Martin Powell (1)

This was...awful.

Let's start with the least objectionable aspect: the art. At times, Seppo Makinen is capable of crafting finely detailed imagery that's quite beautiful. Unfortunately, that's only here and there on occasional panels. The rest of the time, he's producing overly-sketchy linework that's virtually indecipherable. There were times where I had to simply take it on faith that something was happening, because I couldn't make out the action through all the muddy artwork.

And Makinen show more also seems incapable of drawing any woman without their top almost falling off, and their nipples pushing mightily against the filmy fabric they're inevitably wearing. Not your standard Sherlock fare, to be sure.

And speaking of non-standard Sherlock fare, let's talk about Martin Powell's stories. Powell's an admitted fan of Sherlock, yet somehow manages to suck all the essential Sherlockness right out of the story, instead injecting scads of over-the-top supernatural plot devices that give Holmes literally nothing factual to work with.

He also turns Holmes into a yelling, panicking fool.

There is truly no redeeming features to these stories, and no reason for a devout Sherlock Holmes fan to seek them out. show less

Sin duda alguna hacerse fan de Conan Doyle y su Sherlock Holmes es inevitable, una vez que he comenzado a leer sus libros, no quiero parar.

Este es el tercero que leo de esta serie, pensaba que era la tercera entrega, pero me he enterado de que es en realidad la quinta, algo que me sacude porque no me gusta leer libros de series en desorden, aunque supongo que no tiene tanta importancia.

Los dos anteriores que he leído me han gustado mucho, sin embargo, éste, a diferencia de los otros dos, show more tiene una profundidad de historia que me ha fascinado, no solo es que se presenta un tema sobrenatural si no que en la mayor parte de la historia, Sherlock Holmes ni siquiera aparece en la historia, casi toda la historia está sustentada sobre la figura de Watson, aunque por supuesto Sherlock ha llegado en el momento adecuado para desenredar la madeja y esclarecer el misterio.

Es curioso que me gustara tanto esta historia, porque casi desde un principio he adivinado la resolución, pero más allá de enterarnos quien es el culpable y como se han desarrollado los hechos, me parece a mí que lo que atrae tanto de estos libros, primero son sus protagonistas, Sherlock y Watson ya por si mismos invitan a seguir y continuar, sin contar que la forma en que Conan Doyle narra, cuenta y desarrolla la historia es entretenidísimo.

No puedo evitar tener sentimientos encontrados hacía Holmes, creo que eso nos pasa a todos, mientras es un personaje atrayente también es un personaje repelente hasta la médula, pero como me gusta mucho la gente inteligente y sin duda Sherlock tiene toda la personalidad de un genio, pues he decidido que me gusta más que me repele.

Adoro esos finales donde el último capítulo es exclusivamente para la explicación completa del caso, no de cómo se resolvió si no del contexto completo, la historia del asesino, sus motivaciones, su vida y sus pasos hasta llegar al punto de cometer el delito que nos llevó a esta aventura.

Nada más que decir es Conan Doyle y es un clásico indispensable. show less

I watched the Joel Coen Macbeth movie with Denzel Washington, and since I was a bit dissatisfied by that adaptation, I thought I'd try another one right away to compare, and boy is this one so much worse.

I felt the Coen flick was too dominated by a director who wanted to let you know he was directing dammit!!! from the use of black-and-white stock to the super elongated shadows to the bizarre elevation of Macbeth's cousin Ross from minor messenger in the play to major character in the film. show more Meanwhile, Denzel's Macbeth was too withdrawn, reserved, and monotone for me.

But at least they didn't dumb down the material to the degree this adaptation does. Of course, the plot and language are simplified for an audience of children, but sheesh. I suppose it will serve to at least familiarize kids with the story so they are better prepared to tackle the original later in life, unless the pure cheesiness puts them off ever attempting that.

At least it made me feel a little better about the Coen film. show less

Mirabelle’s father has stolen from the king and at his trial promised that his daughter will spin gold from straw to repay what he has stolen. The only problem is that Mirabelle cannot spin gold, but such is her love for her father that she will not say that he has told a lie. All seems lost until a hobgoblin appears and offers to spin gold for Mirabelle, but for this he will require a steep price.

Large vibrant pictures with cartoon stylised characters will draw the eye of young children, show more and the tried and tested fairy tale formula will delight them. Though the story does not exactly follow the traditional tale of Rumpelstiltskin it in no way suffers for it. For its intended audience it is exactly what it should be, concise and entertaining.

As a side note the lining of the cover is made of a textured paper with rough raised worm tracks. I couldn’t help but rub my fingers over it again and again. This great tactile reward would be easy to overlook, but is great to have in an early reader book. show less