Sword and Song Book

Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel is utterly unimpressive. In short, the book starts like this:



and mid-way turns into this:



And I am not even joking. The novel begins with Holmes and Watson meeting, moving into their Baker Street apartment and then investigating a murder of a man found in an abandoned house. At the half point, however, the story completely changes its course and becomes the most awkward introduction of the murderer's back story and motives involving Mormons, polygamy, violence, money, and Brigham Young. The structure of The Study in Scarlet is utterly bizarre.

But let's not linger on the bad. I want to use this review to shamelessly hype the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes.



This is an absolutely delightful modernized take on the old characters and it offers a much better version of Arthur Conan Doyle's dreadful story. So, check it out.