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chitownbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
What an odd book.
It's a big volume, but I felt after reading that I'd read several books.
So, think back to all the supernatural detectives you've already read. Now mentally review some TV and movies from several decades, including the ones Newman admits were influences: the Avengers, Doctor Who, Austin Powers, etc. If you know pop culture since the 60s you'll do even better. OK, *now* you can evaluate this book.
Ten stories take us through the career of Richard Jeperson, with each story making sure to provide a detailed description of RJ's outrageous outfits. Think Fourth Doctor in Carnaby Street, on LSD.
The action in each story is well developed, even if the supernatural structure is rather casual, by which I mean that things seem to become possible because the author requires them, not because the things already posited make them inevitable. If that sounds like I think he was making it up as he went along, well, draw your own conclusions. But the overall plots were well laid out. And quite a few of the characters are ones you just want to follow and see how they do.
The book mentions just about everyone who's ever been anyone in supernatural fiction, and may gove you some ideas for future reading.
Enjoyable, if not quite a lit'ry triumph.
It's a big volume, but I felt after reading that I'd read several books.
So, think back to all the supernatural detectives you've already read. Now mentally review some TV and movies from several decades, including the ones Newman admits were influences: the Avengers, Doctor Who, Austin Powers, etc. If you know pop culture since the 60s you'll do even better. OK, *now* you can evaluate this book.
Ten stories take us through the career of Richard Jeperson, with each story making sure to provide a detailed description of RJ's outrageous outfits. Think Fourth Doctor in Carnaby Street, on LSD.
The action in each story is well developed, even if the supernatural structure is rather casual, by which I mean that things seem to become possible because the author requires them, not because the things already posited make them inevitable. If that sounds like I think he was making it up as he went along, well, draw your own conclusions. But the overall plots were well laid out. And quite a few of the characters are ones you just want to follow and see how they do.
The book mentions just about everyone who's ever been anyone in supernatural fiction, and may gove you some ideas for future reading.
Enjoyable, if not quite a lit'ry triumph.
knittingchaos's review against another edition
2.0
This is a book of short stories. Some of them are pretty good but they all have some elements that just don’t work.
amberpants's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I loved these stories about Richard Jeperson - the eponymous Man - and his companions, Fred Regent and Vanessa Kaye. Although the stories take place primarily in the 1970s, they do a fair job of covering Jeperson's decades-spanning career with the Diogenes Club. Also, I'd love to shop Jeperson's closet 👀
sfletcher26's review
4.0
I've never read any of Newman's books before and picked this up on the strength of the cover alone. It just jumped out of the display and the book blurb sealed the deal.
In this collection of 10 stories, featuring the psychic detective Richard Jeperson (a Jason King pastiche) Newman exploits and subverts the spy/detective/ghost hunter genres to great effect. There are some great stories here. "The Man Who Got Off The Ghost Train" though is the star of the piece; an absolute gem of a ghost story.
In this collection of 10 stories, featuring the psychic detective Richard Jeperson (a Jason King pastiche) Newman exploits and subverts the spy/detective/ghost hunter genres to great effect. There are some great stories here. "The Man Who Got Off The Ghost Train" though is the star of the piece; an absolute gem of a ghost story.
sisteray's review against another edition
5.0
Oh Kim Newman, by all rights you should be too clever for your own good. He's fully embraced camp and genre tropes. He loves meta references. And for the most part he's just so over the top that everything should garner eye-rolling. But he's a damn good writer, clever and witty, and creates characters and scenarios that are just downright engaging.
I heart the Diogenes Club stuff. I really just want more and more. I want to know all the weird supporting characters and I care about their history. Everyone of them could have a lead role in their own novel and I'd be happy. In this book we get to see mostly the 70s era with some glimpses of the past and the present. This book is crammed with fun, big ideas and a good dose of action to go with it. This is a must read for any fan of genre fiction.
I heart the Diogenes Club stuff. I really just want more and more. I want to know all the weird supporting characters and I care about their history. Everyone of them could have a lead role in their own novel and I'd be happy. In this book we get to see mostly the 70s era with some glimpses of the past and the present. This book is crammed with fun, big ideas and a good dose of action to go with it. This is a must read for any fan of genre fiction.
carolynf's review against another edition
1.0
Austin Powers meets X-files. The main characters conveniently both have significant amnesia, possibly the author's attempt to justify their complete lack of depth. Half of the content was about the exact size, shape, and opacity of the clothes of female characters. All of which are hot, while the men are uniformly shlubby. The book itself is a collection of short stories featuring the same investigators, rather than a single story with an actual story arc. The individual stories are so bizarre as to be completely unpredictable, but with plenty of violence and torture. The result is disorienting - you are thrown into one scenario and have no time to get your bearings before being launched into a completely new setting. I'm not sure how this ended up on my to-read list, but it gives pulp a bad name.
jeregenest's review against another edition
4.0
Superspy Richard Jesperson is the Avengers and the occult with a little of the rest of the swinging superspy scene. Goofy but at points brilliant.
chukg's review against another edition
4.0
Good book, a collection of previously published stories with a long glossary (which is partly UK slang and partly terms/people of particular interest to the stories) and an afterword describing how the stories came about. I am a fan of Newman's Anno Dracula books and this has a lot of the same sensibilities, but it's mostly short episodic adventures. A lot of it almost feels like if the Lord Darcy stories happened in the swinging 70s. It seemed a bit long though, if I was reading it again I'd do one story at a time. There is a continuity between them all (and some characters from some of his other books), but it's not like a long novel.
sandman_1961's review
4.0
A great book this is an anthology of stories featuring Richard Jeperson, the most values member of the Diogenes Club. The stories are a mashup,of spy/horror/mystery/history and well balanced
The Diogenes Club was first described in Sherlock Holmes stories and has been developed by Kim Newman from there. The main protagonist is a pastiche of 1960’s and 1970’s characters Jason King and John Steed, but is also a ‘talent’ able to sense individuals’ thoughts, moods and feelings. There is a kind of timeline of the stories from the 70’s to the 2000’s that shows changes in the political landscape towards the Diogenes Club. The last one is quite sad, showing an ageing Jeperson, essentially having been put out to pasture.
Stories are self contained but have the theme running through them. They are a great read, mixing speculative fiction and history. There are some obvious references to the political landscape of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. I understand from other reviewers that there are overlaps with Newman’s other works. I’m going to find out! There’s a nice glossary at the back-originally requested for the American publication, but useful for some of the references and certainly for readers of a younger vintage than myself-who probably remember much that is in there, having grown up in the seventies. Definitely worth reading.
The Diogenes Club was first described in Sherlock Holmes stories and has been developed by Kim Newman from there. The main protagonist is a pastiche of 1960’s and 1970’s characters Jason King and John Steed, but is also a ‘talent’ able to sense individuals’ thoughts, moods and feelings. There is a kind of timeline of the stories from the 70’s to the 2000’s that shows changes in the political landscape towards the Diogenes Club. The last one is quite sad, showing an ageing Jeperson, essentially having been put out to pasture.
Stories are self contained but have the theme running through them. They are a great read, mixing speculative fiction and history. There are some obvious references to the political landscape of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. I understand from other reviewers that there are overlaps with Newman’s other works. I’m going to find out! There’s a nice glossary at the back-originally requested for the American publication, but useful for some of the references and certainly for readers of a younger vintage than myself-who probably remember much that is in there, having grown up in the seventies. Definitely worth reading.