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The Minutes of the Lazarus Club
London, 1857—the Lazarus Club. Some of the finest, most unconventional minds in Victorian Britain—including Charles Darwin, Charles Babbage and Isambard Kingdom Brunel—are members of this illustrious brotherhood. Their meetings take place behind closed doors, their discussions are revolutionary and their conclusions sometimes forbidden. . . .
Knowing nothing of this secret society, Dr George Phillips, a young and ambitious surgeon, is intrigued to encounter Brunel over a well-used cadaver in the gory pit of his dissection theatre. It soon becomes apparent that the great engineer has mysterious plans for the good doctor. And so Phillips becomes embroiled in the enigmatic machinations of the Lazarus Club, unaware that in the midst of their unorthodox club, a black conspiracy lurks. Not only is his own life in jeopardy, but as the first mutilated body is washed up on the banks of the Thames so the very foundations of Victorian society are set to be rocked to their core. . . .
Knowing nothing of this secret society, Dr George Phillips, a young and ambitious surgeon, is intrigued to encounter Brunel over a well-used cadaver in the gory pit of his dissection theatre. It soon becomes apparent that the great engineer has mysterious plans for the good doctor. And so Phillips becomes embroiled in the enigmatic machinations of the Lazarus Club, unaware that in the midst of their unorthodox club, a black conspiracy lurks. Not only is his own life in jeopardy, but as the first mutilated body is washed up on the banks of the Thames so the very foundations of Victorian society are set to be rocked to their core. . . .
439 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2012
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About the author
Tony Pollard
25 books10 followersDr Tony Pollard is an internationally renowned archaeologist and Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University. He has carried out pioneering investigations of battlefields in South and North Africa, South America and Europe and as a Forensic Archaeologist has worked with police forces throughout Britain.
He has written numerous papers and articles on archaeology and history and is co-editor of the Journal of Conflict Archaeology. He was the co-presenter of two series of BBC2's archaeological documentary series Two Men in a Trench.
The Minutes of the Lazarus Club is his first novel.
He has written numerous papers and articles on archaeology and history and is co-editor of the Journal of Conflict Archaeology. He was the co-presenter of two series of BBC2's archaeological documentary series Two Men in a Trench.
The Minutes of the Lazarus Club is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
May 16, 2011
This was pretty good fun, but it kind of felt like Tony Pollard wanted to write 3 seperate books here:
1. Genteel Historical Fiction: "More tea, Mr Babbage? And how is your Difference Engine coming along?"
2. Mad Steampunk: "And I wil resurrect her using clockwork and steam!! Bwahahaaa!"
3. The Latest Sherlock Holmes Movie (the one with Robert Downey Jr): "Quickly, he's escaping over the Thames! Fetch the explosives!"
All of these would've been pretty cool, I just felt that at times they sat kind of awkwardly together. Still, it entertained me. And it had Brunel in it, so I'm happy.
1. Genteel Historical Fiction: "More tea, Mr Babbage? And how is your Difference Engine coming along?"
2. Mad Steampunk: "And I wil resurrect her using clockwork and steam!! Bwahahaaa!"
3. The Latest Sherlock Holmes Movie (the one with Robert Downey Jr): "Quickly, he's escaping over the Thames! Fetch the explosives!"
All of these would've been pretty cool, I just felt that at times they sat kind of awkwardly together. Still, it entertained me. And it had Brunel in it, so I'm happy.
June 7, 2014
I picked up this little gem for $8 and I think I got more than my money's worth on this one. Set in London in the 1850s, this is a period piece, with the main character being Dr Phillips, a surgeon in a hospital. Dr Phillips is soon befriended by Brunel, the Engineer behind the building of the 'Great Eastern' steam ship, and a connection to the secret society of the Lazarus Club begins to emerge.
Interestingly enough, Pollard takes several well-known historical figures and weaves them into his story, e.g. Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale. More interesting than that though was the concept of the Lazarus Club, where like minded genius' and great thinkers gather to discuss science, innovation and share their expertise. At each meeting, a guest is invited or chosen from a different field of expertise to make a speech to the members present. Minutes are kept from these meetings, hence the name of the book, however the minutes themselves didn't play a large role in the novel. The concept of the Lazarus Club alone could have kept my attention, learning about the content and nature of the different speeches and how they were received by the members at the time and why they had to remain so secretive.
]The building of the massive steam ship 'SS Great Eastern' and it's launch into the Thames was equally fascinating throughout the book. I guess when I think of giant ships, I don't imagine a ship with sails, funnels and paddle wheels! Amazing! The mystery of the murdered prostitutes introduced a minor crime thread into the novel, although I didn't think this was necessary to the plot development.
Without giving too much away, an additional sub-plot involving the design of an artificial organ for the body was very interesting for it's time, and who doesn't like a little grave robbery thrown into the mix? I admire the precision with which Pollard brought London alive for this period, and I was completely taken by the sights and smells of the river and the streets and the daily minutiae of the era.
This is Pollard's first novel, and I'll certainly be on the look out for his next. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little historical fiction, science, anatomy, ship building and a good river chase!
Interestingly enough, Pollard takes several well-known historical figures and weaves them into his story, e.g. Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale. More interesting than that though was the concept of the Lazarus Club, where like minded genius' and great thinkers gather to discuss science, innovation and share their expertise. At each meeting, a guest is invited or chosen from a different field of expertise to make a speech to the members present. Minutes are kept from these meetings, hence the name of the book, however the minutes themselves didn't play a large role in the novel. The concept of the Lazarus Club alone could have kept my attention, learning about the content and nature of the different speeches and how they were received by the members at the time and why they had to remain so secretive.
