The Return of Solar Pons

Solar Pons #3

by August Derleth, David Marcum (Editor), Derrick Belanger (Introduction)

It will be good news to many devotees of the deductive story — particularly the pastiche of Sherlock Holmes — that Solar Pons is back in a third major collection after a lapse of seven years. In his introduction to this collection, Mr. Smith echoes the sentiments of many readers when he writes, "These pastiches come the closest of any that have been written, consistently, to capturing the true flavor of the Holmesian Saga, and to making its people and its places and its happenings entirely credible." There are thirteen tales in this collection, ranging from the complex problem set forth in "The Adventure of the Lost Dutchman" to the sanguine events chronicled in "The Adventure of the Swedenborg Signatures". Here are such provocative exploits as "The Adventure of the Penny Magenta", "The Adventure of the Trained Cormorant", "The Adventure of the Little Hangman", "The Adventure of the Remarkable Worm", "The Adventure of the Camberwell Beauty". Here is a puzzle with supernatural overtones — "The Adventure of the Devil's Footprints", and here, too, another which touches upon the early exploration of atomic secrets — "The Adventure of the Rydberg Numbers". And one of these entertaining accounts is a double pastiche — not only of the Master of Baker Street, but also of the sinister Oriental of Limehouse! These tales will bring back long-missed Baker Street days, for No. 7 Praed Street bears a striking resemblance to 221B Baker Street, and Solar Pons and Dr. Parker seem often interchangeable with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. No living writer has equaled August Derleth's achievement in these pastiches, offered to readers with no intention to deceive, but only to entertain. Here once again is London of decades ago, and here, once again, "the game is afoot."

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime, Detective

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Cosmic Horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography

A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of thirteen stories featuring the great detective Solar Pons and his trusty biographer companion, Dr. Parker. Long recognized as among the best Holmes pastiches, the Pons stories are warm and comfortable puzzle stories set a generation after Doyle's masterpieces in a lovely and mysterious England as only a fan from Wisconsin could envision it. Most of them originally appeared in the early- to mid-'50s in magazines with magical-sounding names like The Pursuit Detective Story Magazine, Double-Action Detective Stories, The Saint Detective Magazine, and Nero Wolfe Mystery Magazine. I most enjoyed The Adventure of the Penny Magenta (I was raised by a philatelist), The Adventure of the Camberwell Beauty (which co-stars a thinly disguised Dr. Fu Manchu!), and The Adventure of the Lost Dutchman. They're well-crafted mysteries, and it's fun to read one early in the morning with my coffee and try to ferret out the little detail that lets Pons solve the case.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of the foremost Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Recommended for the Sherlock Holmes fan.

[Thaddeus Tuffentsamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Solar Pons for what it is. A direct copy of Sherlock Holmes.

The stories in this book are some of Derleth’s early work and they read like it.

Pons is more heavy handed in his ‘teasing’ of Parker, to the point that he often makes fun of him.

Several of the stories also end in Pons revealing the killer, someone who’d never been mentioned in the story, nor alluded to in the investigation. This takes you out a bit as it makes it impossible for the reader to conclude ‘who done it’!

The later stories are brilliant, these are entertaining, but Derleth really came to his own in later stories.

Still an enjoyable read, and a must have for the collection.

Also a fair warning should be given. There are racial stereotypes in these stories as well as language that was common 100 years ago, but is socially unacceptable and hurtful today.

But that’s an entirely different debate…

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

For lovers of the Canon, Derleth's Solar Pons stories occupy a very special place. They are simultaneously pastiches as well as chronologically updated adventures. As a result, these adventures throw nasty flashes of twentieth century upon otherwise cozy mysteries harking back to 221B Baker Street where it is always 1895! This particular book was no exception. While Pons comes off as a much more genial and humane person compared to the Great Detective, Parker and Bancroft (Watson and Mycroft's 'Avatar'-s respectively) are reflected in a rather poor light. Both, especially Parker appear to be rather dim-witted, which is sad.
The adventures are not very complex or mind-boggling, especially to us, the avid readers of pastiches. They also appear to be derivative of Canonical adventures, with Submarine plans being replaced by Atomic secrets, etc.
Nevertheless, these thirteen adventures were good reading. Thanks to the loving restoration of these stories and all the additional information provided by David Marcum, the Belanger edition has become assets to cherish.
Recommended.

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my re-visit of Derleth’s Solar Pons pastiches which my mystery book club is now looking into. I have chosen to explore Pons via the “Original Text Solar Pons Omnibus Edition, Vol 1.” The Return is an okay collection. A few of the stories are among Derleth’s best, while others are a bit weak and flat. So, not the best to sample. I continue to recommend the second collection, The Memoirs of S.P., as a good way to explore these Holmes-pastiche stories.

[Richard Mellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Pons

Another collection from our heroes ... Pons and Parker are on the trail of criminals in stories that will entertain you and amaze you with logical deductions that make you ask ... why didn't I catch that clue ...

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankly there is no way the snarky, short tempered, slow on the up-take Parker resembles the Watson of the canon. Book 3 of the series is more interesting, with Bancroft making a couple of very short appearances. I find Solar a bit uneven.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

great stories

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better pastiches of Sherlock Holmes, Pons and Parker are very entertaining.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best volume of Pons stories yet. “The Adventure of the Stone of Scone” and “The Adventure of the Little Hangman” being my favorites.