The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes

More collections like this, please!

What did you love best about The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes?

This was my very first Audible purchase, and I purchased wisely. I read Sherlock Holmes in bits and pieces while growing up because my dad was an avid fan, so getting this collection for such a bargain seemed like a great idea. Fortunately, I was right.

This collection covers a huge range of stories, most of which are excellent, some of which fall a little flat. This is, however, to be expected for such a volume of work. Some of it also feels a bit dated, also to be expected from any classic. Anyone interested in the detective mystery genre has to be familiar with Sherlock Holmes, and this particular collection is strongly recommended.

The narrator, Charlton Griffin, does an excellent job. I listened to a sample of another audiobook covering the same stories, and the narrator was rushing everything. Mr. Griffin takes his time and delivers an outstanding performance. My only point of feedback is that his American accent (as some American characters do present themselves) could use a little bit of work, and his voices for women were a little distracting until you got used to them.

Any additional comments?

My subject line says it all. I would very much like to see Audible release more massive collections like this one as bulk purchases.

48 of 49 people found this review helpful

Excellent complete collection

Excellent complete collection of one of my favorite authors. Enjoyed the performance of the narrator who had a good consistent voice for various characters. The quality of the recording was excellent. If you want a complete collection of the Sherlock Holmes (shouldn't everyone have one?), this is the one for you.

48 of 51 people found this review helpful

Better than Stephen Frye’s version

I fell in love with Charlton Griffins narration of the Holmes collection and then thought I’d try Frye’s version. It’s evident who is the actor and who is the professional narrator. Griffin does many characters with various accents, inflections, and tones.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great value

Would you consider the audio edition of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes to be better than the print version?

I prefer it as I can listen while I work.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it's a complete collection. You get your "money's" worth when you use a credit!

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Any additional comments?

It's overall pretty good. There are some odd audio errors though. In the first couple chapters there's a sound like someone's digital watch alarm is going off that lasts for 30 seconds or so. There's also a sound like someone is shuffling papers once in a while. Otherwise it's good.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

MUST LISTEN TO!!

Loved the narrator, had different voices for all the characters! Couldn't stop listening to it!! Totally recommend it to Sherlock fans!

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Pretty good production & a great value!!!

Anyone who knows the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle knows if they like them or not. They are a little dated, being originally published between 1887 and 1927, but they are pretty good stories, and quite enjoyable. The only reason that I gave this a 4 is that the reader needs to work on his accents, and his women's voices are somewhat annoying. If you can ignore this, this production is well worth the cost of one credit for over 70 hours of darn good detective stories.

26 of 30 people found this review helpful

Quite an Enjoyable Performance

What made the experience of listening to The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes the most enjoyable?

As a bit of a Holmes nut, I have listened to a number of audio performances of Doyle's stories. I believe that Mr. Griffin's performance captures both Holmes' and Watson's personalities quite admirably. I cannot imagine a better performance.

What other book might you compare The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes to and why?

These stories are in a class with The Lord of the Rings, Tom Sawyer, and Poe's stories. People will be reading/listening to these classics for a long time to come.

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

His performance of Holmes in these stories is spot on: Holmes' authoritative voice, his compassionate side, his aloof side, and his arrogant side all come through. His portrayal of Watson is equally well done. Bravo!!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Fun Stories, Good Performance

I always loved the Sherlock Holmes stories, but this was the first time I got all of them together. It was interesting to see the progression of the character development. From a technical perspective, it's also interesting to see the effect of Conan Doyle's changing attitude toward his title character on the quality of the stories.

The reader's performance was good, though he needs to work on his female voices.

Overall, a good recording of the full collection.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

It's Elementary, my dear Watson

Let's look at the clues, Watson. Which character in the last two centuries has inspired as many different versions of his tales in as many different settings as has Sherlock Holmes? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries are timeless as they deal not with the environment they are set but with the heart of man which doesn't change in time. Sherlock Holmes is not a deity. Doyle makes sure to include his faults, vices, and addictions, fleshing out a rounded character who, however improbable his observations would be in the real world, creates a character you could see walking in the streets of London.
The narration is great in this version. While Watson and Holmes have the same voice, you can always tell who is who by the inflection of Charlton Griffin so you never get confused who is talking. Secondary characters all have distinct voices with appropriate accents and styles, making it easy to follow.
And Watson, how can you go wrong with over 70 hours of fantastic story for only 1 credit?

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Easy Way to Finally Read the Complete Holmes

Where does The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I'd rate this one as above average. The story itself is wonderful--it's the original Sherlock Holmes, for heaven's sake! Not perfect, not infallible, but still a work of genius that inspires people more than a century later. I recently learned that some of the first movies ever made were Sherlock Holmes stories, such was their popularity, and obviously that popularity hasn't faded. The narrator, however, leaves something to be desired. He's good, don't get me wrong. As I said, I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and as narrators go, Charlton Griffin is somewhat above average, but he's not great. His range is a bit limited--he can do a variety of voices, but the variety isn't wide. He pronounces a startling number of words incorrectly, especially at the beginning of the book. He actually reads various phrases completely wrong, substituting language of his own. I've heard worse narrators, but I've also heard better.

What other book might you compare The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes to and why?

I'm not sure "comparable" is a fair word to use when the original Conan Doyle-written Sherlock Holmes is the standard of comparison. On the one hand, there are innumerable books today that are very comparable and even significantly superior; but when the fact that this is the original is figured into the equation, it becomes not a matter of comparability but of imitation. Everyone who loves this sort of fiction should read this book to see where it all began.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Read the book!! Sorry, don't mean to be hostile, but it's a bit exasperating that he read it so inaccurately at times. It's only the occasional flub; but I'm a stickler for accuracy, so the littlest thing annoys me. And he does it repeatedly, nor are his inaccuracies necessarily small ones. Sometimes he changes entire sentences, not just the odd word. On the other hand, I think he performs the accents and voices decently, on the whole; he's enjoyable to listen to, from the point of view of an American who very frequently listens to people with English accents of all sorts, on books and TV and movies. I think he sounds authentic, on the whole, though I've heard better performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I can't think of a particular moment; it was more the totality of the work that moved me, over and over again as I listened to it and realized how this one body of work has formed the foundation for not only the whole detective literary genre but also for our police forensic sciences of today. These days we tend to think more of the science fiction that has inspired our cell phones and computers and so forth and we forget that Conan Doyle's stories a century ago inspired a real revolution in police and forensic procedures. Quite literally, we would not have the crime-fighting abilities we do today without Sherlock Holmes. I found that profoundly moving.

Any additional comments?

For those who love detective stories, and in particular stories involving Sherlock Holmes, this book is invaluable as a reference and source material and as a foundation. The narration, while far from perfect, was enjoyable to listen to for its accents and voices, and fairly good for overall performance. Perhaps I would recommend another recording from a more scrupulously-accurate (and therefore Holmes-like) British actor who was also able to perform a wide range of characters, should one ever be made in the future, but this one is more than merely acceptable for now.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful