The Red Circle

Becoming Sherlock #1

by Anthony Horowitz, Sarah J. Naughton

Who is Sherlock Holmes?

We are 40 years into the future, and London is a city in decay. John Watson has returned from medical service in the war in Afghanistan and lives by himself in a run-down part of ​town. On his way home from work, he stumbles upon a beaten man in the street – unconscious and completely naked. His chances of survival are minimal.

The same evening, a passenger plane crashes in Richmond Park. There are several hundred victims, and Watson and the mysterious man are left to their own devices.

When the man wakes up the following day, he has no memory of who he is or where he came from but reveals excellent detection skills. This is the start of a mystery that unravels rapidly with one burning question at its core.

Can he solve the mystery of himself?

The Red Circle, the first instalment in the upcoming trilogy Becoming Sherlock by international bestseller Anthony Horowitz (known for Midsomer murders, Foyle's war, Alex Rider, and Hawthorne) and Sarah J. Naughton. Story development by Søren Vestergaard.

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, Alternate History, Science Fiction

10 pages, Audible Audio

First published December 7, 2023

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Mike Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

IN A NUTSHELL
‘Becoming Sherlock: The Red Circle‘ was excellent. An original idea, executed with style and conviction, delivering a genre-bending story with a solid mystery at its heart. It was clearly designed to be an audiobook, and it made the most of that medium without dropping into the see-how-immersive-our-sound-effiects-are? mode that I usually find distracting. 

Ipicked this book up thinking that I was going to get a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, with Anthony Horowitz producing new Sherlock Holmes novels in the same way that he writes now James Bond novels. 'Becoming Sherlock' was cleverer and more original than that. It was an engaging reworking of Sherlock Holmes, set in the near future and with some twists to the characters. 

I loved that, although it used characters from Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, it changed them in fundamental and surprising ways. It was a bold thing to do, but it worked. 

The near-future Britain-in-decline setting gave a lot of freedom for twisting the story into something new, while weaving in elements that are linked to Victorian London, like the use of horse-drawn vehicles and gas-powered lights, alongside gleaming tower blocks. laptop computers and crashing passenger jets. 

The mystery was complicated and exciting. A big part of the mystery was who the man who becomes known as Sherlock Holmes is. He himself has no memory of his name and only fragmented and confusing memories of his past. He also has astonishing recuperative abilities and a logical mind that equals the abilities of his namesake. 

The story is told from John Watson's point of view, but, unlike the Conan Doyle version, this isn't a first-person account written in admiration of his extraordinary friend, the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. We see John Watson from the outside, but we learn more about his thoughts than Sherlock's. I liked Watson. He came across as a competent and practical, recovering from the trauma and injuries of war and struggling to find his place in a disjointed world. 

I won't go into how the other characters differ from their namesakes, as part of the fun of the novel is finding that out. I admired that the characters felt real, which made their divergence from who I expected them to be even more engaging. 

This is the first book in a trilogy. This novel wasn't a cliff-hanger; the mystery of The Red Circle was solved, but I was left with a lot of questions that I'm looking forward to having answered in the next two books, not least of which is who it is that is 'becoming Sherlock'. 

I strongly recommend the audiobook version. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample of Alfred Enoch's performance. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jVQw...

[Diana Jankowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful venture! Anthony Horowitz and Sarah J. Naughton have recreated a masterpiece. It cannot be easy to regash old themes, where all the characters are known and plots have become sonewhat predictable. Yet, “Becoming Sherlock” offers a completely new world - very believable, even though it presents a scary outlook, and have given new life to Holmes, Watson and Mrs, or Missy Hudson.
Reading this has been pure pleasure and perhaps ot is a rare case where the remake surpasses the original.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened as an audiobook and the narration was fantastic! I thought the story was solid enough, not earth shattering but a good Holmes mystery and I'm very intrigued to see where the other two books in the trilogy go. Admittedly I was a little disappointed in one of the changes to the character relationship on this one but am still interested to see where it goes! Finally, I'd read somewhere that if you like BBC Sherlock you'd like this and I have to agree!

[Miglė · Rating 5 out of 5]

KODĖL man niekas nesakė, kad yra dar viena (slapta??), tik audio formatu išleista Anthony Horowitz knyga apie Holmsą?? Ir kad tai – visai kita serija negu The House of Silk ir Moriartis (kurios, beje, man mažiausiai patiko iš visų skaitytų Horowitz knygų)?? Kad šios knygos settingas yra ATEITIES Londonas, bet tiek nuskurdęs, kad praktiškai grįžo į Viktorijos laikus? Bet yra ir technologijos, o personažai ir jų santykiai – labai įdomiai interpretuoti, kartais netgi apversti? Kodėl nuo manęs slėpėte šią puikią audioknygą??

[Inés · Rating 5 out of 5]

El Círculo Rojo es el primer libro de la nueva trilogía (Becoming Sherlock) de Anthony Horowitz y Sarah J. Naughton.
Lo he escuchado en audiolibro con la voz del genialísimo Jordi Boixaderas y me ha encantado.

Podríamos decir que se trata de una especie de historia distópica muy peculiar ya que nos encontramos unos 40 años en el futuro,en un Londres que ha sucumbido a la ecatombe ecológica y económica.

Tratándose de la misma ciudad, es curioso ver cómo la mayoría de la población (muy pobre) vive de nuevo en un Londres Victoriano,alumbrando sus calles de nuevo con lámparas de gas debido al alto precio de la luz, volviendo a circular por las calles en vehículos arrastrados por caballos y viendo como inaccesibles los precarios servicios de metro,tren y avión que aún existen para la los económicamente más afortunados.

Jon Watson ha regresado de Afganistán y apenas sobrevive en un barrio marginal. De camino a casa se topa con un hombre herido de gravedad y al que consigue salvar con una operación clandestina a vida o muerte.
Cuando el hombre despierta no recuerda quién es, pero resulta evidente que se trata de alguien muy especial y con unos dotes de deducción fascinantes.

Al mismo tiempo,un sospechoso accidente de avión, una peligrosa organización de élite y la incógnita de saber quiés es él,harán que la historia te enrede y que estos dos personajes se vuelvan entrañables.

Muy recomendable, una nueva versión de mi adorado Sherlock Holmes que merece mucho la pena.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars rounded up. The novel has an intriguing concept - to set the Sherlock Holmes cast of characters in London 40 years from now. There have been a series of environmental and economic catastrophes which plunge London backwards and allow Horowitz to have an almost Victorian setting for Holmes, Watson, Mrs. Hudson et al to operate in. Holmes’ relationship to Mycroft seems that it will be very different than as normally portrayed. At times I felt that the devastation that had befallen was laid on a bit too thick. Will be interested to see how the series develops.

[Kris-Ann Moyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! Sherlock Holmes in post-apocalyptic London, Sometime in the future. It has all the characters and elements that make us love Sherlock Holmes stories. Horowitz does a good job of constructing accessible characters that are comfortably familiar, yet fresh and new.

[ElaF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Gabri · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 star for the premise: a modern/futuristic Sherlock Holmes, whose biggest mystery to solve is the mystery of himself. And precisely that is where it goes wrong: in this first part of a series, the mystery of himself isn’t the centre of the storyline. Heck, it’s not even 10%. And that infuriates me because after suffering through this read, I’ll have to read at least one sequel (or will it be more?) to get what the blurb promised me for this read.

My main issue with this read is the writing style. I’ve read one of Horowitz’s novels before, and I don’t remember its writing style being so insufferable, so I don’t know if it’s because of the cooperation with a second author or because Storytel wanted it to be accessible to a broad audience. Anyhow, the writing seems to be at an intermediate level, with many short descriptive sentences such as “Sherlock looked out of the window. He looked sad.”
There are also some editorial errors. One that particularly annoyed me is the transcript from the black box, in which Runway 26 is transcribed as “Runway twenty-six” instead of “Runway two-six”.
Furthermore, the use of an omniscient narrator doesn’t work in this supposed mystery novel since we’re getting all these thoughts and feelings of each and every person in the story, removing the mysterious air around people and events.

The plot consists of too many elements, supposedly to create a thrilling experience but leaving the reader exhausted instead. And seriously, how is no one giving a shit about Sherlock’s background mystery and his experience at the mill?
On top of that, the true detectives/heroes in this story are the police, and although I'm pleased for Scotland Yard that their honour has been restored after all those years of shade in ACD's stories, I'm disappointed by the lack of detective work from Sherlock.
And in the end, after Sherlock deliberately has killed some people, he and the police are casually sharing a bottle of wine. Sure, they were considered the bad guys, but psychopath much?

I did enjoy the nods to several characters and stories (such as Missy Hudson and George Lestrade), but as soon as the authors went absolutely haywire with Mycroft Holmes (he has long hair, a “gender fluid face”, wears sneakers and utters sentences like “come on guys”) I knew this one wasn't going to be my cup of tea.

[Chantelle Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 🌟 (Audible)

Entered this alternate world of Sherlock without any clues. Horse-drawn carriages in a dystopian 2050s era? Interesting world building + character shifts, while still maintaining the essence of Sherlock. I need to absorb more before I can make an educated response to this series.

Excellent narrator, though!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, fast read with a new take on the Sherlock Holmes legend set in a semi-dystopian future London. Interesting enough to keep me reading the series.

[Eti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хареса ми различния прочит на познатия тандем... Идеята е интересна и ми припомни за сериала ШЕРЛОК на BBC. Това, което НЕ харесах беше леко отвлеченото поведение на Холмс... Искаше ми се процесът на дедукция да беше по-подробно представен, а не като сигурен и категоричен факт. Иначе - чакам следващата част 😏

[Петър Керкелов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Много добър образ на Шерлок.
Всички друго в книгата е по-скоро слабо - безумата постановка на постепенен технологичен регрес, разочароващо постната кулминация на историята, нереалистичните отношения между героите, твърде многото сюжетни линии, които остават отворени, нищо не е на ниво, но силата на един образ спасява всичко и човек остава с впечатлението, че е попаднал на сравнително добра книга. И дори чака продължението.

