Scan barcode
amberpants's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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
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
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
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
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 against another edition
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.
bent's review against another edition
3.0
Dragged a bit, in parts. At times, it felt like a real slog. Despite that, there were a lot of interesting ideas and when you got into the stories, they were usually well thought out. The banter between the characters is chock-a-block with British pop culture references which feels forced at times, as if they just exist to confuse those who aren't versed in the culture or the era. It makes for boring reading. After I finished, I noticed a grudging glossary at the back with an obnoxious introduction by the author. I recommend skipping this - and skipping most of the sections where the characters banter. This is Newman at his most self-indulgent.
Beyond that, it's a good book.
Beyond that, it's a good book.
tclinrow's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book and the way it was written, and it could have easily been a 5 star read but - and I respect that it probably matched the way of thinking for the era in which it was set - there was a lot of sexist commentary and outdated language. For me as someone who grew up while it was already an outdated way of thinking it was a little cringy. Otherwise the stories themselves were excellent and engaging, so I would still recommend it... but maybe with a pinch of salt.
optimus's review
4.0
It's hard to rate this cause its more of a collection of stories/cases with Richard Jeperson in the main role as the titular "Man from the Diogenes Club".
So im going to rate each stories individually then get an average score.
"The End of the Pier Show" ⭐⭐⭐
A good introduction to the Diogenes Club and the supernatural aspect of Newman's world and its characters,cool imagery.
"You Don't Have To Be Mad..."⭐⭐
Nice second case,this is more of a psychological mind bender,interesting characters.
"Tomorrow Town"⭐⭐
Basically a murder in an utopia that's not an utopia,more of a unsustainable world(town),nothing truly memorable.
"Egyptian Avenue"⭐⭐⭐
It was fun,liked it due to the egyptian theme,memorable and quick.
"Soho Golem"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved this much the most. A tale of love and probably obsession and how it could go wrong when you love someone who is wrong and a completely bad to the core.The Golem is really tragic and a sad character.
"The Serial Murders"⭐⭐
Eh,its murders that happen on a tv series and then in real life in the same time and in the same way by some voodoo.
Really not that good and not memorable.
"The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train"⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half
I really liked this one. Its really spooky and disturbing.A great ghost story.Really claustrophobic and it could be a great horror movie. Just don't understand the whole Vanesa part of the ending.I do but not completely.
"Swellhead"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What can you say about a story of a super intelligent man who is so smart and has such a strong will, that by the sheer force of his own will he almost changed the whole reality in his image, and had a secret base on the moon created and kept secret by his will?
Bloody brilliant.
So the average grade is 3.3
but i liked some of the stories so much that in the end i have to give it 4 stars.
So im going to rate each stories individually then get an average score.
"The End of the Pier Show" ⭐⭐⭐
A good introduction to the Diogenes Club and the supernatural aspect of Newman's world and its characters,cool imagery.
"You Don't Have To Be Mad..."⭐⭐
Nice second case,this is more of a psychological mind bender,interesting characters.
"Tomorrow Town"⭐⭐
Basically a murder in an utopia that's not an utopia,more of a unsustainable world(town),nothing truly memorable.
"Egyptian Avenue"⭐⭐⭐
It was fun,liked it due to the egyptian theme,memorable and quick.
"Soho Golem"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved this much the most. A tale of love and probably obsession and how it could go wrong when you love someone who is wrong and a completely bad to the core.The Golem is really tragic and a sad character.
"The Serial Murders"⭐⭐
Eh,its murders that happen on a tv series and then in real life in the same time and in the same way by some voodoo.
Really not that good and not memorable.
"The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train"⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half
I really liked this one. Its really spooky and disturbing.A great ghost story.Really claustrophobic and it could be a great horror movie. Just don't understand the whole Vanesa part of the ending.I do but not completely.
"Swellhead"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What can you say about a story of a super intelligent man who is so smart and has such a strong will, that by the sheer force of his own will he almost changed the whole reality in his image, and had a secret base on the moon created and kept secret by his will?
Bloody brilliant.
So the average grade is 3.3
but i liked some of the stories so much that in the end i have to give it 4 stars.