]The building of the massive steam ship 'SS Great Eastern' and it's launch into the Thames was equally fascinating throughout the book. I guess when I think of giant ships, I don't imagine a ship with sails, funnels and paddle wheels! Amazing! The mystery of the murdered prostitutes introduced a minor crime thread into the novel, although I didn't think this was necessary to the plot development.
Without giving too much away, an additional sub-plot involving the design of an artificial organ for the body was very interesting for it's time, and who doesn't like a little grave robbery thrown into the mix? I admire the precision with which Pollard brought London alive for this period, and I was completely taken by the sights and smells of the river and the streets and the daily minutiae of the era.
This is Pollard's first novel, and I'll certainly be on the look out for his next. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little historical fiction, science, anatomy, ship building and a good river chase!
April 25, 2010
I had high hopes for this book - but I was disappointed. The book is a sort of mystery/thriller, set in England in the mid-1800's. Several corpses have been found in the Thames with their hearts and lungs torn out. The story is told by a medical doctor who is first brought into the investigation to help, and then becomes a suspect. Several historical figures play a part (Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Babbage), which is what drew me to the book. However, other than IK Brunel, none of the other historical figures play much of a role. They are just guests or members of "The Lazarus Club", a discussion group of scientific/progressive thinkers. Our doctor gets drawn into the club, and soon gets caught up in the hunt for a mysterious mechanical device create by Brunel, that people are getting killed for, and the doctor finds his own life in danger and begins to suspect members of the club.
It all sounds rather exciting, and, at times, it is. (The entrance of the Lady Ada Lovelace - the first computer programmer who wrote programs for Babbage's Analytical Engine - ranks up there with some of the best scenes from Frankenstein.) But, the problem is the author can't make up his mind what story he is telling. There are too many dead ends, too many sections of the book which do nothing to drive the story forward, etc. I think there could be at least 2, if not 3, GOOD books made from this one book.
Also, the way the story is told, I never really connected with any of the characters - I couldn't really feel any emotion, except in rare passages. Most of the time, the narrator (the doctor) just seemed to be dryly relating what happened. This kept me from really getting into the story. Though the author captures the era well, the dry narrative style is a real shortcoming. (I still remember a high school English teacher I had, who, in the creative writing portion of the class would say "SHOW me, don't TELL me what happens" - too bad Mr. Pollard didn't have her as a teacher!)
Because of this, I can't really recommend this book, unless you are interested in this time period or in IK Brunel. There are other, better, books out there.
It all sounds rather exciting, and, at times, it is. (The entrance of the Lady Ada Lovelace - the first computer programmer who wrote programs for Babbage's Analytical Engine - ranks up there with some of the best scenes from Frankenstein.) But, the problem is the author can't make up his mind what story he is telling. There are too many dead ends, too many sections of the book which do nothing to drive the story forward, etc. I think there could be at least 2, if not 3, GOOD books made from this one book.
Also, the way the story is told, I never really connected with any of the characters - I couldn't really feel any emotion, except in rare passages. Most of the time, the narrator (the doctor) just seemed to be dryly relating what happened. This kept me from really getting into the story. Though the author captures the era well, the dry narrative style is a real shortcoming. (I still remember a high school English teacher I had, who, in the creative writing portion of the class would say "SHOW me, don't TELL me what happens" - too bad Mr. Pollard didn't have her as a teacher!)
Because of this, I can't really recommend this book, unless you are interested in this time period or in IK Brunel. There are other, better, books out there.
January 14, 2010
If anyone is going to be up for reading a gaslight thriller filled with Victorian noteables and gadgetry, it would be me - a lover of all things Dickensian. Unfortunately, once the novelty of the historically accurate descriptions and, in the audiobook version, the great Victorian accents was over - so was I. That was around page 100. Its a 448 page book, though.
Unfortunately, my stubborness to get through it won out; finished it utterly bored, exhausted and wanting my time returned. Too much description, however historically accurate. The plot had resolved it self half way through so the rest consisted of chase after chase and multiple explosions akin to a bad TV movie. I usually am not so hard on a novel but this one needs a better editor and more of a story I give it a 2.
Unfortunately, my stubborness to get through it won out; finished it utterly bored, exhausted and wanting my time returned. Too much description, however historically accurate. The plot had resolved it self half way through so the rest consisted of chase after chase and multiple explosions akin to a bad TV movie. I usually am not so hard on a novel but this one needs a better editor and more of a story I give it a 2.
September 2, 2010
Really wanted to like this book, as really enjoy historical crime novels, but ended up distinctly underwhelemed. All the components are here but is a series of historical characters woodenly depicted with a vague story built around them. The end twist was particularly lazy. Actually most crime books with a club in the title tend to suck so this could be a new rule e.g. the dante club, the mephisto club or the worst of the them all the vesuvius club.
November 2, 2023
So I have finally been able to finish this book after so long of trying to read it (yes I will admit the actual start date here) and I am pleased to say it was a fun read- true the main character did annoy me at times from being heroic to an utter spineless fool but the twists and turns the story took certainly made up for it.
This is a historic fantasy - using may historic events and characters a parts and players to this story which I found fun (sorry I am not expert on this time period) and there were certainly enough twists and minor plotlines to keep things fresh and me guessing but in the end I think so many of them did at times make things a little "busy".
But for a first time with this author I have to say that it was better than I expected and once it picked up (which for me was several 100 pages in) then thing really started to get interesting. For a random selection this is a very pleasing surprise
This is a historic fantasy - using may historic events and characters a parts and players to this story which I found fun (sorry I am not expert on this time period) and there were certainly enough twists and minor plotlines to keep things fresh and me guessing but in the end I think so many of them did at times make things a little "busy".
But for a first time with this author I have to say that it was better than I expected and once it picked up (which for me was several 100 pages in) then thing really started to get interesting. For a random selection this is a very pleasing surprise
July 23, 2014
I finished The Minutes of the Lazarus Club by A. Pollard. Another addictive book that took over when I read 10 pages from and could not put it down - read last night until my eyes closed and finished it this evening.
