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Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles: 100th Anniversary Edition (Signet Classics)
ISBN: 0451528018
Author:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Publicate Date: 2001-07-01
Publish: 2001-07-01
List Price: $4.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $1.49
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $4.95
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| Customer Review: |
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1: 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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2: 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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3: 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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4: 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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5: Classic Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is my favorite fictional detective, and certainly one of my favorite fictional characters. The distant, cocaine-addicted, but brilliant genius of a man is one character who stands out among many others in literature.
Prolific author Arthur Conan Doyle created numerous tales of suspense and excitement starring his best-known characters, Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, names known by every true reader of fiction. However, out of all the Holmes tales, I would have to say that the story which kept my interest the best is Holmes' most famous tale, "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
With this story, Holmes tackles a villain nearly as cunning as himself. The case is one of his most difficult, and one of the strangest and most original in the Doyles' oeuvre.
A curse haunts the Baskerville family. It is told in a family legend that a savage, demonic dog haunts the Baskerville family, a curse brought upon the family by a foul-mouthed, drunken ancestor. Although many disregard the story, the Baskerville family has reason to believe that the story may not be entirely fiction. As Holmes investigates, guarding the latest heir to the Baskerville estate, he becomes involved in a case perhaps more fascinating than any other.
If you're looking for a great read and a solid mystery yarn, look no further than from fiction's greatest detective. My favorite Holmes tale, and without a doubt, one of his best. "The Hound" is mystery-writing at its best, a necessity for any library.
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