The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

RJ - Slayer of Trolls

Rating: really liked it
A dozen short stories starring Sherlock Holmes, including:
- A Scandal in Bohemia - 4/5 - introducing Irene Adler, a fitting counterpart for Holmes
- The Red Headed League - 4/5 - Holmes beats criminals like a...dirty mattress
- A Case of Identity - 2/5 - a bit below average for a Holmes story
- The Boscombe Valley Mystery - 4/5 - Holmes attempts to clear an accused murderer
- The Five Orange Pips - 3/5 - didn't work as well as some of the others
- The Man with the Twisted Lip - 4/5 - best in the collection so far with interesting and unusual plot twists
- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - 4/5 - for those who like a little something extra in their holiday bird
- The Speckled Band - 4/5 - why does it always have to be (view spoiler)[snakes? (hide spoiler)]
- The Adventure of The Engineer Thumb - 3/5 - too much of the story is told by the client and there's not a lot for Holmes to do
- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - 3/5 - started off with some promise but fizzles at the end
- The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - 4/5 - one of the better stories with lots of detecting work for Holmes
- The Adventure of the Copper Beeches - 4/5 - intriguing setup and pieces come together at the end

Jinsy Yoo

Rating: really liked it
Jinsy Yoo
This is the review of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This book tells 12 stories selected by readers and writers in the Sherlock Holmes series. Almost every story is about a murder. I think the most interesting story is "THE SPECKLED BAND". This is about finding out the main character's sister's death.
I think the major theme of this book is ‘being observe' because even small things always need to be observed to help solve the case. "‘You see, but you don't observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you know how many steps which lead up from the hall to this room…I know that because I have both seen and observed.'"(Conan-Doyle 5) In this quote, you can see Holmes observing things all the time, even though they are not about big events.
This book is very familiar to readers because it is also made into many movies and dramas. So quite a few people know the contents. Reading a famous book such as this book is good because we can understand them more easily if we know the contents and read them. But on the other hand, some people find reading books boring because they know the contents already. I think the famous book Sherlock Homes have both these positive, and negative things. So I suggest to the readers to choose the ways. The ways are accepted or block prior information according to one's way of reading.
On the whole, I like this book and I want to recommend others to read this. This book is interesting and good for showing not only the merits of a detective novel but also the story of Sherlock Holmes from Watson's point of view. There are some difficult words which you never heard about it, but the contents are very fresh, not flat. It is also a book that is still popular even though it has been a long time since it was first published.
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York and London: DOVER THRIFT EDITIONS, 2009. eBook.

Kevin

Rating: really liked it
I tried to read Holmes stories when I was in elementary school and found them insufferably boring. I recently picked this up from Project Gutenberg and found the first few highly entertaining - no doubt because I couldn't separate literary Holmes from Cumberbatch's Holmes, and hearing his voice over the stories was highly entertaining. By the fifth or sixth one, however, I came to realize that none were going to turn into rollicking high-octane adventure, nor be as complex as I had expected them to be.

Still, one or two stories per lunch break and then next thing I knew I was through with the book and at least moderately entertained the whole time, so I can't really knock it. I can definitely see how they were at the time of their writing something intense and engaging and new.

James

Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars

There's something about the beginning of Fall that just calls for some Sherlock Holmes stories. Some of these are better than others, but they all have that cozy classic feeling. I had to laugh when the world's greatest detective resorted to phrenology at one point, but hey, that was the age!

Lea Berryreadinbooks

Rating: really liked it
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact,” he answered laughing.

Sherlock Holmes is the author that put Arthur Conan Doyle on the map. But, I found it interesting that Doyle, like other authors, was often wishing that people would pay attention to his more serious works. Yet the populace loved Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and I did too! They are the perfect short stories!

I relished how the striking facts “slowly evolved before your own eyes and the mystery cleared gradually away as each new discovery furnished a step which led onto the complete truth.” Ahhh, the complete truth to be found through reason and attention to detail! The joy of seeing a puzzle come together and placing that last piece in. Each short story gives that same satisfaction.

Arthur Conan Doyle brought Holmes out (1900-1920s) in a period where a revolt against rationality was just starting. People were beginning to toss aside the realism of the earlier age and starting to embrace spiritualism, and unique religious experience. Sherlock Holmes stories are filled with logic and for the audience of the early 20th century it had a bit of a nostalgic effect. It also brought slight anchoring and reassurance that reality could still rely on reason even when the evidence might suggest otherwise. Believe it or not Doyle eventually embraced seances, necromancy, and other spiritualism that became so popular in this time.

Sherlock Holmes allows us an escape back to firmer ground just as it offered the post-Victorians an escape back. From our perspective, real life doesn’t allow every puzzle piece to fit. Our innate desire to see order rise out of chaos is too infrequently realized, at least on this earth. So, we get a gratifying little taste of this order, when Holmes gets his man. Perhaps that morsel of satisfaction can bait us to seek answers to the real questions of life. The mysteries that matter most.

I adore this book, and will definitely read it again.

Leslie

Rating: really liked it
Includes:
- A Scandal in Bohemia
- The Red-Headed League
- A Case of Identity
- The Boscombe Valley Mystery
- The Five Orange Pips
- The Man with the Twisted Lip
- The Blue Carbuncle
- The Speckled Band
- The Engineer's Thumb
- The Noble Bachelor
- The Beryl Coronet
- The Copper Beeches

Most of these have predictable villains, although the particular details Sherlock identifies are not so obvious. Nonetheless, they are great fun.

Karen

Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars actually. I thoroughly enjoy Holmes and Watson, and I am glad I read this collection of stories, but I must admit, to me, nothing will compare with the Hound of the Baskervilles.

Nancy

Rating: really liked it
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is most undoubtedly the most amazing compilation of mystery stories ever! Each story is so profound and original that one can never guess what is about to happen or even fathom what the ending will be like. As there are about 12 different stories in this one book, it is hard to go through each individual story and give a summary.
Therefore, the general point of all the stories combined is that there is, in most cases, an individual who is seeking help in figuring out their own mysterious story and they have gone to Sherlock Holmes to have him figure it out. Throughout each story they have to go through obstacles to try and figure out the culprit(s) behind the strange event. Always in the end, minus a rare story every now and again, the suspect is found out and the case settled and closed.
I have always loved reading detective stories because you normally can never guess what is going to happen or who exactly the one behind the scene is. This compilation really is remarkable and amazing to read because you have story after story that you can read and therefore does not make you want to put the book down! An absolute amazing detective book to read especially if you are in the mood for mystery and intrigue or just plain love the type of stories that have you on the edge as you read.
If you are the type of person that really enjoys figuring out puzzles our seeing through traps or mysteries, then you will most assuredly enjoy this book. So yes I do recommend it highly but if you're not into mysteries then this book might not interest you as much as it did me.

Alicia C

Rating: really liked it
An amazing book that will inspire you to look at the little things to see the bigger picture. i learned a few things too. i was blown away at how sherlock holmes noticed things that normal people dont usually notice, and how he deduced and solved the mystery through those little things. it was however disappointing that not enough clues were left so that the reader could figure out the mystery themselves.

Lucien

Rating: really liked it
Extraordinarily bromantic. My rating mostly derives from its suitability for practicing (what I imagine to be) snooty 1800's British male accents. Great material for a bayesian lucky halfing divination wizard.

Sarah

Rating: really liked it
Finished listening to the Stephen Fry audio book in 2017 after reading the book a few years earlier. An enjoyable listen and some of the stories are great, others less so. Would read again! A great collection of short stories.

Jo Ellen

Rating: really liked it
I've always loved Sherlock Holmes stories. Great to go back and read them again.

Shae Cornelius

Rating: really liked it
I insist on finishing every book I start, but this was my breaking point. I don’t think it’s objectively bad, but I think the Sherlock trope ruined it for me. The formulaic way he solves mysteries quickly grew tired, and the mysteries themselves didn’t jazz me. Would have been better if Sherlock and Watson kissed. I am however trying to deduce things from looking at peoples shoes now, so that’s something I guess.

Kendra

Rating: really liked it
I have never read any mystery, other than the hardy boys and nancy drew. Sherlock Holmes however, goes above and beyond those books. I really enjoyed almost all of the stories. The orange pips, red head, and copper beeches ones were my favorites. If you haven't read too many classics, like myself, it takes a bit to get into. However once you get into them you often forget the stories were written over 100 years ago. The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because not every story was interesting.

Diliara Nasirova

Rating: really liked it
The first time I read this book was in 2000 (when I was a teenager) and believe that it taught me the fundamentals of analytical reasoning and logical deduction.

I have recently reread the twelve adventures. What was the most interesting this time was to compare the technology that was used in 1890s to nowadays technology.

I would advice it to everyone with no exception. Everyone can learn/find something useful for themselves. It is timeless. It has to be on the "must read" list.