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The Quorum
Three ambitious young men sign an agreement with the devil in return for fame and success
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
8 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Kim Newman
289 books949 followersNote: This author also writes under the pseudonym of Jack Yeovil.
An expert on horror and sci-fi cinema (his books of film criticism include Nightmare Movies and Millennium Movies), Kim Newman's novels draw promiscuously on the tropes of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. He is complexly and irreverently referential; the Dracula sequence--Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula,Cha Cha Cha--not only portrays an alternate world in which the Count conquers Victorian Britain for a while, is the mastermind behind Germany's air aces in World War One and survives into a jetset 1950s of paparazzi and La Dolce Vita, but does so with endless throwaway references that range from Kipling to James Bond, from Edgar Allen Poe to Patricia Highsmith.
In horror novels such as Bad Dreams and Jago, reality turns out to be endlessly subverted by the powerfully malign. His pseudonymous novels, as Jack Yeovil, play elegant games with genre cliche--perhaps the best of these is the sword-and-sorcery novel Drachenfels which takes the prescribed formulae of the games company to whose bible it was written and make them over entirely into a Kim Newman novel.
Life's Lottery, his most mainstream novel, consists of multiple choice fragments which enable readers to choose the hero's fate and take him into horror, crime and sf storylines or into mundane reality.
An expert on horror and sci-fi cinema (his books of film criticism include Nightmare Movies and Millennium Movies), Kim Newman's novels draw promiscuously on the tropes of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. He is complexly and irreverently referential; the Dracula sequence--Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula,Cha Cha Cha--not only portrays an alternate world in which the Count conquers Victorian Britain for a while, is the mastermind behind Germany's air aces in World War One and survives into a jetset 1950s of paparazzi and La Dolce Vita, but does so with endless throwaway references that range from Kipling to James Bond, from Edgar Allen Poe to Patricia Highsmith.
In horror novels such as Bad Dreams and Jago, reality turns out to be endlessly subverted by the powerfully malign. His pseudonymous novels, as Jack Yeovil, play elegant games with genre cliche--perhaps the best of these is the sword-and-sorcery novel Drachenfels which takes the prescribed formulae of the games company to whose bible it was written and make them over entirely into a Kim Newman novel.
Life's Lottery, his most mainstream novel, consists of multiple choice fragments which enable readers to choose the hero's fate and take him into horror, crime and sf storylines or into mundane reality.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 19, 2014
Do you think Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, and Miley Cyrus were part of a Quorum?
July 16, 2025
I didn’t enjoy this book. The writing style was scattered and grating, often reading like the rapid, slurred chatter of a cockney teenager who broke into the liquor cabinet. The story felt largely pointless, with only one character, Sally, holding any emotional weight. Everyone else blurred together, aided in part by the baffling decision to give several characters confusingly similar names.
The supposed antagonist, Derek Leech, is barely even a presence. For a Faustian horror novel, there's a glaring lack of actual Faust. Where’s the soul-selling? Where’s the devil’s manipulation? Leech doesn’t really do anything and the story never makes sense of his role or purpose. This is just an odd blend of corporate satire and pointless cruelty.
The tone tries to be tongue-in-cheek and culturally self-aware, but it comes across more smug than smart. There's a sense that Newman was more invested in showing off cultural references and constructing elaborate farce than in telling a coherent and meaningful story. And the absurd plot points, like a street brawl turning into a house explosion, or a famous person being imprisoned without recognition, just make the whole thing ridiculous.
It’s all style, no substance, and a very long journey to nowhere.
The supposed antagonist, Derek Leech, is barely even a presence. For a Faustian horror novel, there's a glaring lack of actual Faust. Where’s the soul-selling? Where’s the devil’s manipulation? Leech doesn’t really do anything and the story never makes sense of his role or purpose. This is just an odd blend of corporate satire and pointless cruelty.
The tone tries to be tongue-in-cheek and culturally self-aware, but it comes across more smug than smart. There's a sense that Newman was more invested in showing off cultural references and constructing elaborate farce than in telling a coherent and meaningful story. And the absurd plot points, like a street brawl turning into a house explosion, or a famous person being imprisoned without recognition, just make the whole thing ridiculous.
