Very underwhelming news that there is to be a new Sherlock Holmes sequel out in September.
I’m sure it will be very good, and I know I will be buying it (or hoping I receive it as a birthday present) and enjoying it – just like I enjoyed the couple of shelves-full of Sherlock Holmes sequels, parodies and homages that I already have – but I don’t see it as a real event.
There have been hundreds of Holmes books published without the blessing of the Conan Doyle estate, many of them superb. The parallel has been drawn with the Ian Fleming estate promoting new books by Charlie Higson and Sebastian Faulks but there are differences.
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the Bond character still under some sort of copyright? That means that the supply of new stories is limited.  I think the supply would be limited anyway by the perception that the Bond franchise is more cinema based while Holmes is more literary. I’ll be honest, I never really enjoyed reading the Bond books as much as watching the films, but I could read a good Holmes book just for the atmosphere, language and characters.
That is not to say that a good new Homes book will be unwelcome. If it is as good as the new Young Sherlock series it will be very welcome. It just won’t be a huge event for me.
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