Review: Wholly Original
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 7, 2013
Agamemnon Frost and the House of Death, first in a series of short novellas, was a very different kind of animal; in this case, a good kind.  Aliens, ray guns, sci fi, mystery, spies, thriller, steampunk, and gay main protagonists - what's not to love?  And while that many ingredients could make the plot rather overcooked, author Kim Knox somehow manages to pull it off.  But be warned - it does stop just as things are starting to get going.The perspective is told from an ordinary Joe - a former soldier named Mason looking for a manservant job in a time when jobs are hard to find (the army having been replaced by machines). He takes a one-night assignment for a gentleman visiting the estate of a nobleman.  But as soon as he is told by the enigmatic Agamemnon Frost that the house is full of disguised aliens, the night is going to be full of excitement.The story is told in a very interesting way - Knox does an excellent job of channeling a very real male Victorian character (think the valet in Downton Abbey) in the protagonist.  We're only given his point of view, so the unraveling of the sequence of events is given a great languid reveal. We're not sure what Agamemnon's game is more than Mason does.But that single POV was also a bit frustrating because Frost is meant to be enigmatic - but he ends up more as a cypher. Mason has a history of sexual ambiguity (bisexual) but clearly is very attracted to Frost.  On the other hand, Frost does nothing except charm, seduce, and play with nearly every character in the story. I kind of wondered what Mason saw in Frost that was so attractive as a result.  Frost is very distant and remote - methodical, callous, and single minded. I would have liked to see a touch of reciprocation rather than opportunistic pecks that always seem to be interrupted.  I guess it will have to come in later novels.I can say for certain: whatever you think this book is going to be wrong.  It was perhaps the most wholly original and creative plot that I have read in years.