What do you think?
Rate this book
The Clown Service #1
The Clown Service by Guy Adams (3-Jul-2014) Paperback
Toby Greene has been reassigned. The Section 37 Station Office, Wood Green.The August Shining, an ex-Cambridge, Cold War-era spy.The Charged with protecting Great Britain and its interests from paranormal terrorism.The An old enemy has returned, and with him Operation Black Earth, a Soviet plan to create the ultimate insurgents by re-animating the dead.
Unknown Binding
First published September 19, 2013
11 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
January 10, 2020
Crossover urban-fantasy/espionage thriller where MI5 thwarts a rogue Soviet sorcerer staging a zombie apocalypse on the UK.
It may be a sad commentary on my life that I like urban-fantasy/police procedural crossovers. This book is an urban fantasy/spy crossover, which is close enough. A mate has been pimping it to me for more than a year along with Hell on Earth. He’s a reliable, and discerning urban-fantasy reader—I think I held-off reading this to spite him? I should have followed his advice earlier.
This was an alt-history/urban-fantasy/ spy thriller. MI5 has eschewed the paranormal since the fall of the Soviet Union. Section 37 was the down-on-its-heels Paranormal Investigations Op with only August Shining left. He’s a remarkably spritely 70+ years old spymaster. Nothing happens by accident. Toby Greene was an MI6 agent with PTSD and prone to cock-ups. He was reassigned to Section 37 in a pass the trash personnel transfer. He arrived just in time to aid Shining disrupt the efforts of a resurrected (from the dead), KGB sorcerer who was activating a mothballed Soviet zombie apocalypse upon the UK. This book was similar to Rivers of London with MI5 swapped for The Met. It’s very British and takes place in London. Well-known genre tropes received enough spin to be interesting. The author achieves atmosphere and moves the story quickly with a screenplay-ish style and only a small amount of infotainment. Finally, the story sets-up for the series that follows.
My dead-tree copy was a moderate 320-pages. Original UK copyright for the story was 2013. Once I started, I was reading as fast as I could.
Guy Adams is a British author who writes in several genres. This is the first book in his Clown Service series. It’s named after the pejorative term used within MI5 for the Paranormal Investigations unit (Section 37). The series is three (3) books. The last book in the series was written in 20015.
Prose was good. It had an informal, British style. The author oddly jumps between first person, and third person narration, although its jarring its also well handled. I thought the dialog was better than the descriptive prose. Action sequences were well handled in an abbreviated fashion. The narrative was wryly humorous in places, although it’s a very Brit humour [sic]. There were two (2), main POVs: August Shining and Greene. There were two (2) minor POVs: April Shining and Tamar (no last name). The author also flashbacks between the Cold War era and the present several times. Both the switching between POVs and flashing backward and forward in time were well handled. However, you have to pay attention to the chapter titles to keep the characters and timelines straight.
There was no sex, or drug abuse in the story. Alcohol was used to self-medicate. Violence was physical, edged-weapons and firearms. It was moderately graphic. Descriptions of resulting trauma were likewise graphic and well done. Body count was genocidal. (It’s a Zombie Apocalypse !)
The main characters were well executed, although they were not terribly original. Greene is the main character. He’s a young man who has had his three (3) strikes at MI6, and is exiled to Section 37 to wither and die. Along the way he picked-up PTSD and has some real confidence issues. However, he has potential as a wizard and good spy craft skillz. He’s forced to jump-in feet first and pickup the paranormal ropes of Section 37. Remarkably he's not completely non-plussed by the weirdness he’s quickly exposed to. August Shiner is the spymaster, bureaucrat, and sorcerer. He’s been organizationally walled-off inside UK intelligence, alone in Section 37 and aging suspiciously slowly since the draconian budget cuts that came with the end of the Cold War. August’s sister April Shiner was my favorite character. She’s a spinster, pensioner, ex- bureaucrat who knew where HM’s government(s) bodies were buried. She once held a cabinet position. She’s also likely a witch. Tamar, August’s ‘bodyguard’ and a sex worker was introduced and becomes the object of a long-term plot line. She’s a Caucasian Russian, assassin, sex-bomb. There are also a number of unusual, paranormal assets. The antagonist, Krishnin, was a Rogue Soviet Agent with paranormal capabilities returning from dead. He’s a classic Omnicidal Maniac .
The plotting was well done. A media, four (4)-act format was discernible. Adams heavily leverages fantasy, horror, and Cold War espionage tropes in the story. The author riffs on the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" Plot with his heroes August Shining and Greene paranormal-wise. August Shining practices Scientifically Understandable Sorcery. In addition, there were several paranormal tropes in-use with a well-done riff on Astral Projection being a major plot element. Spy tropes are in the flavor of Len Deighton, which is a gritty and morally ambiguous form of espionage. This includes the obligatory Defector from Commie Land. A mothballed, Soviet, paranormal Doomsday Weapon was the McGuffin. The author wraps the story with the Mother-of-All Magitek : . However, after Adams gets all these tropes into the blender, the result isn’t objectionable. It was a like a Kale Smoothie, peculiar, but not bad. Pacing was fine until the final act—then it became a rush to the end. However, after the end the author applied an ungainly number of addendums to lay the ground for future books.
Action takes place in Metro London ( Zone 5 inclusive). The use of tourist sites for scenes was minimal. There was also very little London geography infotainment. The heroes use an unlikely amount of public transportation. All the tube stops used appeared correct.
This was a moderately entertaining urban-fantasy, espionage thriller. It’s light-weight, and structured like a screenplay. Changing-up the Met for MI5 was the author’s cleverest bit in writing an urban-fantasy mashup. After that, the dependency on well-known urban fantasy/horror/spy genre tropes is the largest buy-in by the reader. The riffs on these tropes are just enough to be interesting, but they did deprive the story of any true depth. Also the story is somewhat humorous. I didn’t belly laugh, but I chuckled several times. Comparing it to other stories in the urban-fantasy-mashup category, it was a bit like London Falling but not as good as Rivers of London was at its best. At the moment, I’ve had an urban-fantasy/police procedural Low Light. This didn’t Top Me Up, but it left me more than half-full.
I will be reading the next book in the series The Rain-Soaked Bride.
Readers interested in a similar story should try the London Falling series referenced above.
It may be a sad commentary on my life that I like urban-fantasy/police procedural crossovers. This book is an urban fantasy/spy crossover, which is close enough. A mate has been pimping it to me for more than a year along with Hell on Earth. He’s a reliable, and discerning urban-fantasy reader—I think I held-off reading this to spite him? I should have followed his advice earlier.
This was an alt-history/urban-fantasy/ spy thriller. MI5 has eschewed the paranormal since the fall of the Soviet Union. Section 37 was the down-on-its-heels Paranormal Investigations Op with only August Shining left. He’s a remarkably spritely 70+ years old spymaster. Nothing happens by accident. Toby Greene was an MI6 agent with PTSD and prone to cock-ups. He was reassigned to Section 37 in a pass the trash personnel transfer. He arrived just in time to aid Shining disrupt the efforts of a resurrected (from the dead), KGB sorcerer who was activating a mothballed Soviet zombie apocalypse upon the UK. This book was similar to Rivers of London with MI5 swapped for The Met. It’s very British and takes place in London. Well-known genre tropes received enough spin to be interesting. The author achieves atmosphere and moves the story quickly with a screenplay-ish style and only a small amount of infotainment. Finally, the story sets-up for the series that follows.