Based on real people and real events, it should appeal to both fantasy lovers because of its gothic Victorian atmosphere and plot, as well to sf fans because it has a lot of sfnal stuff. Famous Victorian characters appear including C. Babbage, Ada Lovelace, C. Darwin, Florence Nightingale and then engineers like I, Brunel and C. Russell.
The book is told as the memoirs of a young but already known surgeon and professor of medicine Dr. George Phillips who gets pulled into the orbit of Brunel and his protegee Viscount Oackham, son of Ada and grandson of Byron because of their fascination with the workings of the human body, especially of the heart. Many events ensue, the plot has lots twists and turns but the essential humanity of the Dr. Phillips shines through. As with many debuts there are some flaws, most notably the lack of balance in pacing with events rushing too fast at the end, but still the conclusion is fitting and it's an excellent read.
A big positive surprise.
Based on real people and real events, it should appeal to both fantasy lovers because of its gothic Victorian atmosphere and plot, as well to sf fans because it has a lot of sfnal stuff. Famous Victorian characters appear including C. Babbage, Ada Lovelace, C. Darwin, Florence Nightingale and then engineers like I, Brunel and C. Russell.
The book is told as the memoirs of a young but already known surgeon and professor of medicine Dr. George Phillips who gets pulled into the orbit of Brunel and his protegee Viscount Oackham, son of Ada and grandson of Byron because of their fascination with the workings of the human body, especially of the heart. Many events ensue, the plot has lots twists and turns but the essential humanity of the Dr. Phillips shines through. As with many debuts there are some flaws, most notably the lack of balance in pacing with events rushing too fast at the end, but still the conclusion is fitting and it's an excellent read.
A big positive surprise.
January 30, 2012
A Work of Fiction for those Interested in Facts
This book reads like an A List of all the best thinkers, inventers and notaries of the mid 1800's. Darwin, Charles Babbage, Robert Stephenson, Joseph Bazalgette, Godsworthy Gurney, Isambard Brunel and Florence Nighingale. You name them, they get a mention.
The plot itself is interwoven amongst the historic detail, which is the most fascinating aspect of this book. Reading it is like an incredibly entertaining history lesson, the fact there are murders and intrigue along the way is secondary. The characters are intelligently written and the relationship development is believable and nicely paced.
Downside: all of the above is true until you get about three quarters into the book where it all falls apart. The historic detail begins to bog down the action and there is an unbelievably silly plot development (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there). It's all downhill from there... sheer determination to reach the end kept me going, that and a perverse need to see just how absurd the plot could become.
If you like 19th century history, this book may be for you. If you're all about sensible plot development, you may not find it so entertaining a read. I have given this 1/5 but only because there was no 1.5/5 option! It was almost OK.
This book reads like an A List of all the best thinkers, inventers and notaries of the mid 1800's. Darwin, Charles Babbage, Robert Stephenson, Joseph Bazalgette, Godsworthy Gurney, Isambard Brunel and Florence Nighingale. You name them, they get a mention.
The plot itself is interwoven amongst the historic detail, which is the most fascinating aspect of this book. Reading it is like an incredibly entertaining history lesson, the fact there are murders and intrigue along the way is secondary. The characters are intelligently written and the relationship development is believable and nicely paced.
Downside: all of the above is true until you get about three quarters into the book where it all falls apart. The historic detail begins to bog down the action and there is an unbelievably silly plot development (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there). It's all downhill from there... sheer determination to reach the end kept me going, that and a perverse need to see just how absurd the plot could become.
If you like 19th century history, this book may be for you. If you're all about sensible plot development, you may not find it so entertaining a read. I have given this 1/5 but only because there was no 1.5/5 option! It was almost OK.
March 8, 2010
Bad historical fiction has people saying things like "Oh Mr Darwin, how's that crazy book of yours coming along" - and there is a scene in this book where pretty much exactly this happens. The Author might have done quite a bit of research but if it isn't part of the story he should probably leave it in his notes. I don't on the whole mind this kind of thing - get a bunch of historical characters like Brunel and Florence Nightingale and stick them in a fictional murder story - these days it's practically become a genre of detective fiction; but this one isn't very well written...
July 28, 2017
"Cruentos asesinatos. Magníficos avances tecnológicos..." son unas de las cosas que contiene este thriller histórico, ambientado en la época victoriana, Londres será el escenario de los momentos más cruciales de la ciencia y estos serán protagonizados por algunos de los pioneros más importante de la época.
George Phillips, un cirujano en jefe y también profesor, es invitado por su amigo el famosísimo y respetable ingeniero Isambard Kingdom Brunel a un secreto club donde hace participe las mentes más brillantes de la época y se dan a conocer los mejores inventos, no por eso significa que todo sea color de rosa, el doctor Phillips se verá en vuelto en numerosas aventuras para salvaguardar su vida gracias a un invaluable artilugio diseñado por Brunel que será el centro de la ambición para conseguir poder y riquezas
Sin duda esta novela es una fuente de hechos históricos y de personajes que fueron muy importante en la ciencia, hay muchas alusiones a diversos temas, unos están a simple vista y otros ya es cuestión del lector indagar, entre ellas tenemos a la escritora Mary Shelley por su famoso clásico Frankenstein, a Charles Darwin con su muy aludida Teoría de la Evolución, el conocido Jack el Destripador donde una de la coincidencias es nuestro personaje principal George Phillips, que tiene por nombre del cirujano encargado de la autopsia de los cadáveres, la mujer que volvió la enfermería una profesión Florence Nightingale, estas son unas de las cosas que encontraran en sus 381 páginas. Es una historia muy amena que te hace disfrutar de cada página y de degustarla poco a poco, con capítulos cortos y pequeñas ilustraciones a comienzo de cada uno referentes a elementos claves de la novela.
