|
|
Post by dem on May 7, 2009 11:26:36 GMT
Mark Gattiss - The Vesuvius Club: A Lucifer Box Novel (Pocket Books, 2005)  Cover design: S&S Art Dept/David Mann. Cover illustration: Ian Bass. Cover illustration concept:Clayton HickmanBack cover blurb and testimonials, etc. "Redolent of soft leather chairs in fine gentlemen's establishments, and the cracking of whips in the basements beneath them. Perniciously addictive' - Guardian
"Gatiss mixes in The League Of Gentlemen's penchant for horror with large doses of arch wit and louche laying about.
It's Oscar Wilde crossed with. H.P Lovecraft" - Telegraph
"It is easy to imagine Oscar Wilde, on a chaise longue, smoking an absurdly expensive cigarette, reading The Vesuvius Club and laughing out loud at its playful decadence and wit. There can surely be no higher praise." - Times Literary Supplement[/center] Introducing A THRILLING PLUNGE INTO EDWARDIAN LOW-LIFE AND HIGH-SOCIETY And THE FIRST RECORDED ADVENTURE OF LUCIFER BOX ESQ - PORTRAITIST, DANDY, WIT, RAKE ... AND HIS MAJESTY'S MOST DASHING SECRET AGENT in which HE DISCOVERS WHO IS KILLING BRITAIN'S MOST PROMINENT VULCANOLOGISTS and WHICH TIE GOES BEST WITH A WHITE CARNATION[/color] I've been starting and abandoning loads of books over the past week, but, two astonishing chapters, a delightfully macabre anecdote and a neat assassination into this Edwardian romp, and i know i've found the one that will get me back on track. Lucifer Box, all dashing good looks, top hat and cape, is so loaded he lives at number nine Downing Street, such a flapper magnet that his latest conquest is prepared to suffer a shag on a slimy pavement to accommodate his hectic schedule and so full of himself, by rights you should hope he gets butchered really slowly - he would you! Instead - i think i'm in love. Not noticed anything Lovecraftian yet, but there's a miniature conte cruel involving the supposed fate of a girl with wooden arms that certainly scores high on the sickometer. Can he keep this up through 240 pages? I bloody hope so.
|
|
|
|
Post by carolinec on May 7, 2009 12:43:45 GMT
I started reading this and just couldn't get into it at all, so I never finished it. Then, as it was a signed copy, I ended up swapping it for some other signed Doctor Who goodies at a DW Autograph Collectors' Club do (that's the kind of strange and twisted things we get up to in the Doc Who Autograph Collectors' Club). Anyway, I can't go back to it now to see if it's not so bad after all ...  LATER EDIT: Just realised, I'd better point out that The Vesuvius Club isn't a Doctor Who novel! No, Dem hasn't suddenly started reading Doctor Who novels (at least, if he has, he's not going to confess it here on this board, is he?!  ). No, it's just the Gattiss connection to Doc Who, as a writer of some stories. It doesn't matter how tenuous the connection to Doc Who - actors, writers, directors, the man who makes monster noises - DWACC members like to collect them all! We're a bit strange like that.  |
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on May 7, 2009 17:02:12 GMT
I got horribly stuck with this as well. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood as by all rights it should be just the sort of thing I'd find entertaining. I bought Gatiss' next two novels as well. I can see them on the shelf now. All unread. But I AM looking for something to read once I finish Stephen King's bloody Dark Tower thing (30 pages of Volume VII left to go and them I can remove the wrists supports!) so these may be a brisk and dashing antidote
|
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on May 7, 2009 17:14:05 GMT
I loved the book, even if I thought the ending lame. Never bought the second novel, don´t know why. Gatiss is an astounding talent. He writes books, screenplays and is an actor; I was very astonished when I saw him in one of the great Poirot movies in a not little role, he also wrote one. I never would have thought this guy as a writer when I watched him He also wrote some Who episodes, which left me rather cold. Can´t win em all  |
|
|
|
Post by carolinec on May 7, 2009 22:31:34 GMT
He also wrote some Who episodes, which left me rather cold. Can´t win em all .. and some Who New/Missing Adventure novels before that too, Andy. He's fond of the Seventh Doctor - same as me, but not to many Doc Who fans' tastes.  Gatiss is one of those annoying characters who's bloody good at what ever he does! |
|
|
|
Post by dem on May 7, 2009 22:56:57 GMT
LATER EDIT: Just realised, I'd better point out that The Vesuvius Club isn't a Doctor Who novel! No, Dem hasn't suddenly started reading Doctor Who novels (at least, if he has, he's not going to confess it here on this board, is he?! ). On the contrary, I was hoping someone would have a started a thread for them by now. I've read some of the Terrance Dicks ones - State Of Decay and, I think, Creature From The Pit - and have been after The Daemons for a while cause i liked Reverend Magister, but that's about it. So, if anyone wants to let me know what i've been missing out on ... Surprised at the negative reaction to The Vesuvius Club as i'm fair tearing through it. I'm guessing he's very well read in the Yellow books as celebrated in the likes of Aklo, The Delectus Book of Decadence & Co., as he's certainly having a fun time of it detailing Lucifer's demanding social life. Anyhow, now the corpse of one of the missing Vulcanologists - what's left of it - has shown up and you can bet our man will be aggressively pursuing the assassins just as soon as he's through flirting with a delectable art student from the Netherlands who's near presence has caused a "broom handle" to manifest in his trousers .... |
|
|
|
Post by carolinec on May 7, 2009 23:16:01 GMT
LATER EDIT: Just realised, I'd better point out that The Vesuvius Club isn't a Doctor Who novel! No, Dem hasn't suddenly started reading Doctor Who novels (at least, if he has, he's not going to confess it here on this board, is he?! ). On the contrary, I was hoping someone would have a started a thread for them by now. I've read some of the Terrance Dicks ones - State Of Decay and, I think, Creature From The Pit - and have been after The Daemons for a while cause i liked Reverend Magister, but that's about it. So, if anyone wants to let me know what i've been missing out on ... Ooo, now you're tempting me to start a thread - if only I had time and a working scanner to do some cover scans. I'll put it on my "to do" list but can't promise it'll be any time soon. So if someone else gets to it before me, please be my guest. But I have a load of them (many signed!  ) - it'd be nice to display some covers, even if I can't manage any reviews. |
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on May 8, 2009 1:48:15 GMT
The Vesuvius Club is a great read - I flew through it - guess it's not one for everyone. There's a graphic novel out drawn by the cover artist. I'd love to have done it myself.
