Review: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been realizing lately that most of my interest in Sherlock Holmes stems from shows/games/films inspired by the original more than the thing itself (similar to how I feel about cyberpunk).

Which isn't to say that the Doyle's original stories are bad by any means; I just don't feel like they've entirely aged as well as recent media would otherwise fool me into thinking they have. A lot of the deductions in these stories tend to rely on stereotypical cultural assumptions (granted, it's the 1890's); a few of the story endings feel wrapped too quickly or otherwise unsatisfying (I'm looking at you, Five Orange Pips); and oftentimes, information is concealed from the reader in such a way as to not make me feel entirely content even after reading Holmes' solutions to these problems.

A lot of the appeal of mystery stories lies in realizing clues missed in plain sight, or at least feeling like all the clues you need to solve the mystery are there before the detective gives away the solution; it's the same feeling you get from trying to solve a puzzle. Remove that factor and it's just not as fun anymore. But this is really a formula that wasn't perfected imo until the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and others came around, so it's hard to blame Doyle for doing something that's otherwise still pretty good for its time.

That said, a few of the stories in this collection stand out for effectively capturing all the things I like about Holmes and everything he's inspired, including: Scandal in Bohemia, Boscombe Valley, Copper Beeches, and Speckled Band, the latter being apparently Doyle's favorite here. The spirit of adventure, Watson and Holmes bantering, not-always-predictable mysteries with some surprising revelations, late 19th century British mannerisms, all of it's still here as strongly as ever.

And honestly, it's just fun to inhabit this world again-- or for the first time technically since I hadn't read these before? This is why I usually prefer to start with the original first lol.