What do You think about The List Of Seven (2005)?
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)I recently had occasion to think again about the exquisitely strange 1990s television show Twin Peaks, co-created by David Lynch and Mark Frost; and that got me thinking again about Frost's two genre novels from that time period as well, 1993's The List of 7 and '95's The 6 Messiahs, the first of which I read way back when it originally came out, which inspired me this month to check them out from the library here in Chicago. Essentially steampunk tales from the dawn of that term's creation, they tell related stories based on the idea of the real Arthur Conan Doyle going on a series of occultish adventures in the late 1800s, accompanied by a secret agent of the Queen named Jack Sparks who ends up providing many of the traits for Doyle's later Sherlock Holmes stories.Almost twenty years later, I had mostly fond if not dim memories of the first book, one of the first steampunk tales I ever read; and indeed, re-reading it again this month, it was in fact as entertaining as my memory had it. But twenty years of genre development has made steampunk a much more sophisticated thing now than it was at its inception, and unfortunately these books now display the weaknesses that come with their age; read now in the wake of much better books that have come after, they seem a little clunkier than they did before, a bit more obvious in their machinations, and with a bad Hollywood tone much of the time, as if Frost were only writing them so that he could then sell the film rights, not surprising when it comes to an industry veteran like himself. Now combine this with the fact that the very concept gets kind of muddled by the second book -- the whole charm of the first one laying mostly in the idea of Doyle being a young, clueless, untested doctor, thrown into the middle of shadowy conspiracies he doesn't understand, an aspect missing in the sequel where he is now a field-tested veteran of the strange -- and it's easy to see why Frost eventually abandoned what could've been the start of a lucrative franchise, and has only penned sports-themed novels in the years since. Interesting for a lark, and for those curious about steampunk's origins, but not something you should go out of your way to read.Out of 10: 7.9
—Jason Pettus
A fun, fast-paced read combining adventure with elements of horror. The plot careens along like a boulder hurtling down a hill, bouncing this way and that but always keeping the reader's attention. In it, a young Arthur Conan Doyle encounters Jack Sparks, (who eventually becomes Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes), and together with Spark's trusted comrades, they battle a gang of evil-doers bent on world domination, led by Spark's brother, Alexander. (Suffice it to say, the Sparks family had more than its share of dysfunction and Freudian complexes. Must've made for some seriously chilly holiday dinners.) With chase scenes, monsters, zombies, and weird and creepy imagery worthy of Frost's co-creation, "Twin Peaks," The List of 7 is continuously entertaining through its 400 pages.
—Ray
Un joven Arthur Conan Doyle que en sus ratos libres se dedica se ve involucrado en una conspiración siniestra cuando asiste a una sesión de espiritismo que termina con muertos por todos lados. Por suerte, Doyle cuenta con la ayuda de Jack "no puedo creer que no es Sherlock Holmes" Sparks (lo que lo convierte en el Dr. Watson de esta historia) para llegar al fondo de una intriga que amenaza con liberar fuerzas diabólicas que pondrían en peligro al imperio británico. Y al resto del mundo. Quizás.La portada de la edición que tengo de este libro anuncia orgullosa "Mark Frost, guionista de Twin Peaks" y vaya que se notan los antecedentes. La premisa es interesante, el diálogo es ágil y los personajes aunque sencillos tienen encanto, en especial un par de gemelos que ayudan a Doyle y Sparks. Además, hay referencias esporádicas a la Inglaterra del siglo XIX y a la obra de Doyle, lo que es bienvenido.En el lado negativo, la trama se enreda al grado que a mitad del libro parece que no habrá oportunidad para darle solución a todos los conflictos planteados de manera satisfactoria, lo que al final del libro se confirma. Da la impresión que el autor planteó eventos porque proporcionaban el giro más inesperado a la historia pero no pensó que tendría que darles una solución más allá de "por que sí". Justo al estilo Twin Peaks. En particular (view spoiler)[Sparks estuvo ingresado en el hospital psiquiátrico Bedlam, lo que hace a Doyle y al lector dudar de la cordura de este personaje. Esto se resuelve cuando Doyle le pregunta a Sparks sobre ello y la respuesta de consiste en esencia en "sí, pero ya estoy bien" a lo cual Holmes no pone reparo y el tema se olvida para siempre. Lo mismo ocurre con su adicción. (hide spoiler)]
—Juan Bosco
