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Hex and the City (Nightside #4)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 4,781 ratings · 122 reviews

Lady Luck has hired John Taylor to investigate the origins of the Nightside--the dark heart of London where it's always 3 A.M. But when he starts to uncover facts about his long-vanished mother, the Nightside--and all of existence-- could be snuffed out.

Paperback, 246 pages

Published February 22nd 2005 by Ace (first published 2005)

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Oct 10, 2010 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of dark urban fantasy with horror elements

Shelves: favorite-or-autobuy-author, occult-detective, detective-private-eye-sleuth, urban-fantasy, dark-fantasy, oct-scare-fest-2010, favorites, hero-to-die-for, angels, demon, gods-and-goddesses, the-lost-heir, christian-lore, celtic-mythology, laughed-myself-silly-while-reading, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, famous-literary-historical-characte, arthurian

I'm writing this review like a letter from a huge fan to the author who wrote this book I loved.

Dear Mr. Green:

Can I be honest and say that you have a very twisted imagination, and I love you for it? Yet again, I found myself horrified, creeped out, laughing like crazy, and going "Aww, that's so sweet," all in the same book. How do you do it?

I love the way you put interesting legends of all sorts, and folklore in your stories. If I wasn't afraid for my life, I think the Nightside would be on int...more I'm writing this review like a letter from a huge fan to the author who wrote this book I loved.

Dear Mr. Green:

Can I be honest and say that you have a very twisted imagination, and I love you for it? Yet again, I found myself horrified, creeped out, laughing like crazy, and going "Aww, that's so sweet," all in the same book. How do you do it?

I love the way you put interesting legends of all sorts, and folklore in your stories. If I wasn't afraid for my life, I think the Nightside would be on interesting place to visit. Since I'm too cowardly to actually go there for real, I am glad I can read your books.

I do love John Taylor. What a rascal. His sense of humor is fantastic. I like that he is able to bluff his way out of some nasty situations. I like that he's a decent person, although he hardly sees himself that way. I feel bad for the guy, in light of who his mother is, and the fact that people want him dead because of his mother. I admit, I'm crushing on him.

As for Mommy Dearest, I can't say I like her too much. I did think it was fantastic what her true origin was. Very cool. I worry for the future when she comes back. I forsee some family feuding. By the way, I loved the flashback about how her and John's dad met.

I have to admit that I missed Shotgun Suzie and Razor Eddie, although Madman, Sinner, and Pretty Poison made some very interesting companions to John. They came in handy. I loved the romance between Sinner and Pretty Poison. It was kind of sweet, and profound, in a way that always gets to me. True Love, and all that. Mr. Green, I think you must be a very sweet guy in real life. Okay, I won't get too mushy here.

There's too much to go into for this letter. There was a lot going on. And I loved it all. Each scene was intensely visual, rich, and interesting as I read. Sometimes, I did wince a bit, since you're not afraid to go for the grue. But, your humor makes up for it.

Mr. Green, I want to thank you for writing the Nightside series. It's so very good. Just the right mix of lore and legend, humor, and scary moments, with a hero I just adore. I will be very sad when this series ends. Until then, I will eat these books up, and your other novels, as well.

Your devoted fan,

Danielle(less)

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Oct 01, 2010 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-detective

John Taylor gets hired by Lady Luck to find the origins of the Nightside. Along with the insane Madman, undead Sinner, and his lover, the succubus Pretty Poison, Taylor goes looking for answers, bringing him face to face with the most powerful denizens of the Nightside. But what does the origin of the Nightside have to do with his missing mother?

Hex and the City was a good way to wrap up the first part of the Nightside saga. We learn who's been hounding John all of his life, the origin of the Ni...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Isabel rated it 4 of 5 stars

The fourth book in the Nightside series, which is now my favourite urban fantasy series.

However, when you work as a private investigator in the Nightside, that hidden magical heart of London, where gods and monsters walk side by side, and sometimes attend the same self-help groups, some cases almost inevitably lead you to the most unpleasant places. The head auctioneer of the Nightside's Great Auction Hall hired me to stand watch over one particularly contentious auction, to keep the bidders in...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Brandt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy

While this book is in some ways the best of the Nightside books so far, it is in other ways clearly the worst.
When a writer decides to use time-travel as a plot device, he better use a couple of minutes considering the mechanics of changing time.

This book starts of at an auction auctioning away THE butterfly of the butterfly effect.. (which of course is absurd, even for the nightside)
The butterfly effect is a popular name for the Chaos theory, a theory that states that even the smallest actions...more While this book is in some ways the best of the Nightside books so far, it is in other ways clearly the worst.
When a writer decides to use time-travel as a plot device, he better use a couple of minutes considering the mechanics of changing time.

This book starts of at an auction auctioning away THE butterfly of the butterfly effect.. (which of course is absurd, even for the nightside)
The butterfly effect is a popular name for the Chaos theory, a theory that states that even the smallest actions sends ripples through the entire world, making the present chaotic occurrences of coincidences.. That means that predicting the future is an impossibility, because even the smallest reaction to that "known future" will change it. The chaos theory and time travel is therefor contradictory concepts..
If you can grip you mind around that, then let me continue..

Later in the book John is again attacked from the future, any interference from the future in the past should change that future.. E.g should the future send back one butterfly, that alone should change the future (Chaos theory), and hence delete the future scenario where the timetravel took place in the first place..
Simon R. Green uses a concept he calls a "possible future" but if there a more than one future, there should be Billions upon Billions of possible futures, each making the past swarm with attacks and attempts to change catalysators for their present.. Why is only one possible future able to interfere in johns life ?

It annoys me endlessly when an Author doesnt think things through. Fantasy is a genre where it is allowed, encouraged even, to change the rules of the real world, it is the charm of the genre, and the main reason why i love it. But the new rules should make some sort of sense, and not be contradictory.

There are a lot of other times when Simon R. Green shoots himself in the foot in this series. I HATE the idea of the Unbeliever and Madman, the concept of their power is not thought through and is self-contradictory..

Simon R. Green also keeps repeating himself over and over again..

Other than that, this book isn't that bad a read, it's an adventure and it can be entertaining.
But it is the most unintelligent fantasy i've ever read..

(less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the 4th book in the Nightside series by Simon Green.

John Taylor is commissioned by the Lady Luck herself to find something near and dear to John's own heart. Lady Luck wishes to know the origins of the Nightside, John suspects that his own mother is linked to the Nightside's origins. John joins up with Madman (who has seen things no human should and, as such, randomly changes the reality around himself) and Sinner (who has been rejected by both heaven and hell and as such cannot be kille...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this, the fourth Nightside book by Simon R. Green, we are finally starting to discover more about John Taylor's mother and the origins of the Nightside.
Lady Luck has commissioned John to discover the origins of this small part of the city of London he calls home. The part that is dark and magical and kept hidden from the rest of the world. In tandem with this will be his opportunity to discover more about his mother, who is undeniably tied in with the creation of the Nightside. John knows li...more In this, the fourth Nightside book by Simon R. Green, we are finally starting to discover more about John Taylor's mother and the origins of the Nightside.
Lady Luck has commissioned John to discover the origins of this small part of the city of London he calls home. The part that is dark and magical and kept hidden from the rest of the world. In tandem with this will be his opportunity to discover more about his mother, who is undeniably tied in with the creation of the Nightside. John knows little about her, given that no one who has an inkling seems very interested in telling him much. In fact, Walker, the representative of the Authorities in the Nightside and one of his father's oldest friends who knows a great deal about his mother, is determined not to allow Taylor to proceed with this case. He has called on combat magicians and a certain woman named Bad Penny who Taylor has a history with to stop him, even if it means killing him.
Fortunately for Taylor, he has chosen his allies wisely for this case. Madman, a man who seems to warp reality wherever he goes and cannot be destroyed, has a soundtrack that plays like mood music all around him, telling those nearby when it is appropriate to run screaming into the night. Sinner, who sold his soul to the Devil for true love and actually found it, along with his Succubus girlfriend Pretty Poison. He was rejected by both Heaven and Hell for the audacity of not giving up on love despite how vile the target of that love is and he also cannot be destroyed because of that, for both Heaven and Hell will not allow him to return. Together with Taylor's own impressive powers they go from one tough situation to another, dealing with Powers and Dominations left and right in an effort to get to the bottom of this mystery while Walker continues to do everything he can to stop them...because the truth is horrible. Despite this John is bound to discover the answers, even though it might end up causing the destruction of everything and everyone he knows.
Simon Green continues to come up with fascinating characters to populate the Nightside and harrass and ally with John Taylor. My favorite character in this book had to be Sinner, who was intriguing, with his dedication to a demon who he loved even when in the depths of hell. His and Pretty Poison's story could stand alone as another full blown tale of the Nightside for certain.
Much is revealed in this book, giving John Taylor a more defined path into his future though things are still muddy and murky enough to keep the series fun. The Nightside still has much to divulge and my guess is that Simon Green still has plenty of odd and fun characters to introduce to his audience.(less)

