Sherlock Holmes Fans Rejoice! Solar Pons is Back!! Available on Kickstarter!

Sherlock Holmes Fans Rejoice! Solar Pons is Back!!

That's right! Belanger Books and Arkham House Publishers are proud to announce that The Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street is back in twelve new stories written by Sherlockian scribe David Marcum.  “It is with great pleasure & excitement to announce this news; The Derleth Solar Pons character will be coming back to life in the 21st Century!” said Danielle Hackett and Damon Derleth, co-owners of Arkham House Publishers Inc., in a joint statement. The book, The Papers of Solar Pons is now available on Kickstarter in paperback, hardcover, and e-book editions. 

Who is Solar Pons?

Solar Pons was a detective character created by August Derleth in the 1920s to act as a continuation of Sherlock Holmes. Derleth, who famously created Arkham House Publishing to preserve the writings of his friend, author HP Lovecraft, had corresponded with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, asking whether Doyle would be providing any new Holmes adventures. When Doyle said no, Derleth determined to write some himself. However, instead of writing more Holmes tales, Derleth came up with Solar Pons, a detective very similar to Holmes, and Dr. Lyndon Parker, his Dr. Watson. Eventually, between the 1920’s and his death in 1971, Derleth wrote over seventy Pons tales (though the exact number is debatable), set in that period between the end of World War I and 1939. “The Pons stories clearly take place in Holmes’s world, as the Great Detective himself is referenced by Pons and Parker on several occasions,” explained Marcum.

The New Solar Pons Collection

In this massive collection of a dozen new stories (it clocks in at over 180,000 words), readers will get traditional Solar Pons stories, many of which connect to the world of Sherlock Holmes. In one story  Pons is called upon to investigate the theft of Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box from Cox & Co., and another where Pons and Parker revisit the site of one of the Holmesian Canon’s murders. And then there is the murder that occurs in the lab at Barts, where Holmes and Watson first met so many years before. “I very much appreciate the Derleth Estate for allowing me to bring these stories to the public, and hopefully to generate some new interest in one of the greatest detectives of all time, Solar Pons,” said Mr. Marcum.

An added bonus is Marcum's Sherlock Holmes novella "The Adventure of the Other Brother" which provides the author's take on the origin of Solar Pons. Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Solar Pons, and even Nero Wolfe will have to read this one to see Marcum's proposed connection between the detectives.

The volume also includes introductions by August Derleth himself; famed Sherlockians Roger Johnson, Peter Blau, and Bob Byrne; Tracy Adam Heron of the The August Derleth Society; author David Marcum; and publisher Derrick Belanger. 

The Kickstarter has great reward levels.  Backers can get a copy of the hardcover edition of the book autographed by David Marcum.  Backers can also get the entire Belanger Books catalog of traditional Sherlock Holmes books (and our Pons book, too) at a discounted rate.  

To back the project, visit our Kickstarter page here! You have to hurry though, the Kickstarter campaign only goes until September 30th!

In Case You Missed It...Interviews with Derrick Belanger!

Derrick Belanger was recently interviewed on the Nadeau Media Crowdfunding cast about the Solar Pons Kickstarter.  He was also interviewed via a 48 hour question post on #Crowdfunding AMA. Read his answers to questions on crowdfunding, Sherlock Holmes, Solar Pons, and crowdfunding in general.

That's all for now folks.  Less than two weeks to go in the Solar Pons Kickstarter. Get your hardcover now before it's too late!

Belanger Books is a small press owned by artist Brian Belanger and author Derrick Belanger specializing in new Sherlock Holmes books, Children's books, Steampunk, and genre specific anthologies.  Some of our books have been #1 bestsellers in their categories on Amazon.