Reviews

The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss, Ian Bass

saff22's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

old_crockern's review

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

Adequate 

ggrhodes03's review against another edition

3.0

The beginning of the Lucifer Box novels, following a member of the British secret service on his attempt to discover who is behind the deaths of 2 famous volcanologists, leading to a chase under an active volcano, an innocent man being framed, and numerous attempts on Box’s life. In a James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes novel Gattis writes in a way very similar to his onscreen work, shocking the audience immediately with a sudden leap into Box’s world, beginning the first chapter as an artist and ending it as an assassin.
While amusing ‘The Vesuvius club’ is not to me anything overly special. Gattis’ novel seems awkward and disjointed at times yet still fits (somehow) with his flowing style, with everything pulling together almost too quickly to the end of the novel, leading to many questions being unanswered. The novel as a whole also doesn’t seem to fit firmly into a category, while the humour and story seems too immature to sit on a shelf amongst Ian Flemming, P.D. James, and Arthur Conan Doyle the language and actions taken by the main character place the book firmly within the adult category.

stamatina27's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

rosekk's review against another edition

4.0

It was a fun read, with decadent feel and a charming man character.

gillothen's review against another edition

3.0

A very Gatiss story: the narrator is Mycroft with Captain Jack Harkness's attitude to sex. The story is set in Edwardian times, with a hefty dollop of steampunk, especially as we near the climax. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, and the twists and turns therefore affected me less than I might have done, while the narrator's self-congratulatory tone was a little too much at times. Enjoyable enough, but not enough for me to want to spend six quid on each of the sequels.

kafie's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wanted to like this more than I did, felt a bit like it jumped around a bit - the writing style was good though, and expect the next book to be better.

roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition

3.0

A fun book with spies, Britishism, adventures and silly fun. Not much depth, but it kept me amused at the tame.

alda_antonia's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

lubleu's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0