Book Review- Tales of the Nightside by Simon R Green
May 7th 2008 07:55
My name is John Taylor. I've made that a name to be respected and feared, but it's also made me a target my whole life.
I operate as a private eye, in a world where gods and monsters are real. The Nightside: the sick, secret magical heart of London. A place where dreams come true, whether you want them to or not. It's not easy to find a way in, and it can be even harder to find a way out. I can find anything, solve any mystery. Except the answers to the dark and deadly secrets of my own past.
My name is John Taylor. And if you've come looking for me, either you're in trouble, or you're about to be.
The name's John Taylor. I work the garish streets of the Nightside—the hidden heart of London where it's always three A.M., where inhuman creatures and otherworldly gods walk side by side in the endless darkness of the soul. I have a talent for finding things. People...property...no problem. But now I'm after something different. A local diva called the Nightingale has cut herself off from her family and friends, and I've been hired to find out the reason. I'm also wondering why her suicide-prone fans think she has a voice to die for. Literally. To get the truth, I'll have to lend an ear to the most enticingly beautiful and deadly voice in all of the Nightside—and survive.
My name is John Taylor. I'm a PI for hire in the Nightside, the dark and corrupt city within the city of London. Where the sun never shines and where pleasure and horror are always on sale - for the right price. Not a nice place to visit or a nice place to live. So you wouldn't think I would care that it was about to be destroyed, by none other than my very own long-missing, not-quite-human mom. But I do. I was born here, I live here, and I got friends here. They might not all be acceptable in polite company, but they're my friends, nonetheless. I know that I'm the only one who can stop her. The trick is, how to do it without fulfilling this prophecy that say whatever action I take, not only is the Nightside doomed, but the rest of the world will soon follow...
I'm John Taylor. I work in the Nightside—the gaudy, neon noir, secret heart of London, where it's always three in the morning, where gods and monsters make deals and seek pleasures they won't find anywhere else. I have a gift for finding things. And sometimes what I'm hired to locate can be very, very dangerous indeed. Right now, for example, I'm searching for The Unholy Grail, the cup that Judas drank from at the Last Supper. It corrupts all who touch it—but it also gives enormous power. So I'm not the only one hunting. Angels, devils, sinners and saints—they're all out there, tearing apart The Nightside, seeking the dark goblet. And it's only a matter of time uintil they realize that the famnous John Taylor, the man with the gift for finding things, can lead them straight to it...
I'm John Taylor. I was born in the Nightside, that square mile in the hidden center of London where it is always the hour of the wolf, where gods and monsters walk side by side and where every dark question ever asked can be answered - for a price. I left for a while, but I did come back, to make my living doing what I do better than anyone else: finding things - lost or stolen, real or imaginary. Recently, I found the most dangerous thing of all: the true identity od my long-gone mother. Turns out she's a being who's been around since before he dawn of history. Then, she created the Nightside - and now, for her own warped reasons, she intends to destroy it. To stop her before she even gets started, I've got to do some hard traveling - back in Time, through endless eons, into the very distant - and probably deadly - past (net sourced)
Now you might recall the name Simon R Green from my previous book review of the excellent The Man with the Golden Torc. The Nightside series follow a similar theme and style of writing, apart from being shorter in length. I like these books, they aren't in the same in depth league as Golden Torc but more in a hip pulp novel. I read them when I really don't want to get bogged down with Da Vinci code style plots but just want something fun to read and these are.
Having come from the UK, I can identify with his descriptions of places but its Simon's use of characters from folklore, legends, myths with even a nod to movies and comics (2000AD and quite possibly Slaine in particular -multi dimensional elder gods indeed) that he really comes into his own. Great characters such as John Taylor (not from DuranDuran), Walker, Sandra Chance. Razor Eddie, Dead Boy, Shotgun Suzie, Mr Bones & Mr Blood and many others, all bring the Nightside to life.
These books are like Constantine, Eerie, Indiana, Carnaval, Xfiles with a dash of The Twilight Zone, Tales of the Unexpected all rolled into one. About time Hollywood turned one of the books or Golden Torc into a movie.
