Is there anyone, anywhere, in the western world who has not heard of Sherlock Holmes? I must admit that in spite of his popularity as a detective in the many works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I have never read a single story featuring this famous sleuth. To discover what all the hype is about, I have acquired the complete works of Sir Arthur as they pertain to Sherlock. (I will forgo the Tarzan novels for now.) There are 4 novels and 56 short stories in the collection, and if "A Study in Scarlet" is what I am in for, it is going to be a most enjoyable read.
Sir Arthur was a contemporary of Charles Dickens and I was anxious to compare styles and content as I have recently read several of Dickens' novels.
Sir Art introduces Sherlock and Dr. Watson in this first novel in a very memorable way and the story takes on a rapid pace from the beginning. Sherlock is a science geek and a brilliant logician with an analytical mind that can work backwards and forwards. He is able to deduce much from little, and has the case solved while Scotland Yard is still floundering around, chasing the wrong bad guys.
This particular story gets very interesting as it traces back in time to the causes and motivations of a double murder. Although the crime is committed in London, the root causes are in southern Utah. (Hey, I was just there.) The descriptions of the wild land and the even wilder Mormons is very well written and I could not put the book down.
The story was written in 1886, but has a timeless appeal. Mystery, intrigue, adventure, revenge, and problem solving are as applicable to today's crime stories as they were back then.
I think it is time to start the next story in this huge volume of work.
4 stars
7 comments:
Charlie Dickens died when Conan Doyle was 11 so they weren't really contemporaries. Tarzan was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs who was a contemporary of Doyle's although Doyle was in the UK while Burroughs was in the US. But probably you knew all that and was just teasing us.
You would enjoy the contemporary Sherlock. The TV show is "Elementary". it's one of my favorites. There is something about a quirky detective. Another one is "The Mentalist".
Thank you Anonymous, for correcting my blatant errors. MY only defense is laziness on a late night after a hard day's work. I didn't even know that anyone read my drivel let alone paid any attention to it. :)
As for the TV shows, sorry, but I cannot bring myself to watching any TV at all. It's elementary, the ads drive me mental.
You record them and then enjoy them ad-free.
Maybe when I am retired.
Uncle Terry, you should watch "Sherlock" on Netflix with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman (the actor who played Bilbo in The Hobbit) as Watson. There are only 6 episodes and each one is the length of a movie. Reeaally good!!
Thanks for the recommendations. I will read all the episodes first to familiarize myself with the characters, thoroughly. It will make the episodes that much more enjoyable, I think.
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