A Study in Scarlet: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Holmes has great powers of deduction. He tells how he identified a person has coming from Afghanistan by seeing characteristics of his appearance. Holmes also talks about how he can identify characteristics of blood. (thus the study in Scarlet). Then the book goes down to the murder mystery they are looking at. They identify an American, Jefferson Hope,  that poisoned two others in England. It is a long running revenge tale where Jefferson Hope had wanted mary the girl that one of the men had married. The girl died shortly after. It tied into the Danites and the Mormons. (The girl and her adoptive father were the only survivors of an immigrant group. They then ran into Mormons who took them and offered them a place in Salt Lake if they joined the faith. The man did outwardly, but not inwardly. Things came to a head when as the girl became a marriageable woman. She wanted to marry Hope who was outside the faith. They fled rather than give in.

The depiction of Mormons does portray some of the more extreme, surly characters. The guys that were murdered actively practiced polygamy and wanted to force people into it. They later left the main church in a schism. It talks about a central leadership but seems to get things wrong. It does however respect it as a general movement and the people are not cruel, but they are tight-knit group. Once in power, the oppressed tend to be like those they fled.

Holmes tends to quickly make deductions. How many of these are really accurate?

The book also includes Speckled Band

In this story, a snake is used to attempt to kill somebody. This ends up backfiring and killing the perpetrator instead.

The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination

The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination by Philip Ball

We often think of myths as being something that early societies used to explain what we can now explain with science. However, humanity continues to create myths. Modern myths often escape their creator to take on a life of their own. They become a part of the culture. This work looks at modern myths with a focus on a few key myths. 

Frankenstein's monster was created in a novel by Mary Shelley. Since then it has grown to be a common word (often with a confusion of the scientist and is monster.) It explores the challenges with the power we have with modern technology. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be considered an extension of this and has gone on to form a mythology of its own.

Bram Stoker based dracula somewhat on existing stories. However, his spin on it spun out into a widespread popularity and spawned many different Vampire novels. The myth has been adopted by society.

What modern myths are being created now? The author explores Batman. the character is still controlled by DC comic, but has been interpreted be a variety of artists in different media. Batman has also inspired various other characters and stories. Will any of the additional stories of today go on to form their own mythology? Which ones are "different" enough?  Franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter have well known characters, but follow well-established storylines and are still tightly controlled. Superheroes are popular, but have not often "broken free". A century from now we may know the answer. 

Sherlock Holmes: Classic Mysteries

Sherlock Holmes: Classic Mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle

This collection had four stories. However, I missed the start and end of the middle two. The only one that I really remembered was Baskervilles. Something about the narration made it difficult to follow. I need to find a better narrator.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

The Red Headed League

The Musgrave Ritual

The Hound of the Baskerville