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Jul 15, 2009 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 4 of 5 stars

As John Taylor continues to work on cases in the Nightside, a bustling city located somewhere under London where all sorts of supernatural legends and creatures come to live, play, and drink, he finds himself working to solve two mysteries. Lady Luck wants him to learn the truth about the strange city's origins, and in return he'll finally find out who his mother is.

There's only one problem. Well, several. To begin with, no one wants John to find out and several people have been hired to get rid...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Ariana Deralte rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, horror, magic, mystery-thriller, mythology-folklore, supernatural, urban-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Unfairly or not, I always end up comparing this series to others who have dealt with these topics from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to the Dresden Files. It doesn't hold up too badly. I enjoy the Nightside books. They're full of imagination and you won't see such a mishmash reference to everything under the supernatural/eldritch/etc sun in any other series. On the other hand, because they focus more most series have handled almost all of these things better.

Though I suppose the real issue...more

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May 09, 2010 Hester rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, horror, british-writers

The overarching plot arc starts in the fourth book in the Nightside series. By the end of the novel, everything has changed. From the first, we have had hints that there is something awful about John Taylor's mother and that if he finds out who she is, then the world might be destroyed. Somehow, a horrible group called the Harrowing is connected to this mystery and has been chasing him his entire life.

Lady Luck hires him to find out the origins of the Nightside, and John accepts, even though it...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Cherisse rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
John Taylor's new case is to find the origin of the Nightside, and in return he'll be told of his mother.

John gathers companions to help him: Madman and Sinner, and Sinner's gf Pretty Poison (succubus) goes along. He talks with Merlin who suggests that John talk with Herne the Hunter. When John searches for Herne with his inner eye, the Harrowing find him, but are defeated by his helpers. John uses his power to find where the Harrowing come from and discovers they are from the future, from the l...more
John Taylor's new case is to find the origin of the Nightside, and in return he'll be told of his mother.

John gathers companions to help him: Madman and Sinner, and Sinner's gf Pretty Poison (succubus) goes along. He talks with Merlin who suggests that John talk with Herne the Hunter. When John searches for Herne with his inner eye, the Harrowing find him, but are defeated by his helpers. John uses his power to find where the Harrowing come from and discovers they are from the future, from the last few defenders (Jessica Sorrow, Count Video, etc) of a Nightside laid waste, who blame John. John and his companions look for Herne in Rats' Alley, and John reveals that he lived there for awhile with the other homeless. Herne suggests John talk with the Lord of Thorns. John wants to avoid the Lord of Thorns, so they go to see the Lamentation first, where John frees the souls of all the suicides bound there, thus unmaking the Lamentation, then Pretty Poison stops Bad Penny from killing him but John lets her go (former lover), even though she's just killed Herne to make an example of him so people won't talk to John. John and the others then go to see the Lord of Thorns, who turns out to be on his side. Pretty Poison was formerly Walker's gf, and reveals the past to John, Sinner and Madman, then the four return to Strangefellows to regroup. There, John meets his mother Lilith, the creator of the Nightside. Lilith wants to clean up the Nightside with John's help. Walker comes with helpers to stop John and Lilith; she kills blind Pew who'd come with Walker and the others; angry, John unmakes Bad Penny with his power, which allows the future Suzie Shooter to appear with the Speaking Gun attached to her arm; Merlin detaches it and Suzie returns to the future. Sinner protects Pretty Poison from all the bullets and spells; she realizes that she loves him, transforms back into an angel with the power of her love for Sinner and takes him with her into Heaven. Madman changes reality to get rid of Walker's people, then diminishes Lilith enough so John can push her back through the door through which she entered Strangefellows.

The novel ends with John planning to go to the Tower of Time to find a way to stop his mother.(less)

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Mar 05, 2011 Darth Sparhawk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great, great book! This is, I think, a key novel in the series, and the true story finally begins! Joh Taylor is visited by a Transient Being, known as Lady Luck, and hired to discover the true origins of the Nighstide. This makes a whole lot of people unhappy, including the Authorities in the strange heart of London, who hire an army of combat magicians and assassins to stop him and they only add to the Harrowing, the horrible enemy, who follows John since he was a child, and the various Beings...more

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Jul 17, 2009 The Flooze rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, vanquished_2009, owned

"This is not just another case. By agreeing to undertake it, you have set in motion a thing that cannot be stopped, caused ripples in Space and Time, alerted all kinds of Powers who have waited long and long for this to happen. Old forces are awakening, in and outside the Nightside, to aid or stop you. More than you can imagine is at stake here."

A new case, and it's one after John's own heart: find out the origins of the Nightside. And in contemplating this task, John also gets the chance to di...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, funny, urban, history

Fourth in the Nightside urban fantasy series about a private detective who can find anything.

My Take
Somehow I missed doing a review on this when I read it back in August, but my notes tell me it was a pip. John Taylor takes a ride through time when he goes off to explore the origin of the Nightside as a commission from "Lady Luck". Each time John dips into is an adventure from Herne the Hunter to the Romans to some unexpected news from Merlin and Nimue. And he finally gets to meet Mommie Dearest...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Scott Weber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Hex and the City is the third book in Simon Green’s Nightside series. Nightside is a reality beside our reality, conveniently located in London. It is a place where the rules don’t apply, and anything is possible. The series follows the exploits of John Taylor, private eye in a white trench coat with the gift for finding anything he seeks. Each book is macabre, perverse, and darkly funny.
In this book John is hired by a powerful entity, Lady Luck, to seek out the origins of the Nightside. He enli...more Hex and the City is the third book in Simon Green’s Nightside series. Nightside is a reality beside our reality, conveniently located in London. It is a place where the rules don’t apply, and anything is possible. The series follows the exploits of John Taylor, private eye in a white trench coat with the gift for finding anything he seeks. Each book is macabre, perverse, and darkly funny.
In this book John is hired by a powerful entity, Lady Luck, to seek out the origins of the Nightside. He enlists a man that both heaven and hell rejected, his succubus girlfriend, and a guy who has seen the truth of all things known as the Madman, to help him in his task. Many forces line up against him, particularly The Authorities, those that govern the Nightside. In the course of the adventure we get to see a deadly auction go from bad to worse, meet the Merlin, have a long talk with the entity that judges souls, and get a flashback into the activities of John’s father which set in motion a series of events that still are to play out.
For me the joy of these books is in the ideas that Green toys with. Each character or locale is a concept or group of concepts that he explores. The Madman is an excellent example. He was a mathematician who managed to find ultimate truth through his work. The downside is that it drove him utterly mad. Now he exists such that he can shape the reality around him as he sees fit, but more often he cannot control it and the reality around him becomes of reflection of his moods, or thoughts, or just random happenings. Each book is chock full of fascinating pieces like this. The flip side is that the plots are usually simple but weak and the characters rarely go past two dimensions. Each one has a role to play and they do it well, but they are not characters that sound like real people when they talk or that you have any feeling s for.
These books are not literature, but they are really entertaining and fun to read. That is high praise, but the ultimate praise is this: I will be buying more of this series.
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Feb 15, 2013 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, urban-fantasy, paranormal, magic, mystery

So I really liked this one.

Yeah, he still repeats himself a lot, but it didn't seem so much since we finally had NEW characters!

I was quite happy that Susie Shooter wasn't in this one... and then she showed up. Sigh. Oh well. Still don't like her.

I was completely right about who John's Mother was. So watching them painfully get to the point was slightly... painful. But still a good story.

There was a bit of a twist regarding his Mom that I didn't actually see. (view spoiler)...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Douglas rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who are waiting for the next Jim Butcher book and have nothing else

Once again I delve into a Simon R. Green Nightside book. I still find the series readable, but nothing spectacular. There has been a noticeable improvement in the writing, and some of Taylor's imaginings are amusing. He maintains a healthy pace in this book, it rarely drags too much. However, I found the chapter of plot exposition near the climax a bit jarring to the pace, a little too slow. Then the climax of the plot hit, and it almost felt too confused as several plot threads all tried to fit...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Melissa Railey rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the fourth book of the Nightside series, private investigator, John Taylor, is hired to find out the origins of the Nightside by Lady Luck. John gathers together Madman, Sinner and Sinner's girlfriend, the demon succubus, Pretty Poison, to help investigate. Like all the Nightside books so far, this was a good listen. There's not a lot of hidden meaning in the books but they are enjoyable and easy to listen to while doing other tasks (such as huffing and puffing in my workout). I was surprised...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Dnaperegrine rated it 5 of 5 stars

So far I have enjoyed all of the Nightside books because of their own special flavor of darkness intermixed with a purely human sense of stubborn humor in the face of it all. They are all fun and intense, all at the same time, but Hex and the City is, thus far, the most intense.

I found myself racing for the finish because I was physically determined to see how this book ended. This was one of John Taylor's hardest cases, but he faced it with the same raw determination and grim humor that I've co...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

I think this is my favorite of the Nightside books so far. It seems better written than the previous ones.

The characters are quite interesting. I especially love Madman.

Now, while I say this book is probably my favorite so far, it's still far from perfect. For one thing, the ending is rather lame. They didn't have to work for it, any of it; it just happens. Another problem is that, for as "dangerous" as these 'powers' are supposed to be, Taylor always handles them super easily. It'd be nice if h...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Bryce rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although there were bright points in Hex and the City, this book was somewhat of a disappointment for me. It seems like the purpose of the book is to act as a bridge between John Taylor's stand-alone adventures and those dealing with his larger personal arc.

The plot involves Taylor and his group traveling to the lair of one Powerful Being after another and asking some questions, receiving unsatisfying answers and beating up other Less Powerful Beings along the way. Taylor's powers have gotten s...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Eric Moreno rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, twistedfiction, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 15, 2013 Yvonne Boag rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, supernatural, mystery

Lady Luck has hired John Taylor to do something he has always wanted to, to investigate the origins of Nightside. John knows, given who he has to talk to that he needs some serious backup. So he takes Madman, Pretty Poison and Sinner with him. John needs to talk to some of the oldest powers in the Nightside to answer the question but some of them don't want to talk with him. And on top of that everyone is saying that his mother is coming back to town...

Another excellent read by a vary talented a...more

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Apr 10, 2013 John Parungao rated it 4 of 5 stars

John Taylor, the man with the gift for finding things goes on a quest to find the origins of The Nightside. He's been asked by a being known as Lady Luck to find the hidden secrets of the Nightside's early days. Taylor's companions for this quest are unique. Madman, a man to whom reality is but a passing thought. Sinner, a man who sold his soul to the devil for true love and Sinner's one true love the demon Pretty Poison. Together this group must search some of the darkest corners of the Nightsi...more

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Aug 12, 2010 Eddie Hodges rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've read this before, but on an impulse grabbed it at the library to re-read. Having done so I decided it's even better than the first time I read it. Hex and the City (Simon Green often uses a play on the titles of popular television shows or movies for his book's titles) is the fourth book in the Nightside series starring P.I. John Taylor. Taylor lives and works in the Nightside; a place where it's always 3am; where the personification of principalities, powers and minor gods walk alongside n...more I've read this before, but on an impulse grabbed it at the library to re-read. Having done so I decided it's even better than the first time I read it. Hex and the City (Simon Green often uses a play on the titles of popular television shows or movies for his book's titles) is the fourth book in the Nightside series starring P.I. John Taylor. Taylor lives and works in the Nightside; a place where it's always 3am; where the personification of principalities, powers and minor gods walk alongside normal humans, vampires, aliens, werewolves, time travelers and other things your bad dreams might conjure up. A place where you can get anything you want...for a price which could be your soul or someone else's, but caveat emptor and read the fine print.

Taylor was born in the Nightside of a mother that no one, including Taylor, knows the identity of, but who is so powerful that simply the thought of her is enough to cause some people to crawl into a corner and fold into a fetal position. In Hex and the City the personification of Lady Luck hires Taylor to find out the origin of the Nightside the truth of which just might tell him who or what his mother truly is. Unfortunately, this idea scares the Authorities, those who rule the Nightside, so badly that they send everything and everyone they have out to kill Taylor and his friends to stop them.

