“He can be cold and apparently unfeeling. He can seem boastful and condescending. He has little patience, sometimes, for people of lesser attainments than himself – which is to say, all of humanity. He is too easily bored by the ordinary, and too easily tempted into drug use and reclusive unsociability. But he is loyal, too, and rare glimpses of emotion show that he cares deeply for friendship, and for what is right. Socially, he is no snob; everything that is human is ultimately fascinating to him. He believes in justice more than he believes in the law. He can be extraordinarily kind, and almost tender, too.”
– Holmes’ character, foreword by Stephen Fry to the 2017 audio edition.