- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division); Export Ed edition (5 July 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743257065
- ISBN-13: 978-0743257060
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,789,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Vesuvius Club: A Lucifer Box Novel
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've declined to give this book 5 stars for one reason; it's not long enough! Having devoured it in one sitting (pausing only briefly for the necessities of life) I find myself wanting more of Lucifer Box's adventures and wanting them NOW. A grotesquerie of characters leaps fully-formed like Athena from the page: Delilah, the indispensable domestic, Tom Bowler, the inappropriately cheerful undertaker, and Joshua Reynolds, the head of the Secret Service whose choice of office gives new meaning to 'meeting at your convenience'. Lucifer himself is arrogantly irresistible (and is it really arrogance when it's justified?) There is, of course, a fiendish plot for world domination and Lucifer finds allies and enemies in unexpected places as he attempts to foil the dastards. Sherlock Holmes was never this much fun, Harry Flashman never bettered Lucifer's savoir-vivre and Bulldog Drummond was a mere amateur in comparison. There is excitement, romance, gentleman's tailoring and, best of all, Charlie Jackpot.
N.B. Should there NOT be a sequel (nay, several) to the Vesuvius Club, I shall be contacting my MP forthwith to complain.
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I picked up 'The Vesuvius Club' purely on the strength of the quotes from Stephen Fry and the newspaper reviews on the back cover. Oscar Wilde is my favourite author and so I thought, if this is thought to be good enough for Wilde, it's good enough for me. And I was absolutely thrilled with Gatiss' debut.
I am not a fan of 'The League of Gentleman' and had never heard of Gatiss before, so I came to this novel with no preconceived ideas about its themes, characters or sense of humour (a fact, I think, that has led to many of the negative reviews on this website) and simply took the book on face value.
The hero, Lucifer Box, has a deliciously decadent voice and Gatiss successfully maintains this throughout the novel's 240 pages. I frequently found myself laughing out loud at the absurdities, profanities and bawdiness on every page, relishing the scrapes that Box and his companion Charlie find themselves in. As far as spy novels go, the story isn't that original; a megalomaniac trying to destroy the world, but the way that Gatiss approaches his subject matter is what made the novel stand out for me. Box undertakes his secret service missions with gusto, diving headfirst into perilous situations and always with a pithy aside to put down his opponent. The twists and turns keep the reader on the edge of his seat, despite the somewhat predictable ending, but the novel doesn't lose anything for this; just like Bond, the intrigue is not whether he is going to escape and save the day, but how he is going to manage it.
I wholeheartedly disagree with those who have condemned this novel for being simply "A bit of Fluff" (Gatiss' words), in my opinion it is exactly this that is the novel's strength; "a bit of fluff", yes, and all the more entertaining for it!
33 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Like some of the previous reviewers, I too bought this book on impulse because of its fabulous cover,the nostalgic layout and the promise of illustrations. Not a fan of "The League of Gentlemen", I didn't immediately recognise the author's name, but it was a hardback, and half price in the sale, so this didn't matter! In my view, I got exactly what I paid for, and to look as deeply into the inaccuracies of language and period as others have seems to me to be self-indulgent and somewhat pompous. Mark Gatiss does not pretend that this is a great literary work - it is however fun, witty and ridiculous, with a comic, world-weary flavour of Wilde minus the cruelty. Personally, I look forward to more of Lucifer Box and his cute little assistant especially if the publishers retain the gorgeous packaging - the illustrations may not be perfect, but thankfully, I am sufficiently uneducated not to regard this as a major flaw. Lose your pretensions if you want to enjoy this little romp, 'cos that's exactly what it is - get over yourselves!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Don't buy kindle edition
I am really enjoyng this book however am contantly being taunted by th fact that every 2 or 3 pages I get the message "images are removed" where an illustration should be. Read more
Published 3 months ago by stevemc
This is a VERY funny book
Laugh out loud Funny as a matter of fact, and I did, on average, about thirteen times an hour.
There's a distinct, 60's feel to it all; something to do with the... Read more
There's a distinct, 60's feel to it all; something to do with the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Book Critic
Jolly good read
Lucifer Box is the kind of character that most people will either instantly love or hate. The book follows his adventures as a turn of the century, dandy gentleman painter/secret... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Six Impossible Things
love it!
If you want something fun, light and with a thoroughly unscrupulous protagonist you'll love this book. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jenny
Style over substance, Bond-lite, predictable adventure
This was the book equivalent of watching a Roger Moore bond movie. The first third was relatively entertaining but it soon became predictable, boring and forgettable. Read more
Published 10 months ago by harriers
I really wanted to like it, but...
I found the book actually dificult to get through, because it was just too forgetable. Though I read it in the space of a few days, every time I picked it up I had trouble... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Maria
the second one is better
A fun pastiche with a knowingly outrageous plot and lots of humour. I think the second Lucifer Box book 'The Devil in Amber' is probably better, and I read that first. Read more
Published 13 months ago by hyperconformist
Wicked and witty
This book is like it's main charactor, Mr Lucifer Box, charming, entertaining and just a tiny bit shocking in a harmless pre-watershed way. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. A. I. Harrison
Don't take customers for mugs..
(This refers to the Kindle edition)
Costing more than the dead tree version, in a version that you don't own and doesn't feature illustrations? Read more
Costing more than the dead tree version, in a version that you don't own and doesn't feature illustrations? Read more
Published 17 months ago by P. Kay
Jolly japes!
I bought this book based on the fact that I enjoyed 'The League of Gentlemen' BBC series immensely, enjoyed Dr Who episodes written by Mark Gatiss and also the new 'Sherlock' on... Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. O. HAYNES
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