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Solar Pons #10
The Further Adventures of Solar Pons
In this further volume we again join Solar Pons, the latter-day Sherlock Holmes, and his colleague, Dr. Lyndon Parker, as they solve another four puzzling cases.
"The Adventure of the Shaft of Death"
"The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor"
"The Adventure of the Surrey Sadist"
"The Adventure of the Missing Student".
"The Adventure of the Shaft of Death"
"The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor"
"The Adventure of the Surrey Sadist"
"The Adventure of the Missing Student".
- GenresMystery
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Basil Copper
185 books41 followersBasil Copper was an English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. He has written over 50 books and scripts. In addition to fantasy and horror, Copper is known for his series of Solar Pons stories continuing the character created by August Derleth.
Copper edited a 1982 two-volume omnibus collection of Derleth's stories of the 'Pontine' canon, published by Arkham House, a publishing firm founded by Derleth himself and chiefly publishing weird fiction (such as Cthulhu Mythos tales); in that edition, Copper "edited" most of the tales in ways that many Pontine aficionados found objectionable[citation needed]. A later omnibus, The Original Text Solar Pons Omnibus Edition, was issued in 2000 under the imprint of Mycroft & Moran (a name which is itself a Holmesian jest).
He also wrote the long-running hard-boiled detective stories of "Mike Faraday" (58 novels from 1966 to 1988).
Copper has received many honours in recent years. In 1979, the Mark Twain Society of America elected him a Knight of Mark Twain for his outstanding "contribution to modern fiction", while the Praed Street Irregulars have twice honoured him for his work on the Solar Pons series. He has been a member of the Crime Writer's Association for over thirty years, serving as chairman in 1981/82 and on its committee for a total of seven years.
In early 2008, a bio-bibliography was published on him: Basil Copper: A Life in Books, compiled and edited by Stephen Jones.
In March 2010, Darkness, Mist and Shadow: The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper was launched at the Brighton World Horror Convention as a two-volume set by PS Publishing.
Copper edited a 1982 two-volume omnibus collection of Derleth's stories of the 'Pontine' canon, published by Arkham House, a publishing firm founded by Derleth himself and chiefly publishing weird fiction (such as Cthulhu Mythos tales); in that edition, Copper "edited" most of the tales in ways that many Pontine aficionados found objectionable[citation needed]. A later omnibus, The Original Text Solar Pons Omnibus Edition, was issued in 2000 under the imprint of Mycroft & Moran (a name which is itself a Holmesian jest).
He also wrote the long-running hard-boiled detective stories of "Mike Faraday" (58 novels from 1966 to 1988).
Copper has received many honours in recent years. In 1979, the Mark Twain Society of America elected him a Knight of Mark Twain for his outstanding "contribution to modern fiction", while the Praed Street Irregulars have twice honoured him for his work on the Solar Pons series. He has been a member of the Crime Writer's Association for over thirty years, serving as chairman in 1981/82 and on its committee for a total of seven years.
In early 2008, a bio-bibliography was published on him: Basil Copper: A Life in Books, compiled and edited by Stephen Jones.
In March 2010, Darkness, Mist and Shadow: The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper was launched at the Brighton World Horror Convention as a two-volume set by PS Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 17, 2021
Wisconsin teenager August Derleth was a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. When he learned that there would apparently be no further Holmes stories forthcoming from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote a letter to the great man asking if he could write the stories from now on. Sir Arthur made it clear the answer was “no”, but that didn’t stop August from creating his own extremely similar sleuth.
Legally distinct character Solar Pons is a consulting detective that lives at 7B Praed Street with his good friend and biographer Dr. Lyndon Parker and their housekeeper Mrs. Johnson. His smarter brother Bancroft has a poorly-defined position in the government, and Solar often helps out Scotland Yard, especially in the person of well-meaning but not quite as bright Inspector Jamison (no relation.)
The stories are set in the same continuity as Sherlock Holmes, who is referred to as “the Master” but never appears. Holmes retired to keep bees in Sussex around the beginning of World War One, and Pons operates exclusively between 1919 and 1939 (and makes more use of available technology than the rather conservative Holmes did.)
After August Derleth’s death in 1971, his estate allowed Basil Copper to continue the Solar Pons series, and it’s one of these volumes that is to hand today. My copy is of the 1987 reprint, which has, I am told, slightly different contents than the 1979 first printing. There are four stories in this short volume.
“The Adventure of the Shaft of Death” finds Pons and Parker in the city of Bath, where they’ve gone for a vacation. But before they can take the waters, there’s a mystery to solve. Of course. It seems there’s been an odd series of occurrences culminating in a known criminal dying on a nearby country estate. He died of a peculiar wound, and his last words were “the shaft of death.” A family tomb may be involved, but there’s no sign of anything that could be the weapon.
“The Adventure of the Frightened Governess” has our heroes engaged by a young woman who’s been hired under bizarre circumstances to be governess to children whose behavior is uncanny, and seem to be stalked by desperate men, who even shot near the governess! I figured most of the secret out very early in the story, and have to wonder how it took the young woman so long to realize that this was a red flag situation.
“The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor” involves a sculptor being murdered with his own mallet in a studio locked from the inside. This one only works if you are already aware that a thinly-disguised Fu Manchu exists in the story’s universe.
“Murder at the Zoo” rounds out the volume with a series of vandalism and release of animals at the London Zoo. The papers are calling the perpetrator “the Phantom of the Zoo”, and ascribing near-supernatural abilities to said phantom, but Solar Pons isn’t so sure. He’s engaged by a young zookeeper who’s been framed for some of the crimes, but there is a deeper mystery, one that will end in death!