Okay, Simon Green is probably my favorite living writer at this time. First, his books are hilarious; enough that even re-reading this book I found myself laughing out loud at times (which gets me strange looks when I'm reading in a restaurant while eating). Second, while he doesn't write these as Christian fiction he is very respectful of the Christian faith (unlike some writer's I know. Yes, I'm looking at you Stephen King). In fact, in another series he writes (Hawk and Fisher) one of the lead characters is a practicing Christian and Aslan, of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, has appeared at least once though in an un-named role for copyright reasons. There is practically no cursing in his books and no sex though the horror aspects of his work can get a bit graphic. Finally, Green combines in the Nightside series a perfect blending of the fantasy, mystery noir, science fiction, horror genres in order to create something that is very nearly a new thing. If you're a fan of science fiction, fantasy and/or horror I can't recommend Green's books highly enough.
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Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

No. 4 in this great series; if you haven't read the other 3, then don't start with this one! You won't have a clue!

Hex and The City welcomes the reader back to the Nightside, hidden among the London city center. In this installment, our hero, John Taylor, a sort of PI, is hired by none other than Lady Luck to investigate the origins of the Nightside so that she can figure out why fortune lies more with some than others. He will earn more than money on this one...he will learn the identity of his...more

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Feb 09, 2008 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This is the fourth book in the Nightside series, and it's the one where things actually start rolling. The books before this were fun, but they were setup for what finally transpired in this book.

The Nightside. As we are reminded in the first chapter of every book, in case our puny mortal minds have suppressed the knowledge, is a strange and unknowable place in the heart of London. Everything you never wanted to meet was there. Magic, terror, true love and all manner of fear and fantasy could be...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Nathan Burgoine rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first John Taylor book I read that I actually found some substance to. It's not that the other books in the series were bad - far from it, they were interesting fun fluff books. Mind candy set in a really grim setting. Basically, 'the Nightside' is a place where it's always after midnight, the sun never rises, and everything can be bought or sold (and all wishes come with a warped return on their investment). Basically, in this book, John Taylor goes after something very intriguing:...more

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Sep 03, 2007 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal_fantasy

HEX AND THE CITY (Fantasy) – G+
Green, Simon R. – 4th in series
Ace, 2005- Paperback
Investigator John Taylor has been hired by Lady Luck to find out the origin and purpose of Nightside, that part of London where it is always 3 a.m. In his hunt, he teams with Madman, who had been driven mad by seeing reality, Sinner, who gave up his soul to know true love, and Pretty Poison, the demon succubus object of his heart.
*** Although clearly fantasy, I always think of these as mystery as there are always...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Joe_santoro2099 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: modern_fantasy, mystery_detective

Definitely the best of the series to date... after reading this one, the 1st 3 seem almost like a prequel series.

The big reveal of who John Taylor's mother is happens here, and the journey to find it is pretty darn entertaining!

The story of Sinner and Pretty Poison is excellent, and we really see John coming into the power everyone thinks he has.. after not being too sure I was going to continue the series, I'm definitely in for the long haul now!

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Sep 03, 2009 Asher Gregory rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Another brilliant book in the Nightside series. Just as gripping, imaginative and fun as the rest. I am eagerly looking forward to the next! Just an all around fun, action packed and brilliant fantasy book that you can't put down, are looking eagerly forward to what happens and yet never want to end. Urban fantasy at it's best. If you like the Dresden Files or even Harry Potter you will like this! [Of course much darker and more exciting than Harry Potter!:]

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About Simon R. Green

Simon Richard Green is a British science fiction and fantasy-author. He holds a degree in Modern English and American Literature from the University of Leicester. His first publication was in 1979.

His Deathstalker series is partly a parody of the usual space-opera of the 1950s, told with sovereign disregard of the rules of probability, while being at the same time extremely bloodthirsty.

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Books by Simon R. Green

Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1)

Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, #2)

Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (Nightside, #6)

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Quotes from Hex and the City

“We are in the dark places of the earth," said Madman. "Where all the ancient and most dangerous secrets are kept. There are Old Things down here, sleeping all around us, in the earth and in the living rock, and in the spaces between spaces. Keep your voices down. Some of these old creatures sleep but lightly, and even their dreams can have force and substance in our limited world. We have come among forgotten gods and sleeping devils, from the days before the world settled down and declared itself sane.” — 17 people liked it

“I ignored him, concentrating on Lilith. "According to the stories, after you were expelled from Eden you went down into Hell, where you coupled with demons and gave birth to all the monsters that have plagued the world."

"I was young," said Lilith. "You know how it is. We all do things we later regret, when we're being rebellious teenagers.” — 8 people liked it

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Hex and the City (Nightside #4)

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