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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Not as good as The Vesuvius Club, or as well written. It makes a few hours pass, that's about it. ( )Fun period pastiche of half a hundred things—from the pulp novels of the 20s and 30s, to James Bond, to the Da Vinci Code—which doesn't have quite the energy and verve of its predecessor, but which compensates for that with better pacing. This is not a life-changing book by any means, but as two hours of bonkers bisexual spy caper escapism (Lucifer Box "rides the number 38 bus as well as the number 19", as he puts it), it's well worth the read. This was my introduction to Mark Gatiss' "Lucifer Box" series. While I enjoyed the book, with it's bisexual bon vivant main character, the overall story line was a bit silly. The action is non-stop even if unbelievable. Lucifer Box is a likable personage, which helps keep the story moving. The style is somewhat "British mystery meets Benny Hill" with its wacky names for characters, outlandish plots, and bad puns, but it works as a good chuckle. All in all, a light read for summer. Lucifer Box is such a wonderful anti-hero who must be admired as much for his instinct of self-preservation and propensity to scream in fright as for his derring-do. Gatiss's novel is at once utterly silly (conjuring the devil) and poignant (the aging anti-hero mourning the loss of lovers and friends in the Great War), but interestingly not inconsistent. The only way to describe this book is "jolly good fun"! Another romp with Lucifer Box. This one isn't quite as opulent as the first book, but then it is set in much later, after the ravages of WWI. However, Box is no less naughty In this novel. Lots of fun. no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743483804, Paperback)At last! LUCIFER BOX, His Majesty's most daring - and depraved - secret agent returns in a mystery set some twenty years after the scandalous events of the bestselling THE VESUVIUS CLUB. This time he faces treachery within his own service and a fascist messiah with a peculiarly Satanic design.Lucifer Box - the gorgeous butterfly of King Bertie's reign, portraitist, dandy and terribly good secret agent - is feeling his age. Assigned to observe the activities of fascist leader Olympus Mons and his fanatical Amber Shirts in a snow-bound 1920s New York, Box finds himself framed for a vicious murder. Using all his native cunning, Box escapes aboard a vessel bound for England armed only with a Broadway midget's suitcase and a string of unanswered questions. What lies hidden in the bleak Norfolk convent of St Bede? What is 'the lamb' that Olympus Mons searches for in his bid for world domination? And what has all this to do with a medieval prayer intended to summon the Devil himself? From the glittering sophistication of Art Deco Manhattan to the eerie Norfolk coast and the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland The Devil in Amber takes us on a thrilling ride that pits Lucifer Box against the most lethal adversary of his career : the Prince of Darkness himself. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:04 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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