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sobriqueI'd always figured that the Sherlock Holmes books would be worth a read - nothing holds a reputation for a hundred years, that doesn't at least in some measure deserve it.
But if I'm honest, I never really got around to it, until just now - prompted in part by having watched the recent film, and finding out that project Gutenberg has the books available in a format ideal for my ebook reader.
And of course, mention that House is also something of an homage (House -> Holmes).
So anyway. The first novel is called 'A Study in Scarlet'. (although, at 100 pages long, it's shorter than I'd usually expect by the term).
It's told from the perspective of Doctor Watson, which is elegantly done - it's next to impossible to accurately portray the kind of character Holmes is directly, but much much easier to do so from the point of view of a close friend. Watson is the person you empathize with, as you both marvel at the deductive process at work in Holmes, and the apparant ease with which he pieces together the mystery.
Anyway, the story is fairly straight forward - a mysterious murder, in which I'm sure it'll come as no suprise that Sherlock Holmes is integral to tracking him down, and an actually somewhat longer interlude that allows the 'full story' to emerge.
It's well written, well paced, good, fairly short, free, and one of the definitive works of fiction.
You should read this. (Especially if you read ebooks, because it's free)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes#Novels
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a69
But if I'm honest, I never really got around to it, until just now - prompted in part by having watched the recent film, and finding out that project Gutenberg has the books available in a format ideal for my ebook reader.
And of course, mention that House is also something of an homage (House -> Holmes).
So anyway. The first novel is called 'A Study in Scarlet'. (although, at 100 pages long, it's shorter than I'd usually expect by the term).
It's told from the perspective of Doctor Watson, which is elegantly done - it's next to impossible to accurately portray the kind of character Holmes is directly, but much much easier to do so from the point of view of a close friend. Watson is the person you empathize with, as you both marvel at the deductive process at work in Holmes, and the apparant ease with which he pieces together the mystery.
Anyway, the story is fairly straight forward - a mysterious murder, in which I'm sure it'll come as no suprise that Sherlock Holmes is integral to tracking him down, and an actually somewhat longer interlude that allows the 'full story' to emerge.
It's well written, well paced, good, fairly short, free, and one of the definitive works of fiction.
You should read this. (Especially if you read ebooks, because it's free)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes#Novels
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a69
