Death Cloud Audiobook By Andrew Lane cover art

Death Cloud

Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins

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Death Cloud

By: Andrew Lane
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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About this listen

It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is 14. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers - his uncle and aunt - in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.

©2010 Andrew Lane (P)2011 Macmillan Audio
Action & Adventure Detective Fiction Historical Fiction Mysteries & Detectives Mystery Sherlock Holmes Exciting Young Adult

What listeners say about Death Cloud

Highly rated for:

Intriguing Mystery Clever Storyline Excellent Narration Developing Young Sherlock Engaging Adventures
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sherlock's teen adventures, a blast!

It's so much fun to see how Sherlock learned how to read all the clues that are everywhere. This is the story of a teen detective but it's got way more history and adventure that your average Nancy Drew or Hardy Boy mystery. It's from a British author but since JK Rowling is a Brit, I thought I would give it a listen and I'm an Andrew Lane fan now. Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good attempt at a prestory

It was a quick, good read. Sherlock was missing depth and many of his quirks. Story was interesting if unrealistic.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Death Cloud

I was disappointed with this book. I was expecting something else I think. Perhaps getting more into the mind of the young Sherlock to explain why he thought the way he did and detailing his thought processes as he solved his first mystery.

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Learning about Sherlock

Where does Death Cloud rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed getting to know Sherlock Holmes before he became the adult version that knows everything

What about Daniel Weyman’s performance did you like?

Very good. He kept you interested.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and very well read!

This is my first young Sherlock novel; great story and very well read! I hope for many more in the series?!?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Suspenseful tension through last word to next book

Andrew Lane has launched a literary fictional giant from a solid foundation. This first novel has proven he has the quality of storytelling to place us inside the youthful mind of Sherlock Holmes. What is remarkable is that Lane avoids the temptation to make Sherlock older than he is, which is to say, while he remains heroically ingenious, he courts luck and shocks himself with his own perceptibility or lack thereof. Five stars to Mr. Weyman, who breathes life into Sherlock's tutor in a most respectable way. Please keep making audible recordings of the other books in the series.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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And so begins the detective's career

I so much enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes novels written by Arthur Conan Doyle that I thought I would give Andrew Lane's younger version a try. As a teenager, this version of Sherlock was not as I expected. Perhaps I was leaning too much on the adult character, but I thought young Sherlock would be a boy genius. Instead, he is portrayed as a lad with an above average intelligence and a seemingly boundless curiosity. We therefore see the progression in Sherlock from his formative years to the astute detective made famous by A.C. Doyle.

The novel begins with 14 year old Sherlock waiting for his father to collect him from boarding school for the summer holiday. Instead he finds his brother, Mycroft, waiting in the headmaster's office. Mycroft informs Sherlock that their father has been sent to India and arrangements have been made with Uncle Sherrinford and Aunt Anna in Farnham to care for him during the summer.

Resigned to his fate, Sherlock tries to make the most of his situation. He meets a young orphan, Matty Arnatt, and the two boys become quick friends. Matty tells Sherlock of the Death Cloud he saw coming from a house in town. It came out of the window and went up the drain pipe. The man in the house had large boils on his face and hands reminiscent of the plague. This peaks Sherlock's curiosity and the two boys begin investigating.

About this time, Sherlock discovers that Mycroft has hired a tutor to help further his education. The tutor in question, Amyus Crowe, has come from America with his daughter Virginia, who Sherlock immediately becomes infatuated with. Later, while Amyus and Sherlock are hiking through the forest to learn about edible plants, another body is discovered bearing the same characteristics as the previous one. This time, it is Sherlock that witnesses the Death Cloud. He also finds some yellow powder near the body, which he collects in an envelope.

With the discovery of the second body, the community becomes worried about another outbreak of the bubonic plague, But Sherlock is not convinced. He had seen the second man earlier the same day the body was discovered, with no signs of any disease present. He and Matty's investigations lead to a secluded warehouse and a mysterious foreign Baron. With the help of Amyus and Virginia Crowe, the two boys are able to make sense of the clues and solve the case.

It is not surprising that Amyus Crowe reminded me of the grown Sherlock. With his vast amount of knowledge and deductive reasoning, he is the man Sherlock will become. At one point during the story, Sherlock notes that Amyus is trying to "teach me how to think," and indeed this is the case. Amyus would ask questions in such a way as to lead the young man in the direction of the solution without actually giving it to him.

The mystery set forth in the story is very clever, and while the villain is not typical of Doyle's Holmes character, I found the novel to be quite entertaining. If you are willing to believe that Holmes was not always the man he was portrayed as by Doyle, then I think you will enjoy this novel as much as I did.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I love the concept

As an ardent Sherlock Holmes fan I wanted to love this book!! However, this is a "OK" listen. Maybe next time?

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

A Jules Verne resolution but up to that point it's pure Sherlock. You will find many precursors to the future Holmes' life and philosophies and the characters, especially Mattie, are rich and original although the latter has a bit of Huckleberry Finn in him.

Overall, a great listen!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Ok

I loved the narration, but i disliked the romantic subplot. Other than that, it was not completely Sherlock Holmes cannon

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