Rating: 
Summary: I was expecting a lot more...
Review: OK, the hype on this famous and classic book is huge. I was expecting a nail biting, cliff hanging, edge of my seat read. Instead, I figured out who the "bad person" was as soon as they were introduced. And there was nothing scary about the book at all. Sure, Holmes and Watson are very engaging characters and I enjoyed learning more about "the bad person" after all was said and done. But, I just didn't find anything that special about the story. Sorry!
Rating: 
Summary: The best of Holmes
Review: Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles is the best known Sherlock Holmes story. It's an excellent novel, and the only Holmes story where the creepy plot overshadows the great detective. It is by far the best of the 4 Holmes novels, and only a handful of the 56 short stories rival it in literary quality. For a curious reader wishing to aquaint him or herself with fiction's most famous detective (and one of the 3 or 4 most famous characters in all of literature), this is a perfect start. You'll be hooked like a happy trout on a mountain stream. An odd metaphor perhaps, but once you read it you'll agree. And you'll then hungrily grab all the other lures too, all 59 other stories. Then someday looking back, you'll see that the diabolical hound that haunts the moors was Doyle's masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The quintessential Holmes tale
Review: The image of Sherlock Holmes in 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is perhaps the most enduring image we have of him. You see, an Inverness cloak and deerstalker cap are inappropriate wardrobe for the town, and belong in the country. Sherlock Holmes is predominantly a city dweller and city investigator; it is relatively uncommon that he treks out on adventures, but the case of the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville and the attempted murder of Sir Henry Baskerville led him to the Dartmoor plain. Thus, country garb was in order. This is where we get much of our imagery.Also helping with this is that every major actor to play Holmes has considered 'Hound of the Baskervilles' to be the ultimate Holmes story to act -- rather like the Hamlet of Conan Doyle's work. Holmes was a popular film icon, and in the early decades of the twentieth century several dozen films were made of Holmes, but the first after these many films to be set in Victorian times (and not be updated for the screen) was a version of Hound. Ellie Norwood, Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Jeremy Brett -- many distinguished actors have considered this among their greatest roles. Watson dates the case to 1889, but various reading authorities, knowing the good doctor's occasional attempts to distort details to protect the privacy of the innocent, have dated this to between 1886 and 1900. In fact, the novel appeared in serialised form in the Strand magazine, the great first-publication site of most Holmesian tales, between August 1901 and April 1902, after Conan Doyle had attempted to kill off the great detective in the short story The Final Problem, which showcased Holmes' battle with Moriarity, the Napoleon of Crime. In fact, Conan Doyle came to dislike the character of Holmes because it was a distraction to his other pursuits. So, bowing to public pressure, Conan Doyle penned Hound of the Baskervilles to placate the public demand for more stories, but took care to place it before the death of Holmes, in the hopes that he could leave the detective safely dead (if not buried). Such was not to be, and we find a few years later that in fact Conan Doyle 'resurrects' Holmes in a rather ingenious fashion. But, on to the story at hand. Holmes and Watson, at home at 221b Baker Street, are approached by a Dr. James Mortimer regarding the death of Sir Charles Baskerville and a family curse which involved evil forces in the form of a satanic hound. Mortimer is concerned for the safety of the new proprietor of the family lands, freshly arriving from Canada, who had a new boot stolen, then an old boot stolen, in his hotel in London. Later Holmes would put together the significance of this seeming strange minor act (no, I won't tell you). Holmes sends Baskerville and Watson together to the country estate while he tends things in London on another case. In reality, Holmes is setting Watson up as a diversion, while he investigates the moor and the surroundings of the Baskerville estate under cover. Life at the estate is a bit strained, given the murder, an attempted murder, a curse, and all. The neighbours seem nice enough, though. Or are they? Watson picks up on curious little details of their relationship, which he reports back in written notes to Holmes (which have been redirected to his moor outpost). Eventually Holmes reveals himself to Watson, and then to Baskerville, and the chase is on in earnest, to discover the reality of the mysterious creature each have seen or heard. In good mystery fashion, we come across long lost relatives and an inheritance to be had; we find plots and subplots muddied by superstitious belief and fear, on a mysterious plain in southwestern England. All the elements combined that are now considered standard bits for a well-done country English mystery. But the mystery does not stop merely with the story. In true mystery fashion, appearing in the Daily Express edition of March 16, 1959, there were doubts cast upon the authorship of Hound of the Baskervilles. The one who carried the dispute was named none other than Baskerville, Harry Baskerville. He credited the story to one Fletcher Robinson, who died (perhaps of the Egyptian mummy's curse) at age 35 shortly after the publication of Hound. With his death, only Baskerville remembered the issue of co-authorship. Baskerville claims it was Robinson who 'borrowed' the Baskerville name. One of Conan Doyle's heirs, Adrian Conan Doyle, heatedly denied involvement of Robinson past possible 'conversations' that might have taken place between Arthur Conan Doyle and Robinson. But, he did not deny Conan Doyle's possible 'inspiration' from Robinson. One Baker Street Irregular (an exclusive club of Holmesian experts) was doing a monograph on this issue as well, claiming that the reason why Holmes appears so infrequently is due to the fact that he had to be written in to an otherwise essentially completed story. This Irregular travelled to meet with Baskerville, and hinted at discoveries he had found. But alas, the Irregular died three weeks later in America, his monograph never published and his notes were never found. Perhaps a dog ate the homework? A mysterious hound, perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: The Worst Sherlock Holmes's Novel Ever.
