In this second volume we again join Solar Pons, the latter-day Sherlock Holmes, and his colleague, Dr Lyndon Parker, as they solve another four puzzling cases. What we always knew about Sherlock Holmes when he supposedly fell to his death at the Reichenbah Falls, we now know about Solar Pons -- he is not dead; he has just been hiding.
This long-awaited second collection of pastiches of the immortal Sherlock Holmes offers eleven new adventures of Solar Pons, who has been called by Vincent Starrett "a clever impersonator, with a twinkle in his eye, which tells us that he knows he is not Sherlock Holmes, and knows that we know it, but that he hopes we will like him anyway for what he symbolizes." Here are such fascinating stories as "The Adventure of the Paralytic Mendicant", an account of as unique a vengeance as was ever perpetrated between boards; "The Adventure of the Circular Room", a tale of a diabolic plot which will rouse many a memory of the old Master; the complex puzzle which will be of particular interest to bibliophiles told in the Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Contest prizewinning "The Adventure of the Six Silver Spiders"; the curious affair which is "The Adventure of the Tottenham Werewolf'; and others which will bring back old, long-vanished Baker Street days. Once again in the London of years ago "the game is afoot." Certainly no living writer has brought the Holmesian pastiche to a higher development than this. There is very little difference, indeed, in the atmosphere of the stories, once they have begun to unfold; No. 7B Praed Street readily becomes 221B Baker Street; and Solar Pons, attended by his Dr. Lyndon Parker, often becomes curiously interchangeable with the Master of Baker Street and his Watson. "There is no intention to deceive," as Vincent Starrett wrote in his introduction to the first collection. "These nostalgic reminders of vanished days and nights in Baker Street are intended only to please."
August Derleth created in Solar Pons a detective whose genius cannot be matched, perhaps not even by Sherlock Holmes himself. Now the pen has passed into the hand of the noted British author Basil Copper. Here are six superbly crafted tales of suspense in the best tradition of Solar Pens. Come to Number 7B Praed Street, where the master awaits.
From Sherlock Holmes to the Cthulhu MythosAugust Derleth introduced the world to Solar Pons and Dr. Lyndon Parker in the 1920's. Pons, like Sherlock Holmes, solved crimes using deduction and ratiocination, often referring to Holmes as "The Master" or "My illustrious predecessor". Since his first appearance, Pons has been a favorite with Sherlockians.In the 1930's, Derleth coined the term "Cthulhu Mythos" to describe the weird fiction written by the writers in the Lovecraft circle. After Lovecraft died in 1937, Derleth created Arkham House Publishing to make certain Lovecraft and other writers of the Cthulhu mythos, himself included, remained in print. Derleth wrote a number of tales of the Cthulhu mythos including The Mask of Cthulhu, The Trail of Cthulhu, and The Watchers Out of Time (collaborating with Lovecraft).Now, for the first time ever, the estate of August Derleth has authorized a one of a kind anthology combining Derleth's Solar Pons, the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street, with his Cthulhu Mythos and horror tales. Join us in the foggy streets of early 20th Century London where horror is lurking on the streets and also at the veil of reality.Nine new tales of terror and detection including: The Rondure of Cthulhu by Stephen Herczeg - Solar Pons must solve the mystery of a man seemingly torn to shreds by invisible forces. The Meandering Mathematician by Robert Perret - A mathematician's strange disappearance leads to visions of an otherworldly realm, a witch, and a sinister rat with a human face. A Matter of Blood by Nick Cardillo - Dr. Seward brings Pons a case involving a a notorious Transylvanian Count. Fans of Stoker's Dracula will love this sequel. To Everything There is a Season by Stephen Persing - The Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street has a Lovecraftian Final Problem. The Adventure of the Book and the Gate by Eleanor Sciolistein - The Necronomicon is used to access a horrifying power source. Solar Pons and the Testament in Ice by Jeff Baker - Pons must face an evil Arctic entity. The Adventure of the Drowned Genealogist by I.A. Watson - How did the body of a recently deceased woman end up in a two century old tomb? It is up to Solar Pons to solve this Dunwich horror. The Man with the Writhing Skin by David Marcum - Mrs. Velda Knoll, a lecturer on "The Great Old Ones" is being stalked by a man with masses of open sores moving about his skin. The Devil's Tongue of Blue John Gap by Derrick Belanger - Solar Pons must solve the case of strange symbols mysteriously appearing in the fields of Blue John Gap.Plus a bonus Sherlock Holmes adventure!
Gathers Sherlock Holmes stories by Poul Anderson, Anthony Boucher, John Dickson Carr, Philip Jose Farmer, H.R.F. Keating, Stephen Leacock, John Lennon, and P.G. Wodehouse
CRIMES OF TERROR AND DARKNESS In the battle between good and evil, the supernatural investigators form the first line of defense against the unexplainable. Here are eighteen pulse-pounding tales featuring uncanny sleuths battling against the weird, written by Clive Barker R. Chetwynd-Hayes Basil Copper Neil Gaiman William Hope Hodgson Brian Lumley Brian Mooney Kim Newman Jay Russell Peter Tremayne Manly Wade Wellman Featuring the entire ‘’Seven Stars” saga by Kim Newman, pitting the Diogenes Club against an occult object with the power to ultimately annihilate mankind!