George Phillips, un cirujano en jefe y también profesor, es invitado por su amigo el famosísimo y respetable ingeniero Isambard Kingdom Brunel a un secreto club donde hace participe las mentes más brillantes de la época y se dan a conocer los mejores inventos, no por eso significa que todo sea color de rosa, el doctor Phillips se verá en vuelto en numerosas aventuras para salvaguardar su vida gracias a un invaluable artilugio diseñado por Brunel que será el centro de la ambición para conseguir poder y riquezas
Sin duda esta novela es una fuente de hechos históricos y de personajes que fueron muy importante en la ciencia, hay muchas alusiones a diversos temas, unos están a simple vista y otros ya es cuestión del lector indagar, entre ellas tenemos a la escritora Mary Shelley por su famoso clásico Frankenstein, a Charles Darwin con su muy aludida Teoría de la Evolución, el conocido Jack el Destripador donde una de la coincidencias es nuestro personaje principal George Phillips, que tiene por nombre del cirujano encargado de la autopsia de los cadáveres, la mujer que volvió la enfermería una profesión Florence Nightingale, estas son unas de las cosas que encontraran en sus 381 páginas. Es una historia muy amena que te hace disfrutar de cada página y de degustarla poco a poco, con capítulos cortos y pequeñas ilustraciones a comienzo de cada uno referentes a elementos claves de la novela.
October 26, 2020
This is a book that tries to pack a lot into a small space, it's probably too much for one story. After a bit of a shaky start, I found it difficult to put down, so it worked as an escape. It felt slightly like Pollard was trying to brain dump way too much knowledge into the book which made for lots of twists and turns and there were definitely times when the editing had failed to pick up blips. All that said, I read it in about 3 days, and it did grip my attention.
March 24, 2012
Ok , this was a bit of an odd one...
The prologue is superbly atmospheric , telling of a boatman finding an eviscerated body in the Thames: it actually reminded me of "Our Mutual Friend" (my favourite Dickens book).
The main story concerns the Lazarus Club , a society of the great thinkers of the Victorian era , some real, some fictional : Isambard Kingdom Brunel is 1 of the main characters , as is Florence Nightingale , with cameos from Darwin , Dickens , Faraday....
The story twists & turns : initially I thought it was a "Jack the Ripper" tale , but it then turns into a good thriller , involving Brunel's greatest (& hidden) invention , a prototype torpedo , & sabotage to the "Great Eastern".....
Although suitably Dickensian in places , in the characters of Brunel & Dr Phillips , I was reminded more of Sir Dennis Nayland Smith & Dr Petrie trying to track down Dr Fu Manchu.... (again , a compliment , as I love Sax Rohmer's novels.)
The novel twists & turns to it's final graveyard showdown & keeps momentum up throughout it's 500-odd pages .
Worthy of your attention .
The prologue is superbly atmospheric , telling of a boatman finding an eviscerated body in the Thames: it actually reminded me of "Our Mutual Friend" (my favourite Dickens book).
The main story concerns the Lazarus Club , a society of the great thinkers of the Victorian era , some real, some fictional : Isambard Kingdom Brunel is 1 of the main characters , as is Florence Nightingale , with cameos from Darwin , Dickens , Faraday....
The story twists & turns : initially I thought it was a "Jack the Ripper" tale , but it then turns into a good thriller , involving Brunel's greatest (& hidden) invention , a prototype torpedo , & sabotage to the "Great Eastern".....
Although suitably Dickensian in places , in the characters of Brunel & Dr Phillips , I was reminded more of Sir Dennis Nayland Smith & Dr Petrie trying to track down Dr Fu Manchu.... (again , a compliment , as I love Sax Rohmer's novels.)
The novel twists & turns to it's final graveyard showdown & keeps momentum up throughout it's 500-odd pages .
Worthy of your attention .
September 14, 2013
Unfortunately I never really *believed* the characters in this book. It felt like the author was trying to weave as many historical figures and facts into the story as possible, which only got in the way instead of adding to the credibility. I did read to the end but only to see the unravelling of the plot, not because I had grown to care for the main characters fate.
October 27, 2013
De ese tipo de obras en las que una simple pagina se convierte en una riqueza entramada de hechos y personajes cuidadosamente confeccionados. No haré spoilers -
August 14, 2025
"Bueno, henos aquí, un grupo pequeño, selecto, discutiendo sobre algunos de los aspectos del ingenio humano mientras que a la mayoría de la población lo único que le preocupa es de dónde van a sacar su próxima comida."
3.8. El Club Lázaro es una novela oscura ambientada en Londres del siglo XIX con un lenguaje digno de la época expresado mediante una redacción bien estructurada y gratificante de leer si te gusta o estás en momento de atreverte a sumergirte en un vocabulario novedoso, complejo e inteligente. Otro punto positivo de esta novela es la cantidad de datos científicos e históricos que contiene, demostrando una buena documentación del sistema marítimo naval de la época, así como de la era industrial con las decadencias de condiciones laborales y la contaminación del Támesis como consecuencia de los más grandes inventos realizados por caballeros privilegiados tanto en el aspecto económico como intelectual.
Dicho esto, procederé con los puntos negativos o bien no tan satisfactorios. Primero los personajes, si bien se nota una evolución en el protagonista y sus relaciones, el libro se enfoca tanto en los sucesos que en un punto se vuelve muy frívolo en cuanto a las emociones que deben experimentar los personajes como reacción natural a ellas. Por ejemplo, la naturalización de la muerte como un hecho cotidiano, capaz podría justificarse por la profesión de la medicina y la época, pero en ciertos puntos a nivel humano resulta absurda la superficialidad con la que se lo toman los personajes con frases de pesar, si existen, que se quedan allí y no van más allá en profundidad emocional.
