The Devil in Amber: A Lucifer Box Novel

By Mark Gatiss

Lucifer Box - the gorgeous butterfly of King Bertie's reign, portraitist, dandy and terribly good secret agent - is feeling his age. Assigned to observe the activities of fascist leader Olympus Mons and his fanatical Amber Shirts in a snow-bound 1920s New York, Box finds himself framed for a vicious murder.

Using all his native cunning, Box escapes aboard a vessel bound for England armed only with a Broadway midget's suitcase and a string of unanswered questions. What lies hidden in the bleak Norfolk convent of St Bede? What is 'the lamb' that Olympus Mons searches for in his bid for world domination? And what has all this to do with a medieval prayer intended to summon the Devil himself?

From the glittering sophistication of Art Deco Manhattan to the eerie Norfolk coast and the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland The Devil in Amber takes us on a thrilling ride that pits Lucifer Box against the most lethal adversary of his career : the Prince of Darkness himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 17, 2008
• ISBN: 9781847396686

Mark Gatiss

Mark Gatiss writes for the multiaward-winning British television comedy The League of Gentlemen, on which he portrays a debt collector, a cursed veterinarian, a dog cinema owner who has recently branched out into VHS and DVD rentals, and a Knight Rider fan, among many other characters. He also stars in the feature film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse and has written episodes for the rejuvenated Doctor Who television series. He lives in a laboratory with a stuffed cat.

Reviews for The Devil in Amber

[jkdavies · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Entertainment to the fore, but the plot was about wannabe Satanists with Swiss mountain lairs and a perfect child brought up in a convent to be a sacrifice. Stylistically fun, but utterly unbelievable. I remember liking The Vesuvius Club more.

[unevendays · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An old school ripping yarn - this book has spies, murder, double crossing and derring do and the Devil just to add spice. I'll definitely have to read the Vesuvius Club now.

[h_d_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wish I wish I wish I had read this before The Vesuvius Club. I was completely prepared to continue disliking Lucifer Box and putting up with the novel for the sake of having spent money on the box set, but to my surprise, just a few pages in and I was enjoying it much more than the previous novel.

I found the level of tongue-in-cheek humour just right. Box is dry and ridiculous, but not as smug and annoying as I found him in The Vesuvius Club. Having it set in America and giving it that noirish twist also made it very enjoyable, despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of noir.

And then there was the tail end of the book which threw up all kinds of unexpected surprises. I don't think the mish mash of genres would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed what Gatiss did here, mixing up mystery and the macabre with a slice of humour and just a drop of barely noticable smut.

I wish there was more of this Lucifer Box to read about. I may just read the last installment in the series.

[jawalter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I actually purchased this book before its prequel, The Vesuvius Club, but held off on reading it until I'd managed to locate that book. Reading the two books out of order wouldn't have had an effect on my understanding, but that's just the way I roll.

Sadly, The Devil in Amber isn't as entertaining as its predecessor, although it is still enjoyable. Gatiss seems to have toned down the more foppish aspect of Box's character in favor of a greater emphasis on sex and action, and while the book isn't devoid of humor (far from it, in fact), this go-round is a lot less witty. I also found the supernatural aspects of the story to be somewhat distracting. I liked the idea that Box could exist in the real world a lot better than this book's fantasy world.

So, all in all, this was a letdown, like most sequels, I suppose. Should this turn into a trilogy, however, I will gladly pick up a copy.

[ahs7wolfy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The second book in the Lucifer Box series. This one is set 20 years after The Vesuvius Club and gets off to a really slow start. I just about managed to hang in through the first 60 pages and then, thankfully, things improved. Lucifer is feeling his age (as well as the bellhop at the hotel he's staying at) and goes to great lengths to let his audience know about it. Once he quits complaining and gets on with his job he's back to his usual likeable self. This time around he's tasked with watching Olympus Mons, the leader of a fascist movement that's making waves on both sides of the Atlantic, and find out what his plans are. This simple assignment soon goes awry when he's betrayed from within his own organisation and left to take the fall for a murder he didn't commit. Managing to escape from custody, can Lucifer follow the clues to stop Mons from literally raising Hell and also get revenge on his betrayer at the same time?Once past the slow beginning then the rest of the book flies by and that's why I'll probably continue with book 3 at some point (as long as it pops up cheap somewhere) but I'm in no hurry to rush out and buy it immediately. Just on a precautionary note, this book does contain scenes of a sexual (MM & MF) and violent nature so be warned if that's not your cup of tea.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gatiss brings Lucifer Box back for further adventures in this sequel to The Vesuvius Club, and he makes an interesting choice in aging Box considerably and thus moving his setting from the Edwardian period to the Jazz Age. While the humor is still here, and Gatiss's delight in creating a pastiche of spy stories what have gone before is still evident, the tone has changed somewhat; Box is middle-aged now, and it shows. He's still irreverent and witty and loves a good pun, and his abilities as a secret agent (despite his concerns about same) are still sharp, but he's been touched by some sadness since we've last seen him; he's a little life-worn, and that confirms suspicions from The Vesuvius Club that were he to let his mask fall for more than a moment, we'd see someone of a good deal more substance than he'd care to let on. I enjoyed the plot of The Devil in Amber more than that of the first book. The mystery of The Vesuvius Club has more than a touch of the silly to it and while that was fun, I was never quite invested in it as a plot where our hero is in danger (nor do I think one is really meant to be). The stakes are higher in The Devil in Amber, perhaps because things are more personal for Box this time around. And, it's post-WWI, and, well, the world has changed. The Devil in Amber is only obliquely about WWI, but it does thread through the novel, and the moments when the ways the war have touched Box's life poke through the story are those which elevate the novel above just a competently-done spy novel. Recommended.

