I know it's not Sherlock but...
Yes I'm afraid I'm going to write another post about Solar Pons...
Although there is always something going on in the world of Sherlock Holmes I have struggled to find much to interest me of late. Although I enjoy the BBC series I do prefer my Holmes in his traditional Victorian environment.
Most pastiche efforts disappoint me to some extent so I tend to find my interest mostly stirred by Canon-related non-fiction articles in journals etc.
As I think I have remarked before, I do miss the feeling I had when reading the Canon for the first time and reading the Solar Pons stories is the closest I think I'll get to recapturing that sensation.
I'm currently on the edition of the second volume of stories that you can see here. They were not too difficult to get hold of but harder than I anticipated. I've also been quite surprised at the cost. This volume (#2) cost me more to get hold of than #3. Perhaps it's rarer - I really don't know.
What has amused me is the way that Derleth has utilised titles from the Canon and wider crime fiction.
We have The Adventure of the Orient Express which features a French detective called Poiret and I have just finished The Adventure of the Aluminum Crutch (it was an effort to use that spelling) which is clearly a nod to 'the singular affair of the aluminium crutch' referred to by Sherlock Holmes in The Musgrave Ritual.
I don't think I'll ever get as deep into the world of Solar Pons as I am in the world of Sherlock Holmes (I could be proved wrong) but right now I am more than content to go along for a ride that manages to give me the same sense of anticipation I got several decades ago when I started the Canon for the first time.
If you are yet to dive into the world of Pons - I recommend you go for it. Let me know what you think.
Although there is always something going on in the world of Sherlock Holmes I have struggled to find much to interest me of late. Although I enjoy the BBC series I do prefer my Holmes in his traditional Victorian environment.
Most pastiche efforts disappoint me to some extent so I tend to find my interest mostly stirred by Canon-related non-fiction articles in journals etc.As I think I have remarked before, I do miss the feeling I had when reading the Canon for the first time and reading the Solar Pons stories is the closest I think I'll get to recapturing that sensation.
I'm currently on the edition of the second volume of stories that you can see here. They were not too difficult to get hold of but harder than I anticipated. I've also been quite surprised at the cost. This volume (#2) cost me more to get hold of than #3. Perhaps it's rarer - I really don't know.
What has amused me is the way that Derleth has utilised titles from the Canon and wider crime fiction.
We have The Adventure of the Orient Express which features a French detective called Poiret and I have just finished The Adventure of the Aluminum Crutch (it was an effort to use that spelling) which is clearly a nod to 'the singular affair of the aluminium crutch' referred to by Sherlock Holmes in The Musgrave Ritual.
I don't think I'll ever get as deep into the world of Solar Pons as I am in the world of Sherlock Holmes (I could be proved wrong) but right now I am more than content to go along for a ride that manages to give me the same sense of anticipation I got several decades ago when I started the Canon for the first time.
If you are yet to dive into the world of Pons - I recommend you go for it. Let me know what you think.
Written by Alistair Duncan
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I've been reading and collecting Pons since I was eight years old in 1973, two years before I discovered Holmes. I highly recommend them. Last year, I wrote and had published a new collection of Pons stories, authorized by the Derleth Estate, the first time that they had done that in decades. (The only other time was for the Pons stories written by Basil Copper in the 1970's and 1980's.)
ReplyDeleteThere is more big Pons news coming soon. Stay tuned....
- David Marcum
https://www.amazon.com/Papers-Solar-Pons-Adventures-Sherlock/dp/1978343027
This is scary! Ten minutes ago I was discussing Mr. Duncan with George and wondering what he was doing now: and then I see this. More power to his elbow (or should it be his pen?) when it comes to Pons.
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