Consiguiente, el libro pudo haber sido más conciso y capaz hubiera generado más impacto reduciendo las descripciones de los inventos innecesarios para la trama por desarrollo de los personajes para que empatizaran con el lector. Asimismo, el libro tarda mucho en que entiendas el punto de la historia, en un principio se piensa que es el caso de las mujeres desaparecidas y luego sobre un objeto incognito, entre otros que puede generar que en un punto te sientas perdido en cuál es el objetivo. Si bien al final todo se interconecta, la trama se vuelve floja en cuanto a detalles al generar situaciones en extremo convenientes o se pierde en arduas descripciones por lo menos para mí, complejas de seguir si te cuesta comprender el funcionamiento de la mecánica naval o la ingeniería mecánica en sí.
En síntesis, es un libro que tenía potencial para ser excelente, pero terminó simplemente siendo bueno normal, uno valioso por su calidad de lenguaje e investigación así como una trama interesante, pero no destacable por su longitud, falta de desarrollo de emociones y mayor ingenio para cubrir los detalles en su desenlace de acontecimientos y generar éxtasis con su final.
3.8. El Club Lázaro es una novela oscura ambientada en Londres del siglo XIX con un lenguaje digno de la época expresado mediante una redacción bien estructurada y gratificante de leer si te gusta o estás en momento de atreverte a sumergirte en un vocabulario novedoso, complejo e inteligente. Otro punto positivo de esta novela es la cantidad de datos científicos e históricos que contiene, demostrando una buena documentación del sistema marítimo naval de la época, así como de la era industrial con las decadencias de condiciones laborales y la contaminación del Támesis como consecuencia de los más grandes inventos realizados por caballeros privilegiados tanto en el aspecto económico como intelectual.
Dicho esto, procederé con los puntos negativos o bien no tan satisfactorios. Primero los personajes, si bien se nota una evolución en el protagonista y sus relaciones, el libro se enfoca tanto en los sucesos que en un punto se vuelve muy frívolo en cuanto a las emociones que deben experimentar los personajes como reacción natural a ellas. Por ejemplo, la naturalización de la muerte como un hecho cotidiano, capaz podría justificarse por la profesión de la medicina y la época, pero en ciertos puntos a nivel humano resulta absurda la superficialidad con la que se lo toman los personajes con frases de pesar, si existen, que se quedan allí y no van más allá en profundidad emocional.
Consiguiente, el libro pudo haber sido más conciso y capaz hubiera generado más impacto reduciendo las descripciones de los inventos innecesarios para la trama por desarrollo de los personajes para que empatizaran con el lector. Asimismo, el libro tarda mucho en que entiendas el punto de la historia, en un principio se piensa que es el caso de las mujeres desaparecidas y luego sobre un objeto incognito, entre otros que puede generar que en un punto te sientas perdido en cuál es el objetivo. Si bien al final todo se interconecta, la trama se vuelve floja en cuanto a detalles al generar situaciones en extremo convenientes o se pierde en arduas descripciones por lo menos para mí, complejas de seguir si te cuesta comprender el funcionamiento de la mecánica naval o la ingeniería mecánica en sí.
En síntesis, es un libro que tenía potencial para ser excelente, pero terminó simplemente siendo bueno normal, uno valioso por su calidad de lenguaje e investigación así como una trama interesante, pero no destacable por su longitud, falta de desarrollo de emociones y mayor ingenio para cubrir los detalles en su desenlace de acontecimientos y generar éxtasis con su final.
December 15, 2019
It is 1857, Great Britain recovers from war in the Crimea, London is in the depths of the Great Stench and Isambard Kingdon Brunel's last and possibly greatest project, The Great Eastern nears completion at Millwall Dock. George Phillips, a young doctor and surgeon plies his trade in a nearby hospital. He is approached by the police to examine the corpse of a young woman dragged from the Thames, and is horrified to find the cadaver eviscerated in a manner that would become notorious in London's near future.
After a public dissection, Phillips is befriended by Brunel, fascinated by the mechanics of the body, as his own slowly fails him. from here an invitation is extended to visit the Lazarus Club, a group of great minds from the period, Brunel, Babbge, Darwin, Stephenson, Armstrong amongst others and istherein offered role of secretary and taker of minutes.
The eviscerations continue, and Phillips himself becomes a suspect. Whilst winding up his fathers estate, he is tasked by Brunel to visit Bristol to pick up a commission which may possibly be his greatest and last invention. The package however is sought by others an thus commences a bloody trail back to London, a glimpseofthe nature of future warfare and ultimately the genesis of Londons gretest historic killer
After a public dissection, Phillips is befriended by Brunel, fascinated by the mechanics of the body, as his own slowly fails him. from here an invitation is extended to visit the Lazarus Club, a group of great minds from the period, Brunel, Babbge, Darwin, Stephenson, Armstrong amongst others and istherein offered role of secretary and taker of minutes.
The eviscerations continue, and Phillips himself becomes a suspect. Whilst winding up his fathers estate, he is tasked by Brunel to visit Bristol to pick up a commission which may possibly be his greatest and last invention. The package however is sought by others an thus commences a bloody trail back to London, a glimpseofthe nature of future warfare and ultimately the genesis of Londons gretest historic killer
June 13, 2018
I find it ironic that, as a Human Anatomy major currently studying bio-mechanical engineering, I picked up this book at a free, read and return community library, without even reading the blurb and it turns out to heavily involve both medicine and engineering.
