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Title: Something from the Nightside (Nightside | Book 1) |
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Review of Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1)
- John Taylor is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.
For John Taylor, there's no place like home...
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Comments for Something from the Nightside (Nightside | Book 1)
- Posted on 2008-06-18
Superficial story for *very* light reading
Having just read the Man with the Golden Torque (pretty good book by the way) by the same author I was interested in reading more of his work and came by this series. The story and characters really have a lot of potential for being really good. I like what the characters could be though the bottom line is they never really reach their potential.
John Taylor is a Private Eye who has a gift for finding things when he's working in the inner heart underground supernatural world of Nightside which he has of course exhiled himself from for the past 5 years. He's down on his luck when he's approached by a woman with a daughter who has been missing for a month. The whole book is really a prolonged search for the daughter while explaining all the wonders and terrors of nightside. This is what all the conversations are about including 5 minute explanations for every person that John Taylor introduces to his client.
The bottom line is it's not a story with characters that you can connect with because there really isn't anything deeper to them than what's on the page. But if you really want a 30 minute read to pass some time and like the neon noir urban fantasy scene you're probably going to like this book. I'm just hoping that he digs a little deeper in the following books.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2008-06-16
Fast and fun, fans of Butcher should try this series out...
This is the first book of the Nightside novels by Simon Green. I think as of now there are 12 planned books for this series. The most recent book is book 7 "Hell to Pay".
I read somewhere that this is Simon Green's homage to the detective stories of old. I suppose that is a good description of this book but with a lot of twists.
The main character John Taylor is a finder, he can find things, anything. When Joanna Barett shows up requesting that John help find her daughter Catharine, John accepts the job. The only twist is that rumors are Catharine has been seen in the Nightside; the twisted evil center of London. John fled from the Nightside 5 years ago to save his own life. For some reason though the return back there feels like home to John.
This book was a fun and quick read. I liked the character of John Taylor; he has a lot of depth and some interesting abilities. There is a lot of history hinted at in John's past that will make some interesting fodder as the series continues. The descriptions of Nightside are very dark and horror-like. I would classify this book maybe more as a horror novel; although it still is part of the alternate reality fantasy genre. Some parts of this book reminded me of the Sonya Blue series; although this book wasn't quite as vicious as those books were.
There was a ton of well written action, some fun twists and surprises. This book is not for the faint of heart though as all the gore in the action scenes is visited in ...well...gory detail.
My only complaints with this book would be that 1)It was a really short book and 2) sometimes descriptions got a bit wordy and kind of took over the story. Otherwise it was a great book and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-02-27
Every Bit as good as Jim Butcher...
The landscape of the Nightside is everything Jim Butcher fans have come to love but more. A vivid world where you'll experience more monsters, more character angst, and much more raw violence. A quick exciting read that you will not want to put down.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-02-22
Terrible attempt to ride Jim Butcher's coattails
Green is clearly influenced by the success of Jim Butcher's excellent Harry Dresden books and this book is the first in his own series featuring the Nightside. The universe is moderately interesting but Green's brutally overwrought writing style ruins any possibility of enjoyment. John Taylor is a demonic B-movie gumshoe who speaks in cliches and "lives" in a world of stale ideas - viz. his girlfriend/bounty-hunter Shotgun Suzie- a killer with a heart of gold and a serious mad-on for our boy. Bleah.
Jim Butcher's series is marked not only by a relatively inventive take on urban D&D but by sympathetic characters who are well-written and interesting.
Don't get sucked in by this book- instead, go to George R.R. Martin, Joe Hill or Peter Straub.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-01-22
male urban fantasy
It's hard to find male writers of urban fantasy. There are some good female writers but they tend to pander to the women by adding love or sex scenes weather they belong there or not. Jim Butcher had been my favorite writer up untill I picked this up. Now there are two good urban fiction writers. I have read all of Green's books and would recommend them to anybody who wants a male perspective on urban fantasy.
Score: 5