A thick book! But I don't remember reading a thousand pages at all.
The pages kept turning on their own accord and not for a moment I thought that its lengthy..

The stories are refreshing and continuously kept me surprising. Just when I thought that now I know Mr. Holmes, there he was proving me wrong with another splendid quality of his! I really felt like Dr. Watson, like a child in a class watching a veteran and trying to learn.

It is really good that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle didn't stop these stories with The Final Problem, and credit also goes to his readers who persuaded him to bring back Mr. Holmes..

Truly a classic.

Quite interesting to have read this volume (I will of course shortly read the second). Plenty of observations to be had:

1) Arthur Conan Doyle most understood the art of the melodrama. Were it not for the presence and activities of Sherlock Holmes, this would have been the chief impression of his material.

2) He was often impressed with the reaction of his readers in what he wrote next. His emphasis on “novel ideas” was his way of justifying his work.

3) It was increasingly difficult to come up with new ideas. This is probably the real reason he kept trying to retire Holmes. And even then he kept returning to essentially the same ideas.

4) He didn’t really understand what made Holmes special, at first. He thought gimmicks such as Holmes having studied famous crimes or relying on disguises were relevant to his most famous talent of simple observation.

5) Holmes and his adventures were a criticism of the relatively recent invention of an official police force. Holmes frequently condescends to his professional colleagues, who are never once presented as a match to his abilities.

6) It’s also evident that dogs as a common element of households was a relatively recent development. In the next volume is the most famous Holmes story, which of course revolves around them.

7) Holmes in character is much like Hugh Laurie in the TV series House (probably quite intentionally) or Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, a genius not only without peer but also a basic disposition that makes it all the harder to find one.

8) Doyle is not much of a writer, in the final analysis. He often ends his melodramas with confessions easily obtained. Unless British society was very different in its composition of human psychology at that time, or Doyle was lazy. Probably the latter.

9) Holmes works against the law as often as he does with it. A curiosity.

10) His greatest ability is seeing the apparently counterintuitive truth hidden by surface elements that easily blind others. This is the chief lesson to be taken from his character, and the one most often ignored.

11) It is very likely that had Holmes not been created in the cusp of the age of film, he would be forgotten, aside from the fact that the British seem determined to make national heroes of all its bestselling authors.

12) Doyle wrote all this because he could never make a significant success of his other works, and that’s the other reason why he brought him back, though as far as this volume is concerned he never did solve the problem of why he wanted to stop in the first place.

13) You can see where he came up with ideas and names he later wanted to revisit. “Pycroft” very swiftly gives way to “Mycroft,” for example. He didn’t plan anything in advance.

14) The famous Professor Moriarty, at least in the pages of “The Final Problem,” is easily Doyle’s thinnest material, which Doyle himself attempts to settle with a similar character (with a far less memorable name) soon after bringing Holmes back.

15) When he tries to be vague, Doyle proves how little he thinks his readers are capable of reasoning things out for themselves. The last story in the volume, for instance, “The Adventure of the Second Stain,” contains such obvious clues of historic placement that if the details were real they would instantly make a liar of Watson.

16) The guy who wrote the forward would probably not make much of a detective. He can’t understand why Watson would appear differently fresh from his imperial adventures to a later point in his life much separated from them.

Growing up with books, I used to read my father's collection of medical and legal thrillers when I was ten, and then he bought me the Harry Potter series, and I realized that I could fall in love with books after all. Though J.K Rowling may be the author that introduced me to that possibility, it was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's timeless creation Sherlock Holmes who won my heart when I was twelve and his grip hasn't let up since.

The Sherlock Holmes stories were the source of modern crime-solving adaptations that we now experience in television, and Doyle's tales of mystery and adventure were often audacious, insightful and clever. The real draw of his stories is the process of crime detection ("deductive reasoning") that Doyle allows the readers to understand, experience and apply themselves alongside Watson as Holmes investigates the cases.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes volumes 1 and 2 by Bantam publishing co. had never changed its price from the first time I bought it back in 2003 until the present. They're affordable and therefore anyone who is interested in the Great Detective will have an easy access. With the modern adaptations of Holmes lately (from the Guy Ritchie films to BBC's Sherlock), a new reader may be surprised to find out that Doyle's stories are more self-contained as opposed to the James-Bond tone and setting of the modern interpretations mentioned (in fact, the American adaptation Elementary is a lot more faithful to the original structure of the narrative). Nevertheless, the Doyle canon (composed of 56 short stories classified into the Adventures, Memoirs, Return, His Last Bow and Casebook; and four novels) are more engrossing and intimate to read as Watson's accounts manages to illuminate Holmes' methods as well as humanize the often callous, razor-sharp and unfeeling sleuth.

