The Vesuvius Club: A Lucifer Box Novel

by Mark Gatiss

Book Overview

Lucifer Box is the darling of the Edwardian belle monde - society's most fashionable portrait painter is a wit, a dandy, a rake, the guest all hostesses (and not a few hosts) must have. But few of his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0739463462
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 9.6" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Incredibly brilliant!

This book is incredibly well written and thought out. I adored this book so much that I have bought the rest of the series to see where this adventure goes. 10/10, I recommend. Mark Gatiss is a brilliant and talented man.

Cheeky and Decadent!

I sort of won a free edition of this book through a Simon & Schuster UK LiveJournal giveaway. I'm so grateful for my wicked good luck, I'm writing a review! If it encourages anyone to pick up this novel (which you should do), I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and I'm sure you will). Lucifer Box is a socialite and a portraitist with dashing good looks, but he's also one of Britain's most witty secret agents working for His Majesty's Government. The Vesuvius Club is a first-person narrative of Edwardian high society with a behind-the-scenes (most secret) look at the people churning the cogs that make the world go `round. This early 20th century who-dunnit tale is punctuated with black ink illustrations that are, appropriately enough, as grotesque and disturbing as some of the weird and dangerous goings-on in the novel itself. Lucifer mixes business with pleasure as he works to pay off a debt of indiscretion known only to him and his boss, Joshua Reynolds. The novel opens with a dazzling display of an artistry of the most deadly variety: a ruse to lure the Honourable Everard Supple into complacency and entrapment exercised by Mr. Box's indulgent talent for portraiture and a taste for fine dining. Soon after the messy deed is executed and with souvenir in hand, Lucifer makes his drunken way to the men's lavatory inside the Royal Academy of Art. A good sit and few minutes of waiting reveals a ludicrous meeting between Lucifer and Joshua Reynolds in a headquarters of the "Get Smart" variety. Cleverly (Or stupidly. Lucifer never mentions if the loos actually work) hidden between the stalls, JR assigns Lucifer's next assignment: Two highly respected scientists have died within a day of each other and the estimable Jocelyn Poop (agent to His Majesty and directly employed under Joshua), hot on their trail of evidence, has gone missing. It's up to Lucifer to discover the connection between Poop's disappearance and the mysterious death of the two geologists. To bring all matters to justice begins an investigative journey of near-fatal carriage chases and harrowing, death-defying encounters. Lucifer must contend with all manner of sundry folk and hired help, opium dens, volcanoes, and pleasure domes, all while courting the lovely Bella Pok. And let no one (man or woman), however delectable, stand in his way. There is no task too difficult, no road too winding, no mountain too high, and no partner too unwilling to prevent Lucifer from discovering the horrific truths behind the mysterious Vesuvius Club and the vengeful motivations of a very injured and abandoned human being. Imagine Artemis Fowl without magic, fairies, trolls and the usual fantastic iterations. Let him simmer until he grows very much into an adult. He remains egotistical and enjoys the finer things in life--no discretions made. Mix in a little of the mysteriousness of James Bond and detective work of Sherlock Holmes and this modest concoction reveals itself in Mark Gatiss's magnificen

Fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly surprising!

Mark Gatiss as a writer represents a wonderful mix of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sax Rhomer and Monty Python. Part of the fun of the book is discovering the plot, so I won't divulge too much. You just need to know the action takes place in Edwardian England, where Lucifer Box is not only a revered painter and danddy. But, also a very active spy for King Edward's secret services, fighting his way from London to Naples to uncover a secret society plotting nothing less than the end of the modern world. There are many twists and turns, with witty dialogue Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond would have been jealous of. The plot is very fanciful and moves briskly, but Gatiss never lets a dull moment slip in. The humor is fresh and very British. There are some very kinky moments, but those are treated with taste and a sense of fun that is just irresisitible. Let's hope this is the beginning of a long series of novels. Just like James Bond, Lucifer Box will return in "The Devil in Amber" already published. Be there, before Hollywood jumps on the Lucifer Box bandwagon. Maybe Mark Gatiss has created here the Indiana Jones of the 21st Century. No small feat for a hero rubbing shoulders wth Oscar Wilde and the toast of early 20th Century London. Smashing!

The fluff that dreams are made of.

If you read my recent review of "The Devil in Amber," than you already know I'm a huge fan of Mark Gatiss and Lucifer Box. I'll not bother you with another tired synopsis (other's have already done that). I'll just say "The Vesuvius Club" is more then simply amusing and diverting, it's clever, titilating and wicked good fun from start to finish. I love Lucifer Box (and Charlie Jackpot for that matter) and look forward to reading more of his adventures. RE: the graphic novel. I enjoyed the iluustrations by Ian Bass, but the story has been abridged - so, I recommend the original.

Best I've Read in Ages!

Since the plot has been sufficiently covered, I'll just say that I picked this book up on a whim and I'm so utterly glad I did. I believe one of the reviews said it best in that one *despairs* when they see the pages disappearing behind them. Fantastically likeable protaginist, deliciously melodramtic plot, and a extrodinarily satisfying sending up of the Bond Girl. I've finished it but I can't bring myself to put it back on the shelf, so it's also proving itself to be quite re-readable. Honestly one of the most enjoyable books I've read in ages.

Wilde's dandy reloaded

I rarely give out five stars but this stylish, aloofly decadent novella is worth it. A tongue in cheek look borrowed from Wilde and partly from Flemming's delightful Bond. Lucifer Box is the perfect Victorian gentlemen, with their respect for values and morals-only upheld in the most hypocritical sense, devastatingly beautiful and leading the most successful dual personality since The importance of being Earnest. A bit of fluff certainly, blending all genres into one from horror-gothic, romance, drama and tragedy. With an exaggerated air for the melodramatic, Gatiss leads us on the most addictive journey around England and the 'continent'. One can almost smell the orchids and feel the sweltering heat of Italy and see the finely cut suits of Mr. Box as he fights 'the forces of evil' impecabbly cut and dressed with a dashing mysterious femme fatale hanging off his arm. Mr. Box explores all that is truely 'Victorian' (in the most underworld, revealing meaning) in a laugh out loud, yet charismatically seductive way. Read it. Well done Gatiss, a true tour de force.