Sherlock Holmes

So, who else is a big fan of the master detective? I've been reading his stories for quite some time now, and am now working my way through the novels (just having started "The Sign of Four"). Somehow, these stories never cease to amaze me - of course, the characters are more or less the same every time, and the cases don't really change, either, but still... Something about the subtle irony of Doyle fascinates me. Watson and Holmes have been companions for so long, and still you can see new facets of them in every new story.

What about you guys? Ever read any of it all, and care to share your thoughts?

I love Sherlock Holmes! I have a collection of short stories and a few of the novels, and while occasionally the similarities between each mystery get tiring, the detective himself is always beyond interesting. No doubt one of my favorite characters.

Has anyone actually solves a Holmes mystery before the end of the book? I've never been able to.

Jane wrote:

I love Sherlock Holmes! I have a collection of short stories and a few of the novels, and while occasionally the similarities between each mystery get tiring, the detective himself is always beyond interesting. No doubt one of my favorite characters.

Has anyone actually solves a Holmes mystery before the end of the book? I've never been able to.

Neither have I, but that is due to the structure of the stories. Holmes has a lot of information that we don't get to know until he explains everything to Watson and whoever else is present.

Sherlock Holmes is an absolute favorite of mine! I know Agatha Christie's books have sold better, but I would always favor Doyle's brilliant, coldly calculating, intensely loyal, outwardly emotionless and supremely brilliant detective. He's the ultimate, and the standard I compare any mystery novel to nowadays.

Another thing (unrelated to Sherlock, but about Doyle) is called The Lost World. Also written by Doyle, also very good. It's about an exploration to the Amazon to find dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures who may or may exist there. Anyone heard of it? It's incredible!

Freya wrote:

Sherlock Holmes is an absolute favorite of mine! I know Agatha Christie's books have sold better, but I would always favor Doyle's brilliant, coldly calculating, intensely loyal, outwardly emotionless and supremely brilliant detective. He's the ultimate, and the standard I compare any mystery novel to nowadays.

I know. I once took a course about crime fiction, and we read everything - from Poe to Paretsky - but not a single Sherlock Holmes story! He is definitely underrated, especially compared to Agatha Christie. I've read some of her work, but her cases are too clear from the very beginning, there is nothing puzzling or unusual about them. Holmes' cases are all "out of the ordinary".

Although there are a few things that the two have in common. The type of detective they employ is similar - my teacher called it an "armchair detective", i.e. someone who solves his crimes sitting in an armchair, as opposed to the private eyes of 1940s America. Also, both have detectives that are a little unusual - Miss Marple is uncommonly tough for a woman her age, Poirot is just a little arrogant (plus he's Belgian, which is in itself unusual in British crime fiction), and Holmes is so full of oddities that he can be called an oddity himself.

And I also think that all the works that have been created based on Holmes indicate just how brilliant he is. There are recent novels featuring him, computer games, board games, not to mention all the material which uses the idea without the actual detective, the most famous example being House MD.

Did you know that Doyle believed that Holmes was by far his weakest creation and did not like to talk about him?

DesertQueen wrote:

Did you know that Doyle believed that Holmes was by far his weakest creation and did not like to talk about him?

Oh my!
That's probably why he tried to kill him off..... bet he was annoyed when forced to resurrect him . Did he like Watson better?

Freya wrote:

DesertQueen wrote:

Did you know that Doyle believed that Holmes was by far his weakest creation and did not like to talk about him?

Oh my!
That's probably why he tried to kill him off..... bet he was annoyed when forced to resurrect him . Did he like Watson better?

No, but he created quite a few of other fictional characters, most notably Professor Challenger. Holmes was mainly intended as an experiment, he wanted to see if he could give a new dimension to crime fiction. (Apparently he could.) Then, Holmes turned out to be quite the cash cow, but Doyle soon got bored with him.

I myself finished "A Study in Scarlet" a few days ago, and I must say, I am surprised. Knowing the fully-developed characters of the later stories, I can clearly see the steps Doyle had to take, and all the mistakes he made (for instance, in "A Study in Scarlet", he says that Holmes has extremely regular habits and usually rises before 10am - but later, Holmes is described as either sleeping in till noon or not sleeping at all). In fact, the Holmes of this first novel felt like a rough sketch to me - as did Watson. I mean, I always imagined him to be well-fed, middle-aged and completely boring and regular. And now to find him emaciated and weak, not to mention easily disturbed? It was quite the surprise!

I love mystery novels! Strange that I've heard of Sherlock Holmes a lot, but never gave much thought to him.
Maybe I should give the books a try after Gone With the Wind.

The short stories get a little monotonous after awhile, but Doyle is one of the best detective novelists all the same. One of my favorite aspects of the stories is how each one is a further completion of Holme's and Watson's character. Each one is also bizarre in its on way, although a pattern in the short stories can be recognizable.
Doyle is a brilliant writer though, and if you are bored with Sherlock Holmes, some of his other stories provide very interesting and wonderful reading. The Lost World is one kick-ass novella.

DesertQueen wrote:

Freya wrote:

DesertQueen wrote:

Did you know that Doyle believed that Holmes was by far his weakest creation and did not like to talk about him?

Oh my!
That's probably why he tried to kill him off..... bet he was annoyed when forced to resurrect him . Did he like Watson better?

No, but he created quite a few of other fictional characters, most notably Professor Challenger. Holmes was mainly intended as an experiment, he wanted to see if he could give a new dimension to crime fiction. (Apparently he could.) Then, Holmes turned out to be quite the cash cow, but Doyle soon got bored with him.

I myself finished "A Study in Scarlet" a few days ago, and I must say, I am surprised. Knowing the fully-developed characters of the later stories, I can clearly see the steps Doyle had to take, and all the mistakes he made (for instance, in "A Study in Scarlet", he says that Holmes has extremely regular habits and usually rises before 10am - but later, Holmes is described as either sleeping in till noon or not sleeping at all). In fact, the Holmes of this first novel felt like a rough sketch to me - as did Watson. I mean, I always imagined him to be well-fed, middle-aged and completely boring and regular. And now to find him emaciated and weak, not to mention easily disturbed? It was quite the surprise!

I always thought of Holmes a lean, person. Sure, he loves his drugs, but emaciated? Easily disturbed? How so? Every murder is a puzzle for him, not a horror story.

Freya wrote:

DesertQueen wrote:

Freya wrote:

DesertQueen wrote:

Did you know that Doyle believed that Holmes was by far his weakest creation and did not like to talk about him?

Oh my!
That's probably why he tried to kill him off..... bet he was annoyed when forced to resurrect him . Did he like Watson better?

No, but he created quite a few of other fictional characters, most notably Professor Challenger. Holmes was mainly intended as an experiment, he wanted to see if he could give a new dimension to crime fiction. (Apparently he could.) Then, Holmes turned out to be quite the cash cow, but Doyle soon got bored with him.

I myself finished "A Study in Scarlet" a few days ago, and I must say, I am surprised. Knowing the fully-developed characters of the later stories, I can clearly see the steps Doyle had to take, and all the mistakes he made (for instance, in "A Study in Scarlet", he says that Holmes has extremely regular habits and usually rises before 10am - but later, Holmes is described as either sleeping in till noon or not sleeping at all). In fact, the Holmes of this first novel felt like a rough sketch to me - as did Watson. I mean, I always imagined him to be well-fed, middle-aged and completely boring and regular. And now to find him emaciated and weak, not to mention easily disturbed? It was quite the surprise!

I always thought of Holmes a lean, person. Sure, he loves his drugs, but emaciated? Easily disturbed? How so? Every murder is a puzzle for him, not a horror story.

No, I meant Watson by emaciated and weak, not Holmes