Review: I read this novel after an almost chronological reading in the Sherlock Holmes's novels and short stories. I certainly started with "a study in scarlet" which was fine, then went to "the sign of four" which was even finer. These two novels where enough to get me hooked on the world of Doyle's Holmes. Then to make things even better, I read the "adventures of Sherlock Holmes," a collection of short stories, which were excellent, followed by "the memoir of Sherlock Holmes" which was on the same lines as the adventures, but Sherlock Holmes was finally killed by Moriarty in the last short story of the collection. I was not afraid, because the remaining pages of the collection of stories I had was still thick, so I knew something was going to happen. Sure enough, Sherlock Holmes was resurrected in the next collection (not before "the hound of Baskervilles", although it is traditionally given before it in the complete works) which was called "the return of Sherlock Holmes." Up to this point I was a big fan of Holmes, but this story: "the hound of Baskervilles," came to destroy everything. The first aspect I hated about it, was that it wasn't a mystery. It was a quest behind the villain, who was knowen by the middle of the story ... and no wonder, for Doyle wrote this after the acclaimed death of Holmes. He was not ready yet to bring back his detective, and he was actually going to write this story with different characters, until he was struck by Holmes as an already existing character of his, and that he needn't waste his time creating some new character line. The story is not totally bad, but the idea of having Holmes in a non mystery novel did not strike me as plausible. I recommend you to read it. It seems, from the review, that I was the only one not to like it, but I can't control that. What I do not like is what I do not like, and I hope you found something useful in this review.
Rating: 
Summary: A great Sherlock Holmes novel, at a great price!
Review: Dover has never let me down for purchasing great products, printed with excellence in mind at a mind-blowing low price! This book will be no exception.
Essentially, Holmes finds himself in a mystery concerning a legend of a supernatural black hound that curses the Baskerville family. Holmes is intrigued, and he sends Watson to watch over the new Baskerville heir.
The story is classic Holmes, and the action is fast paced and moving. A fun read with an eye on a classic local legend of the Isles! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Above average
Review: Written after Conan-Doyle's 'Final Problem' short story about Holmes' 'death' this book takes place before his confrontation with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. Doctor Mortimer from Dartmoor comes to visit Holmes with the story of a beastly hound which has killed Charles Baskerville and will more than likely come after his heir Sir Henry. Holmes promptly sends Watson off to Dartmoor to guard Sir Henry and report back with all developments. This is the point where Holmes disappears for almost half of the book. But he returns near the end to explain the mystery to all involved. While it is better than Conan-Doyle's short stories in terms of a stronger narrative and a larger mystery 'Hound of the Baskervilles' still suffers from long, ludicrous and unrealistic monologues and superficial contrivances. As always the story is told from the point of view of Watson. But it simply isn't a unique enough point of view to make the first person narrative worth it. I can honestly say that if the story was told in the 3rd person perspective it would make hardly any difference. I cannot for the life of me work out how this book is sometimes regarded as a horror. Nothing in it scared me at all. The hound doesn't even show up until the end. And even then Conan-Doyle's description doesn't paint a very vivid picture in your head. There just isn't enough intrigue or reason to keep turning the pages. The human and reality-based side of the story comes thru too strongly to allow any sort of fantastical creativity. As a classic it's a disappointment but compared to the short stories it's definitely better than the norm.
Rating:
Summary: Suspence!
Review: This book is suspenceful and exciting. Once again Sherlock Holmes is given a interesting case. The Baskerville mansion is located on the moor, where it is said that there is a great hound that kills the anyone in the bloodline. The old Baskerville that owns the mansion is mystiously killed, yet there is not a mark on his body, and it comes the time for a new Baskerville to take on the mansion. Sherlock and Watson come with him and unravel a thrilling secret buried deep within the moor, with interesting twists and close calls, this is an exciting, fast paced must read.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Sherlock Holmes the one and only goes through a very difficult path to unleash the solution to the problem in hand. a masterpiece of Mistery
Rating:
Summary: Classic Holmes
Review: Personally, I always preferred the Sherlock Holmes short stories, but two the the novels are very good: The Sign of Four, and this little masterpiece.
Like many of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the plot is not really worthy of the characters and the moody setting that Conan Doyle establishes so well. But here the mood is so well established, and so central to the success of the work, that we barely notice the fact that the murderer's identity is somewhat obvious. The horror of the lonely hills and swamps, and the unknown menace of the hound permeate every chapter of the book, and the general sense of confusion and dread is heightened by the fact that Holmes himself is absent for much of the first half. We can feel Watson's anxiety as he tries to protect Sir Henry Baskerville, and share his relief when the great detective finally re-emerges.
Supporting characters like Dr. Mortimer, the Barrymore's, and Stapleton are well drawn, but as usual, the true delight is in the characters of Holmes and Watson, and their interaction with one another.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Sherlock Holmes tale...Can't beat the price!
Review: The classic tale of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigating the strange goings-on at Baskerville Hall...and, what's that howling in the distance? Is it...could it be...THE HOUND? Read, and find out the answer! Great story, and you can't beat Dover's Thrift Editions price. No frills, but classic selections!
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