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The Diogenes Club #3
Mysteries of the Diogenes Club
From the 1860s to the present day, these are the accounts of the Diogenes Club, whose agents solve crimes too strange for Britain's police, protecting the realm-and this entire plane of existence-from occult menaces, threats born in other dimensions, magical perfidy and the Deep Dark Deadly Ones. Kim Newman continues the series began in The Man From the Diogenes Club, revealing more mysteries of the British Empire's most secret service.
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2010
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310 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 8, 2011
3 1/2
This is a collection of 5 short stories/novellas - more stories about the elusive Diogenes Club. I'll list them in the order of preference, not appearance:
Kentish Glory: The Secrets of Drearclif Grange School - 4 stars
My favorite of the lot, perhaps because it's the most character based of the stories. It's also, seemingly, the least directly involved with the Club itself. I liked Amy Thomsett, the protagonist, and the other girls in the story, and was disappointed to not see Amy in any of the other stories - though she is mentioned in passing in another story as being a sometime member of the club. This is her origin story, I suppose you could say, where she first learned to harness and control her powers.
Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch - 3.5 stars
This story was headed up by an older Charles Beauregard in the Chair, seemingly shortly after the death of Mycroft Holmes. It was interesting to see Charles so uncertain as he often was in this story.
Also has the ever popular Genevieve Dieudonne, Edwin Winthrop and Catriona Kaye - the three of which seem to be the most prolific in this set of stories.
A story in which a Great Sorcerer is threatening the Kingdom, and it's unclear who's helping him and who's hindering him. A madcap race around the city sort of thing, with the interesting concept of Shadow London - the place where all the stories of London go and are real. A fascinating and terrifying concept, really.
My main complaint is that, in the cause of keeping us in the dark, it was sometimes hard to follow what was going on.
Seven Stars - 3.5 stars
This one is hard to rate because it is, itself, composed of 7 parts, and each part focused on a different time period and different people grappling with the same item - the Jewel of the Seven Stars. (Clever, that, as the seven stars can refer to both the jewel and the leads of the seven vignettes.)
It opens with a younger Charles and Kate Reed - who are some of my favorites, so I was very excited at first, thinking this to be a whole story with them. Alas, was not to be, but I did like the first part a lot.
The middle parts were of varying quality and interest, but it was cool to follow the jewel from ancient Egypt, then skipping to the the mid-to- late 1800s up until 2025. (The story set in 2025 was a bit weird - futuristic and almost more sci-fi than fantasy, but it seemed, maybe, a bit too futuristic for something not that far in the future. Then again, it is an alt-reality, so there's that, too.)
But, anyway, where the middle parts lagged at times, I thought the ending was done really well, and it was nice to see some of the recurrent characters redeem themselves after seeing a fall from grace.
Moon Moon Moon - 3 stars
A Richard Jeperson story, set in 1969. (I never read the Man from the Diogenes Club, the collection that focuses on Richard, as it's one of my least favorite time periods.)
Anyway, an ok story, once again flirting with the idea of Shadow places made out of belief and stories, but this time with the moon, oddly enough. (I mean, who would've guessed it was about the moon from the title?)
A typical sort of whodunit kind of thing, nothing overtly special, but interesting enough.
Organ Donors - 2.5 stars
The shortest of the lot, and also my least favorite, introducing us to Sally Rhodes. The story itself is pretty meh, and serves little purpose in itself, it seems, other than to set some stuff up for the Seven Stars story - which, in fairness, is important to that whole story, so there is that.
This is a collection of 5 short stories/novellas - more stories about the elusive Diogenes Club. I'll list them in the order of preference, not appearance:
Kentish Glory: The Secrets of Drearclif Grange School - 4 stars
My favorite of the lot, perhaps because it's the most character based of the stories. It's also, seemingly, the least directly involved with the Club itself. I liked Amy Thomsett, the protagonist, and the other girls in the story, and was disappointed to not see Amy in any of the other stories - though she is mentioned in passing in another story as being a sometime member of the club. This is her origin story, I suppose you could say, where she first learned to harness and control her powers.
Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch - 3.5 stars
This story was headed up by an older Charles Beauregard in the Chair, seemingly shortly after the death of Mycroft Holmes. It was interesting to see Charles so uncertain as he often was in this story.
Also has the ever popular Genevieve Dieudonne, Edwin Winthrop and Catriona Kaye - the three of which seem to be the most prolific in this set of stories.
A story in which a Great Sorcerer is threatening the Kingdom, and it's unclear who's helping him and who's hindering him. A madcap race around the city sort of thing, with the interesting concept of Shadow London - the place where all the stories of London go and are real. A fascinating and terrifying concept, really.
My main complaint is that, in the cause of keeping us in the dark, it was sometimes hard to follow what was going on.
Seven Stars - 3.5 stars
This one is hard to rate because it is, itself, composed of 7 parts, and each part focused on a different time period and different people grappling with the same item - the Jewel of the Seven Stars. (Clever, that, as the seven stars can refer to both the jewel and the leads of the seven vignettes.)
It opens with a younger Charles and Kate Reed - who are some of my favorites, so I was very excited at first, thinking this to be a whole story with them. Alas, was not to be, but I did like the first part a lot.
The middle parts were of varying quality and interest, but it was cool to follow the jewel from ancient Egypt, then skipping to the the mid-to- late 1800s up until 2025. (The story set in 2025 was a bit weird - futuristic and almost more sci-fi than fantasy, but it seemed, maybe, a bit too futuristic for something not that far in the future. Then again, it is an alt-reality, so there's that, too.)
But, anyway, where the middle parts lagged at times, I thought the ending was done really well, and it was nice to see some of the recurrent characters redeem themselves after seeing a fall from grace.
Moon Moon Moon - 3 stars
A Richard Jeperson story, set in 1969. (I never read the Man from the Diogenes Club, the collection that focuses on Richard, as it's one of my least favorite time periods.)
Anyway, an ok story, once again flirting with the idea of Shadow places made out of belief and stories, but this time with the moon, oddly enough. (I mean, who would've guessed it was about the moon from the title?)
A typical sort of whodunit kind of thing, nothing overtly special, but interesting enough.
Organ Donors - 2.5 stars
The shortest of the lot, and also my least favorite, introducing us to Sally Rhodes. The story itself is pretty meh, and serves little purpose in itself, it seems, other than to set some stuff up for the Seven Stars story - which, in fairness, is important to that whole story, so there is that.
March 1, 2012
Mysteries of the Diogenes Club is a collection of short stories surrounding Kim Newman's arcane government agency. It's based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous gentleman's club, but the Great Detective is only ever referred to in passing, and his less famous but more intelligent brother Mycroft isn't a major character either. Some familiar characters from other Kim Newman books appear, like Charles Beauregard and Geneviève Dieudonné, and others I met for the first time, like Catriona Kaye and Amy Thomsett.
Some of the stories are excellent, such as Newman's take on a classic school story. "Kentish Glory", features a schoolgirl coming to terms with being able to float, and dressing up as a Moth-inspired superhero to rescue an abducted classmate. Some are less so, like the slightly clunky seven-part adventure 'The Seven Stars', which covers various time-periods and characters. Just didn't work for me, but I did like the fact the bit on the set of the film 'Sherlock Holmes' with John Barrymore!
Some of the stories are excellent, such as Newman's take on a classic school story. "Kentish Glory", features a schoolgirl coming to terms with being able to float, and dressing up as a Moth-inspired superhero to rescue an abducted classmate. Some are less so, like the slightly clunky seven-part adventure 'The Seven Stars', which covers various time-periods and characters. Just didn't work for me, but I did like the fact the bit on the set of the film 'Sherlock Holmes' with John Barrymore!
