carmen_lj | I read some books about this Holmes dude... (Reply)

Havng nothing else to hand, I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice again, and reading it just after the the Holmes canon has rather dampened my tolerance for much of it. I rather like the adventurey bits and most of Holmes' characterisation but I can't stand the casting of Watson as a good-natured buffoon and quite, quite hate every time Russell says anything at all about him.

But, yes, Sherlock Holmes! Marvellous stuff. Here are some Incredibly Thoughtful comments on what Conan Doyle wrote:

Hound of the Baservilles is my favourite story. I love it Quite A Lot. And I've enjoyed many a film adaptation, even the bad ones really, but had no idea the novel was so very good. Certainly haven't seen a film that compares to the atmosphere of Watson's memoirs of the adventure. The descriptions of the moors are delicious and the contrast with the streets of London drawn marvellously. Also it's got two of my very most favourite moments in the canon: Holmes getting told that the passenger in the hansom was Sherlock Holmes, and Watson discovering that it's Holmes on the moor. OMG THEY LOVE EACH OTHER.
Fraternally, course. I cannot slash them, I don't want to. I do love how Watson is utterly devoted to Holmes and how Holmes very carefully conceals how much he adores Watson and then Watson is in danger and he is a bit "OMG YOU SHOT WATSON I KILL YOU NAO." Not that I condone violence. Ahrrm.
Given when there written, one exxpects casual racism, but it was getting rather a bit much in The Sign of the Four. Ye gods, Conan Doyle, enough. This makes me rather sad as ignoring that, it's my second favourite novel, and not just because it has Holmes lulling Watson to sleep with his violin playing. It's also cause there's a Victorian boat chase onna river.
Much love to an actual vaguely sensitive portrayal of race issues in The Yellow Face though. That was a pleasant surprise.
It must really have sucked to be a Holmes fan from 1917 - 1930. Bloody hell was Casebook a lot of cack. At least a hundred year later you get told "Casebook is a load of cack" but those poor fans had no idea that their canon would suck and keep on sucking for years and years. I imagine this was what it was like to be a Doctor Who fan in the eighties...except for the fact they they were WRONG and the eighties were AWESOME.
The very nadir of Holmes for me is The Creeping Man. KEEP THAT NONSENSE FOR YER CHALLENGER STUFF CONAN DOYLE. It was horrid and it is not in my Holmes canon, no.
On the other hand, I did mostly love the short stories and there are quite a few so really hating one seems fair enough. Have much love for anything where the villain had a bit of a Mad Plan. So despite general mehness at Case-Book, I do quite love Thor Bridge. Also the Three Garridebs - even if it is a less good Red-Headed League - because of the dude so v obviously lying and so our great detective decides to hideout in the house and that is all he does. BRILLIANT, HOLMES.
Almost as brilliant as when he works out where the dudes are in Engineer's Thumb for it to be completely superfluous since the place was on fire and the counterfeiter's equipment all inside.
But it does not compare to the GENIUS shown in Devil's Foot when Holmes finds the poison the dudes were murdered with and decides to TEST IT OUT ON HIMSELF (and beloved Watson) just to check it's the right stuff.
I do not like Billy.
I may have cried at The Final Problem. SHUTUP.
I may have loled at The Empty Room though. NICE RETCON CONAN DOYLE. And by nice, I mean absurd. So besides the fact I find it lolarious that Holmes was hiding above Watson onna wee ledge whilst Watson was getting emo over Holmes' tragic, tragic death, the great detective's brilliant plan was to pretend to be dead so Moriarity's dudes wouldn't get him, when Moriarty's CHIEF DUDE was above him on the cliff and THROWING ROCKS AT HIM so presumably had noticed that Holmes was not, in fact, dead? Yes, that is very sensible, Holmes. VERY.
During the latter half of Scarlet and Valley of Fear I kept thinking "god, I much do I hate American history, boring," when, in fact, this was contemporary America that was being written about. And some of these characters would remember the civil war cause, heh, it only happened twenty, thirty years ago then, and that's just MADNESS. It just weirdly brought home to me how crazily young the US is.
I love Watson lots. I love Holmes trying to teach Watson his methods and Watson applying them and Holmes going yay but you are a bit wrong and Watson keeps trying and that he has a good memory for colour and that Holmes knows Watson would spot he was not really dying if he got within four yards of him. And I love him being judgey at Holmes for being a sexist jerk and that Holmes says something jerky about women and Watson is about to say LESS JERKINESS HOLMES when he gets interrupted by Plot Developments.

It makes me v sad that his wife dies and I am well-judgey at Conan Doyle for that.
I thought His Last Bow to be a lovely and fitting epilogue to the series.
This is a list of my ten favourite short stories, in no particular order:

The Problem of Thor Bridge
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
The Musgrave Ritual
The Naval Treaty
A Scandal In Bomhemia
Silver Blaze
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
The Red-Headed League
The Five Orange Pips
The Man With the Twisted Lip