ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Solitary Cyclist ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Priory School ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Charles Augustus Milverton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Six Napoleons ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Three Students ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Golden Pince-Nez ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Missing Three-Quarter ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Abbey Grange ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Second Stain ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Empty House ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Norwood Builder ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Dancing Men ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Solitary Cyclist ⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Priory School ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Charles Augustus Milverton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Six Napoleons ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Three Students ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Golden Pince-Nez ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Missing Three-Quarter ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Abbey Grange ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Adventure of The Second Stain ⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So many monologues! It's actually really hard to keep up with who is talking to whom and where everyone is. There are incredibly long dialogue passages. And I'm kind of shocked at how, once the mystery is solved, the story just stops.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
Sherlock Holmes is back in Baker Street with more mysteries and just as enthralling as ever
This collection of short stories has delightful and complex story-lines, Arthur Conan Doyle has a easy to follow writing style, enabling the reader to understand where the story may be leading, and how close the ending will follow. The characters are vibrant, at times descriptions seem re-used for different antagonists, but nonetheless they are interesting characters, more so the men then the females, who seem all to be, with the occasional exception, ideal creatures; this is usually the case of literature dated in this period and is therefore forgivable. These set of stories, as well as the other Sherlock Holmes books, are a must. It is a different culture, seen through the eyes of a man who experienced that world, almost as good as using a time machine.
I enjoyed this for two main reasons. It is Sherlock Holmes, and I read it to my son. It was so much fun to read these stories aloud to my son with different character voices. Hearing him laugh at my terrible British accent was a joy.
When it comes to the book itself it was ok. Most of these short stories were predictable and seemed a bit drawn out. I did really enjoy The Adventure of the Empty House. This was of course the first story in this collection and it shed light on the events that happened in the previous book.
Overall I was not overly impressed with this one and it is my least favorite Holmes collection so far.
When it comes to the book itself it was ok. Most of these short stories were predictable and seemed a bit drawn out. I did really enjoy The Adventure of the Empty House. This was of course the first story in this collection and it shed light on the events that happened in the previous book.
Overall I was not overly impressed with this one and it is my least favorite Holmes collection so far.