October 31, 2014
I'm a big Kim Newman fanboy and have been since I first read Anno Dracula and reveled in the mad skill with which he mingled fictional characters from every era into a brilliant, well-written story. Mysteries is set in a different milieu, but features his version of Conan Doyle's eponymous Club and their continuing efforts to keep England safe from the Bad Things, as well Charles Beauregard, the vampire Genevieve and other familiar characters. This collections features stories and novellas old and new, including a magical warfare version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the novel length epic Seven Stars. These are clever, sharp, conceptually witty, archly satiric and highly entertaining pulp tales. Fans of Newman won't mind taking the old with the new, and neophytes have a jolly good treat in store.
March 24, 2024
This awesome book contains the following works~
1. Sorcerer Conjuror Wizard Witch: Eerily reminiscent of John le Carré's legendary TTSS, this novella harks back to the darkly glamorous Diogenes Club of Charles Beauregard. Titan has so far neglected this one and it has not found a place in any of their re-issued volumes.
2. Kentish Glory— The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School: This enjoyable extravaganza is very-very tangentially connected (if at all) to the Diogenes Club. This one has also been left out of recent volumes.
3. Moon Moon Moon: This 'swinging sixties' adventure featuring Richard Jeperson has found itself in the new 'The Man From the Diogenes Club';
4. Organ Donors: This charming yet dark tale featuring Sally Rhodes is now in 'The Quorum';
5. Seven Stars: This awesome novella, spread across time and involving beloved characters belonging to various times, is yet to find a place in the Titan volumes.
Overall, this is another brilliant collection. But after re-read I would again like to grumble that it doesn't contain the wonderful 'The Man on the Clapham Omnibus', which has, very strangely, become part of the reissued 'Jago'!
Nevertheless, for any admirer of Newman's meta-fiction and his uniquely British way of evil-bashing, this is an essential read.
Highly recommended.
1. Sorcerer Conjuror Wizard Witch: Eerily reminiscent of John le Carré's legendary TTSS, this novella harks back to the darkly glamorous Diogenes Club of Charles Beauregard. Titan has so far neglected this one and it has not found a place in any of their re-issued volumes.
2. Kentish Glory— The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School: This enjoyable extravaganza is very-very tangentially connected (if at all) to the Diogenes Club. This one has also been left out of recent volumes.
3. Moon Moon Moon: This 'swinging sixties' adventure featuring Richard Jeperson has found itself in the new 'The Man From the Diogenes Club';
4. Organ Donors: This charming yet dark tale featuring Sally Rhodes is now in 'The Quorum';
5. Seven Stars: This awesome novella, spread across time and involving beloved characters belonging to various times, is yet to find a place in the Titan volumes.
Overall, this is another brilliant collection. But after re-read I would again like to grumble that it doesn't contain the wonderful 'The Man on the Clapham Omnibus', which has, very strangely, become part of the reissued 'Jago'!
Nevertheless, for any admirer of Newman's meta-fiction and his uniquely British way of evil-bashing, this is an essential read.
Highly recommended.
April 21, 2021
It kind of doesn’t matter which order you read the first two Diogenes Club collections, but I do think this should be read last. One, there is some finality to this that would be better appreciated if you were to invest in the characters first.
Also, for as much as I enjoyed this, in half the book The Diogenes club was either cursory or missing entirely. While this is all the same world, if you want more of the historical supernatural MI-6 only some of the book trades in it.
The Kentish Glory story is more a launching pad for the Dearcliff Grange series.
Organ Donors is more an extension of Newman’s novel The Quorum and a lead in to Seven Stars.
Seven Stars itself is solid when it is doing the Diogenes Club stuff, but it gets into his LA noir stuff (which was fun), and then more follow-up on The Quorum.
Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch delivered exactly what I wanted, and Moon Moon Moon was great kooky fun. And those stories do take up a lot of the book, so it’s hard to complain. BUT, I feel that there is a little bait and switch here.
Regardless, Newman’s work, while cloyingly precious, brings me deep joy, this collection was no exception.
Also, for as much as I enjoyed this, in half the book The Diogenes club was either cursory or missing entirely. While this is all the same world, if you want more of the historical supernatural MI-6 only some of the book trades in it.