[candlemark · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fast, cheeky, engrossing, and just as amusing as the original. Lucifer Box does it again, tangled up in another supernatural mystery that requires him to save the world, with the help of some very stalwart companions.If you're looking for a deep, complicated mystery that keeps you guessing until the last moment, the Lucifer Box novels aren't for you. If you're looking for a cheeky, witty, fast-paced thriller set between the world wars and incorporating a whole lot of British wit and wisdom (along with some supernatural elements), then you may just find a new favourite.Glib, slick, and utterly unrestrained in his sexual tastes, Lucifer Box makes James Bond look like a bumbling fool. He's self-absorbed, a bit clueless at points, and utterly unconcerned with the greater ramifications of his work as a secret agent for the Crown - except when he is, and when he is, he's in the thick of things and quite skilled at what he does. Told in the first person, this book is a fluffy little delight to read, mostly because Lucifer's voice is so nonchalant and smooth. A delight, from start to finish, even if you do figure out the plot well before Lucifer does...

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Twenty years after the events of "The Vesuvius Club", portrait painter and spy Lucifer Box is as witty, self-centred and vain as ever, but age is catching up with him. Changes in artistic fashions mean that his portraits are no longer in demand, younger spies are snapping at his heels and the Great War has taken its toll.In this book he gets involved in investigating Olympus Mons, the leader of F.A.U.S.T (the Fascist Anglo-United States Tribune), an American fascist organisation whose members are known as Amber Shirts. This leads him from New York to a Norfolk convent and on to a castle on the French/Swiss border, following Olympus Mons, who turns out to have a rather unorthodox plan for gaining power.

[beequiet · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was pretty unimpressed by this, I was expecting a different adventure with the same level of plot intrigue. Unfortunately it seems Gatiss got the idea of creating a series of adventures for a character into his head before actually having a clear idea of the plots in mind. The second book was a mistake, in my opinion.

[klaidlaw_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my introduction to Mark Gatiss' "Lucifer Box" series. While I enjoyed the book, with it's bisexual bon vivant main character, the overall story line was a bit silly. The action is non-stop even if unbelievable. Lucifer Box is a likable personage, which helps keep the story moving. The style is somewhat "British mystery meets Benny Hill" with its wacky names for characters, outlandish plots, and bad puns, but it works as a good chuckle. All in all, a light read for summer.

[ladyhax · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lucifer Box is such a wonderful anti-hero who must be admired as much for his instinct of self-preservation and propensity to scream in fright as for his derring-do. Gatiss's novel is at once utterly silly (conjuring the devil) and poignant (the aging anti-hero mourning the loss of lovers and friends in the Great War), but interestingly not inconsistent. The only way to describe this book is "jolly good fun"!

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another romp with Lucifer Box. This one isn't quite as opulent as the first book, but then it is set in much later, after the ravages of WWI. However, Box is no less naughty In this novel. Lots of fun.

[sarah_rubyred · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this in a back to back book joined with Mark Gatiss's first Lucifer Box novel 'Vesuvius Clus@'.I enjoyed both books, very funny main character who is a bit of a dandy, sleeping with anyone he can find and having all sorts of jolly fun while he manages to save the world. Great holiday read.

[pauliharman · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. There's only so far my Doctor Who completist demons will make me follow Gatiss's writing career. The Lucifer Box series is /okay/ I guess, but not sufficiently stand-out enough for me to turn to it in future in preference to the wealth of other reads I've got stacked up. Also, without wishing to appear homophobic, the constant guy-on-guy action just doesn't interest me and as such is a bit off-putting.

[mikefarquhar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss is the second novel to feature Lucifer Box, agent of the British Crown, dandy, bon vivant and serial romancer. Where the last book was set in the late Victorian period, this one features an older Box in the period between the Wars, when he’s starting to feel his age a bit. If you’ve read the first book (The Vesuvius Club) this is unashamedly more of the same – it’s silly, over the top, full of bad puns, decadent and absurd – and a lot of fun. If you object to the sort of book where characters have names like “Percy Flarge” and “Professor Reiss-Muller”, then it’s probably not going to be for you, but if you want something completely silly to immerse yourself in for a few hours, then this’ll do just fine.