Volume 1 encompasses The Adventures, The Memoirs and the novels A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. A Scarlet in Scarlet has an unusual structure; the first part was the formulaic detective exposition with the introduction of the characters, the presentation of the crime, and the roster of suspects. The second part was entirely a flashback that reveals the history of the criminal himself which is quite a perplexing plot device and Doyle had definitely experimented the first time around but has since learned to contain his cases with more creative restraint. The Sign of Four, my personal favorite, was about as close as to romance as a Holmes story could get, possibly because of Watson's relationship with his wife-to-be Mary Morstan and the struggles she faced pertaining to her heirloom. The next set of short stories, Adventures and Memoirs, are each composed of twelve cases and some of them are most unforgettable because of the blend of absurdity and horror (such as the Musgrave Ritual, Five Orange Pips, Red-Headed league and Speckled Band). The Final Problem marks the death of Sherlock Holmes which the public vehemently protested so Doyle was forced to revive his sleuth and hence the second volume of the canon.

Volume 2 contains the ever-popular The Hound of Baskervilles and the chilling novel A Valley of Fear. The short stories are divided into The Return, The Casebook and His Last Bow. My favorites include The Problem of Thor Bridge, Devil's Foot, The Dying Detective, The Illustrious Client, and His Last Bow. Holmes himself got to write his own accounts of the cases in The Blanched Solider and The Lion's Mane (which are both odd tales and here it is revealed once and for all that Watson's narrative voice is a lot more beguiling than Holmes' dry and scientific approach of storytelling). It is worth noting that when Holmes returned from the grave, Doyle has completely added more ambiguous layers to his personality and characterization which is why the second volume is the most enjoyable for its gray shades of morality and scope of justice and punishment.

It has been ages since I read this collection and I plan to pick it up again soon. For instant gratification, the Granada series starring Jeremy Brett is the closest adaptation to the original source material. You may want to check that out once you've finished or while you are reading Doyle.

RECOMMENDED: 10/10
* Doyle revitalized detective fiction and wrote a character he did not like himself but whose very existence still captures the imagination and hearts of many readers across generations.

It took me 5 months to finish the book. I want it to last longer. My favorite stories are the Scandal in Bohemia and the Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton. It was a good read and worth my time.

be gay solve crime

Woof, this took me a long time, but I did it! I don't know if my review will feel completely fair. Sherlock Holmes definitely has a charm, but the charm fades a bit when you've been reading almost 1000 pages over a month. The stories can feel repetitive and tedious after a while. But there's still a spark at the center that makes it fun to read.

Sherlock Holmes starts with Watson. Watson is an ex-army doctor living in London. Because of financial issues, he ends up rooming with Sherlock Holmes. After a little bit, he discovers that Sherlock Holmes is an almost wizard-like detective. He uses logical inference to come to fantastic, and fantastically accurate, conclusions. For example, by looking at a person he can figure out their job, how they arrived at his apartment, and their habits. He does this by observing minute details about people, like the tread of their shoes, the calluses on their hands, or the lines on their face. He uses these observational skills to solve crimes, and he ends up being better at solving crimes than the police (who often come to Holmes for advice).

This volume contains several Sherlock Holmes stories. First, there are two novellas: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. Then there are three volumes of short stories - totaling over thirty short stories. The stories are included mostly in the order they were published (mostly because I believe The Hound of the Baskervilles was published before some of the last short stories). As such, you see a slight progression in overall plot.

The mysteries are often fun to puzzle over. Each story usually presents a case (not always a crime) with confusing elements. At first, it seems impossible to solve. But Holmes (and sometimes the police) are able to dig up some details that start to make the case take some form. Often, though, there is still not enough information for the reader to completely solve the mystery. Finally, Holmes gives a flourish and reveals the details of the crime. It can be a fun and surprising journey, if somewhat formulaic.

The formula is part of what makes the stories enjoyable, but part of what saps your enjoyment when you read thirty of them. It's just the same thing again and again. It gets dull. It's worse because there is often very little outside the cases in each story. There is no strong development of the characters of Holmes or Watson, nor of their friendship. Much like a sitcom, it often feels like each story starts from the exact same place. I suppose it's just a serial, which some enjoy, but I feel tired of in this case.

The writing is rather thick and difficult to connect to. It's logical but doesn't really flow or always keep you engaged. I found it a rather difficult read. My mind would wander in between the stages of the investigation when there is mostly just description.

On the whole, I enjoyed pieces of the book, but I didn't love it or enjoy all of it. So that's where three stars are coming from. One complaint that I've noticed in several books: the introduction. I have yet to read a book where the introduction should actually serve as an introduction. Almost all of them should be at the end of the book! They talk about the details of what happens in the book! This one talks about the whole progression of the viewing of the character of Watson, and defends the fictional character of Watson against his critics. But we haven't yet read a page of Watson! What is the point of this dumb introduction?! This is not the only book with this problem, I just have refrained from complaining about it in previous reviews because I'm not sure the best time to criticize the odd appendages attached to classic books.

Anyway, Sherlock Holmes can be an engaging read. I wouldn't really recommend reading the entire collection of Holmes stories without a break, though.

A Study in Scarlet - 3/5

Part 1

This is a very good introduction to our main character and his constant companion, Dr. Watson. I'm quite familiar with some of the scenes and the other stories' titles due to the BBC's adapted version. When I first attempted reading this book, I had no problem sailing through part one. It was quite an enjoyable read.

Part 2 (a.k.a. Misadventures of the Murderer and the Menacing Mormons)

I've attempted reading the whole collection a few times before and I always struggle when I reach this section. This part always held me back and made me stop reading the book. Due to being accustomed with Stephen King's writing style recently, I am now more conditioned to read this seemingly unrelated passage of text. It's just that it looks like a misprint of a different book at the beginning. But after reading, it made me empathize more with our culprit as now I understand his motivations.

The Sign of Four - 2.5/5

This marks the appearance of Mary Morstan, the one who caught John Watson's heart. Really enjoyed the first part because of the familiarity of the characters and the case of the Agra treasure. To be honest, I skipped reading half of Jonathan Small's recollection of his story in the end. I just skimmed and looked at the parts where he was actually conversing with Sherlock and co. I'm more interested in the main characters and the murders anyway. Learning the motivation of the murders is cool but in this story and in The Study in Scarlet, the explanations were a bit long and quite boring.


n  THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMESn

I might have found my favorite style of stories in these collection. It's the one where a client is placed into an enigmatic situation and can't make heads or tails on what really happened.

A Scandal in Bohemia - 3.5/5

It was John the last story, and now it is Sherlock's turn to meet his match–the cunning Irene Adler. I had fun with this, same with both the BBC and the Jeremy Brett adaptations of this particular story.

The Red-Headed League - 5/5

Pleasantly surprised with this one. I haven't watched any adaptations of this yet so I went in blind. This is a good story.

A Case of Identity - 2.5/5

I don't remember reading this before but the story was so familiar. I feel a little weird about the plot twist but I kind of expected it so…

The Boscombe Valley Mystery - 3/5

This story begs the question, 'Is everything really as simple as it is?' It's a good murder mystery based on a circumstantial evidence.

The Five Orange Pips - 1.5/5

Didn't really have a mystery especially when it was hinted that the case was related to K.K.K.

The Man with the Twisted Lip - 3/5

Is it me or is there really a little foreshadowing of the twist in the start? Quite an interesting and sad mystery.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - 3/5

Is this story as close as it gets to being the one with the Christmas setting? One thing's guaranteed though. 'Peace was never an option.' the goose hjönked.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band - 2.5/5

The title was intriguing. And I thought the cheetah was going to be the culprit.