Dr Phillips is a surgeon and anatomy professor in the 1800's and although his life seems normal, he finds in the middle of a prestigious social club, a murder mystery and several near death experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've recently started expanding my literary genres and although I'm still new to mystery and historical periods, I believe Pollard did I wonderful job weaving in historical figures and science into a memoir of mystery, if you will.
I would never have guessed the culprit behind the "murders" of several women or pieced together the puzzle of "who done it" in relation to the mechanical heart. Pollard certainly kept me guessing.
Dr Phillips is a surgeon and anatomy professor in the 1800's and although his life seems normal, he finds in the middle of a prestigious social club, a murder mystery and several near death experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've recently started expanding my literary genres and although I'm still new to mystery and historical periods, I believe Pollard did I wonderful job weaving in historical figures and science into a memoir of mystery, if you will.
I would never have guessed the culprit behind the "murders" of several women or pieced together the puzzle of "who done it" in relation to the mechanical heart. Pollard certainly kept me guessing.
April 10, 2020
Novela ambientada en el Londres de principios del siglo xx donde aparecen personajes de ficción e historicos ( Ockham. Babbage, florence nightingale, el cadaver de Ada Lovelace,...). La historia es original con aspectos cercanos al steampunk pero basadas en hechos y descubrimientos científicos reales, pof algo el escritor es un afamado arqueólogo.
Se nota que es una primera novela y la mezcla aunque es intwrsante y la narracion y descripcion detallada los peronajes no muestran mucah evolucion. De cualquier forma es una lectura agradable.
Se nota que es una primera novela y la mezcla aunque es intwrsante y la narracion y descripcion detallada los peronajes no muestran mucah evolucion. De cualquier forma es una lectura agradable.
August 12, 2020
Esperaba más, no sé por qué me sonaba que pertenecía al género steampunk y me he desilusionado. Un libro sin muchas pretensiones y el tema del argumento, que en principio prometía al menos la intervención de Jack el destripador, se queda a mitad del libro en nada. Podría haberle sacado mucho más partido y haber agregado algún elemento fantástico para que el libro no fuera tan predecible.
Una pena, me había hecho ilusiones con la portada y el argumento. Me ha costado mucho terminarlo.
Una pena, me había hecho ilusiones con la portada y el argumento. Me ha costado mucho terminarlo.
September 5, 2021
Well written Victorian era thriller with accurate period detail. It's a first novel by a prominent archeologist and feels a bit overstuffed. The narrative voice is engaging and the plot rattles along but many of the characters blur together and several of the heavily detailed adventures do not advance the narrative.
October 1, 2023
Not sure what category I would put this one, Gothic steam punk maybe ? Set in the mid 19th century (1857) it's a well padded tome but a laborious read with real life name dropping at every turn including Charles Darwin, Ada Lovelace, I K Brunel, Florence Nightingale, Charles Babbage, etc. I never really warmed to the main character but I ploughed on to the end.
April 30, 2012
This review is mostly aimed at people who have read the book with as few spoilers as possible.
This was a fascinating read from start to finish, however that is not to say the novel is flawless. I found the first gathering of the Lazarus Club to be too much, the author introduced so many characters in such a short chapter some of which played little if any role in the pages that followed. When introducing new characters I noticed that Pollard seems to give a minimal description of their physical appearance. I couldn’t tell if this was negligence on his part or simply him giving the reader room to ply their imagination around what the characters may look like themselves.
There were certain parts in the story where it seemed a tad cliché; for instance when the main character Philips was following a suspicious individual around he made use of a trail of chestnut shells the suspect man happened to be dropping at the time. There were also some remarks characters made which were designed to be witty that I would expect to hear in an American action movie which made me shout out “No one would say that in real life!” more times than is acceptable.
The first half of the story seemed to go through exciting a dull phases at first I cut the author some slack because he needs to set the pace for the adventure to follow. However I then changed my mind because it should interesting all the way through not just on occasional bursts. One of Tony Pollards greatest assets as a writer is that he is extremely good at describing the psyche of his main characters. He truly brought his characters to life with colourful descriptions of their thoughts, opinions and reactions to given situations. The first person mode is very satisfying, I really felt that the fictional doctor had all the dimensions of a real person. At first I found Philips to be very pessimistic and neurotic but he gradually grew on me as an interesting person to see through the eyes of.
In certain parts of the novel the author bombards your mind with detail I found to be overly descriptive, his keenness to provide the reader with realistic detail sometimes made the novel feel very long winded and heavy. This leads me to believe that his academic side ruled over his writing too greatly. Pollard a lecturer of arachnology at Glasgow University, did not limit his role as an academic to the classroom. It was evident in many parts of the book that he was trying to lecture the reader about life in London between 1857 and 1859. In my opinion this was very damaging to the story, the best writers are the ones who can educate us without making us feel that we are sitting in a class. Although academic Pollards work is at times poetic, he writes some very beautiful similes to boot.
He makes use of a wide range of vocabulary and masters uncommon words and phrases (such as ‘slapdash’ or ‘like a dog chasing rats in barn’) to such an extent that it flows naturally with the narration of the story and dialogue.
Pollard did a bad job of writing certain important revelations; especially when the identity of the person dumping the bodies in the Thames is revealed. The build-up was very lacking, you knew you were about to find out who this person was and with little suspense it was just suddenly revealed (for those of you have read the novel: it came across as something I would expect to see in a James Bond film). I felt robbed from what could have been an interesting climax to that subplot. The writer also suddenly skipped between subjects without warning a few times which very much added to my confusion. I was quite peeved at the amount of times the author made reference to the future, I lost count of how many times I read sentences much as ‘In a hundred years this might be possible…’ this subtracted from the realism of the story greatly because you could see that the he was trying to wow us. There was one character (and those who have read the book will know who I mean) where you knew he was going to be killed at some point, it was just obvious and of course the obvious is disappointing when reading a crime novel.
The story remained to be obvious in some parts, for example it is no surprise that Brunel’s special interest in the doctor and the workings of the heart were not simply the product of idle curiosity. Another frustrating thing about the book I found was the way the author would try and end chapters with a punchline or a smart remark by the doctor. Pollards attempt at trying to get the reader to be excited about the next chapter was too obvious for me.
Finally in light of this review you may be surprised that I gave the novel five stars! True I have listed many negative criticisms about the book however I loved reading it and am very thankful that I came across it. The novel although not without error was an exhilarating journey. I commend Tony Pollards imagination for coming up with such a fantastic story, I would read any future novel of his in a heartbeat. This novel has come very close to being a masterpiece, it frustrates me how little this book appears to have been read, it deserves much more attention than it has received.
This was a fascinating read from start to finish, however that is not to say the novel is flawless. I found the first gathering of the Lazarus Club to be too much, the author introduced so many characters in such a short chapter some of which played little if any role in the pages that followed. When introducing new characters I noticed that Pollard seems to give a minimal description of their physical appearance. I couldn’t tell if this was negligence on his part or simply him giving the reader room to ply their imagination around what the characters may look like themselves.
There were certain parts in the story where it seemed a tad cliché; for instance when the main character Philips was following a suspicious individual around he made use of a trail of chestnut shells the suspect man happened to be dropping at the time. There were also some remarks characters made which were designed to be witty that I would expect to hear in an American action movie which made me shout out “No one would say that in real life!” more times than is acceptable.
The first half of the story seemed to go through exciting a dull phases at first I cut the author some slack because he needs to set the pace for the adventure to follow. However I then changed my mind because it should interesting all the way through not just on occasional bursts. One of Tony Pollards greatest assets as a writer is that he is extremely good at describing the psyche of his main characters. He truly brought his characters to life with colourful descriptions of their thoughts, opinions and reactions to given situations. The first person mode is very satisfying, I really felt that the fictional doctor had all the dimensions of a real person. At first I found Philips to be very pessimistic and neurotic but he gradually grew on me as an interesting person to see through the eyes of.
In certain parts of the novel the author bombards your mind with detail I found to be overly descriptive, his keenness to provide the reader with realistic detail sometimes made the novel feel very long winded and heavy. This leads me to believe that his academic side ruled over his writing too greatly. Pollard a lecturer of arachnology at Glasgow University, did not limit his role as an academic to the classroom. It was evident in many parts of the book that he was trying to lecture the reader about life in London between 1857 and 1859. In my opinion this was very damaging to the story, the best writers are the ones who can educate us without making us feel that we are sitting in a class. Although academic Pollards work is at times poetic, he writes some very beautiful similes to boot.
He makes use of a wide range of vocabulary and masters uncommon words and phrases (such as ‘slapdash’ or ‘like a dog chasing rats in barn’) to such an extent that it flows naturally with the narration of the story and dialogue.
Pollard did a bad job of writing certain important revelations; especially when the identity of the person dumping the bodies in the Thames is revealed. The build-up was very lacking, you knew you were about to find out who this person was and with little suspense it was just suddenly revealed (for those of you have read the novel: it came across as something I would expect to see in a James Bond film). I felt robbed from what could have been an interesting climax to that subplot. The writer also suddenly skipped between subjects without warning a few times which very much added to my confusion. I was quite peeved at the amount of times the author made reference to the future, I lost count of how many times I read sentences much as ‘In a hundred years this might be possible…’ this subtracted from the realism of the story greatly because you could see that the he was trying to wow us. There was one character (and those who have read the book will know who I mean) where you knew he was going to be killed at some point, it was just obvious and of course the obvious is disappointing when reading a crime novel.
The story remained to be obvious in some parts, for example it is no surprise that Brunel’s special interest in the doctor and the workings of the heart were not simply the product of idle curiosity. Another frustrating thing about the book I found was the way the author would try and end chapters with a punchline or a smart remark by the doctor. Pollards attempt at trying to get the reader to be excited about the next chapter was too obvious for me.
Finally in light of this review you may be surprised that I gave the novel five stars! True I have listed many negative criticisms about the book however I loved reading it and am very thankful that I came across it. The novel although not without error was an exhilarating journey. I commend Tony Pollards imagination for coming up with such a fantastic story, I would read any future novel of his in a heartbeat. This novel has come very close to being a masterpiece, it frustrates me how little this book appears to have been read, it deserves much more attention than it has received.
January 2, 2019
So good. Enjoyed it. Love this series
September 24, 2019
Fast paced thriller in Victorian London. Famous people and murders, what's not to like!
September 26, 2019
Did not finish. I made it to page 102 but just didn't like the writing style.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
April 14, 2022
Sort of enjoyed it but a mixture of too many genres. I would like to read a second book by Tony
May 3, 2022
It's a good book, it's just easy to put down and forget about. It's also hard to read if you don't really understand the in's and out's of a ship. It's still worth a read in my opinion.
November 21, 2013
Sometimes Amazon does these annoying little "Recommended" scrolling lists while you're ordering a book based on your purchases. This is one that came up for me and it looked sort of interesting, so I got it.
Obviously, from its title, it has something to do with resurrecting a human being, right? Or something like Frankenstein's monster? Well, yes it does but it's MUCH more than that.
Every time the book gets close to winding up a loose end - who's killing mainly prostitutes and ripping the hearts and lungs from them? - another pops up to snag your interest. So you don't have just one mystery to follow, but several.
It's great! With over 100 pages to go, I felt like I was at the beginning of the book. So much still to be solved.
The Lazarus Club is a gentleman's Victorian club which brings together, in this case, several renown characters who listen each meeting to a presentation on some scientific topic. Once they have Darwin. One of the members is Brunel, the engineering genius of the Victorian age. He invites a young doctor who specializes in hearts to give a lecture on the structure and functioning of the human heart, then persuades him to join the club and take notes. (Brunel had been taking them.)
Now we start several plots. There is a rash of prostitute killings where the heart and lungs have been removed from the bodies. The police detective thinks the young doctor might be involved for several reasons. So is he????
Then there is Brunel's fascination with the heart and its functioning. Why is he so interested?
Also, the young doctor is asked to make a side trip to Bristol on his planned return to London after his father's death to pick up a mysterious package from someone there. It so happens that the man who holds the package is killed and his forge burned to the ground, although his son manages to get the package to the doctor.
The package contains machined parts. What are they for? Not even the man who made them knows. He is often asked to make pieces for Brunel under exacting specifications, but they are only parts of something else. So what are these parts for?
After his return to London, our hero discovers that Brunel has gone overseas so that he will have to keep the package a while. His house is broken into, everything overturned and the package stolen. Who wants the package and why?
Then two men break in while he is home and threaten him unless he turns over the package. They take some convincing that he truly doesn't have it. So why do THEY want the package and who are they working for?
Added to the mix are Florence Nightingale, who studies the hospital where our hero works and campaigns to open a nursing school and revamp the old hospital as well. A grandson of Lord Byron is a central character also. Many of the others are well-known people, but they are engineers or businessmen with whom I'm not acquainted.
Read this if you like mystery. I guarantee you won't regret it. There's just too much that's interesting in it.
Obviously, from its title, it has something to do with resurrecting a human being, right? Or something like Frankenstein's monster? Well, yes it does but it's MUCH more than that.
Every time the book gets close to winding up a loose end - who's killing mainly prostitutes and ripping the hearts and lungs from them? - another pops up to snag your interest. So you don't have just one mystery to follow, but several.
It's great! With over 100 pages to go, I felt like I was at the beginning of the book. So much still to be solved.
The Lazarus Club is a gentleman's Victorian club which brings together, in this case, several renown characters who listen each meeting to a presentation on some scientific topic. Once they have Darwin. One of the members is Brunel, the engineering genius of the Victorian age. He invites a young doctor who specializes in hearts to give a lecture on the structure and functioning of the human heart, then persuades him to join the club and take notes. (Brunel had been taking them.)
Now we start several plots. There is a rash of prostitute killings where the heart and lungs have been removed from the bodies. The police detective thinks the young doctor might be involved for several reasons. So is he????
Then there is Brunel's fascination with the heart and its functioning. Why is he so interested?
Also, the young doctor is asked to make a side trip to Bristol on his planned return to London after his father's death to pick up a mysterious package from someone there. It so happens that the man who holds the package is killed and his forge burned to the ground, although his son manages to get the package to the doctor.
The package contains machined parts. What are they for? Not even the man who made them knows. He is often asked to make pieces for Brunel under exacting specifications, but they are only parts of something else. So what are these parts for?
After his return to London, our hero discovers that Brunel has gone overseas so that he will have to keep the package a while. His house is broken into, everything overturned and the package stolen. Who wants the package and why?
Then two men break in while he is home and threaten him unless he turns over the package. They take some convincing that he truly doesn't have it. So why do THEY want the package and who are they working for?
Added to the mix are Florence Nightingale, who studies the hospital where our hero works and campaigns to open a nursing school and revamp the old hospital as well. A grandson of Lord Byron is a central character also. Many of the others are well-known people, but they are engineers or businessmen with whom I'm not acquainted.
Read this if you like mystery. I guarantee you won't regret it. There's just too much that's interesting in it.
June 27, 2009
Oh dear, this was another book that I wanted to like, but didn't enjoy that much.
A young doctor who is just making a name for himself gets approached to join the secret Lazarus Club by none other than Brunel who is at the time completing work on the Great Eastern. the club is a sounding board for all the great minds of mid Victorian Britain. Members include the like of Babbage, Bazelgette and George Stephenson. at he same time horribly mutilated female corpses are being dragged out of the Thames. There are walk on performances from many luminaries of the age including Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale, although I do fear that the celebrity walk-ons are rather at the expense of developing his own characters.
To say any more more would spoil the story, but the problem I found with the book was that it changed direction to many times never sure whether it was going for a detective procedural, a thriller, horror or steampunk conclusion and somehow missing out on all of them. Pollard who is a university lecturer also has the tendency to lecture to his readers about various aspects of Mid Victorian Britain so that in some places the book reads like a school history text book when he refers to Mudlarks or George Cayley's flying machines for example. He also credits the villain with rather too much future knowledge of the American Civil War.
Still it is only first novel and the epilogue points to a sequel set in the American Civil War so I might be tempted to follow on the adventures of Pollards hero
A young doctor who is just making a name for himself gets approached to join the secret Lazarus Club by none other than Brunel who is at the time completing work on the Great Eastern. the club is a sounding board for all the great minds of mid Victorian Britain. Members include the like of Babbage, Bazelgette and George Stephenson. at he same time horribly mutilated female corpses are being dragged out of the Thames. There are walk on performances from many luminaries of the age including Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale, although I do fear that the celebrity walk-ons are rather at the expense of developing his own characters.
To say any more more would spoil the story, but the problem I found with the book was that it changed direction to many times never sure whether it was going for a detective procedural, a thriller, horror or steampunk conclusion and somehow missing out on all of them. Pollard who is a university lecturer also has the tendency to lecture to his readers about various aspects of Mid Victorian Britain so that in some places the book reads like a school history text book when he refers to Mudlarks or George Cayley's flying machines for example. He also credits the villain with rather too much future knowledge of the American Civil War.
Still it is only first novel and the epilogue points to a sequel set in the American Civil War so I might be tempted to follow on the adventures of Pollards hero
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews