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Product Description
Product Description
LUCIFER BOX. He's tall, he's dark and, like the shark, he looks for trouble. Or so he wishes. For, with Queen Elizabeth newly established on her throne, the now elderly secret agent is reaching the end of his scandalous career. Despite his fast-approaching retirement, queer events leave Box unable to resist investigating one last case...Why have pillars of the Establishment started dying in bizarrely reckless accidents? Who are the deadly pay-masters of enigmatic assassin Kingdom Kum? And who or what is the mysterious Black Butterfly? From the seedy streets of Soho to the souks of Istanbul and the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica, Box must use his artistic licence to kill and eventually confront an enemy with its roots in his own notorious past. Can Lucifer Box save the day before the dying of the light?
About the Author
Mark Gatiss is one of The League of Gentlemen from the multi-award winning television show, and the author of the hit novels The Vesuvius Club and its sequel The Devil in Amber. He has also written acclaimed radio and television scripts, including episodes of Doctor Who and Poirot. He has a thick comma of hair that will never stay in place and a rather cruel mouth.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Snooker, woggles, lost youth and diabolical masterminds,
By Emanon "Mr Holmes (they were the footprints o... (Derbyshire) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Black Butterfly: A Lucifer Box Novel (Lucifer Box 3) (Hardcover)
The third of Mark Gatiss's LUCIFER BOX novels is the usual enjoyable mix of preposterous names and ridiculous situations that were the meat and drink of THE VESUVIUS CLUB and THE DEVIL IN AMBER before it. Maybe it suffers slightly in comparison to the earlier works, or maybe we've just got a little bit used to the main character's little foibles, but it still manages to remain a lot of fun.
This time around the years have flown by once again and Lucifer is now on the brink of retirement in the early 1950s. We are in James Bond parody territory (right down to the cover of the hardback edition which mimic those early editions of Ian Fleming's work so accurately) and some of the language will be very familiar to anyone with more than a passing knowledge of the Fleming style. There are even one or two echoes of old style "Doctor Who" in the mix (I may mention that, mayn't I?) The tale (of snooker, woggles, lost youth and diabolical masterminds) is briskly told and doesn't outstay its welcome. The elderly Box remains a charmer, but I can't help wondering whether maybe Mark Gatiss will revisit Box in some of his earlier incarnations in later volumes, but anyone who can create such breathtakingly silly character names and plots (and throw a healthy dose of mockery of some of our most sacred cows into the mix along the way) deserves to be more widely read. The opening lines of the final chapter alone make the read worthwhile. I don't think it's quite the best of Mark Gatiss, but it's still an entertaining yarn.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Opening the last Box?",
By Bob Marlowe (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Black Butterfly: A Lucifer Box Novel (Lucifer Box 3) (Hardcover)
Many moons ago Colonel Sun author Kingsley Amis had an idea for a Bond short story that would be the last adventure for the character. In his 70's retired Commander Bond would receive a message that a master spy was at the Hotel he was staying in for a skiing holiday. Bond would tackle the man and in true Reichenbach Falls style, the pair would go over a cliff together.
He duly contacted Glidrose(who looked after the rights) and they not only refused permission but insisted he promise to never write anythnig with an elderly 007! Fortunately Mark Gatiss is rather less precious about his creation and has given us a story of a spy who's really a bit too old physically for the game but compensates with a youthful energy. As with Devil in Amber there is more of a bisexual 007 feel than the Avengers style of Vesuvius Club. The older Lucifer has been made Head of the service, taking the Joshua Reynolds title. On the eve of retirement he is living on past glories a little, having his advances blunty rebuffed by a young fan and he spends evenings in a disreputable drinking den run by his ex-domestic Delihla. Then of course he gets sucked into a new adventure involving curious deaths, a Turkish Geordie, a lady Snooker Demon, and even some scouts thrown in for good measure. Lucifer has a son Christmas Box but for some time Gatiss keeps us guessing what if any, part he will play. There's all the humours and roller coaster pacing of Devil in Amber (still my favourite) and in an especially nice touch as Box and Delilha run after someone Box remarks on their hips clicking like "knitting needles!" There are hints of missing stories, the best of which is a zombie Captain Scott attacking from his ship the Terra Nova. Whether there will be more chronogically seems unlikely, Box has gone from the turn of the century to the Coronation of our Queen but we can live in hope of gaps being filled in or new adventures with the next generation. If you enjoy spy or detective stories with humour and if you have enjoyed Mark's writing elsewhere, then give these tales a go. It doesn't matter too much the order you read them in, they're self-contained enough to enjoy in any direction. Well done Mr. Gatiss, I wait for Terra Nova or Son of Box!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Box is back....,
By
This review is from: Black Butterfly: A Lucifer Box Novel (Lucifer Box 3) (Hardcover)
The name's Box, Lucifer Box...
Yes, Gatiss's improbable spoof spy hero is back. Introduced in his youth ("The Vesuvius Club") in the decadent '90s (the 1890s, that is) appearing again middle aged in the 20s ("The Devil in Amber") and now facing retirement at the end of a hectic career, Box has to save the world one last time. His adventures take him to Istanbul and Jamaica, pursuing (in every sense) the enigmatic Kingdom Kum and the sinister Black Butterfly. Each of these books is a take on a different action/ thriller genre. Box, now head of Her Majesty's Most Secret Service (cover name: The Royal Academy: head, Joshua Reynolds) takes on villains of the deepest dye, saved from certain death only by his native courage and agility. Inevitably, perhaps, sooner or later Box would take on a Bond-like persona. While he carries this off with some aplomb, I'm not sure that the story rattles along with quite the same assurance as the earlier ones, hence 3 stars. But that is (I hope) only a minor quibble, this is still very good. Dare I hope for more Lucifer Box stories, to fill in the missing years?
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