Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

25 reviews

decodethebooks's review against another edition

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dark

2.0

commits both the sins of being hugely racist and just really confusing.
locked room mystery was fun. turning that into a treasure hunt is not so fun.
and once again the massive amounts of racism and descriptions of colonisation was a real turn off… shocking I know.
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lavenderlion's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

It was hard to get through this Holmes’ story due to Conan Doyle’s racist and pro-imperialist biases.
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elenavillan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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pedanther's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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citrus_stars's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

so incredibly racist and sexist but what can you expect from an Englishman from the 1800s. 

overall, a pretty bland read; not anything to write home about and not something i'd recommend, really. a bit long-winded in the very last chapter, but that's just a personal opinion. it's saving grace was the humour, some of which still holds up pretty well.

ymmv with this book, but my opinion of it was severely soured by the overt racism. 
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pengintoppa's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
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ferndean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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softiejace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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ggcd1981's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Sign of Four é o segundo livro na série de Sherlock Holmes e, na minha opinião, foi melhor do que o primeiro. Nessa obra a atmosfera de Londres Vitoriana estava ainda mais intensa e mesmo quando em partes do livro a narrativa mudou de localização para a Índia enquanto um dos personagens contava partes da história foi muito mais atmosférico e misterioso do que o enorme flashback nos Estados Unidos de A Study in Scarlet. A narrativa, acredito, foi mais bem construída também pois Holmes e Watson figuram na maior parte da história e não foram necessárias extensas porções do livro com personagens secundários e longe dos protagonistas, como foi o caso do primeiro livro. Em The Sign of Four foi introduzido a personagem Mary, interesse romântico de Watson. Ela é honesta, firme, de caráter e coragem, mas não foi particularmente marcante. O mistério foi mais intrigante também em relação ao primeiro livro, apesar do tema vingança ter se repetido, esse foi desenvolvido de forma mais interessante.
O cenário montado nessa segunda obra foi bem mais estimulante, especialmente com cenas marcantes como a cena de um dos personagens no seu leito de morte vendo na janela o rosto terrível do homem que temia.
Mesmo já sabendo um pouco do que se tratava a resolução do mistério (em se tratando de Sherlock Holmes é quase impossível não ter nenhum spoiler) ainda assim desfrutei da leitura. O ponto negativo do livro foi o racismo e o body shaming direcionado ao personagem que pertencia a um dos povos pigmeus. Isso é não justificável, mas esperado de um livro escrito em 1890. Tendo isso em vista minha nota da obra é baseada na atmosfera, personagens e o mistério desenvolvido. Assim dou 4.5 estrelas.

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