The last WHO book I read was Dr Who and the Cave Monsters ( which are the Silurians). One of the books that contained illustrations as does The Daemons - got one here for you Dem looking for a home.
Clickety Click
KC
|
|
|
|
Post by carolinec on May 8, 2009 10:21:19 GMT
The Vesuvius Club is a great read - I flew through it - guess it's not one for everyone. There's a graphic novel out drawn by the cover artist. I'd love to have done it myself. Do you mean a graphic novel of The Vesuvius Club? I might be tempted to try that. From what I've seen of your work, Ade, you'd have made an excellent job of it yourself! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on May 8, 2009 12:00:08 GMT
I used to collect the New Adventures. I became quite interested in Dr. Who, after watching the 7th Doctor on tv - the only Who ever finding its way to Germany at the time. Sadly it didn´t left a lasting impression on the viewing public. The reception for the new Who also was lukewarm in the ratings, while Torchwood seems to be quite a hit as far as the network says. At least I was quite unbiased concerning the new novels, as I never watched Dr 1-6, and most of the often embittered fan-discusions went way over my head as I didn´t understood the context. Same reason for not being much interested in the Missing Adventures as they were so mirred in series continuity, which of course was the point. Some astonishing novels in the Virgin range (not so much later in the BBC edition) , I used to love writers like Mortimore, Cornell or later the infamous - if I understood the boards debates rightly - Lawrence Miles. What a great writer, an idea a page, as it should be in SF. I thought it quite sad that they went back to the simpler all ages novel concept after the new tv-series, even if I understood the reasoning. At least I hadn´t to buy the books any longer. Still have a dozen or more of the BBC ones sitting unread on the shelf |
|
|
|
Post by H_P_Saucecraft on May 8, 2009 12:02:59 GMT
The Vesuvius Club is still in my 'to read' section, but looking forward to it.
It's certainly got some great illustrations, some of them remind me of Victor Ambrose's work (I allways had his Blackbeard and Dracula, humourous kids' books out from the library when I was a kid. At least the illustrations were by him, not sure about the books).
Edit: I meant Victor Ambrus, just looked him up online & found my error.
|
|
|
|
Post by carolinec on May 8, 2009 17:28:10 GMT
Yes, Andy, the Virgin Missing/New Adventures were really done by fans, for fans during the TV hiatus (spelling? is that the right word?) - so they were much more "adult" than any Doc Who before or after. Having said that, Mark Morris's "Forever Autumn" New Series book has been voted something like "scariest Doc Who novel ever". But then he is a horror writer! Hey, Dem has started a Doc Who thread - we should be having this discussion over there! Cheers Dem.  |
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on May 8, 2009 19:34:56 GMT
Do you mean a graphic novel of The Vesuvius Club? I might be tempted to try that. >>
Yes the book has been adapted as a graphic novel - though frankly if you couldn't get into the novel - I'm not sure this would be any more accessible. I wasn't overawed by the graphic novel when I glanced through it.
ade
|
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on May 16, 2009 17:18:56 GMT
I've just gone through this in a couple of days and it just goes to show you can be in the wrong mood for even the best of stuff. No idea what it was I was on when I first attempted to read this but fortunately my head was clear this week and I was able to appreciate it for the truly cracking read that it is. A bit like a Boys Own Pulp adventure novel but with a heady amount of sex and a complete cad of a hero from whom I think I shall pinch a couple of lines this is highly recommended.
I'm halfway through the sequel The Devil in Amber now and it's more of the same - damned good fun.
|
|
|
|
Post by franklinmarsh on Jun 2, 2009 19:16:00 GMT
Curse this. I like Gatiss but had The Vesuvius Club and couldn't get on with it at all so disposed of it. Knock me down if'n I don't pick up The Devil In Amber. Read chapter one. Nothing. Dem - it's yours. NB There's a lot of other Bunsen Book Club editions advertised inside. This one caught my eye -
THEY WORE DARK TROUSERS by Tenacious Beatme
Plucked from semi-retirement by a desperate British Government on the eve of the Battle of the Somme, the Comte de Cointreau must re-unite his old pals for one last desperate venture that takes them to the very heart of the German war machine! Can bluff Randy Robinson, wily Sacha Goldilox and the Comte himself outwit the combined forces of the Wilhelmstrasse and the heathen magic of the fabled lost continent of Atlantis? Another rattling tale of sorcery, flogging, high-adventure, whipping, facial disfigurement and spanking from the author of "The Bad Black", "Das Ist Verboten", "Strange Document" and "Satan's Succubus".
|
|
). No, it's just the Gattiss connection to Doc Who, as a writer of some stories. It doesn't matter how tenuous the connection to Doc Who - actors, writers, directors, the man who makes monster noises - DWACC members like to collect them all! We're a bit strange like that. 
) - it'd be nice to display some covers, even if I can't manage any reviews.