[Piotr Stasiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Za historię należą sie 3, ale świat przedstawiony zasłużył na dodatkową.

[Aneta Batakchieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Интересна е идеята за това, как се е зародил образът на Шерлок, но изпълнението не беше на ниво.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoko koncep, dobrze się słucha (szczególnie, że czyta Kosior) ale serial BBC zrobił to jednak lepiej 🙃

[Aneliya Ivanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know what to say 😩.I thought the author of this novel is somebody quite different to the author Horowitz from the Hawthorne and Horowitz series . Couldn’t connect the image of Sherlock Holmes’s from the classics stories and these one what is in somewhere in future.

[Jooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be so suitable for a tv-series and I don't even like watching tv...

At the beginning I didn't really now what to expect, but almost from the start there was a mystery to solve. What seemed like the "simple task" of finding out "who is Sherlock?" became a much more extended one that connected more people and ploys in the "underground belly" of a dystopian and futuristic London.

I can't wait till the next part will become available on Storytel...

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ascoltata edizione in italiano, ma è veramente divertente ritrovarci nel futuro (piuttosto oscuro e deprimente) in compagnia con i personaggi classici di Sherlock Holmes ma alla presa con nuovi nemici dal vecchio nome.

[Anna Kristín · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storytel á íslensku Rauði hringurinn

[Mariia Kornilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked all those little nods to the original story: that's what always gives me joy when I watch Sherlock TV series, for example. The plot was also OK, but so many major things just don't add up! Honestly, I hate when the author doesn't bother to explain the setting of the story: he talks about it a lot all right, but why is all this happening?! I have specifically listened twice the part about the current situation in the world at the beginning of the book, and yes, I got it right: no reason, but this is the world they live in now. That instantly ruined my whole impression from the book. And then it was just one thing after another: how could Missy Hudson not notice the thing about her house earlier? How can John Watson give prescriptions if he doesn't have a doctor's license? What about a bunch of kids that attacked John at the beginning of the book? And so, so many other questions.
In my opinion, the first book of a series should temp you to eagerly wait for the next ones with a mixture of delight and interest for unresolved questions. I got none of these, and it's a bitter feeling.

[Lotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Efter allt jag läst och alla serier jag sett om och med någon version av Sherlock Holmes så är det svårt att överraska mig. Men här tycker jag att det känns nytt och fräsch ändå, trots att boken inte avviker allt för mycket från huvudspåret. Den utspelar sig i en ganska dyster framtid där mycket har fått återgå till det analoga i brist på resurser. I brist på bränsle så dras vissa fordon med häst igen och det är bara de rika som har råd att flyga som exempel. Karaktärerna känner man snabbt igen även om deras bakgrunder är lite annorlunda jämfört med andra versioner. Jag gillar även att de snabbt kastas in i ett antal mysterier som behöver lösas, några mer förutsägbara än andra, men det är spännande att följa. Nu vet jag inte om jag är så förtjust i Watson och Missy som par, det lär ju bli intressant när Mary dyker upp… Jag hoppar genast in på bok två, så att jag kan läsa klart innan tredje boken släpps nu snart.

[A J Nel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first novel in a murder mystery trilogy set in a dystopian future London. The story centers around a disoriented man with amnesia, named Sherlock Holmes by a stranger who fished him out of the Thames rive, ie Watson.Together they try to solve the mystery of Holmes' identity while also being entangled in another puzzling case which started with an airliner crash over London. Very clever writing, with true to Connor Doyle atmosphere, which works very well in the dystopian future London. The mystery in this novel focuses around Holmes more than any murder and thus creates the setting for the series which will follow.

[Yossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice enough story, but not on par with Anthony Horowitz's other works. The premise is interesting (if somewhat forced into the Victorian style), but it seems like more effort has gone into inserting easter eggs that give a nod to the original material than to the actual story. The story starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. The big bad is not so big and the whole thing feels anti-climactic. Still, it's enjoyable, so if you have a few hours to spend, you can do worse.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original version of a Sherlock story. Have to say it feels like there are some plot holes especially because it is set in the future, which is unpredictable, but I think he made some daring assumptions. Overall a great story nonetheless.

[Tiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting setting for another Sherlock Holmes version! The story developed nicely, the mystery was mysterious, and it was refreshing that the ultra-bad person was not the most prominent character here.

[Akiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was quite confused for the first 30 min listening to the audio book but once I knew it was 40 years from now in dystopian London, it was very fun. Liked it and look forward to the next book of this series. I love Anthony Horowitz writing and wonder how much this novel was
actually written by him.

[Francesco Mancuso · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is truly captivating and well crafted. I enjoyed very much how Ms Naughton and Mr Horowitz rebuilt the iconic Sherlockian setup in a quasi Victorian London. The narration of Mr Enoch is nothing short of brilliant. Highly recommended.

[A Person · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored it. The cringey romance was too much to give it 5 stars.

[Arno Ruusalepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ootamatult hea kuulata. Saab ka tänapäevaselt Sherlockit teha.