Point of View

The graphic novel is related from the third-person, omniscient point of view. All characters are observed from an external perspective typical to graphic novels—the reader becomes, in effect, a voyeur in absentia to transpiring events. The novel is presented almost entirely in the present tense, but some scenes—for example, Moriarty's experiences at the Reichenbach Falls, show flash-backs. The interior thoughts of characters are not revealed, though the reader's ability to view characters in private situations fills in many gaps in the narrative. The artwork throughout is exceptionally rich and detailed and provides much of the characterization which ordinarily would be presented as narrative.

The point of view selected for the graphic novel is appropriate—indeed nearly mandatory—and leads to an easy and familiar accessibility to the text. It allows simultaneous events separated by great distances to be read and...