It’s all style, no substance, and a very long journey to nowhere.
January 30, 2015
Newman's ambitious rethinking of the legend of the diabolical pact emphasizes the destruction Faust (or in this case, the Quorum) causes others; here, personal damnation is directly related to the harm done to the innocent in the course of enjoying the pact's benefits.
Newman is never dull, but for all his thoughtfulness and insight, the novel doesn't quite work for me. The Quorum's casual, self-serving cruelty prevents one from developing sympathy for its members, although one of Newman's main contentions is that almost everyone would act as they do, given the opportunity. (Perhaps Newman, writing in the early 1990s, was reflecting on the explosion of ruthlessly exploitative capitalism in the Thatcher years).
The aforementioned cruelty is especially jarring in juxtaposition with Newman's customary jocularity and pop culture satire. It's as if the reader is expected to enjoy the Quorum's sadism; but, for me, the pain of their primary victim is too believable, too well-grounded in real life to work as black comedy.
Moreover, Newman's handling of the legend's moral conclusion, in which the diabolist is damned and the innocent experience some sort of redemption, is intellectualized and unconvincing. What is the purpose of the mephistophelean "Device" which extracts the victim's pain? (In this version of the story, the Devil is more interested in collecting misery than he is in collecting souls). And is anyone likely to emerge from fifteen years of low-grade torture in a confident, chipper state of mind? The sweetness of the ending scarcely mitigates the bitterness which precedes it.
Newman is never dull, but for all his thoughtfulness and insight, the novel doesn't quite work for me. The Quorum's casual, self-serving cruelty prevents one from developing sympathy for its members, although one of Newman's main contentions is that almost everyone would act as they do, given the opportunity. (Perhaps Newman, writing in the early 1990s, was reflecting on the explosion of ruthlessly exploitative capitalism in the Thatcher years).
The aforementioned cruelty is especially jarring in juxtaposition with Newman's customary jocularity and pop culture satire. It's as if the reader is expected to enjoy the Quorum's sadism; but, for me, the pain of their primary victim is too believable, too well-grounded in real life to work as black comedy.
Moreover, Newman's handling of the legend's moral conclusion, in which the diabolist is damned and the innocent experience some sort of redemption, is intellectualized and unconvincing. What is the purpose of the mephistophelean "Device" which extracts the victim's pain? (In this version of the story, the Devil is more interested in collecting misery than he is in collecting souls). And is anyone likely to emerge from fifteen years of low-grade torture in a confident, chipper state of mind? The sweetness of the ending scarcely mitigates the bitterness which precedes it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2018
If I could give this book a negative rating, I would. Ugh! I really wanted to like this book. The premise was enticing. The execution, atrocious. Besides basic editorial mistakes, the writing is a failed attempt at storytelling. Characters are flat and uninteresting, and descriptions are cringe-worthy. Page 37 is as far as I am willing to waste my time on this book.
Here are just a few passages that felt like sand in my teeth.
Page 31: “It had not been unexpected, somehow. Sally noticed people were marginally less shocked and surprised by Bender than they’d been by Conner. The office had a wartime feel; the troops kept their heads down and tried not to know too much about their comrades.” (Cue the eye roll)
Page 30: “The magnate, who kept going in and out of focus as if it were unwise to look at him with the naked eye, smiled a barracuda smile that seemed to fill the lift.” (That was all one sentence. I can forgive a loquacious sentence, if it contains wit.)
Page 21: “Sally nodded vigorously. April touched her cheek, as if it’d enable her to take Sally’s emotional temperature.”
Perhaps a better person than me can overlook the writing quality, and enjoy the story. I wish them fun.
Here are just a few passages that felt like sand in my teeth.
Page 31: “It had not been unexpected, somehow. Sally noticed people were marginally less shocked and surprised by Bender than they’d been by Conner. The office had a wartime feel; the troops kept their heads down and tried not to know too much about their comrades.” (Cue the eye roll)
Page 30: “The magnate, who kept going in and out of focus as if it were unwise to look at him with the naked eye, smiled a barracuda smile that seemed to fill the lift.” (That was all one sentence. I can forgive a loquacious sentence, if it contains wit.)