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb - 2.5/5

Sherlock has been bested again by the culprit(s)! The story's not really mysterious.

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - 2/5

Not really a thought-provoking mystery. Holmes has solved the case without even meeting his client.

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - 3/5

Good ol' whodunnit-like mystery, only it involves not a murdered person, but a highly-valued item.

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches - 5/5

Captured my full interest due to the eccentricity of Mr. Rucastle's requests.


n  THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMESn

Silver Blaze - 4/5

I love horseback riding but I don't know a thing about horse races and bets. I liked the mystery in this one obviously due to the involvement of a horse.

The Yellow Face - 4/5

Good story and not marred by narrow-mindedness of the times this story was published. Reading the title and reading the reveal sounded like the story was going to be a disaster and I'm glad it wasn't.

The Stock-Broker's Clerk - 3/5

All I can say is that the criminals' plan was creatively stupid.

The "Gloria Scott" - 2/5

The mysterious note was engaging. Also a little amazed by the reveal. The rest of the story, I don't care as much, especially when the detectives are on the passive side of the story. Fun to witness the origins of the Great Sherlock Holmes.

The Musgrave Ritual - 5/5

I thought it was going to be boring when I learned what 'Musgrave' means. Then I was quite thrilled with the riddle especially since I guessed correctly on what its real purpose is. One part of the story also reminded me of The Cask of Amontillado. If you know, you know.

The Reigate Puzzle - 2.5/5

I'm half-correct on the murderer. Also saw through Sherlock's act when the inspector was about to reveal the paper. A little bit of graphology was also thrown in the mix.

The Crooked Man - 4/5

It's a locked-room mystery with a seemingly obvious murderer. But there's always more than meets the eye. Quite enjoyed this one, especially with karma working its powers. One more thing is that I don't actually get what they were referencing in the end with David since I don't read the bible anymore.

The Resident Patient - 3/5

The start showed that Sherlock was wishing for another case since he chose to use his deduction skills on John. The actual case however, was not very mysterious. I quite liked the client since he's a doctor. Overall, the story was okay. Not great, and not terrible.

The Greek Interpreter - 2/5

I was a little confused with this story, I might need an interpreter. Lol, joking aside, this story reminded me of an earlier adventure of Mr. Holmes, specifically the one with the Engineer's Thumb. It's the same pattern. I didn't like that one so much and I didn't like this either.

The Naval Treaty - 3.5/5

An enigma at the start. Loved the illustration given to picture the layout of the rooms more easily. Quite an enjoyable conclusion.

The Final Problem - 3/5

Doyle wanted to stop writing for Holmes during this time, that's why this story has THAT ending. This didn't even have a mystery to solve. Just a character that was suddenly introduced, whose name is well-known by many people.


n  THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMESn

The Adventure of the Empty House - 4.5/5

I enjoyed this one very much. The twist with the old man with the books was quite predictable, but it's not a big deal since that wasn't the mystery in this story.

The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - 5/5

A clue has been laid out earlier that serves as a motive. Love the deception of this case.

The Adventure of the Dancing Men - 5/5

I've watched a clip of this story from a Jeremy Brett adaptation. I hadn't finished it at the time but I liked the crypticness of the figures. Also a little creepy too. That's why I'm biased here in this story and I immediately loved this one. I also love ciphers.

The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist - 3.5/5

Quite thrilling, although a little predictable. It's scary when you're being followed by someone for days and you have no idea what they want.

The Adventure of the Priory School - 4.5/5

A good twist and a good motive for the crime that occurred. Loved the illustration of the grounds. I also want a check with a large amount of money.

The Adventure of Black Peter - 4/5

Such a horrifying sight to behold—the crime scene. Some clues have been laid out which are a good thing since the reader isn't completely left out of the dark.

The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton - 5/5

I was so stressed with this one because I remember what happened on that BBC episode adaptation. I was so stoked for the conclusion of this story

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons - 4.5/5

I would have been surprised by the breaking of the busts and its reasoning, if not for the BBC series too. Still, I enjoyed the mystery of this story.

The Adventure of the Three Students - 4/5

An interesting whodunnit without a major crime. I guessed without evidence since I have a 33% chance of getting it correct and I am glad that I took it. I got it right.

