The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Rating:
Summary: The Complete Casefiles of the Great Detective
Review: Back in 1930, Doubleday published all the Holmes stories in a two volume set as a memorial to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had just died. I assume this volume is a reprint of that memorial edition. I read all the Holmes stories as a child and have revisited them again and again as an adult. The stories are generally engaging, well crafted, and satisfying.

Watson, Holmes' Boswell, is an excellent story teller and a good, solid man of action, someone you'd want at your side in a difficult situation. His intellect is good, although not of the first magnitude. Holmes does not cut as pleasing a figure. Although he is vain, arrogant, and just a little strange, his powers of observation, superb application of logic to the detection of crime, and many other talents (boxing, fencing, chemistry, etc.) make you willing to forget his vanity. As a state prosecutor who sometimes becomes involved in the detection of crime, I have had occasion to apply some of his maxims of crime detection. My favorite, and one which has served me well over the years goes something like this: "When you eliminate the impossible, then whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is what must have happened."

Doyle really didn't like writing Sherlock Holmes, so he peremptorily killed Holmes off halfway through the series. The resulting clamor from Holmes' fans was so great that after a hiatus of several years, Doyle began to publish "reminisences" of cases Holmes worked before his death. Eventually, in "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" we discover that Holmes really survived the attempt on his life and was merely "laying low" for a time. The adventures resume, but the quality of writing after his return was never the same. Some wit observed that Holmes may have survived the attempt on his life, but he was never quite the same afterwards.

Even when Holmes is not at his best, he's quite good enough to outdo any of the modern mystery detectives. Those who may come closest to him are Dashiel Hammet's Continental Op, Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy, and John Mortimer's Horace Rumpole.

Rating:
Summary: ...if you havn't read this...where have you been?
Review: Besides the obvious great things all of these stories contain, (deduction, cool cases, the cocaine) I think the best thing Conan Doyle provides is a fabulous charictor discription of Sherlock Holmes. He is, by far, one of the most complicated charictors ever portrayed...even though it gets a little monotonous when Watson says for the thousanth time: he was never known to betray emotion of any kind, but... A GREAT read, and a book that will entertain for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Holmes is where the heart is
Review: What can I say about Holmes? I discovered him when I was seven, a bit too young, but I enjoyed his tales greatly for years and considered myself something of an expert by the time I was eleven (my brother and I would play Holmes trivia games.) I became deeply obsessed with Holmes at age 13, and at almost 21 he's still my favourite fictional character all in all. And yet, I can't quite consider him fictional. I was fortunate enough to visit the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland last month and I felt as though I were visiting a place where something real and of great importance involving Holmes had taken place. I had the same feeling repeatedly when I visited London a few years ago and walked in Holmes's footsteps. Why is he so real to me and many others? You have to read the stories to find out. The legend of Sherlock Holmes has taken on dimensions far beyond the original tales, and some people, like Jeremy Brett (an actor) and Laurie King (an author) have done marvelous things with him, but Doyle's originals are the real thing. The stories are marvelous, charming, frightening, often improbable but almost always compelling. Read stories like "The Red-Headed League," "The Speckled Band," "The Norwood Builder" and "The Devil's Foot" for both character and plot. Professor Moriarty is truly spine-chilling, and Watson is wonderful, the kind of friend everyone wants: incredibly supportive, helpful, and quite intelligent (NOT dumb, except occasionally when compared with Holmes!) But Holmes sits in the spotlight. He's completely unforgettable; brilliant, hard to get along with, adorably untidy (at least his room) and eccentric. Somehow, you have to love him though he wouldn't be an easy friend. And the one-liners! "The game is afoot;" "The curious incident of the dog who did nothing in the night-time;" "Watson, you may not be luminous in yourself, but you are a conductor of light." I won't say that these are the greatest works of literature ever, or that they are the most profound. But there's something about Holmes that has captured the imagination of millions ever since he was created, and I don't think it was just a fluke. A reviewer said of Vikram Seth's Suitable Boy that "it will keep you company for the rest of your life." The same is entirely, gloriously true of The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

Rating:
Summary: all the SH stories in one paperback collection....
Review: ....ah, memories of first reading Doyle's classics in eighth grade--and being captivated for life. "You've been to Afghanistan, I perceive..."

Rating:
Summary: Stunned to discover how good these were
Review: When I was in 8th grade, I had to read "Hound of the Baskervilles" for class, and given the yawners we had been made to read otherwise, I wasn't looking forward to much from this. I expected another boring book by some dead English guy -- and boy was I shocked! It remains the best novel I've ever read, and I still return to it from time to time. After the PBS Holmes series with Jeremy Brett, I finally bit the bullet and bought the entire collection, and it still surprises me how great they are. If anyone out there is curious but afraid of being bored or wasting your money -- don't worry about that. Just get these stories and race through them and you'll be glad you did.

Another comment that I have to make is Doyle's ability to write women characters. A lot of authors nowdays don't write good women -- they're either harpies, bimbos, or doormats. Doyle, this man from Edwardian England, writes people, sympathetic or otherwise, and his female characters are very real and very, very well done. There aren't many authors that cover everything -- sensitive characterization, awareness of people in this world who aren't just like them, an ability to put together a top notch plot, and the ability to write REALLY well. Doyle was one -- snag these stories and devour them as soon as you can!

Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest
Review: Doyle has to be one of the best authors I have ever read. If you are looking for an author that can keep you guessing, this is the one. I cannot think of many authors today that can even come close to matching some of the literary masters from the last century. If you like mystery there is not a better set of stories than these. Also, the book gives a very clear account of what life was like in late 19th century England.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Own!
Review: Almost certainly the best book I have ever read (only the Count of Monte Cristo comes close), and I have read a lot of books. All 60 Holmes stories, a great preface, and it's all in chronological order! Every single story is great and interesting, and after reading 1,000 plus pages of this great literary work you feel as if you know Holmes and Watson personally! Simply, a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Of course it's good
Review: Of course it's good, it's Sherlock Holmes. This edition of the stories is particularly nice because it's not a cumbersome hardback behemoth of a book. It's portable. Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective of all time. The stories are fast-paced, interesting, and at times humorous. Like any other collection of stories it's got a couple ones that aren't as good as the others, but in such a large collection, it's easy to overlook those. Holmes is an extremely fascinating character, and you will never tire of reading about him. Doyle's writing is no where near as boring as other Victorian writers. Forget all those goofy Basil Rathbone films and charicatures of a man in an ulster and deerstalker. This is the real thing.

Rating:
Summary: 16 year old can't stop reading it.
Review: I'm sure you've read enough about how spectacular and fun the book is, so I'll try to stick with the little things that make the book so appealing. While the 4 novels become a bit long, and the short stories just a tad predictable, there are so many barely noticeable features that make ACD such an outstanding author. He creates full characters in a matter of paragraphs (for example, Prof. Moriarity is mentioned in only one story, yet he seems like such a complete and important character). Several times, Watson, the narrator, mentions cases that he cannot disclose to the public. It seems like nothing but it makes Watson seem both more credible and more real. I guess I'm just rambling now. Buy this book, you'll be thrilled.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I loved this book. Not only did it have every Sherlock Holmes story, complete, it had an interesting preface. I'm a fan of these stories and was happy to see a complete version. Even lesser known stories were brought out. I like how it follows in the order in which they were written, and his life. A great book!