Book Review: Lucifer Mandrake: The Esoteric Cricket Ball
A Victorian Urban Fantasy
I aim to review at least one book a month on magical, pagan, and polytheist subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. You can find all my book reviews here.
Let’s see if I can give you lovely folks a review of this book without any spoilers. This is going to be a bit of a challenge. I won’t mention details for anything that doesn’t appear on the back jacket copy. How’s that?
First of all, this is a Victorian urban fantasy. It’s not steampunk or gaslamp, but instead, late 19th century London as it actually was — but with the addition of magic. The author has gone to some effort to research the era and locale and make the story accurate not just in terms of daily life but also in terms of current events. Because in addition to the overall urban fantasy theme, there is also a political angle to the action that takes place. In this case, that means British Parliament and Queen Victoria.
The combination of political intrigue, old romantic entanglements, and people who are not necessarily who or what they appear to be makes for a compelling story to begin with. The addition of magic adds a layer of delicious complexity to all of the above, in a very realistic way. Had magic actually existed in late 19th-century Britain, it probably would have been woven into the culture and politics of the time very much as the author imagines it, the mundane and the arcane side by side, intermingled.
The main character, Lucifer Mandrake, is a mage (Arcanist to the Court of St. James, by appointment of Her Majesty Queen Victoria). But like so many others in this book, he is not necessarily who he appears to be. I don’t think it will be giving away too much to suggest that he is part of the queer community. His adventures over the course of the story lead him to examine his own identity in unique ways.
Interestingly, the city of London also falls in the category of not necessarily who/what it appears to be. Mandrake’s adventures take him to layers of London — the Fae realms, as the author calls them — that exist beneath and beyond the ordinary material world, where the usual laws of physics (and magic) don’t apply.
Oh yes, and there are zombies. But not The Walking Dead type. Necromancy is afoot, and dead Peers of the Realm are popping up to lend their votes in the House of Lords. (Yes, I can hear your jokes about whether anyone would notice the difference. Haha.)
Altogether, the book is atmospheric without being overdone. The language style makes the book sound like it might actually have come from the pen of a late Victorian writer, though it’s definitely easier to read than anything from that era. There’s a gentle, wry humor to much of it, which keeps the darker parts from becoming too heavy. The book layout adds to the vintage feel, with Victorian-style chapter heading graphics.
My only real criticism of the book is its extensive collection of typos and mischosen words (dual instead of duel, for instance). It could have stood a thorough going-over by a professional editor, or even just a friend with a keen eye for the language.
Even so, the typos didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story, which managed a pleasing balance of lightheartedness and depth. It’s a cliche, but there were a number of times when I needed to stop reading to deal with other issues, and I found that I truly didn’t want to put the book down. Given the way the story wrapped up, I’m guessing this is the first in a series. I look forward to the next book.
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About Laura Perry
I'm the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. I'm also an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. My spiritual practice includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write Pagan / polytheist / magical non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. My Minoan entry in the Moon Books Pantheons series is now available for pre-order and will be released on 26 August 2025. While that process percolates along, I’m working on an illustrated book of modern Minoan myths, which will be released Summer Solstice 2025. I’m also an avid herb and vegetable gardener and living history demonstrator.