Reviews

Le Club Vesuvius by Mark Gatiss

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wyvernfriend's review against another edition

3.0

With some nods to some of the genre formulas in the Gentleman Adventurer, but in this case bringing the homosexual/bisexual subtext into some detail. This is Edwardian adventuring for the 21st Century and I don't know that it hasn't lost a certain amount in the transition. Lucifer Box lives in 9 Downing Street, is apparetnly an artist and dandy but is also a spy. Lucifer straddles that fine line between psychopath and patriot.

Full of nods to the genre and full detail of the period underworld it owes a firm debt to Alan Moore. However in parts it feels laboured and as if the writer had a cool idea that he couldn't not include so it was shoehorned in.

Honestly not someone's work I would hunt up but also not a book I regret reading.
The main character is very full of himself and certain that his place in the world is to be admired and loved. This is some of his charm and also a source of some of his errors.

flotrenza's review against another edition

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5.0

Love it!! The relationship between Lucifer and Chris was so uncommonly good. The writing superb, each page was literally dripping with sarcasm. You can tell this is a Gatiss novel!

daisychick's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

fellrnr's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

The humour didn’t work for me, so I found this rather dull and slow. It was right on the edge of abandoning the book.

diana_skelton's review against another edition

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2.0

Although some of the satire is funny and the plot is fast-paced, I find it hard to enjoy properly because of the narrator's eternally misogynistic and unchallenged worldview, as well as some of the more gruesome aspects of the plot (complete with chilling illustrations). For an excellent early 20th century detective series, I will now be rushing back to Laurie King's tales about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.

zerobot's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Starts well enough but then gets mired in too many minor characters, a one note boring “twist” and an overly complicated scheme that feels unearned and inconsequential.

I’m a fan of Gatiss’ work but he should maybe do short stories rather than novels in this universe first before trying to spread this very thin tasty butter over a volcanic mountain range of bread.