The Kentish Glory story is more a launching pad for the Dearcliff Grange series.
Organ Donors is more an extension of Newman’s novel The Quorum and a lead in to Seven Stars.
Seven Stars itself is solid when it is doing the Diogenes Club stuff, but it gets into his LA noir stuff (which was fun), and then more follow-up on The Quorum.
Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch delivered exactly what I wanted, and Moon Moon Moon was great kooky fun. And those stories do take up a lot of the book, so it’s hard to complain. BUT, I feel that there is a little bait and switch here.
Regardless, Newman’s work, while cloyingly precious, brings me deep joy, this collection was no exception.
March 21, 2013
Mysteries of The Diogenes Club is the third book in Kim Newman's "Diogenes Club series" and one of the best things I've read in quite some time. I will be hunting the other two books like Wile E. Coyote hunts the Road Runner... sadly, from what I've seen of their availability, I will do so with just as much success. But don't let that discourage you from giving this a go, "Mysteries" can easily be read on its own and it bloody well should be read by anyone who enjoys a good, well told, story.
It's a bit hard explaining exactly what Mr Newman does here, but suffice is to say that this is a very well achieved collection of short stories about the adventures of the Diogenes Club (yes, the one from Doyle) throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, that tie up amazingly well on the last tale "Seven Stars". It turns out that the members of this venerable institution aren't so introspective and quiet after all, unlike what Mr Watson led us to believe... they are, in fact, Great Britain's leading secret agents fighting against occult and supernatural forces... they just look quiet and introspective because Mycroft Holmes was a hell of a smart bastard when it came to making up cover stories.
Now, I could go on and on about how great this book is or on how brilliant Mr Newman is both at plotting and writing (with the added bonus, in this last point, the he isn't a "show off", you only realise how good his writing style really is when you stop to think that even though the short stories span for over 100 years you are nearly always able to recognise the time period they are set by the second or third paragraph, without ever being told a date or something of the sort) but the best thing you can do is pick this up and check it out for yourself, really. I'm glad I did.
It's a bit hard explaining exactly what Mr Newman does here, but suffice is to say that this is a very well achieved collection of short stories about the adventures of the Diogenes Club (yes, the one from Doyle) throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, that tie up amazingly well on the last tale "Seven Stars". It turns out that the members of this venerable institution aren't so introspective and quiet after all, unlike what Mr Watson led us to believe... they are, in fact, Great Britain's leading secret agents fighting against occult and supernatural forces... they just look quiet and introspective because Mycroft Holmes was a hell of a smart bastard when it came to making up cover stories.
Now, I could go on and on about how great this book is or on how brilliant Mr Newman is both at plotting and writing (with the added bonus, in this last point, the he isn't a "show off", you only realise how good his writing style really is when you stop to think that even though the short stories span for over 100 years you are nearly always able to recognise the time period they are set by the second or third paragraph, without ever being told a date or something of the sort) but the best thing you can do is pick this up and check it out for yourself, really. I'm glad I did.
May 14, 2014
I must admit that I bailed on this book about half way through. Perhaps I'm getting tired of Newman's constant peppering of references to other literary and cinematic figures. Perhaps I thought that in the case of this book this referential mania got in the way of plot and character. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for this book. I don't know. But for whatever reason, I could not get into this one at all. The first Anno Dracula book is still the best work in this particular literary series.
November 17, 2015
Newman once again gives us a peep into the mysterious doings of the Diogenes Club--the gentlemen's (and ladies') society that protects England and the rest of the world from all manner of extraterrestrial, weird-scientific, and supernatural threats.
These stories are from their pulp-era days, the 1930s and 40s, and deal with an occult Cold War between sorcerers that threatens England.
These stories are from their pulp-era days, the 1930s and 40s, and deal with an occult Cold War between sorcerers that threatens England.
January 26, 2011
I'm the only one that read this?
January 3, 2013
The Diogenes Club, founded by Sherlock Holmes's "cleverer brother", Mycroft, to fight eldritch horors.
Read
June 5, 2018😀
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews