The game is afoot

Hello friends,

This blog is about a book which pulls it's readers attention like a magnet which pulls iron filings towards it, through it's brilliant story telling technique. As some of you might guess the book's name from the title of this blog which in itself is a famous phrase, the name of the book in question is "Sherlock Holmes - The Complete Novels & Stories - Volume 2" which was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who is no doubt in my opinion one of the finest story tellers of our generation. 

It is one of the very first books that I ever bought in 2012. It's been with me for 8 years, yet it was only during this COVID-19 period in 2020 that I have managed to read it thoroughly. Before going into details about why this Sherlock Holmes book differs greatly from others in the market, let me explain to my readers how I came across this book.

It was in the year 2007, I was in my middle school and it was at this time that I got hooked on to Sherlock Holmes stories. The English text book assigned to our class in middle school contained three story extracts from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work, the first story was an extract from "The Adventure of the Three students" and the remaining two were extracts from "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" & "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder". The above three stories themselves are a part of "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" short stories. I was at that time by no means a voracious reader that I am today and once during my recess period, I happen to go through one of the chapters. The story was so interesting that I lost track of time and my surroundings as I was drawn into 19th century England through the story's unique plot. By the time I finished reading the story, I realized that the recess was done and the next class had started.

In the three stories that I read, even though the methods of deduction used remained the same, the various plot points made it's application different. I also realized through this book that the power of observation is a great tool. I decided to apply it to my studies particularly during my exams where I had a bad habit of skimming through the questions rather than observing them for any crucial clues to the answers. After applying the power of observation, I found that the silly mistakes I committed which in turn led to the downfall of my marks had greatly reduced and it was after that I became a permanent member of 221 B, Baker Street which kindled the reading spirit within me.

I was searching for a volume of books which was a faithful adaptation of Sherlock Holmes stories as written by the author in 19th century. It was through this never ending search, I came upon the above mentioned book in 2012. The first volume of this book was unavailable in my local book shop at that time and so I decided to go ahead with volume 2 which itself is 976 pages long.

The two volumes cover the entirety of Sherlock Holmes stories which includes both the novels and short stories. The canon of Sherlock Holmes is vast and there is much discussion about it's reading order. The author did not write the stories in chronological order which makes the timelines a little difficult to follow. The publishers of this book have simplified this ambiguity by compiling all the novels & stories in chronological order. By simplifying the reader's experience and through it's comprehensive collection of stories, this volume of books is a stand out among it's peers. 

If you are newly introduced to the world of Sherlock Holmes or a seasoned veteran of Sherlock Holmes novels, this pair of books is a must have in your collection. I can't wait to complete volume 2 and move on to volume 1. No matter where you choose to begin, the life & adventures of the world's most famous detective and his friend is bound to leave an indelible impression on readers of all ages.

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this post! Till next time....

-Thejas