The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

Good, solid mysteries

I suppose I started reading this collection for the same reason I watch regular TV shows every week. I wanted consistently interesting short stories, and that's exactly what I got. However I made a mistake reading them all straight through in this convenient collection, and the formulaic plots bothered me more than they would have otherwise.

I did notice an improvement in terms of the mystery complexity, which I appreciated. No where is this more evident than in "The Valley of Fear", which uses an extremely similar set-up to "A Study in Scarlet". Both stories have two parts, the first of which takes place in 1890's England and the second some years previous in America. However everything else about "The Valley of Fear" is a vast improvement! The murder mystery is much more clever, the action is better paced, and the second part was well-introduced as well as being a mystery story in it's own right! Clearly Sir. Doyle had come into his own as an author by this point, and his skills greatly improved with practice.

I also enjoyed the change in Watson's "voice" over time. Sir Doyle seems much more comfortable in his writing abilities by "The Valley of Fear", and I felt there was less awkward prose. I noticed Sir Doyle has a very fanciful way of describing the scene, which appeals to me greatly. I shall always imagine a foggy London day as John Watson saw it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume II

Fantastic! I've been a Sherlock fan since a little girl and to have all his stories in one collection is good. I try to draw my conclusion as I read the stories and see if I'm as good as he is. It is great reading. He's the most fascinating character ever.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Simply the greatest detective stories ever written

B&N version is perfect!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Forget what you THINK you know!

So you think you know Sherlock Holmes. Be prepared to get the details of Holmes' life and thought processes. He lives for the chase and does not know what to do with himself without one. Many stories are told by Dr. Watson as the keeper of the case records. You'll learn about Watson as well and how he and Holmes ended up living together.

Mostly short readings for one evening with some longer stories included. Classics like The Hound of the Baskervilles and more.

A real opportunity to get inside Holmes' head. Highly recommend!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

When i first had to read this book, i had the notion that it was some old boring book but it is NOT!!! The adventures in the book are captivating. This book is truly worth the read. It is so awesome! Be not afraid of the length because it is composed of only short stories.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

There should be a book three

Cool

Only vol 2 + Highly recommended for Sherlock BBC fans

Highly entertaining as well as a cliff hanger

Great read

I loved Sherlock Holmes. I always wanted to read all of his stories.

Vol I & II should be together as a pair

Bioigraphy and history but very few stories.

BRILLIANT

Well, you wish to know whether you ought to buy it? Well, it's elementary, my dear Watson.
Of course.

Part one and 2?

Is it worth buying both volumes?

One to reread

Recommend both Volume I and II

Have enjoyed reading both volumes and wonder why I hadn't done it sooner.

Fantastic and Brilliant

Sherlock Holmes stories are AMAZING!!!! Just don't read them if you have a short attention span as they can be a bit dry at times, due to the time period in which they were written. The full-length stories aren't AS good as the short ones, with the exception of Hound of the Baskervilles, because they go into a lot of background information with no Holmes-Watson-deduction action going on whatsoever. But other than that they are fantastic! This edition was really great, besides being really fat. I didn't have to worry about which story came chronologically next, and there were interesting little footnotes that tell you things that you wouldn't have otherwise found out unless you are an expert on Holmes and Watson.

Wonderful book.

Worth your time

Always worth any avid readers time. Very good piece of literature. Would highky recommend volume 1 over this volume though

sherlockcholmes

this book was pretty good it is pretty much justca overall review off the sefi

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Good old writing

This volume isn't any different than Volume I. The writings of late 18th century and early 20th century were interesting. Up against present day writings, broring.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The second part of B&N excellent Sherlock Holmes' collection

Who hasn't heard of Sherlock Holmes nowadays? The 221B Baker street most famous resident has solved many seemingly impossible cases, and is one of the greatest influences on modern detective characters. This in a complete work, with great introductions, a Conan Doyle short biography, endnotes and even two parodies and essays about one of England's greatest literary works. Recommended!

Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I & II

Wow. This is a great book. It took me a month a piece to read each of these books. The stories were very exciting. I did not want a story to end nor did I want to finish the books. I was sorry that the stories that did not make the TV series were not made I thought they all could grow with a good script writer.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.