BiblioBlog

November 11, 2003
The List of 7 by Mark Frost

The List of 7 by Mark Frost: a mix of adventure and occultism with a tiny bit of romance thrown in for good measure in Victorian England makes for quite an interesting book.

Arthur Conan Doyle is a physician of modest stature in the late 1880s in England. He has a few patients and submit manuscripts to local publishing houses. He also has a keen interest in the occult and spends a fair amount of time investigating spiritualists and mediums trying to find the real thing.

All this is abruptly thrown into disarray when he finds himself the target of a group of seven people that wish him dead before he can disrupt their plot - one he has unwittingly stumbled into.

At first, while I liked the book, I found it really hard to get into. It wasn’t until page 60 or so that I really started to enjoy the book and the direction it was taking. I was eager to see what would happen next and what the fates of various players in the book would be.

My only real complaint with the book is that at times it the prose was a bit windy. Also, while the book was set in Victorian England, I myself don’t know all their terms and slang. It would have been nice to have had some translations. The only reason that I knew that an alienist is, basically, a psychiatrist, is because of the excellent book by Caleb Carr The Alienist.

All in all, the novel contained quite the adventure and I look forward to reading the next book in the series The 6 Messiahs.



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Comments

I thought the story was utterly fascinating and captivating. The prose was indeed windy at times, but that seemed to fit in with the time period. It took me a bit to remember who "Sir" Arthur Conan Doyle was (Dr. Doyle), although I immediately recognized Bram Stoker. I am amazed that the author was able to link all these real characters, including what would become Jack the Ripper, in so completely with this fantastic tale. I haven't been so intrigued by a story is quite some time and I know I will read this story as fastidiously as I have JRR Tolkien's works.

Posted by: Melissa G on March 22, 2004 02:50 PM

While I really liked The List of 7, the 6 Messiahs was horrible. I usually keep all of the books I enjoy for my bookcase, but I immediately threw it away, so take heed.

Posted by: John on April 24, 2004 11:03 PM




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