Well worth a read for any fan of the genre.
kiwiauthor rating 6/10, good books but should have been the detail and length of Golden Torc.
I operate as a private eye, in a world where gods and monsters are real. The Nightside: the sick, secret magical heart of London. A place where dreams come true, whether you want them to or not. It's not easy to find a way in, and it can be even harder to find a way out. I can find anything, solve any mystery. Except the answers to the dark and deadly secrets of my own past.
My name is John Taylor. And if you've come looking for me, either you're in trouble, or you're about to be.
The name's John Taylor. I work the garish streets of the Nightside—the hidden heart of London where it's always three A.M., where inhuman creatures and otherworldly gods walk side by side in the endless darkness of the soul. I have a talent for finding things. People...property...no problem. But now I'm after something different. A local diva called the Nightingale has cut herself off from her family and friends, and I've been hired to find out the reason. I'm also wondering why her suicide-prone fans think she has a voice to die for. Literally. To get the truth, I'll have to lend an ear to the most enticingly beautiful and deadly voice in all of the Nightside—and survive.
My name is John Taylor. I'm a PI for hire in the Nightside, the dark and corrupt city within the city of London. Where the sun never shines and where pleasure and horror are always on sale - for the right price. Not a nice place to visit or a nice place to live. So you wouldn't think I would care that it was about to be destroyed, by none other than my very own long-missing, not-quite-human mom. But I do. I was born here, I live here, and I got friends here. They might not all be acceptable in polite company, but they're my friends, nonetheless. I know that I'm the only one who can stop her. The trick is, how to do it without fulfilling this prophecy that say whatever action I take, not only is the Nightside doomed, but the rest of the world will soon follow...
I'm John Taylor. I work in the Nightside—the gaudy, neon noir, secret heart of London, where it's always three in the morning, where gods and monsters make deals and seek pleasures they won't find anywhere else. I have a gift for finding things. And sometimes what I'm hired to locate can be very, very dangerous indeed. Right now, for example, I'm searching for The Unholy Grail, the cup that Judas drank from at the Last Supper. It corrupts all who touch it—but it also gives enormous power. So I'm not the only one hunting. Angels, devils, sinners and saints—they're all out there, tearing apart The Nightside, seeking the dark goblet. And it's only a matter of time uintil they realize that the famnous John Taylor, the man with the gift for finding things, can lead them straight to it...
I'm John Taylor. I was born in the Nightside, that square mile in the hidden center of London where it is always the hour of the wolf, where gods and monsters walk side by side and where every dark question ever asked can be answered - for a price. I left for a while, but I did come back, to make my living doing what I do better than anyone else: finding things - lost or stolen, real or imaginary. Recently, I found the most dangerous thing of all: the true identity od my long-gone mother. Turns out she's a being who's been around since before he dawn of history. Then, she created the Nightside - and now, for her own warped reasons, she intends to destroy it. To stop her before she even gets started, I've got to do some hard traveling - back in Time, through endless eons, into the very distant - and probably deadly - past (net sourced)
Now you might recall the name Simon R Green from my previous book review of the excellent The Man with the Golden Torc. The Nightside series follow a similar theme and style of writing, apart from being shorter in length. I like these books, they aren't in the same in depth league as Golden Torc but more in a hip pulp novel. I read them when I really don't want to get bogged down with Da Vinci code style plots but just want something fun to read and these are.
Having come from the UK, I can identify with his descriptions of places but its Simon's use of characters from folklore, legends, myths with even a nod to movies and comics (2000AD and quite possibly Slaine in particular -multi dimensional elder gods indeed) that he really comes into his own. Great characters such as John Taylor (not from DuranDuran), Walker, Sandra Chance. Razor Eddie, Dead Boy, Shotgun Suzie, Mr Bones & Mr Blood and many others, all bring the Nightside to life.
These books are like Constantine, Eerie, Indiana, Carnaval, Xfiles with a dash of The Twilight Zone, Tales of the Unexpected all rolled into one. About time Hollywood turned one of the books or Golden Torc into a movie.
Well worth a read for any fan of the genre.
kiwiauthor rating 6/10, good books but should have been the detail and length of Golden Torc.
| 59 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
