Agamemnon Frost and the House of Death

Agamemnon Frost, Book 1

By: Kim Knox

Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Liverpool, 1891

Decorated artilleryman Edgar Mason was forced to find new work when the British Empire replaced its foot soldiers with monstrous machines. Now he waits on the Liverpool elite as a personal servant. He has just one rule: he won't work for fashion-addled dandies.

Agamemnon Frost, however, is far from the foppish man-about-town he appears to be. He's working to protect the Earth from an alien invasion being planned by a face-changing creature known as Pandarus. And on the night he plans to confront the aliens, he enlists Mason to assist him.

For a man to love a man is a serious crime in Victorian England. But when Mason meets Frost, his heart thunders and his blood catches fire. And when Pandarus drags the two men into the torture cellars beneath his house of death to brainwash them, Mason's new passion may be all that stands between him and insanity.

©2013 Kim Knox (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

good premise

interesting premise but too much kissy-face and not enough story. pretty slim in the motivation, background set up. could be developed into a good novel but needs work.

Not What You Could Ever Expect

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Joe - a former soldier named Mason looking for a manservant job in a time when jobs are hard to find (the army having been replaced by machines).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.

bruh, what?

this is a very interesting concept but the execution isn't great. jokes fall flat. the constant teasing between the MC's is tedious. but most importantly as a sci fi piece, it doesn't do a good job of immersing you in the world. i had to struggle to picture what was going on, what things might look like. i listened bc the reader has a good voice, but he doesn't have much character range or consistency in the little range he strives to make. the concept is interesting enough that i may listen to the next one, but only maybe.

This was just bad

I like steam punk as well as fantasy and SyFi, so I thought I’d give this twist of an alien aspect in a steam punk story a try. I only made it through the first chapter, with forced effort. So I can't really say much about the storyline, because there wasn't one yet. At this point it basically consists of Mason (the valet) flashing back to past sexual encounters with short and crude references, while reluctantly drooling over Frost. I have no problem with sexual content, but this was not presented in any type of well-constructed manner. It was more or less just shoved at you. I could not quite follow the direction of this book. If it is meant to be erotic… it is lacking. If it is not… then it is not a captivating first chapter. Either way the summary of this book is misleading. To me the summary presented a steam punk story, with aliens, where the main characters are gay. Great. It does not mention some of the more explicit/crude content at all. (f**k her hard, buried his d**k in him, aching d**k, ext...) All of which added nothing to the story. It was choppy and did not flow well. It is very rare that I don’t finish a book, even bad ones. But I just couldn’t get past the first chapter.

loved it

refreshingly different. I look forward to the rest of the series. more words to make 15 word minimum.