My dead-tree copy was a moderate 320-pages. Original UK copyright for the story was 2013. Once I started, I was reading as fast as I could.
Guy Adams is a British author who writes in several genres. This is the first book in his Clown Service series. It’s named after the pejorative term used within MI5 for the Paranormal Investigations unit (Section 37). The series is three (3) books. The last book in the series was written in 20015.
Prose was good. It had an informal, British style. The author oddly jumps between first person, and third person narration, although its jarring its also well handled. I thought the dialog was better than the descriptive prose. Action sequences were well handled in an abbreviated fashion. The narrative was wryly humorous in places, although it’s a very Brit humour [sic]. There were two (2), main POVs: August Shining and Greene. There were two (2) minor POVs: April Shining and Tamar (no last name). The author also flashbacks between the Cold War era and the present several times. Both the switching between POVs and flashing backward and forward in time were well handled. However, you have to pay attention to the chapter titles to keep the characters and timelines straight.
There was no sex, or drug abuse in the story. Alcohol was used to self-medicate. Violence was physical, edged-weapons and firearms. It was moderately graphic. Descriptions of resulting trauma were likewise graphic and well done. Body count was genocidal. (It’s a Zombie Apocalypse !)
The main characters were well executed, although they were not terribly original. Greene is the main character. He’s a young man who has had his three (3) strikes at MI6, and is exiled to Section 37 to wither and die. Along the way he picked-up PTSD and has some real confidence issues. However, he has potential as a wizard and good spy craft skillz. He’s forced to jump-in feet first and pickup the paranormal ropes of Section 37. Remarkably he's not completely non-plussed by the weirdness he’s quickly exposed to. August Shiner is the spymaster, bureaucrat, and sorcerer. He’s been organizationally walled-off inside UK intelligence, alone in Section 37 and aging suspiciously slowly since the draconian budget cuts that came with the end of the Cold War. August’s sister April Shiner was my favorite character. She’s a spinster, pensioner, ex- bureaucrat who knew where HM’s government(s) bodies were buried. She once held a cabinet position. She’s also likely a witch. Tamar, August’s ‘bodyguard’ and a sex worker was introduced and becomes the object of a long-term plot line. She’s a Caucasian Russian, assassin, sex-bomb. There are also a number of unusual, paranormal assets. The antagonist, Krishnin, was a Rogue Soviet Agent with paranormal capabilities returning from dead. He’s a classic Omnicidal Maniac .
The plotting was well done. A media, four (4)-act format was discernible. Adams heavily leverages fantasy, horror, and Cold War espionage tropes in the story. The author riffs on the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" Plot with his heroes August Shining and Greene paranormal-wise. August Shining practices Scientifically Understandable Sorcery. In addition, there were several paranormal tropes in-use with a well-done riff on Astral Projection being a major plot element. Spy tropes are in the flavor of Len Deighton, which is a gritty and morally ambiguous form of espionage. This includes the obligatory Defector from Commie Land. A mothballed, Soviet, paranormal Doomsday Weapon was the McGuffin. The author wraps the story with the Mother-of-All Magitek : . However, after Adams gets all these tropes into the blender, the result isn’t objectionable. It was a like a Kale Smoothie, peculiar, but not bad. Pacing was fine until the final act—then it became a rush to the end. However, after the end the author applied an ungainly number of addendums to lay the ground for future books.
Action takes place in Metro London ( Zone 5 inclusive). The use of tourist sites for scenes was minimal. There was also very little London geography infotainment. The heroes use an unlikely amount of public transportation. All the tube stops used appeared correct.
This was a moderately entertaining urban-fantasy, espionage thriller. It’s light-weight, and structured like a screenplay. Changing-up the Met for MI5 was the author’s cleverest bit in writing an urban-fantasy mashup. After that, the dependency on well-known urban fantasy/horror/spy genre tropes is the largest buy-in by the reader. The riffs on these tropes are just enough to be interesting, but they did deprive the story of any true depth. Also the story is somewhat humorous. I didn’t belly laugh, but I chuckled several times. Comparing it to other stories in the urban-fantasy-mashup category, it was a bit like London Falling but not as good as Rivers of London was at its best. At the moment, I’ve had an urban-fantasy/police procedural Low Light. This didn’t Top Me Up, but it left me more than half-full.
I will be reading the next book in the series The Rain-Soaked Bride.
Readers interested in a similar story should try the London Falling series referenced above.
March 17, 2015
Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2013...
A while back I read The Good, the Bad and the Infernal from Guy Adams, and with that books he had won me over and since then I have been keeping a keen eye on his books. When I saw that Del Rey was publishing his new book, The Clown Service, I was quite happy! What I have come to learn from Guy Adams' books is that they are creative, quick, clever and are a pleasure to read. With the Clown Service, Guy Adams ventures into the field of espionage. What really made the promise of this book for me was the "less is more" kinda blurb, those brief statements tell a lot but still keep enough hidden...
If you look at the name of the book The Clown Service, you might have been expecting a more humorous story, but this isn't really the case. The Clown Service is your urban fantasy, espionage-crime book, but don't expect any clowns with red noses to be running around making balloon animals. The way that the story is shown is actually quite dark and has a definite unique ring to it. The Clown Service takes place in the day and age London as we know, but with a dark supernatural twist, however not going so far as with urban sorcerers etc but keeping the emphasis on the current world as is and only introducing the supernatural threats in the backdrop of the story. By showing the world in this way, combined with the dark setting of the story (cold war references, Russian spies, Black Earth) gave a fresh feel to it. This all felt like blending the extra into the ordinary.
But where then does the The Clown Service get its name from? It's the name given for Section 37. When the cases get to weird for the normal British Intelligence services, only one section is left: Section 37. They deal with the supernatural, keeping Britain and its interests safe, fighting dragons, animated dead, tackling your rampant psychic and the like. And this is where the story of The Clown Service begins. The main protagonist, Tom Greene, who has screwed his previous mission now finds himself being reassigned to Section 37. But being from a normal intelligence service, Toby hasn't got a clue as to how the dealings go about in Section 37. Tom is shown as a bit of failure in the beginning of the book, having let a prisoner escaping because he was knocked out cold by a bust of Beethoven, and in the initial start up of the story he does hold this a bit. Added to this is the rookieness of being new to the supernatural, only a handful know about these threats. The great thing is, is that Toby doesn’t discard this as something that is impossible but takes it in and considers it. Soon enough you see Toby getting acquainted with the dealing of Section 37, as far as that is possible when dealing with the supernatural, and he does regain his confidence and steadfastness. In the end this rooted him nicely on his spot in Section 37 and in the book itself.
Next to Toby, there are quite a few other characters that you get to learn throughout the book and the most import ones are Augustus Shining and Olag Krishnin. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Augustus, he is not your average boss, but then again he doesn't have an average job... His character brings in a lot of quick-wittedness into the story, he is a former cold era spy and has expertise in the supernatural field. With Toby being the newest employee of his, he feels himself obliged to lead everything in the correct way and he starts briefing Toby about his past and the general stuff of Section 37, and this is some cool stuff. But Augustus past is tied to one other character, Olag Krishnin and also the bad guy in The Clown Service, now I won't elaborate too much on his character as it would spoil to much. But the way that Guy Adams describes him in the beginning of the book, being a ruthless, taking-no-no's for an answer guy really helped set the dark mood and the threat of him in this story straight. And even more so when you learn about what he can do. Overall the connection between Augustus and Krishnin, was set up in a great way and helped getting the story that much further, as this again is all connected to "The Threat" the Black Earth. You can make up on the synopsis as to what that is. and it brilliant.
I already mentioned above that The Clown Service is a supernatural espionage thriller. But the supernatural aspect of the book isn't one that leaps of the pages, instead Guy Adams weaves this into the background of the whole story, creating by this an even greater feeling of what all might be possible. This supernatural is shown by Krishnin, the introducing chapters show that Krishnin can do some cool stuff, but it is also something that I didn’t really associate with the supernatural, more something of him being a good spy. Soon enough you know that it is a special gift and that it helps him in numerous way, and you learn just how powerful this can be. I really liked how Guy Adams is using this aspect to (un)liven up the storyline itself. With not letting it take over the complete story but showing it in dosed amounts will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to find out what happens next. Because with this you never know what is hiding behind the next corner.
The story of The Clown Service is written in a great manner, the first thing that falls to note is the way that Guy Adams writes his story. It’s clear and to the point. But Guy Adams also used the lay out the book is a great way. With The Clown Service being a espionage book, there are the occasional sheets of case files that give more background information about several characters and events and show how the dealing were done in the past. This felt just spot on in the whole setting of the book and really bolstered the idea of a espionage book. And when you thought that the story was over, which actually ends in a interesting manner, Guy Adams introduces the “additional files” which makes a lot of things fall into place. Though the story of The Clown Service might be complex, especially with all the new things and timelines that Guy Adams introduces, it is a true pleasure to read. It’s unique and fresh and I am crossing my fingers that this book will be turned into a series.
The Clown Service is a weird and interesting book (meaning this in the best way of course). Guy Adams shows his take on urban fantasy and the supernatural and produces a fresh and interesting story; venturing into the crime and espionage of the 21st century with cold war spies and villains. From the characters of Toby Greene with his introduction to the supernatural to his boss and the villains of the story, they all have they own characteristics and personalities that really make them stand out of the story and for specific characters they have a certain “thing” about themselves that make them just interesting. Their histories and their action make them speak for themselves, it’s hard to say, but characterizing characters is really a forte of Guy Adams. The whole backdrop of the story, taking place in an supernatural 21st century, but not letting the supernatural really take over the story keep you on your edge as you never know what might happen. This first venture into the espionage produced an superb story, and I hope that we will see more of Section 37 in the near future! Guy Adams just proves himself once again, his stories are great and whole lot of fun to read.
A while back I read The Good, the Bad and the Infernal from Guy Adams, and with that books he had won me over and since then I have been keeping a keen eye on his books. When I saw that Del Rey was publishing his new book, The Clown Service, I was quite happy! What I have come to learn from Guy Adams' books is that they are creative, quick, clever and are a pleasure to read. With the Clown Service, Guy Adams ventures into the field of espionage. What really made the promise of this book for me was the "less is more" kinda blurb, those brief statements tell a lot but still keep enough hidden...
If you look at the name of the book The Clown Service, you might have been expecting a more humorous story, but this isn't really the case. The Clown Service is your urban fantasy, espionage-crime book, but don't expect any clowns with red noses to be running around making balloon animals. The way that the story is shown is actually quite dark and has a definite unique ring to it. The Clown Service takes place in the day and age London as we know, but with a dark supernatural twist, however not going so far as with urban sorcerers etc but keeping the emphasis on the current world as is and only introducing the supernatural threats in the backdrop of the story. By showing the world in this way, combined with the dark setting of the story (cold war references, Russian spies, Black Earth) gave a fresh feel to it. This all felt like blending the extra into the ordinary.
But where then does the The Clown Service get its name from? It's the name given for Section 37. When the cases get to weird for the normal British Intelligence services, only one section is left: Section 37. They deal with the supernatural, keeping Britain and its interests safe, fighting dragons, animated dead, tackling your rampant psychic and the like. And this is where the story of The Clown Service begins. The main protagonist, Tom Greene, who has screwed his previous mission now finds himself being reassigned to Section 37. But being from a normal intelligence service, Toby hasn't got a clue as to how the dealings go about in Section 37. Tom is shown as a bit of failure in the beginning of the book, having let a prisoner escaping because he was knocked out cold by a bust of Beethoven, and in the initial start up of the story he does hold this a bit. Added to this is the rookieness of being new to the supernatural, only a handful know about these threats. The great thing is, is that Toby doesn’t discard this as something that is impossible but takes it in and considers it. Soon enough you see Toby getting acquainted with the dealing of Section 37, as far as that is possible when dealing with the supernatural, and he does regain his confidence and steadfastness. In the end this rooted him nicely on his spot in Section 37 and in the book itself.
Next to Toby, there are quite a few other characters that you get to learn throughout the book and the most import ones are Augustus Shining and Olag Krishnin. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Augustus, he is not your average boss, but then again he doesn't have an average job... His character brings in a lot of quick-wittedness into the story, he is a former cold era spy and has expertise in the supernatural field. With Toby being the newest employee of his, he feels himself obliged to lead everything in the correct way and he starts briefing Toby about his past and the general stuff of Section 37, and this is some cool stuff. But Augustus past is tied to one other character, Olag Krishnin and also the bad guy in The Clown Service, now I won't elaborate too much on his character as it would spoil to much. But the way that Guy Adams describes him in the beginning of the book, being a ruthless, taking-no-no's for an answer guy really helped set the dark mood and the threat of him in this story straight. And even more so when you learn about what he can do. Overall the connection between Augustus and Krishnin, was set up in a great way and helped getting the story that much further, as this again is all connected to "The Threat" the Black Earth. You can make up on the synopsis as to what that is. and it brilliant.
I already mentioned above that The Clown Service is a supernatural espionage thriller. But the supernatural aspect of the book isn't one that leaps of the pages, instead Guy Adams weaves this into the background of the whole story, creating by this an even greater feeling of what all might be possible. This supernatural is shown by Krishnin, the introducing chapters show that Krishnin can do some cool stuff, but it is also something that I didn’t really associate with the supernatural, more something of him being a good spy. Soon enough you know that it is a special gift and that it helps him in numerous way, and you learn just how powerful this can be. I really liked how Guy Adams is using this aspect to (un)liven up the storyline itself. With not letting it take over the complete story but showing it in dosed amounts will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to find out what happens next. Because with this you never know what is hiding behind the next corner.
The story of The Clown Service is written in a great manner, the first thing that falls to note is the way that Guy Adams writes his story. It’s clear and to the point. But Guy Adams also used the lay out the book is a great way. With The Clown Service being a espionage book, there are the occasional sheets of case files that give more background information about several characters and events and show how the dealing were done in the past. This felt just spot on in the whole setting of the book and really bolstered the idea of a espionage book. And when you thought that the story was over, which actually ends in a interesting manner, Guy Adams introduces the “additional files” which makes a lot of things fall into place. Though the story of The Clown Service might be complex, especially with all the new things and timelines that Guy Adams introduces, it is a true pleasure to read. It’s unique and fresh and I am crossing my fingers that this book will be turned into a series.
The Clown Service is a weird and interesting book (meaning this in the best way of course). Guy Adams shows his take on urban fantasy and the supernatural and produces a fresh and interesting story; venturing into the crime and espionage of the 21st century with cold war spies and villains. From the characters of Toby Greene with his introduction to the supernatural to his boss and the villains of the story, they all have they own characteristics and personalities that really make them stand out of the story and for specific characters they have a certain “thing” about themselves that make them just interesting. Their histories and their action make them speak for themselves, it’s hard to say, but characterizing characters is really a forte of Guy Adams. The whole backdrop of the story, taking place in an supernatural 21st century, but not letting the supernatural really take over the story keep you on your edge as you never know what might happen. This first venture into the espionage produced an superb story, and I hope that we will see more of Section 37 in the near future! Guy Adams just proves himself once again, his stories are great and whole lot of fun to read.
February 19, 2025
Note that there are two more in the series. Yeah!
It is difficult to say what this is about briefly, but here goes. Toby Green has been evaluated as inept by the British Security System which reassigns him to Section 37, which bears the same equivalence to "the Circus" as clowns do to a real circus - hence the name. The Section Head, August Shining, is thrilled to have a second staff person, but warns Toby that the last person sent to him left screaming before the day was over. During this first day Toby helps to rescue an agent who has immersed himself in another consciousness level, leaving his body unconscious on his apartment floor. We have already met Olag Krishnin, a Soviet assassin who seems to have been active in the early 1960s. As the book winds on we learn something about Black Earth, a project Olag has been furthering.
This book is a great alternative to realistic spy stories. The format is the same, some of the events are the same while others are paranormal or just plain weird. August has a sister named April (their parents had very little imagination) who (like Sherlock Holmes' brother) is "something" in the civil service and knows everyone, but she is not universally respected like Mycroft. It is thanks to April that the mission is more or less completed and like her I am not sure whether Toby's choice was the best but I don't know what else he could have done.
Guy Adams has fun with language, making the narration bounce and rush along, but putting in the type of description that makes the scene stay with you. I have an intense memory of the warehouse in the book and it and the "living" dead contributed prominent elements in a vivid nightmare I had afterwards. The multi genre nature of this book is indicated by the "shelves" I had to use, but the narration is a smoothly functioning whole and I am certainly going to find the other two.
Which I did. Six years later that image of the warehouse is still with me as are the characters. I enjoyed reading this again and again.
It is difficult to say what this is about briefly, but here goes. Toby Green has been evaluated as inept by the British Security System which reassigns him to Section 37, which bears the same equivalence to "the Circus" as clowns do to a real circus - hence the name. The Section Head, August Shining, is thrilled to have a second staff person, but warns Toby that the last person sent to him left screaming before the day was over. During this first day Toby helps to rescue an agent who has immersed himself in another consciousness level, leaving his body unconscious on his apartment floor. We have already met Olag Krishnin, a Soviet assassin who seems to have been active in the early 1960s. As the book winds on we learn something about Black Earth, a project Olag has been furthering.
This book is a great alternative to realistic spy stories. The format is the same, some of the events are the same while others are paranormal or just plain weird. August has a sister named April (their parents had very little imagination) who (like Sherlock Holmes' brother) is "something" in the civil service and knows everyone, but she is not universally respected like Mycroft. It is thanks to April that the mission is more or less completed and like her I am not sure whether Toby's choice was the best but I don't know what else he could have done.
Guy Adams has fun with language, making the narration bounce and rush along, but putting in the type of description that makes the scene stay with you. I have an intense memory of the warehouse in the book and it and the "living" dead contributed prominent elements in a vivid nightmare I had afterwards. The multi genre nature of this book is indicated by the "shelves" I had to use, but the narration is a smoothly functioning whole and I am certainly going to find the other two.
Which I did. Six years later that image of the warehouse is still with me as are the characters. I enjoyed reading this again and again.
August 13, 2015
This is a light - one wants to say grave - entertainment in a peculiar genre in which existential horror is mashed up with the English spy novel ... Le Carre meets Ligotti.
The five star novel in this genre reviewed in our Books is Tim Powers' Declare [https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/195266940] which is highly recommended.
It is fairly pedestrian, almost a pot boiler, until about two thirds of the way through. Then it suddenly picks up and becomes good - not enough in the context of the whole to give it a high star rating but enough to recommend that you persevere and want to see what Adams does next.
This last third or so is a very clever and superficially plausible merging of high end physics and horror which allows the slightly hackneyed espionage aspects to be the McGuffin and not much more.
The ending is clearly set up to allow a sequel in the Felix Castor style. Guy Adams, who has written television tie-ins, seems well aware of how these things can be constructed.
Since we know from TV that the first in a good series can be relatively weak as the story is set up - vide the first episodes of (say) Humans or Extant - it might be worth giving Adams the benefit of the doubt and seeing if he can pull this off if the publishers let him.
You will have to take my word for it that, if you approach this as light entertainment in the modern English horror style (the self deprecating wryness that gave us Shaun of the Dead in its most comic version), you may allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised by the end.
But certainly not a masterpiece of the genre taken as a whole ...
June 20, 2014
Hard to avoid comparisons with Ben Aaronovitch’s “Rivers of London” series. There we have PC Peter Grant operating in a department of the Met Police that deal with…weirdness. The Clown Service refers to an element of Britain’s intelligence service that also deals with weirdness. New recruit Toby is transferred there as a punishment but finds his new job may actually be the right place for him and help him not only deal with his inner daemons but also the more physical problem of his boss being trapped in the Twilight Zone and the dead coming back to life as part of a cold war Russian plot.
It’s fun but with a strong lean towards the Urban Fantasy and some complex themes. There are some good characters that are fleshed out and there is also a sense of humour in the writing and the dialogue. Interestingly the narrative switched from third to first person which confused at first (and there were character perspectives also told in the first person, so you needed to switch into the way the story was being told).
So I did enjoy it and will pick up follow up books. It differs from Rivers of London as that series almost has London as an additional character with strong links into the myths and history of the City, the Clown Service is set in London but with less of a focus on the City itself.
It’s fun but with a strong lean towards the Urban Fantasy and some complex themes. There are some good characters that are fleshed out and there is also a sense of humour in the writing and the dialogue. Interestingly the narrative switched from third to first person which confused at first (and there were character perspectives also told in the first person, so you needed to switch into the way the story was being told).
So I did enjoy it and will pick up follow up books. It differs from Rivers of London as that series almost has London as an additional character with strong links into the myths and history of the City, the Clown Service is set in London but with less of a focus on the City itself.
February 24, 2015
Now I know that sometimes a popular book spawns practically its own genre - I am sure we all can name a book that seems to be the vanguard of a whole host of similar books. Well this I think stands out and most certainly caught my attention. Ok there are other "secret histories" style books, many referring back to a cold war fought far from the public eye often with weapons and players extreme to the point of unbelievable but this book puts a fresh open and immensely readable approach to it all that made this book amazing fun to read. The characters are flawed - but rather than encourage you to pity or empathise with them - they make you realise that is who they are "warts and all" and realise that these imperfections are part of who they are - the banter and comments flying are brilliant and having worked in a small team (not sadly on this sort of scale or importance) I completely understand and recognise the banter and comments. The fact that the title is made first as an insult and is then turned into almost a badge of honour stands as a testimony of how Guy Adams has made a high concept in to something we all can recognise and relate to. A great book to read and one I will be looking forward to reading the further exploits of the Clown Service.
July 30, 2014
When The Clown Service arrived the cover grabbed me as it was seemingly so at odds with the title. It evokes a classic cold war spy thriller, but in a colourful way. It is also set in a supernatural London; that fact alone would have sold me. But it was not just the supernatural London setting that made this book so much fun, it was its tone and sense of humour as well. In addition, The Clown Service’s plot was extremely entertaining and very well put together. I was really pleased with the book and while the story was impeccably paced, I would have loved for it to have been a bit longer, so I could have spent just a bit more time with the characters.
The Clown Service centres on Toby Greene. He’s a British Intelligence agent, who has been just reassigned to what seems to be a career-killing department. And Toby is seemingly somewhat of a failure, as his boss is keen to remind him. His last mistake – letting an asset he was babysitting get away – gets him shunted off to Section 37. But it’s not just at work where Toby is treated like he’s less than capable, his father treats him the same way. Toby is someone with a past, having been deployed to a hot zone in the Middle East and having come back with a case of PTSD, a diagnosis he roundly denies as he doesn’t want to be judged unfit for duty. I loved how Adams incorporated this into Toby’s character and his reactions to events when the Fear – as Toby calls it – overtakes him. In contrast, he accepts all the weirdness Shining reveals to him as part of the reality of working at Section 37 almost too calmly.
Toby’s relationship with Shining was somewhat reminiscent of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant from The Folly series and his bond with his superior Inspector Nightingale. Like Peter Toby is taken under his wing by an eccentric older mentor. August Shining is fabulous and I loved that he believed in Toby’s capability and wanted to train him. In fact, Shining is the rare type of mentor who seems to want to give his protégée all the facts, not keeping secrets. Something which only makes the fact that circumstances make it impossible for Shining to actually give Toby all the details all the more frustrating, both for Toby and the reader.
The narrative is nicely structured, told in two timelines, one in the present and one set in the early Sixties, when Shining first encounters Krishnin, the villain of the book. Much of the story set in the past is conveyed through Shining or others sharing their stories with Toby, which is an enjoyable way to frame a secondary narrative. With Toby being introduced to Section 37 and learning more about the supernatural reality of his world, Adams is also able to insert some interesting story beats and Chekov’s guns that he then has paying off at exactly the right moment. The Clown Service was faultlessly paced, both in terms of its action and its humour.
Of course, Toby and Shining can’t defeat the evil Krishnin alone, they do have back up. I loved all the sidekicks and their various abilities, some of which were truly supernatural, while others where more of the 'technology so far advanced it seems like magic’-variety. My absolute favourite secondary characters, however, were Shining’s neighbour Tamar and his sister April (their parents didn’t have much imagination when it came to names) who were fantastic. Especially April was a strong-as-nails, eccentric old biddy, who appeared to my mind’s eye as a sort of mixture between Professor McGonagall and Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet). The ending was great, because it’s an ending that is not undividedly happy. Toby, August and April come out of it indisputably changed and Adams’ is a world where actions definitely have consequences.
I had a fabulous time with The Clown Service and I’m excited to have the second book in the series, The Rain-Soaked Bride, already on the TBR-pile and I can’t wait to start it. Once I pry it out of the husband’s hands when he has finished it that is, because he is currently devouring it. For fans of Aaronovitch’s The Folly series and Stross’ Laundry Files this will be a great series to dive into and I highly recommend it.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
The Clown Service centres on Toby Greene. He’s a British Intelligence agent, who has been just reassigned to what seems to be a career-killing department. And Toby is seemingly somewhat of a failure, as his boss is keen to remind him. His last mistake – letting an asset he was babysitting get away – gets him shunted off to Section 37. But it’s not just at work where Toby is treated like he’s less than capable, his father treats him the same way. Toby is someone with a past, having been deployed to a hot zone in the Middle East and having come back with a case of PTSD, a diagnosis he roundly denies as he doesn’t want to be judged unfit for duty. I loved how Adams incorporated this into Toby’s character and his reactions to events when the Fear – as Toby calls it – overtakes him. In contrast, he accepts all the weirdness Shining reveals to him as part of the reality of working at Section 37 almost too calmly.
Toby’s relationship with Shining was somewhat reminiscent of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant from The Folly series and his bond with his superior Inspector Nightingale. Like Peter Toby is taken under his wing by an eccentric older mentor. August Shining is fabulous and I loved that he believed in Toby’s capability and wanted to train him. In fact, Shining is the rare type of mentor who seems to want to give his protégée all the facts, not keeping secrets. Something which only makes the fact that circumstances make it impossible for Shining to actually give Toby all the details all the more frustrating, both for Toby and the reader.
The narrative is nicely structured, told in two timelines, one in the present and one set in the early Sixties, when Shining first encounters Krishnin, the villain of the book. Much of the story set in the past is conveyed through Shining or others sharing their stories with Toby, which is an enjoyable way to frame a secondary narrative. With Toby being introduced to Section 37 and learning more about the supernatural reality of his world, Adams is also able to insert some interesting story beats and Chekov’s guns that he then has paying off at exactly the right moment. The Clown Service was faultlessly paced, both in terms of its action and its humour.
Of course, Toby and Shining can’t defeat the evil Krishnin alone, they do have back up. I loved all the sidekicks and their various abilities, some of which were truly supernatural, while others where more of the 'technology so far advanced it seems like magic’-variety. My absolute favourite secondary characters, however, were Shining’s neighbour Tamar and his sister April (their parents didn’t have much imagination when it came to names) who were fantastic. Especially April was a strong-as-nails, eccentric old biddy, who appeared to my mind’s eye as a sort of mixture between Professor McGonagall and Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet). The ending was great, because it’s an ending that is not undividedly happy. Toby, August and April come out of it indisputably changed and Adams’ is a world where actions definitely have consequences.
I had a fabulous time with The Clown Service and I’m excited to have the second book in the series, The Rain-Soaked Bride, already on the TBR-pile and I can’t wait to start it. Once I pry it out of the husband’s hands when he has finished it that is, because he is currently devouring it. For fans of Aaronovitch’s The Folly series and Stross’ Laundry Files this will be a great series to dive into and I highly recommend it.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
February 20, 2016
Toby Greene has cocked up one too many times in the eyes of his section chief, a man with a surly disposition and a healthy dislike of our hero. Toby is therefore transferred to the department within the British Secret Service, dubbed the Circus, where all doomed agents are consigned to die – section 37. This is the department which deals with supernatural threats to Britain and which the Intelligence Service regards as so ridiculous that it’s ‘…where we keep the clowns,’ hence the title of Guy Adams’ first book in his supernatural spy series, The Clown Service.
Olag Krishnin is an ex-KGB agent, and Cold War era warhorse, with a knack for passing between realities. He’s also found a way to animate the dead by crossing magic with technology and plans to raise an army of the dead to wreak havoc on the UK.
It falls to Section 37 and our heroes: Toby Greene, August Shining, the head of Section 37 and Toby’s new boss, Tamar, August’s ‘bodyguard’, and April Shining, August’s sister, to find out why the loony Russian is hell bent on unleashing a horde of zombies on Blighty and to stop his madness.
Along the way Toby will learn the supernatural ropes of Section 37 and meet some weird and wonderful characters. He will also make some powerful new friends, not least of which is August, a man with Gandalf-like knowledge of all things supernatural.
The verdict
The book is a fantastic read; the action moves at a good pace and the story is engaging as Adams flits between narrative styles. At times the action unfolds through Toby’s perspective, first person, and sometimes in the third person, and the story is also well seasoned with a goodly dose of humour, for example, when Toby’s section chief expresses his hatred of our hero: ‘You work in intelligence – a fact so weighted by irony that I would be tempted to laugh, were it not for the bubbling disgust I feel for you robbing me of my mirth.’
These words vividly conjure the image of a fat and balding, and well dressed, Whitehall civil servant. Adams does a wonderful job of creating a gallery of fascinating characters; August Shining is suave, debonair and charming and wise, Toby Greene is a bit gormless but a good lad and so utterly endearing, and Tamar is just sultry and alluring. April Shining is wonderfully introduced to us as, ‘…a hostile weather front in a cardigan and beads.’
Our villains, Russian or otherwise, are not caricatures but are believable and, in some cases, quite likable.
The Clown Service is a delicious cocktail of all your favourite British spy icons - a dash of Bond, a sprinkling of the Avengers, with a twist of the supernatural for added flavour. So if you fancy a read that combines the best of British spy thrillers with humour and the supernatural, then you may find The Clown Service is your cup of tea!
Olag Krishnin is an ex-KGB agent, and Cold War era warhorse, with a knack for passing between realities. He’s also found a way to animate the dead by crossing magic with technology and plans to raise an army of the dead to wreak havoc on the UK.
It falls to Section 37 and our heroes: Toby Greene, August Shining, the head of Section 37 and Toby’s new boss, Tamar, August’s ‘bodyguard’, and April Shining, August’s sister, to find out why the loony Russian is hell bent on unleashing a horde of zombies on Blighty and to stop his madness.
Along the way Toby will learn the supernatural ropes of Section 37 and meet some weird and wonderful characters. He will also make some powerful new friends, not least of which is August, a man with Gandalf-like knowledge of all things supernatural.
The verdict
The book is a fantastic read; the action moves at a good pace and the story is engaging as Adams flits between narrative styles. At times the action unfolds through Toby’s perspective, first person, and sometimes in the third person, and the story is also well seasoned with a goodly dose of humour, for example, when Toby’s section chief expresses his hatred of our hero: ‘You work in intelligence – a fact so weighted by irony that I would be tempted to laugh, were it not for the bubbling disgust I feel for you robbing me of my mirth.’
These words vividly conjure the image of a fat and balding, and well dressed, Whitehall civil servant. Adams does a wonderful job of creating a gallery of fascinating characters; August Shining is suave, debonair and charming and wise, Toby Greene is a bit gormless but a good lad and so utterly endearing, and Tamar is just sultry and alluring. April Shining is wonderfully introduced to us as, ‘…a hostile weather front in a cardigan and beads.’
Our villains, Russian or otherwise, are not caricatures but are believable and, in some cases, quite likable.
The Clown Service is a delicious cocktail of all your favourite British spy icons - a dash of Bond, a sprinkling of the Avengers, with a twist of the supernatural for added flavour. So if you fancy a read that combines the best of British spy thrillers with humour and the supernatural, then you may find The Clown Service is your cup of tea!
December 28, 2013
Dennis Wheatley meets John le Carre
"The Clown Service" is an interesting addition to the growing genre of the "secret agency defending the world from supernatural weirdness". I suppose one might label it the Torchwood genre. Other examples that come to mind are Charles Stross's Laundry Files and Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.
Toby Greene, an MI6 agent, has messed up, allowing an important prisoner to escape. His punishment is to be assigned to Section 37, an obscure and little regarded branch of the Service that deals in the supernatural. There he meets enigmatic August Shining. Guy's account of his induction into Section 37 - always given in first person - is intercut with Shining's early career in the 60s, the two fitting together - with occasional transgression - to make up the main story (because, of course, Something has Come Back: there is Unfinished Business).
I enjoyed this book. Adams tells his story with verve, and he certainly has a way with words. For example, Toby is waiting to make contact with a source at Euston Station. He observes that "four giggling girls overfilled a coffee table, checking their lives on their mobiles and sharing the results". Or this, from the 60s section of the book. "It was the sort of pub where the carpet was on forty Woodbines a day..." I'm not sure that the plot completely made sense to me - there's an issues I can't quite work out about whether or not the events of the story were triggered by something the characters did: the evidence is a bit contradictory, but maybe it's meant to confuse. That aside, though, Guy Adam's new book is a solid addition in this vein and the book promises more - there are a couple of threads left dangling - who are the strange, near-omniscient folk who intervene in events a couple of times (but aren't able to avert catastrophe in the end)? What are the consequences of Toby's actions? No doubt we'll find out more in later books.
My only criticism of this book would be that it lacks a certain... something. To take the authors I mentioned above, Stross's books have their Lovecraftian horrors crossed with computer science, and Aaaronovitch's their immersion in the spirit and and history of London. By comparison, I didn't really see a central "thing" to Adam's book (although maybe those dangling plot strands hint at one?)
It's probably unfair to compare this with longer established series, which have had time to develop their worlds, but it's the easiest way to explain what I mean. I'd stress that this isn't a big issue, the book is highly readable and great fun.
"The Clown Service" is an interesting addition to the growing genre of the "secret agency defending the world from supernatural weirdness". I suppose one might label it the Torchwood genre. Other examples that come to mind are Charles Stross's Laundry Files and Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.
Toby Greene, an MI6 agent, has messed up, allowing an important prisoner to escape. His punishment is to be assigned to Section 37, an obscure and little regarded branch of the Service that deals in the supernatural. There he meets enigmatic August Shining. Guy's account of his induction into Section 37 - always given in first person - is intercut with Shining's early career in the 60s, the two fitting together - with occasional transgression - to make up the main story (because, of course, Something has Come Back: there is Unfinished Business).
I enjoyed this book. Adams tells his story with verve, and he certainly has a way with words. For example, Toby is waiting to make contact with a source at Euston Station. He observes that "four giggling girls overfilled a coffee table, checking their lives on their mobiles and sharing the results". Or this, from the 60s section of the book. "It was the sort of pub where the carpet was on forty Woodbines a day..." I'm not sure that the plot completely made sense to me - there's an issues I can't quite work out about whether or not the events of the story were triggered by something the characters did: the evidence is a bit contradictory, but maybe it's meant to confuse. That aside, though, Guy Adam's new book is a solid addition in this vein and the book promises more - there are a couple of threads left dangling - who are the strange, near-omniscient folk who intervene in events a couple of times (but aren't able to avert catastrophe in the end)? What are the consequences of Toby's actions? No doubt we'll find out more in later books.
My only criticism of this book would be that it lacks a certain... something. To take the authors I mentioned above, Stross's books have their Lovecraftian horrors crossed with computer science, and Aaaronovitch's their immersion in the spirit and and history of London. By comparison, I didn't really see a central "thing" to Adam's book (although maybe those dangling plot strands hint at one?)
It's probably unfair to compare this with longer established series, which have had time to develop their worlds, but it's the easiest way to explain what I mean. I'd stress that this isn't a big issue, the book is highly readable and great fun.
August 6, 2015
[2.5]
The idea that the British Civil Service has a secret division dealing with supernatural and/or paranormal threats is almost becoming its own micro-genre, isn't it? The reality is rather more staid (though I would say that) but anyway, in this book, Toby Greene is a no-mark bureaucrat who finds himself seconded to Section 37, or the Clown Service as they are derisively referred to within the organisation, responsible for dealing with said threats.
The book is a shaggy dog story about a renegade Russian agent who has come back from the dead, intent on causing havoc - seemingly to no great end - by raising a zombie army from the dead. A with Charles Stross' Laundry Series, it is pitched slightly awkwardly between horror and comedy, with a hint of the kind of supernatural sci-fi of Doctor Who or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's not a surprise to discover that Adams writes for TV. And as with Stross' Laundry books (at least the early ones, I heard a reading from the latest one a few weeks back and wondered if he's sorted the problem) it suffers from the problem that it is neither consistently funny enough to be comedy, nor dark enough to work as horror. Though perhaps it would work better on the telly...
Something of a grumble of mine about books of this kind is that while I don't have a problem with books that bend the rules of what is possible - time travel, parallel universes, zombies, telepathy, whatever, I don't like it when the way these work are integral to the plot, and the reader is not given any idea of what those rules are. The dramatic tension of the book was rather undermined by the sense that the main characters were never really in any danger because they would always be rescued by some as yet unrevealed loophole in the hitherto revealed rules of the game...
That said, it was a moderately diverting read, and in the event that it does ever get commissioned by TV execs, it might work well in a Dollhouse sort of way.
The idea that the British Civil Service has a secret division dealing with supernatural and/or paranormal threats is almost becoming its own micro-genre, isn't it? The reality is rather more staid (though I would say that) but anyway, in this book, Toby Greene is a no-mark bureaucrat who finds himself seconded to Section 37, or the Clown Service as they are derisively referred to within the organisation, responsible for dealing with said threats.
The book is a shaggy dog story about a renegade Russian agent who has come back from the dead, intent on causing havoc - seemingly to no great end - by raising a zombie army from the dead. A with Charles Stross' Laundry Series, it is pitched slightly awkwardly between horror and comedy, with a hint of the kind of supernatural sci-fi of Doctor Who or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's not a surprise to discover that Adams writes for TV. And as with Stross' Laundry books (at least the early ones, I heard a reading from the latest one a few weeks back and wondered if he's sorted the problem) it suffers from the problem that it is neither consistently funny enough to be comedy, nor dark enough to work as horror. Though perhaps it would work better on the telly...
Something of a grumble of mine about books of this kind is that while I don't have a problem with books that bend the rules of what is possible - time travel, parallel universes, zombies, telepathy, whatever, I don't like it when the way these work are integral to the plot, and the reader is not given any idea of what those rules are. The dramatic tension of the book was rather undermined by the sense that the main characters were never really in any danger because they would always be rescued by some as yet unrevealed loophole in the hitherto revealed rules of the game...
That said, it was a moderately diverting read, and in the event that it does ever get commissioned by TV execs, it might work well in a Dollhouse sort of way.
October 11, 2013
The Clown Service is Adams’ best book yet. It's packed with the kind of sharp, witty, descriptive prose for which Adams is rightly lauded. It’s full of verve and energy, with wonderfully vivid characters, a clever premise and it mucks about gleefully with life, death and time. Please let this be the first in a series of books about August Shining (best old spy name ever) and Toby Greene…
September 30, 2018
The cast of characters in this book work well together. This reads like a fun sci-fi tv show and that’s totally okay with me. If you like X-Files or doctor who this book is a good match. The story was simple but still entertaining. I will most likely read the other books in the series.
July 4, 2017
Meh. The idea is in intriguing. But the execution on this one was kind of dry. The style works, but in general it came across as strangely disjointed. I hope the subsequent novels in the series get better as he finds his voice more clearly.
December 18, 2019
(3.5)
Rep: mc with PTSD, mlm side characters
Rep: mc with PTSD, mlm side characters
June 7, 2021
I really enjoyed this as a quick read and felt both the characters and story were pulling me in. The only thing that was confusing was the amount of times they changed their names to hide their identity. But other than that, great read!
February 7, 2022
Very good book. Highly entertaining!
December 23, 2014
The Clown Service is a book that holds its influences up high and upfront: it’s a spy novel with an X-Files type twist. As an espionage tale, it has a touch of British diplomatic bureaucracy, in the way that Len Deighton’s 1960’s novel The Ipcress File did, and a healthy helping of whimsy in much the same way as the 1960’s TV series The Avengers did.*
The plot is a meandering one, although understandably so. Most of the novel is set in the present, where Toby Greene, hapless British Intelligence Service agent, is reassigned onto a rather secret, out of the way government department – Section 37. “If the Security Service is the circus, then Section 37 is where we keep the clowns”, Toby’s ex-boss happily tells him.
In his new position, led by the enigmatic, and rather John Steed-like, August Shining, Toby finds himself dealing with all sorts of mundane issues – requisitioning a desk from government supplies, for example – as well as paranormal activities – remote viewing, UFO sightings, werewolves, ghosts and the like.
His first major case is however one that is much more personal to Shining, being as how it is connected to Shining’s own first major assignment in 1962/63. In the present day, Toby and Shining find that Great Britain is again under threat – this time by the return of a supposedly long dead Soviet agent and his zombie-like minions. The dead are returning – and they mean business.
This one is lots of fun, partly due to its riffing of many other inspirations. As well as the previously mentioned influences, I could even sense a touch of sources as varied as 1970’s style Doctor Who, Doomwatch and Chris Moore’s V for Vendetta. The tone generally is nicely balanced between light and dark, with some quite creepy elements combined with the endearingly silly. The tale flits between the present and the 1960’s, which gives a nice origin story and a sense of a history.
There are a few occasions where the situation is a little overegged, especially at the beginning, but this rather reflects the combination of wacky and mundane. Much tea is drunk. The dialogue is fairly brisk, with some quite startling assertions – one character declares, “I am the Barry Manilow of spies”, probably the first and last time I’ll ever read such an unusual juxtaposition of ideas. The snark was a little reminiscent of Harry Dresden in its style.
Readers who enjoyed Charles Stross’s Laundry Files or Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files may like this rather more quintessentially British alternative version of paranormal shenanigans, although it could be argued that The Clown Service also shares what are often mentioned as the Dresden Files’s weaknesses. It must be said that the characters are rather basically-outlined, with an emphasis in the book instead on pace and action. The exception to this is perhaps Toby, who is initially a rather bland and even sad person, but as the tale goes on we get to see a little more personality. However, this is not a book where the psycho-analysis is too deep, though there is some. Toby suffers from PTSD, which plays a part here in both affecting his work and actually helping it. It’s a nice 21st century touch.
There’s much of this that I think readers of Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May detective stories or Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series will enjoy this as well. Like those stories, though the physical setting of London is important, it is not quite as central as it is in those other tales.
As the first in a series, The Clown Service pretty much does what I expected – it sets up a new situation, introduces what will no doubt be recurring characters and creates an environment for this plot, and no doubt other plots in other novels, can follow. It doesn’t quite hold together in places – the McGuffin is a tad over the top, and the solution to the big problem rather sudden, for example – but there are enough points of intrigue to suggest that this tale is part of a much bigger story and it is perhaps this that will keep me reading the series.
In short, this one caught me by surprise. Engaging enough to catch my attention, and then frenetic enough to keep it, I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. A good beach read.
*Please note: despite the similarity in title, this old TV series is nothing to do with the Marvel comic-book and film franchise.
The plot is a meandering one, although understandably so. Most of the novel is set in the present, where Toby Greene, hapless British Intelligence Service agent, is reassigned onto a rather secret, out of the way government department – Section 37. “If the Security Service is the circus, then Section 37 is where we keep the clowns”, Toby’s ex-boss happily tells him.
In his new position, led by the enigmatic, and rather John Steed-like, August Shining, Toby finds himself dealing with all sorts of mundane issues – requisitioning a desk from government supplies, for example – as well as paranormal activities – remote viewing, UFO sightings, werewolves, ghosts and the like.
His first major case is however one that is much more personal to Shining, being as how it is connected to Shining’s own first major assignment in 1962/63. In the present day, Toby and Shining find that Great Britain is again under threat – this time by the return of a supposedly long dead Soviet agent and his zombie-like minions. The dead are returning – and they mean business.
This one is lots of fun, partly due to its riffing of many other inspirations. As well as the previously mentioned influences, I could even sense a touch of sources as varied as 1970’s style Doctor Who, Doomwatch and Chris Moore’s V for Vendetta. The tone generally is nicely balanced between light and dark, with some quite creepy elements combined with the endearingly silly. The tale flits between the present and the 1960’s, which gives a nice origin story and a sense of a history.
There are a few occasions where the situation is a little overegged, especially at the beginning, but this rather reflects the combination of wacky and mundane. Much tea is drunk. The dialogue is fairly brisk, with some quite startling assertions – one character declares, “I am the Barry Manilow of spies”, probably the first and last time I’ll ever read such an unusual juxtaposition of ideas. The snark was a little reminiscent of Harry Dresden in its style.
Readers who enjoyed Charles Stross’s Laundry Files or Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files may like this rather more quintessentially British alternative version of paranormal shenanigans, although it could be argued that The Clown Service also shares what are often mentioned as the Dresden Files’s weaknesses. It must be said that the characters are rather basically-outlined, with an emphasis in the book instead on pace and action. The exception to this is perhaps Toby, who is initially a rather bland and even sad person, but as the tale goes on we get to see a little more personality. However, this is not a book where the psycho-analysis is too deep, though there is some. Toby suffers from PTSD, which plays a part here in both affecting his work and actually helping it. It’s a nice 21st century touch.
There’s much of this that I think readers of Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May detective stories or Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series will enjoy this as well. Like those stories, though the physical setting of London is important, it is not quite as central as it is in those other tales.
As the first in a series, The Clown Service pretty much does what I expected – it sets up a new situation, introduces what will no doubt be recurring characters and creates an environment for this plot, and no doubt other plots in other novels, can follow. It doesn’t quite hold together in places – the McGuffin is a tad over the top, and the solution to the big problem rather sudden, for example – but there are enough points of intrigue to suggest that this tale is part of a much bigger story and it is perhaps this that will keep me reading the series.
In short, this one caught me by surprise. Engaging enough to catch my attention, and then frenetic enough to keep it, I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. A good beach read.
*Please note: despite the similarity in title, this old TV series is nothing to do with the Marvel comic-book and film franchise.
December 11, 2013
Guy Adams mixes 1960's spying with the paranormal, the undead, science and lots of other fun stuff to produce a story which readers of Christopher Fowler's "Bryant & May" novels and Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" series may find familiar. The humour is dark and while I found some of the physics a bit hard to understand, it's a great mystery which races along jumping in time from the early 1960's to the present day.
January 13, 2024
If you like the weirdness of X-files but also love a good spy story (like James Bond), then The Clown Service is just the book you're looking for. I picked this up on a whim, a last-minute type deal, and I am so glad I did. The concept is not technically new, but it has a fascinating spin on it. It is about an agent (Toby) who gets sent to this secret/shunned department that deals with the unimaginable (hello, X-Files).
The Clown Service is mainly written in a linear format with flashbacks per each character telling a story; it was well done, giving the readers just enough to keep them going. Personally, there were no boring parts in this book, a few where I rolled my eyes (mainly at Toby), but overall, it keeps a nice pace with plenty of weirdness to keep the reader satisfied. The Clown Service is packed with sharp, witty, and sarcastic humor that any reader can enjoy. It’s full of wonderfully vivid characters and a strange yet clever story that deals with life, death, and time itself.
The Clown Service is mainly written in a linear format with flashbacks per each character telling a story; it was well done, giving the readers just enough to keep them going. Personally, there were no boring parts in this book, a few where I rolled my eyes (mainly at Toby), but overall, it keeps a nice pace with plenty of weirdness to keep the reader satisfied. The Clown Service is packed with sharp, witty, and sarcastic humor that any reader can enjoy. It’s full of wonderfully vivid characters and a strange yet clever story that deals with life, death, and time itself.
August 8, 2018
There are quite a few of this type of book around: shadowy government agency deals with supernatural affairs. However, this is not one of the better ones. It's written in a deliberately episodic manner, which bored me. I was reduced to skim reading pages just to find something interesting. There are echoes of just about every other book of its type: there's a 'gloaming' like level as in the 'Watch' series; there's body hopping as in the Gaiman's 'Books of Magic'. Really it's a mess of derivative elements mashed together. I won't be reading any further volumes in the series.
October 19, 2018
How did I not know about this book? And there's a whole trilogy out?!?
I loved it. Very Rivers of London - if you liked that, you'll love this.
Fantastic mixing of genres and cool use of fantasy tropes. And zombies. You can't really go wrong with zombies. (Well, except maybe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...)
I loved it. Very Rivers of London - if you liked that, you'll love this.
Fantastic mixing of genres and cool use of fantasy tropes. And zombies. You can't really go wrong with zombies. (Well, except maybe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...)
September 28, 2021
The setup is unoriginal and the tone and characterizations are wildly inconsistent -- it starts out by trying to be a Douglas Adams-style comedy but soon starts taking itself way too seriously. The narration frequently changes between third-person and first-person from multiple characters, which makes the whole book seem amateurish and poorly planned.
June 17, 2020
This was a nice light read. The lead character is likeable and it was an interesting premise although it was very similar in style to the Rivers of London series, I have no idea which books came first but if you enjoy Rivers you will like this.
August 14, 2018
Entertaining and a good mix of espionage and the paranormal.
August 27, 2018
An eclectic story, well written and thoroughly deserving of your time.
February 13, 2019
Not my usual fare. Quite a jolly, jokey read, even if it is about the undead about to be inflicted on Britain. I'm not sure yet if I'll read any more in the series.
June 24, 2019
Enjoyed this, funny and well written. Reminiscent of the London Rivers series but only in a good way. Would definitely read more of this series.
July 3, 2019
Enjoyed that..will certainly read the others in the series
August 3, 2019
Well paced, great humour and intriguing plot
September 10, 2019
Fresh take on the zombie genre. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews