"The Return of Solar Pons" is the sixth volume of Solar Pons short stories collected by Pinnacle Books. The stories in this volume were all originally published (mostly in various magazines) in the 1950s and are written by the prolific August Derleth. These are Sherlock Holmes pastiches in the best sense of the word, remaining true to their inspiration with just enough humor and in-jokes to add levity but with enough seriousness and craft to avoid devolving into a farce. Pons himself is Sherlock Holmes in all but name; Dr. Parker is Watson to the very letter. If you love the original Holmes canon, you're going to enjoy a great deal of these books.
The stories in this volume get better as you go along, and the last five are among the most evocative of the entire series. Many of the earlier ones in this volume, unfortunately, wrap up the mysteries in a hasty manner after an extended exposition. Regardless of this uneven quality, it's an absolute pleasure to read through each of these stories, as Derleth's passion for the original Holmes series shines through. The characterizations are certainly better than many Hollywood treatments of Holmes, and despite their status as pastiches the actual mysteries contained in the stories are actually clever at the very least.
It's a shame that these books are all out-of-print and are remembered mainly by collectors and Holmes fanatics. They are well-worth being read - and enjoyed - by everyone.