The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez - 4/5

Quite enjoyed this one. The twist was not predictable for me.

The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter - 2.5/5

There's not a murder to solve and that makes for a not so interesting story. I didn't like this as much compare to the other stories in the collection.

The Adventure of the Abbey Grange - 3/5

It's difficult to judge someone when they're trying to protect another. Although a murder with a good motive is still murder. Quite a good story.

The Adventure of the Second Stain - 3.5/5

Ah, the last story in this volume. Correctly guessed who the letter thief was but I didn't think of the motive. A lie has been laid out to maintain the peace.

Though the mysteries were complex and exciting to read, the friendship between Watson and Holmes was the true foundation to this book. I would recommend this to everyone!

Sherlock Holmes become popular for decades and most of his adventures had been adapted to movies, graphic novels, animation and books related to him. But who's this guy who created the best detective of all time? Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish physician and a writer, created one of the best classic detectives. He was born weak when he was young and become alone most of his life but writing is never a hindrance on his part.

He was inspired to write Sherlock Holmes when he practice his medicine in Portsmouth, because of his unsuccessful practice for many years he wrote his first novel The Narrative of John Smith, but it was published until 2011. He become aware of his talent as a writer and he proved it to everyone after writing The Study in Scarlet which was first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887. After that success again, he continue writing.

The first volume of the book composes of 2 novels (The Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four) and 3 compilation of short stories and mini adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoir of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes). This very thick book won't stop you from reading it but I suggest, as the reader, that you don't have to read it consecutively not because you'll bored to death but to enjoy his writing faithfully.

Another problem with his stories is that he only uses the same formula from the first novel until the last story. I think most of you guys already read his stories and I think most of you manage to find the similarities if each story but still the fun of reading it never ends because of Arthur Conan Doyle's surprises in the end of each story. So far, I only enjoyed one story or novel in the book;

The Story in Scarlet - This is the first published work of Arthur Conan Doyle and I loved it! The story first introduced the narrator, the doctor from the war, Dr. John Watson, came upon this idea to be with Sherlock Holmes after a crisis to pay his rent. After that unexpected meeting, he becomes aware of the presence of the mad scientist and they become one of the greatest superheroes without powers in their own generation.

What I love about the novel is that he uses science (of course, because he is a doctor) and common sense to solve the cases. It was simple but how he delivered the story made it more powerful and surprising. One thing he usually do is to make the killer hidden in the first few chapter and will only appear in the end of the story. That is the reason why, if you are looking for a good guess-the-murderer-book please don't read this.

And the others... Well, they have all the same formula and I don't have further comments about them or had this urge to discuss further from it. Some are interesting but some are totally duplicated by each other and a little make-up and everything is okay. I don't know where my cat goes and I'll try to find help from Sherlock Holmes later but first, I want to remind you guys that your life is at stake!

Review posted on n  Old-Fashioned Readern.

Rating: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle, 3 Sweets

Challenges:
Book #269 for 2011
Book #131 for Off the Shelf!

I've read Holmes numerous times. I am going to add some notes as I go.

Right from page one, Conan Doyle pulls the reader in, but is brisk in telling the story where many might be tempted to add too much detail. We learn about how Watson's health was significantly compromised by serving in the British army in Afghanistan. He is definitely down in his luck when he arrives in London.

"You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."

His eyes fairly glittered as he spoke, and he put his hand over his heart and bowed as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination.

"I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it.

Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."

"It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement."

The story of the first Holmes case is interesting as a contrast. My wife and I recently watched all the Hercule Poirot cases from beginning to end. The early mysteries are pretty simple and are largely focused on establishing Poirot as a genius.

Whereas the first Holmes case manages to flesh out Holmes, as well as giving the reader an interesting case that is not an easy one to solve.

In re-reading a Study in Scarlet, I am reminded it is one of Doyle's novellas. Except for The Hound of the Baskervilles (in which Holmes hardly appears), I consider his novellas inferior to his shorter stories. This is where readers get the crisp storytelling style that has kept all of these stories engaging.

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Pro tip: don't read this all in one go. Read other books in between this one.

A must read!