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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Subtitled A Bit of fluff, and it is. Lovely puns.  mulliner | Oct 17, 2009 |  A blurb on the back describes this as "Oscar Wilde meets H. P. Lovecraft" - which sets expectations rather high. At first, I was underwhelmed, finding the writing to be nowhere near as droll as Wilde and nowhere near as eerie as Lovecraft, but as the story moved along and the protagonist, Lucifer Box (a secret agent of His Majesty's Government in the Edwardian age), was pulled further and further into the mystery, the novel took on a life of its own. Its more of a Jules Verne meets James Bond adventure story, with a rather raunchy side to it, than horror or farce. Overall, a light, fun read that left me looking forward to the next in the series. (  ) iftyzaidi | Aug 23, 2009 | Lucifer Box is the most fashionable portrait painter of his day: trading bon mots with the best of them and ruthlessly exploiting his talent and dandified beauty to enter every level of this intriguing society. From his elegant townhouse at Number 9 Downing Street (well, someone has to live there...) to his vast studio in Chelsea, from the snow-choked streets of Tsarist St petersburg to the sun-bleached hotels of Mentone, life is one long, dazzling party. Of course, leading a double life is terribly fashionable and Lucifer Box is not to be outdone. For what Box's fashionable circle would never believe is that their witty, cheerfully bisexual friend is also a secret agent QAHC_CCCL | Aug 19, 2009 | Lucifer Box is a dandy. A cad. A rotter. A bounder. A roue (sic - no missing g). He's exactly what you'd expect from the hero of a novel by the League of Gentleman's Mark Gatiss... or from the Oscar Wilde meets HP Lovecraft quote on the back cover (though Wilde meets Jules Verne might be more appropriate). In his first adventure, portraitist-cum-secret-agent Box attempts to foil a dastardly plot to murder scientists, frame respectable citizens, and obliterate Italy under a lake of lava, while also taking time to seduce young women (and boys), brag his way into dens of vice and iniquity, and stop for afternoon tea - because anything less would be uncivilized. Read the full review at my blog. (  ) rolhirst | Aug 19, 2009 | I liked this a lot. It was a less surreal, more comprehensible, more fun Jerry Cornelius [The Final Programme] with the funk replaced by victorian sensiblity. It was extremely 'readable' and I finished it fairly quickly (partially because I've been down sick). I really liked the zombies and the writing. I don't read a lot of stuff like this and that may have been part of the enjoyment but I would definitely like to read more eventually or at least check out the graphic novel. The novel had some great illustrations compliments of Ian Bass so I'm curious if he also did the graphic novel. (  ) ragwaine | May 11, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Download Description (ISBN 0743483790, Paperback)"Meet Lucifer Box: Equal parts James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, with a twist of Monty Python and a dash of Austin Powers, Lucifer has a charming countenance and rapier wit that make him the guest all hostesses must have. And most do. But few of his conquests know that Lucifer is also His Majesty's most daring secret agent, at home in both London's Imperial grandeur and in its underworld of despicable vice. So when Britain's most prominent scientists begin turning up dead, there is only one man his country can turn to for help. Following a dinnertime assassination, Lucifer is dispatched to uncover the whereabouts of missing agent Jocelyn Poop. Along the way he will give art lessons, be attacked by a poisonous centipede, bed a few choice specimens, and travel to Italy on business and pleasure. Aided by his henchwoman Delilah; the beautiful, mysterious, and Dutch Miss Bella Pok; his boss, a dwarf who takes meetings in a lavatory; grizzled vulcanologist Emmanuel Quibble; and the impertinent, delicious, right-hand-boy Charlie Jackpot, Lucifer Box deduces and seduces his way from his elegant townhouse at Number 9 Downing Street (somebody has to live there) to the ruined city of Pompeii, to infiltrate a highly dangerous secret society that may hold the fate of the world in its clawlike grip--the Vesuvius Club. "(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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