Page 21: “Sally nodded vigorously. April touched her cheek, as if it’d enable her to take Sally’s emotional temperature.”
Perhaps a better person than me can overlook the writing quality, and enjoy the story. I wish them fun.
March 5, 2015
Not my Favourite Kim Newman book by any stretch. but by no means is it a bad book, still a solid 4 star tale, just not as awesome for someone of my particular literary proclivities, as his Anno Dracula Books. This storyn is very much a Faustian tale that is light on the obvious mystical aspects of what a deal with the devil might be. So maybe some of the same ground, pop culture wise at least, as Johnny Alucard. There is a great deal of traditional british schoolboy hijinx gone awry which is how the quorum or pact with Faust, here called Leech... Think Solomon Grundy as Gordon Gecko or some media magnate, more like.
Thinking about what to like about this book, makes me like it more. I think that says something right there. I Found the whole thing took a long time to get going hard with the fantasy part of the story for me, and wish maybe I had read the fleshing out things short stories in the back. Sally Rhodes is a cool character, and hope to see more of her, at least, from this book.
Thinking about what to like about this book, makes me like it more. I think that says something right there. I Found the whole thing took a long time to get going hard with the fantasy part of the story for me, and wish maybe I had read the fleshing out things short stories in the back. Sally Rhodes is a cool character, and hope to see more of her, at least, from this book.
January 27, 2024
This particular edition has brought almost all the Sally Rhodes and Derek Leech tales in a single volume— excluding only the Diogenes Club tales and 'Seven Star' episodes. Thus we have~
1. Organ Donors: Brilliant, sharp, witty and brutal story;
2. The Quorum: Cynical novel about rise of Leech and a Faustian bargain, with lots of nastiness made somewhat durable by the parts invloving Sally;
3. Mother Hen: Sally's first brutal encounter with Mythwrhn;
4. The Man Who Collected Barker: Darkly humorous story about obsession;
5. Gargantuabots versus the Nice Mice: Comic tale with a heady whiff of pop-culture;
6. The Original Dr Shade: Dark tale about Leech's takeover of a creative person utilising embedded cultural tools;
7. Going to Series: Wicked, devious, realistic and believably scary.
Overall, this is a generally dark but very sharp collection featuring flashes of light from Sally Rhodes. I sincerely hope that Newman would present us with a full-fledged novel featuring her investigations and thoughts at some point of time.
Recommended.
1. Organ Donors: Brilliant, sharp, witty and brutal story;
2. The Quorum: Cynical novel about rise of Leech and a Faustian bargain, with lots of nastiness made somewhat durable by the parts invloving Sally;
3. Mother Hen: Sally's first brutal encounter with Mythwrhn;
4. The Man Who Collected Barker: Darkly humorous story about obsession;
5. Gargantuabots versus the Nice Mice: Comic tale with a heady whiff of pop-culture;
6. The Original Dr Shade: Dark tale about Leech's takeover of a creative person utilising embedded cultural tools;
7. Going to Series: Wicked, devious, realistic and believably scary.
Overall, this is a generally dark but very sharp collection featuring flashes of light from Sally Rhodes. I sincerely hope that Newman would present us with a full-fledged novel featuring her investigations and thoughts at some point of time.
Recommended.
May 21, 2019
An unpleasant read about hideous people, mostly set in the 80s and 90s. Authentically horrible, including the sexual politics, racism and homophobia. I enjoyed finding out more about Derek Leech and Sally Rhodes, who appear in the Diogenes Club books, but it felt overlong, with an unsatisfactory ending.
November 8, 2021
Tales of friendship with a terrible price attached, Kim Newman [as always] delivers clever stories of greed and excess were someone has to pay the price. Great to read an author who allows his strong female characters to be capable and independent.
September 22, 2022
What is your art of the day 366
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2025
Would not have believed that the author of the brilliant Anno.Dracula series would have written such incoherent and garbled rubbish like this!!
January 6, 2008
I enjoyed this one- but I know it wouldn't be for everyone's taste. There's a particular flavor of mid-to-late-90s Londoner novel that I especially enjoy: Mieville's 'King Rat' has it, so does Iain Banks' exquisite 'Complicity' (which may be the father of the genre, so to speak).
