The List of 7: A Novel [Hardcover]

Mark Frost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Arthur Conan Doyle joins forces with special agent Jack Sparks to pursue a deadly cabal of Victorian Satanists known as the Dark Brotherhood. A first novel. 100,000 first printing. $125,000 ad/promo. Lit Guild, Mystery Guild, & Doubleday Alt. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Occult forces of evil gather in Victorian England to scheme for world dominion in this lively but unconvincing period thriller by Twin Peaks co-creator Frost. The novel opens in London of 1884, where protagonist Arthur Conan Doyle, a moderately successful young doctor, unpublished author and part-time student of the supernatural, attends a seance at the request of an anonymous lady in distress. When the evening erupts into gruesome violence and murder, Doyle finds himself on the run, engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a cadre of ruthless satanists bent on incarnating the spirit of evil. He finds an ally in the mysterious, resourceful and supremely capable Jack Sparks, on secret assignment to the Queen. Sparks's own brother is the mastermind of the "Dark Brotherhood" they oppose, and his character will, much later, supply Doyle with the inspiration for his Sherlock Holmes. Despite the appreciable wit and inventive flourishes with which Frost invests his tale, there is too much in this fast-paced plot that simply does not make sense. Frost creates mystery through an unseemly vagueness of description, perhaps awaiting the special effects of the screen to flesh out elements of his narrative. In the novel, however, his characters never become more than clever conceits, and the prevailing attitude toward the spiritualism at its center is frustratingly wishy-washy. The much-ballyhooed shocker ending seems a tepid afterthought. Movie rights to Universal. Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs alternates.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This first novel by the cocreator of Twin Peaks arrives amid much hype and expectation. After submitting a manuscript to a London publisher, young Arthur Conan Doyle becomes the target of an occult group that bears a coincidental likeness to the subject of his novel. To Doyle's aid comes Jack Sparks, a mysterious and resourceful figure who ultimately serves as Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. With enough twists and last-minute escapes to make it thrillingly palatable, The List of Seven seems a sure bet to climb the best seller lists. In the spirit of hyperbole, the publisher is planning to seal an epilog into the back cover to keep nosy Parkers from spoiling the book's ending. As if this were not enough to keep patrons drooling, Universal Studios is planning to release a movie version in summer 1994. All popular collections should purchase. Literary Guild main selection; Mystery Guild, Doubleday, and Science Fiction book club alternates; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/93. --Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688122450
• ISBN-13: 978-0688122454
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books, October 28, 2006

By 

Colin P. Lindsey (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The List of Seven (Mass Market Paperback)

There are books that are OK, books you like, books you love, and then there a another whole class of very special uber-books that you flat-out enjoy, devour every page, and feel devastated when they are finished. The List of Seven is one of the latter types of books and I whole-heartedly recommend it to others. It gets a six star review from me. Set in Victorian England this book has everything a rollicking good adventure yarn should. Follow a young Arthur Conan Doyle as he gets swept up into a grand adventure with secret agent Jack as they race desperately around the country trying to foil a devilish plot against the crown. Murder, magic, mayhem, zombies, the occult, recidivist arch-nemeses, crazed aristocrats, beautiful girls, reformed second-story men, the British Museum....this is one crackerjack of a novel that will leave you panting for more.

This book features AC when he is still a struggling doctor and before he has penned the Sherlock Holmes stories. Indeed, as you read, you begin to see that the future Sherlock Holmes is built upon AC's experiences with his secret agent friend Jack, who himself is the model for Holmes. This is one of the most inventive, enjoyable and wonderful books I've read in recent years, a superior example of magic realism that thrills you to the last page. Make sure you don't miss the sequel, The 6 Messiahs.

The author, Mark Frost, apparently had a hand in the Twin Peaks series. Whether you enjoyed that series or not, don't miss out on this book. They are as much fun as you can have with a novel in my estimation. I am not sure why Mr. Frost has not written more novels but I surely wish he would. If this book, and the sequel, leave you wanting more fictional accounts of Arthur Conan Doyle battling with dark occult forces then don't miss Thomas Wheeler's The Arcanum either. It's another very enjoyable book in the same vein.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs on a "List of 7" perfect vacation books..., June 6, 2000

By 

K. Denny (southern california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The List of Seven (Mass Market Paperback)

If you haven't read Conan Doyle, you'll love this novel anyway. It's full of non-stop adventure, twists and turns, bigger than life characters, mysticism, and all out fun. If you HAVE read Conan Doyle, it's even more fun (if that's possible). Here Frost gives us the 'prototypes' for all the main characters that appear in the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and it's a delight to recognize them in their other guises. For complete and total escapist fun, this is the book to take on vacation this, or any other, summer.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read in five years!, February 4, 2003

By 

Erik S. Tavares "estavares" (Everett, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The List of Seven (Mass Market Paperback)

If you have any interest in victorian adventure...heck, in ANY kind of adventure that involves breakneck chases, dastardly fiends, undead warriors, suspenseful escapes, a plot to conquer the world AND a pit filled with giant leeches...well, you can't go wrong!

It has been many years since I was so addicted to the book I could NOT put it down until I raced through it. My wife mocked me to no end, but if I could write half as good as this guy I'd be a happy fella. The only reason why it's not 5 stars is that the action does get a little absurd, written with broad strokes as if meant to be translated into a screenplay, and inadvertantly jostles the reader back into reality. But the rest is so pervasive it's hard to stay away for long.

Again, if you're not sure to purchase this or not--DO IT!