A brilliant trip with Dr. Watson

books:

	• The Hound of the Baskervilles: 100th Anniversary Edition (Signet Classics) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Signet Classics, 2001 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Still Fresh After 100+ Years

Not being an avid mystery reader (outside of the Hardy Boys in my youth), and never reading a Sherlock Holmes short story or novel, I found "The Hound of the Baskervilles" a very refreshing book even though it was written in the early 1900's.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creates an entertaining story that seems out of place among the novels from that period because "The Hound of the Baskervilles" reads more like a modern novel. This may be attributed to the fact that it was written as a serial and makes effective use of cliffhangers and foreshadowing to keep the reader engaged.

Sherlock Holmes himself is an interesting character. His ego is enormous and his humor, combined with his condescending attitude, was somewhat of a shock to the stuffy analytical character I expected. He was of course methodical and calculating, but would also be inclined to hop "himself up on coffee and consume an incredible amount of tobacco". Watson, who does the heavy lifting of the pair, has to put up with Holmes' attitude which creates an interesting dynamic. The reader would not have been surprised if Watson suddenly decided to throttle Holmes if he didn't admire him so much. Holmes "...loved to dominate and surprise...I had often suffered under it..." says Watson at one point.

In the age of CSI and Patricia Cornwell, the mystery itself (that revolves around a curse upon the Baskerville family who are haunted by a supernatural beast living in the bogs by their estate) is not as entertaining as it once must have been, but the narrative unfolded nicely, the characters were fun (and still fresh) and the ending was resolved nicely. I found the mystery to be smart and fun to read, with great use of settings to create an effective mood. I expect I will need to spend more time with Holmes and Watson in the future.

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Awesome

One thing has to be said for Sir Doyle... he certainly can keep up a fast-paced story with the best of them! And that's why I love Sherlock Holmes. While so much "fancy literature" is slow-paced, this is a rolicking and horrific mystery with all the mayhem and intrigue as one could hope for.

The story begins with a legend based on the hounds of hell. Supposedly a demonic hound haunts a noble family... and has just killed one of them. His heir arrives from America to take up the land, and Holmes and Watson must do everything in their power to protect him. But with all the various neighbors, who do they suspect?

Nay-sayers, be warned. This is not the stuffy mystery it appears. It's passionate, violent, and all-around fun.

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Classic Holmes

'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is truly a Holmes classic. It is testament to Arthur Conan Doyle's immense talent as a writer, that the desolation and solitude of the moors are every bit as entrancing a century after they were written about as they were in his day.

It is in the full length novel format that the characters of Holmes and Watson come into their own. The briefer stories can be exciting but their length and pace doesn't allow the characters to get into their full stride. Here the writing style is as methodical and effective as the musings of the great detective himself.

A great swathe of this book is the reports of Watson who has been left to his own devices by Holmes. However the main player's absence does nothing to diminish the novel's impacte. The bleak aspect of the Devon countryside allied to the intricate and bizarre relationships of its residents fuse to make this outing of Holmes a memorable one. Both the surroundings and the vivid descriptions of the hound itself, combine to draw the reader in, in a way that few novels can.

'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is widely beleived to be one of the greatest of the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre, and indeed the intricacy of the plot development, along with an excellent climax put this novel up there with the best of them.

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Hound of the Baskervilles

"The Hound of The Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle was interesting from the first page. There's already a mystery to be solved right when you open the book, with a mysterious cane left in Watson and Sherlock's office.

Doyle keeps each page filled with suspense and thrills. Even as I read, I could hear the low, mournful sound of the hound that Stapleton keeps locked up baying across the moor.
The characters are amazing and funny. Sherlock Holmes keeps me giggling with all of his oddities and eccentrities. Watson is amusing with his normal assumptions next to Sherlock.
The mystery is intriguing and darker and deeper than it first appears. The book can actually be rather creepy and suspenseful, unlike the other mystery novels where they're solving the typical robbery, or something like that.
The only thing that I didn't like as much compared to other authors I've read was that his sense of description wasn't as good. I had to rely more on my imagination to see the moors as he described it rather than what it really looked like.
Yet in spite of that, the novel was comedy, mystery, and a pinch of horror all rolled into one delicious enchilada.

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A brilliant trip with Dr. Watson

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" was my first expedition into the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, and I greatly enjoyed the experience. As I have no means of comparison, I am not sure whether the style of the novel is consistent or singular in terms of Sherlock Holmes novels and stories, but I was delighted by the narration provided by Dr. Watson. As a narrator, he was faithful and consistent, and Doyle skillfully manipulates the character to both gain the reader's confidence and sense of security, while keeping many important facts close to his chest. Holmes, on the other hand, was detestable. From his very first introduction I felt repulsed by the character. For that reason, I am glad that the narrator was Watson and not the infamous detective himself. In the end, he played a relatively minor role, and the novel itself is very enjoyable.

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