Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection

Sherlock Holmes is my fictional crush; I know he'd be no damn good for me, but I'd still willingly follow him until the wheels fell off. Proof of this being that I started listening to this audio in April and have since been devoted to it whenever I've been in the car - no cheating on it with Wilkie Collins or Kevin Hearne - and I've never gotten bored or developed a wandering ear.

Huge credit goes to Stephen Fry too, because my adoration of Holmes makes me picky and prickly. If he'd portrayed him as nasally or supercilious I'd have been righteously indignant and all up in his business (metaphorically speaking). But Fry gives him the perfect voice, which is, oddly enough, close to Fry's own (although I almost never heard 'Stephen Fry'). show more Condescending, a tad bored, but warm and tinged with a bit of humour at himself as well as others.

Where Fry really goes above and beyond though, in my opinion, is his portrayal of Watson. He nailed Watson and he did it for 4,260 minutes without ever losing track of his voice or allowing it to wander into being someone else's. It would have been an easier job to give his own voice to Watson instead of to Sherlock, but it works better this way; Watson sounds exactly like the kindly, naive, generous sort of man Conan Doyle created.

If you've already read the Sherlock Holmes stores but would like to revisit them, this is an excellent way to do it. If you haven't already experienced the brilliance that is Sherlock Holmes, this is a perfect introduction. I cannot recommend it highly enough. show less

A masterpiece by Stephen Fry. Every character portrayed flawlessly. Stephen is always a joy and this work is among his best.

It took me over nine months to complete the Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle. I purchased the audiobook through my Audible subscription. Stephen Fry narrates the 72-hour-long audiobook with eloquence.

The Sherlock Holmes collection primarily consists of short stories, so I developed a habit of listening to a story after completing an audiobook. This provided a delightful break between audiobooks. Surprisingly, it became a palate cleanser before I started my next audiobook. It also helped me feel less overwhelmed by a book that spans 72 hours.

I thoroughly enjoyed each detective story and cherished my time spent with Holmes and Watson. The mysteries were captivating, and the characters were entertaining. show more Stephen Fry’s narration was exceptional. I particularly enjoyed his personal introductions at the beginning of each title.

Before embarking on the Sherlock Holmes collection, I had listened to the podcast, The Real Sherlock by Lucinda Hawksley, on Audible. This podcast provided valuable insights into Doyle and the creation of the renowned character, which was beneficial before reading the collection. You can read my review of that podcast here. (See below for link to my blog.)

While there are various collections of Doyle’s masterful writing available, I am highly satisfied with this audiobook, which is exclusively available through Audible. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet read Doyle’s magnificent stories.

I’m concluding my review with an interview with Stephen Fry, where he expresses his deep love for Sherlock Holmes. (See link below)

I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog show less

Stephen Fry is the perfect person to narrate each character and facet of Sherlock Holmes.

Slowly listening in between other books...

Annoying: the book is split in parts, and some stories are cut in the middle, starting in one part and ending in another.

This is a version available from Audible.com, and extremely well read by Stephen Fry. At 60 hours, it is complete.