This one falls a bit short of the mark, but it still is true enough to the target that it fit a need for me. The characterizations are pretty flat (Hint, Kim: if you're gonna have a novel with 4 major characters, DRAW THEM DIFFERENTLY); the plot is oh so very paint-by-numbers. I'm pretty sure, sadly, that this one was completed due to needing the money from the contract rather than any urgency on the author's part.
This one falls a bit short of the mark, but it still is true enough to the target that it fit a need for me. The characterizations are pretty flat (Hint, Kim: if you're gonna have a novel with 4 major characters, DRAW THEM DIFFERENTLY); the plot is oh so very paint-by-numbers. I'm pretty sure, sadly, that this one was completed due to needing the money from the contract rather than any urgency on the author's part.
February 28, 2008
The slickest "Deal With The Devil" book ever printed...would YOU sell out one of your best friends into a life of agonizing drudgery and obscurity, so you could hit the big time instead? You probably would, if the Devil turned out to be Newman's 'Derek Leech', a savvy corporate antichrist so charming he could be your own company's CEO. THE QUORUM has been called "A Darkly Humorous BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES", but I think it's better than that...a thoroughly profound and entertaining read exploring greed, fame, love, evil, and the resilience of humanity.
November 2, 2013
Titan Books re-releases the critically acclaimed 'The Quorum' by Kim Newman but is it worth picking up?
http://curiosityofasocialmisfit.blogs...
For the most part, this book is worth a read if you are a Kim Newman fan but there are some rather cliched moments and a bunch of characters that all seem to merge in to one but there are some very well written moments that nearly make up for those.
It's not an essential purchase but nor is it an awful book either. Maybe just one for the Newman fans.
http://curiosityofasocialmisfit.blogs...
For the most part, this book is worth a read if you are a Kim Newman fan but there are some rather cliched moments and a bunch of characters that all seem to merge in to one but there are some very well written moments that nearly make up for those.
It's not an essential purchase but nor is it an awful book either. Maybe just one for the Newman fans.
July 27, 2015
Three friends decide to strike a Faustian bargain with the mysterious Derek Leech. In exchange for success they will make their fourth friend's life a constant stream of failures. An interesting premise for a novel that made me quite uneasy because the three guys who decided to fuck over their mate aren't cartoon villains, but normal dudes. In the end, there's a twist I didn't expect and the end was a little too open for my taste, but it was a cool story regardless. I liked that Newman takes a few swipes at Neil Gaiman, it was funny.
February 24, 2025
This book is shit. I would rather have a one year old pluck the hairs out of my beard with plastic toy tweezers than continue to read it. I tried and tried but it is boring. The characters on the main are not engaging, there's too much time-jumping which doesn't help the already torpid pace. This is only the third it fourth book I've given up on ever. I am sad. I'll stick to reading the authors column in Empire.
September 6, 2014
2 and a half really
I liked Sally and the some of the school scenes were evocative, but overall the time changes and too many characters beginning with the same letter made this a pain to read and less enjoyable than it could have been. Pity, I have enjoyed the other books I've read by the author very much.
I liked Sally and the some of the school scenes were evocative, but overall the time changes and too many characters beginning with the same letter made this a pain to read and less enjoyable than it could have been. Pity, I have enjoyed the other books I've read by the author very much.
February 26, 2014
Gave it 100 pages before giving up, which is rare for me. Didn't like the writing style at all, characters one-dimensional, confusing story line.. Very disappointed because the blurb on the back was promising.
April 5, 2008
Offbeat horror black comedy novel.
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
July 24, 2011
An interesting amusing satire but ultimately pointless.
Want to read
August 31, 2013I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12151749
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12151749
November 14, 2013
If I take this book by chapter then I liked it, however the constant changes in dateline and character shifts were just annoying in the end. Shame 'cos I think Kim Newman is usually better!
October 20, 2015
Not his best but it rattles along well enough, his Anno Dracula series work better in my opinion, but it explores the concept of the Faustian pact with vigour.
January 31, 2017
Essential horror genre entry.
April 23, 2017
One of my more favourite Newman books, where you find yourself actually rooting for a character and hoping for outcomes that may or may not occur.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews