Adventures

The Chronicles of Lucifer Jones #1

by Mike Resnick

Join Mike Resnick's most beloved character, Lucifer Jones, as he cons his way across Africa in search of misadventure. The Lucifer Jones novels firmly established Resnick (a multiple Hugo award winning author) as a leading writer of comic science fiction. In this trilogy he manages to send up practically every pulp adventure novel ever written.

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction, Adventure

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lucifer Jones is a faux-missionary, travelling itinerant preacher, with a questionable grasp on morality - depending mostly upon the situation he finds himself in. In Adventures, the first volume of Mike Resnick's series of short stories featuring Lucifer Jones, he is working his way across the African continent, trying to raise money, by any means necessary, to finance the building of his Tabernacle. Strangely, for the style, his Tabernacle doesn't appear to be a euphemism. He actually does build a Tabernacle at one point - in a brothel, and to keep him busy to avoid the attentions of the madam, it should be said, but all the same he does seem to believe he has a higher purpose of sorts.

We follow him through, what are effectively, twelve short stories. Although they are told back to back; each adventure runs into the next. It's supposed to be a humorous pastiche; imitating H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and other authors of that pulpy boys-own genre. But instead it quickly just feels repetitive and overly derivative. There are a few chucklesome moments like the introduction of the Lord Bloomstoke - a fairly thin version of the Lord Greystoke, otherwise known as Tarzan - as well as a few clever plays on words like the juvenile misunderstanding:

"Doctor Jones is probably even now wanted in some municipality or another for pederasty." said the Major.
"That's a lie!" I shouted. "I ain't never pretended to be a foot doctor in my life!"

I didn't hate it, I just didn't see the point of it. Perhaps when I was 16 I'd have loved it, probably not even then.

[John Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell into this series by reading a story in a Pulpster con magazine. After laughing my way through the first story, I had to read more. Lucifer Jones, erm, the Right Honorable Reverend Doctor Lucifer Jones is a delightful rapscallion who bears more than a passing relationship to George McDonald Fraser's Flashman character. However, where Flashman always comes out on top through no effort of his own, poor Lucifer barely escapes his adventures with his skin intact.

These stories are literally laugh out loud funny. Everyone should do themselves a favor and give these a read as soon as possible!

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hysterically funny! It is prejudiced in every way you can be, but it's all tongue in cheek! Our Hero is Lucifer Jones, a self proclaimed missionary who gets into more trouble than any 6 people could in the Congo. His views on religion, on trade and life will have you moaning and groaning and laughing out loud! He meets various and sundry misdeed doers and helps/hinders them along the way! I have loved Mike Resnick for several years and hope you do too!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Right Reverend Honorable Doctor Lucifer Jones is featured in a series of madcap comedic adventures across Africa, resulting in him being kicked off of The Dark Continent. Along the way Resnick good-naturedly pokes fun at E.R.Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard, etc. It's all very fast-paced fun.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lightweight send-up of adventures set in Africa tells the story of a flimflam artist who is scammed himself at least as often as he scams others.

Several well-known adventure story elements arise: an elephant graveyard, the search for ancient mummies, cannibals, ivory poaching, diamond mining and of course, a Tarzan parody that I thought was perhaps the funniest part of the book.

It was clever, but about as deep as a prime time sit-com. This is throwaway reading that whiled away some waiting room time quite well for me.

[eM eR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recenzja: https://ksiazkowanie.wordpress.com/20...

[Daniel Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was, as best as I understand it, Mike Resnick's attempt to recreate (in 1985) the pulpy novels of the late 1800s, or possibly the 1920s through 1940s. Sort of similar to what George Lucas was trying to do with the Indiana Jones franchise-- a nostalgic look back at the literature of an earlier time.

Resnick has done so with complete success; complete with the appropriate attendant classicism, racism, sexism, bigotry, intolerance, privilege, and everything else that was horrible about the books that were written during this time but that we forgive now because we feel that they mostly didn't know any better.

Um. Congratulations?

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant satire, pure escapism and fun. Over the top with lots of surprising twists and turns. Is it absurd, yes, but intentionally and always funny. A fun, quick read with more truth in characterization than one might expect to find. Highly recommended.

[Bassel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really recommend this collection of stories about the reverend. Always funny and amusing.

[Lana Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite books. Completely irreverent as the Reverend Lucifer Jones, complete scoundrel that he is, winds his way through Africa in search of fortune.

[Jeff Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Ethan Nahté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Resnick's adventurous novel Adventures is a fun and entertaining collections of what really amount to a series of short stories all tied together by the reminisces of the character/narrator The Right Reverend Honorable Doctor Lucifer Jones. Dr. Jones takes the reader back 60 years(the early part of the 20th century) to the time when he was running about the continent of Africa. He is a quick-witted con man with a penchant for getting into titillating situations but, like Indiana Jones, he has a run of bad luck as he always comes close to getting what he wants, but eventually losing it. He is also a man who takes things rather calmly, even when his life is in peril, relying on his wits and quasi-religion to talk his way out of bewildering scenarios.

Although, in losing his fortunes that he is constantly trying to amass so he may build his Tabernacle of Saint Luke, he blindly helps many of the strange characters that he comes across in his travels. These include, cannibal tribes, a rich widow, many con men, thieves, assassins, a goddess, a lost tribe, a whore house, and even a vampire, just to name a few. As a matter of fact, despite the size of the African continent, Jones mentions that the world is too small when he constantly finds himself traveling in the same circle as four other con men/thieves.

Don't believe for an instant that Adventures is a book harping on morals. Dr. Jones is very flexible when it comes to the way the world works and how his Secret Partner (up above) interprets things. Although the novel doesn't go into detail about sex, its there. When it comes to death, it's not brutally exposed but left to the reader's imagination. As far as comical situations, imagine Abbot & Costello Meet Tarzan and you pretty much have it. Resnick is a joy to read, per usual.

[Emz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Right Reverend Lucifer Jones and his cast of colourful characters come to life as a clerical con-man whose main goal is to raise enough money to build a tabernacle, chronicling his journey through darkest Africa. A man who, at the end of the day, is not very adept at conning, seeing as he is conned at every turn by everyone who crosses his path; everyone else seems to be one step ahead of poor Lucifer. However, you must admire his tenacity and his dogged determination to carry on after his failures. Conning capers of comical and satirical consequences culminate in a crescendo of continued failures and disappointments for Dr. Jones.
Overall, an entertaining read with an interesting narrative.

[Bart Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly entertaining, and humorous tales, concerning several misadventures of a wandering man-of-God seeking his fortune in order to build his tabernacle in Dark Africa.

[Tomáš Yntým · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely funny :)

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did read this long ago, but never added it to GR. Well, here we are. A reread and great fun. A preacher scams his way around Africa. The End! haha All told with humour and surprise.

[Mjhancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Reverend Lucifer Jones travels throughout Africa, attempting to put together the funds to finally build his Tabernacle of Saint Luke. Only, not so much--Jones is a con man, content to go from country to country circa 1920s to build his fortune, and the tabernacle comes at some distant point after that. In essence, the book is a series of comical adventures, as Jones tries to deceive a cast of similar con artists, and gets deceived in turn. The adventure format works both for and against the book's advantage. On the one hand, its light comedic tone would have been mismatched with a more rooted and traditional plot. On the other hand, it does mean there's a sort of repetitiousness to the proceedings: Jones wanders into a new section of town, is introduced/reunites with another con folk, they both become involved with the current scheme, be it seducing a rich widow or smuggling rare bibles; there's a mild twist, and in the occasional event that Jones leaves richer than he started, you can be sure he'll lose it in the next installment. It all hearkens back to a pulp age of adventure novels, and part of whether you like this book will depend on your fondness for that sort of story. Jones is basically just a prop to hang these con stories on; he's not smart enough that he can't be tricked, and not too dumb that he can't every now and then do the tricking. The book requires that the reader not take it seriously, though some of the jokes--slavery and selling a man into the sex trade--are, uh, questionable. I wasn't offended by the book, but I wasn't particularly amused either; when it comes to the historically-based comedy book, the Flashman series is probably a better way to go. But it's a fairly breezy read if you're looking for something simple and light.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly fantasy, mostly a pastiche of "boys own adventure" stories straight out of the 20s and 30s pulps. If you take it as that, it's not bad - a lot of rollicking adventures and cheeky commentary by a bad-boy not-really-preacher conman named Lucifer Jones. In many places, the politically incorrect "period" tone gets to be grating and less a pastiche than offensive - all the comments about white women and godless heathen blacks and all that are in keeping with the era, but using so MANY of them starts to become offensive in its own right.

The episodic nature of the story made it move quickly, even when you started to get bored with Lucifer's antics, and it was fun to spot the influences - here's Casablanca, there's She, etc - but the story was really only engaging and fun when it lit out in an entirely weird direction, as with the "Tarzan" character or the actual running of the Tabernacle of St Luke.

All in all, not a bad story, certainly engaging enough for a quick afternoon's read, and I do enjoy a pulp. Probably won't bother with the rest of the books in Lucifer Jones's chronicles, as I think there's not much new ground to tread in the episodic adventures, but this wasn't too bad overall.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

In comparison to 2 other books I'm reading at the same time, I have to say Mike Resnick is an excellent writer. The stories flow in a natural way with excellent insight into human character with a paucity of words. He doesn't snow the reader with long expositions - just says the most with the least, painting a vibrant picture of life in early 20th century Africa.

Of course, I don't know how accurate the picture is but it rings true. Actually I will venture to say his writing is very like Mark Twain, in it's sublime humor and colorful storytelling.

And with that glowing tribute I have to say I find the book unsettling. The character Lucifer Jones is con man with limited scruples. Entertaining yes, pleasant no. I would not trust him or anyone connected with him. I would cross the street and leave town to be clear of his machinations. And he's not even that villainous. Just totally without morals.

So if you like a funny amoral con man, this book should suit.

[Dick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Mike Resnick. In an interview he had said that this was his favorite series to write. So I HAD to check it out. This is the first miss for me. It is not sci fi like everything else I have read by him. I guess that's why. It was still Resnick clever, and it was still set in Africa like many of his other works. For me it was too corny. I think I just don't understand the serial comedy adventure genre. I encourage everyone to read his other books.

[Pat Adeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete, absolute, high-octane wonderfully written hoot of an adventure! I found myself FREQUENTLY laughing out loud at Mr. Resnick's style of writing.

[Charl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Resnick's humor. I enjoyed this. I'm very likely to hunt up the rest of the Reverend Doctor Lucifer Jones' adventures.

[Avi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing, if occasionally childish.