Arsene Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes [Classic Tales Edition]

By: Maurice Leblanc

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The national burglar of France faces off against the national detective of England in two unforgettable stories. Originally released as Arsene Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes because of copyright issues, we have taken the liberty of replacing the counterfeit names originally published with those of the original sleuth himself, Sherlock Holmes (in the place of Herlock Sholmes) and his faithful Dr. Watson (in the place of Wilson). The result is an experience for the ages that you won't want to miss.

Three desperate crimes each proclaim the orchestration of Arsene Lupin (master of disguise, historian, fine-art expert, and gentleman thief). How did he do this, given their sheer impossibility and absolute lack of clues? All three of these burglaries couldn't have logically happened, and the valuable pieces are, indeed, missing. Though Inspector Ganimard, who has already arrested Lupin once, does his very best, he is at a complete loss. Finally, the great Sherlock Holmes himself is brought in to bring the elusive Lupin to justice.

Both are at the very pinnacles of their respective professions, and each gives as well as he gets in this royal battle of wits. Don't miss this extravagant game of plot and counterplot with two of the greatest characters in the mystery genre: Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin.

Public Domain (P)2015 B.J. Harrison

Couple of things

to be short and sweet
1) The writing does Watson an injustice
2) Sherlock Holmes is mostly held true to his character
3) The narrator failed to change all "Wilson's" to "Watson"

May the Best Mind Win

I absolutely loved Maurice LeBlanc’s first Arsene Lupin Book, “The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin,” so naturally I had to pick up the sequel! Plus, B. J. Harrison returns to continue his outstanding narration from the previous book!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually sued LeBlanc for putting Sherlock Holmes into this novel without his permission, but I’d forgive LeBlanc’s intellectual property theft since he is clearly a huge fan of the detective. Plus, Holmes scholars will recall that several stories make references to Holmes visiting France, so in my opinion this book should be considered canonical.

I’m not sure LeBlanc gets Holmes’ personally down perfectly, he certainly messes up Watson’s doting characterization, but it’s absolutely spectacular to watch the world’s greatest detective go up against the world’s greatest thief. This book feels like watching two Chess masters doing battle across an entire country. If that sounds interesting to you, you must check this one out. What more are you waiting for? Beyond highly recommended!

vivid story telling

I wish it was longer it leaves you wanting more. The stories and the methods in which they are expressed paint a world in which one longs to explore and the detail of these stories is transformative.

Seems to have been written as a grudge

I enjoyed this less than the first book. It was as if it was written as a grudge against Arthur Conan Doyle. The narration was as enjoyable. Not sure how definitive the text is because not all of the Wilsons were changed to Watsons. (After copyright ended, there was no need to use the names Sholmes and Wilson.)

Great Performance of a Mediocre Story

B.J. Harrison did a fantastic job, but the story feels like a fanfiction written after someone read one of those crappy "versus" posts on forums. Holmes is portrayed as quick to violence and for the most part feels somewhat incompetent compared to the canonical version. However, it was still good to see a crossover, I just wish it didn't feel so Lupin-weighted.

Not what I was expecting

First I'd love to give praise to the narrator B.J. Harrison. His voices, his accents, his voice smooth and clear, it was perfect.

I'm a huge fan of the lupin series and Leblanc's writing style is so natural and smooth; however I had a hard time understanding this book. It would probably be better if I read the book along with listen to the audio, but it just wasn't what I was expecting of the gentleman theif (or burglar) series.