These stories are very much in the Sherlockian mode. The observant or genre-savvy reader will be able to work out most of what’s going on, but we don’t get specific clues that Pons is picking up, and he often does research off-page. Parker is more like the movie “stupid Watson” than the original stories’ fairly bright Watson, and Pons teases him about it a lot. Pons is a fair bit more affable than Holmes, and the two men enjoy their banter.
I liked the zoo story the best, and the sculptor story least. I’m told the Derleth-penned stories are of better quality, but these are decent enough if you spot this book at a garage sale.
Content note: Period racism; prejudice against the Roma (here called “gypsies”), and Parker keeps referring to East Asian people as “yellow.” Suicide in one story.
Recommended to Holmes fans wanting to branch out a bit, but not too far.
Legally distinct character Solar Pons is a consulting detective that lives at 7B Praed Street with his good friend and biographer Dr. Lyndon Parker and their housekeeper Mrs. Johnson. His smarter brother Bancroft has a poorly-defined position in the government, and Solar often helps out Scotland Yard, especially in the person of well-meaning but not quite as bright Inspector Jamison (no relation.)
The stories are set in the same continuity as Sherlock Holmes, who is referred to as “the Master” but never appears. Holmes retired to keep bees in Sussex around the beginning of World War One, and Pons operates exclusively between 1919 and 1939 (and makes more use of available technology than the rather conservative Holmes did.)
After August Derleth’s death in 1971, his estate allowed Basil Copper to continue the Solar Pons series, and it’s one of these volumes that is to hand today. My copy is of the 1987 reprint, which has, I am told, slightly different contents than the 1979 first printing. There are four stories in this short volume.
“The Adventure of the Shaft of Death” finds Pons and Parker in the city of Bath, where they’ve gone for a vacation. But before they can take the waters, there’s a mystery to solve. Of course. It seems there’s been an odd series of occurrences culminating in a known criminal dying on a nearby country estate. He died of a peculiar wound, and his last words were “the shaft of death.” A family tomb may be involved, but there’s no sign of anything that could be the weapon.
“The Adventure of the Frightened Governess” has our heroes engaged by a young woman who’s been hired under bizarre circumstances to be governess to children whose behavior is uncanny, and seem to be stalked by desperate men, who even shot near the governess! I figured most of the secret out very early in the story, and have to wonder how it took the young woman so long to realize that this was a red flag situation.
“The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor” involves a sculptor being murdered with his own mallet in a studio locked from the inside. This one only works if you are already aware that a thinly-disguised Fu Manchu exists in the story’s universe.
“Murder at the Zoo” rounds out the volume with a series of vandalism and release of animals at the London Zoo. The papers are calling the perpetrator “the Phantom of the Zoo”, and ascribing near-supernatural abilities to said phantom, but Solar Pons isn’t so sure. He’s engaged by a young zookeeper who’s been framed for some of the crimes, but there is a deeper mystery, one that will end in death!
These stories are very much in the Sherlockian mode. The observant or genre-savvy reader will be able to work out most of what’s going on, but we don’t get specific clues that Pons is picking up, and he often does research off-page. Parker is more like the movie “stupid Watson” than the original stories’ fairly bright Watson, and Pons teases him about it a lot. Pons is a fair bit more affable than Holmes, and the two men enjoy their banter.
I liked the zoo story the best, and the sculptor story least. I’m told the Derleth-penned stories are of better quality, but these are decent enough if you spot this book at a garage sale.
Content note: Period racism; prejudice against the Roma (here called “gypsies”), and Parker keeps referring to East Asian people as “yellow.” Suicide in one story.
Recommended to Holmes fans wanting to branch out a bit, but not too far.
August 22, 2019
The famous detective Solar Pons lives in rooms in London with his friend and assistant, a physician. Pons' immensely fat brother works at the Foreign Office. If these clues don't remind you of anyone, this is not the book for you. Copper picks up August Derleth's characters for a rather faithful pastiche of Sherlock Holmes and presents four novellas. I was rather disappointed by one of them, which violates one of Father Knox's dicta, and one of them seemed rather obvious, but the other two were interesting and fun.
March 7, 2023
Solar Pons is an offshoot of Sherlock Holmes. He has similar cases, but set more in the 1920s to 1930s.
These four cases are typical. The shaft of death seems mysterious as it doesn't seem to exist in the mausoleum setting, but does. The frightened governess has an international scope which Solar's brother Bancroft helps with. The defeated doctor is a locked room mystery. The zoo murder has confusion muddying up the solution.
The cases are easy reading, fun for a Holmes fan. They are a bit predictable.
These four cases are typical. The shaft of death seems mysterious as it doesn't seem to exist in the mausoleum setting, but does. The frightened governess has an international scope which Solar's brother Bancroft helps with. The defeated doctor is a locked room mystery. The zoo murder has confusion muddying up the solution.
The cases are easy reading, fun for a Holmes fan. They are a bit predictable.
August 30, 2018
Short read but enjoyable.
This collection does not have as many stories contained within but each is enjoyable and not all that time consuming to read
This collection does not have as many stories contained within but each is enjoyable and not all that time consuming to read
June 12, 2022
Actually 2.5
Seems to have a lot of negative retrograde attitudes for a book first published in 1979.
Read May 2022
Seems to have a lot of negative retrograde attitudes for a book first published in 1979.
Read May 2022
July 31, 2020
A pretty smooth ride; generally good tales, and a better natured Parker, even if he's been demoted to gofer when he's not doctorin'. They say the ever-present twinkle in Solar's eye lets us know he knows that he's in loco for you know who.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews