Toby Dexter is a slave to his own daily grind-nine-to-five at the local bookstore. But one evening he gets a reprieve in the form of a beautiful wo...
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Jun 20, 2007
Proditor
rated it: 
I've seen a few reviews compare this to a comic book, to which I can only say, you don't "get it". That's fine, there is nothing wrong with that, but my belief is that those who loved Deathstalker, don't necessarily get Green's other work. Green's mastery is as a wordsmith. His genius is in the use of character. It's a bit incorrect to say a Norse god gets modern and becomes a Private Detective, it's a lot more accurate to say that a guy who can't find his place in the world (And who a
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Dec 13, 2008
Kati
rated it: 
I'm a big fan of Green's "Nightside" series but I had to drop this book. It's a stand-alone story that has nothing to do with Nightside but it still feels like Nightside - just without the Nightside. It's bordering on a carbon copy. Also, the story is told from various POVs and unfortunately, that causes it to drag on. If Green told it just from the POV of Toby, the first guy we meet, the plot would have been much tighter, I think. Also, Toby was the only character that caught my inter
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Oct 07, 2011
Jenie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 08, 2011
Darth
rated it:
One of the best novels by Simon Green. Toby, a harmless shop assistant follows a mysterious beautiful woman trough a strange door, into a world of magic and mystery. There, he must become a hero and save the world from a demonic villain. Sounds trivial, but it really isn't. Green has a marvellous imagination and creates a spectacular realm of legends and mysteries, neatly blendinh fantasy, humour and horror into one. The characters, like Jimmy Thunder, God for Hire, Leo Morn, a descendant of he
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Feb 28, 2009
Paula
rated it: 
The protagonist of Drinking Midnight Wine is Toby, who lives a very tedious life working in a bookshop and only clambers out of his rut one evening on his return from work, when he decides to wait out a rainstorm at the train station and witnesses something he shouldn't have seen. Although he's been besotted with the woman who often sits in the same railway carriage, he hadn't realised that she was much more than she appeared, until he follows her from the real world of Veritie into the realms o
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Jan 08, 2012
Isabel
rated it: 
When Toby Dexter follows a beautiful woman through a door he has never noticed before, he finds that he has moved from Veritie (the real world) into the magical world of Mysterie, and although he is still in Bradford-upon-Avon it is a very different version of the Wiltshire town, peopled by godlings and mythological beings, some of whom are very old and powerful indeed. It becomes clear that he is a focal point, someone who will make a decision at a crucial point in the struggle between good and
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Jan 27, 2012
David
rated it:
I have read this story a few times now and have enjoyed it everytime.This book represents a turning point for Simon R. Green.Before this book came out, he had been writing his Deathstalker (space opera) series and his Blue Moon (sword and sorcery fantasy) series.This book is his first foray into urban fantasy.It is the embryonic Nightside in some ways.
Toby Dexter becomes a focal point when he follows the beautiful Gayle through a strange door into Mysterie.Toby seems to be an early More...
Toby Dexter becomes a focal point when he follows the beautiful Gayle through a strange door into Mysterie.Toby seems to be an early More...
Aug 27, 2011
Sandy
rated it:
A fantasy novel that wasn't too bad - set in modern day Britain, with a bookstore clerk as the main character. He falls in love with a woman on the train, who leads him from Veritie (our world), to Mysterie (the flip side of our world), where he becomes a focal point and must save both worlds from ultimate evil. Lots of philosophy, symbolism, and some pretty funny tongue in cheek bits, but it didn't really grab me and pull me into the book, which is what I really want in this genre.
May 07, 2009
Donna
rated it:
This is not one of Green's best books. The dialogue is not as witty as his norm and the plot is more confusing. I liked the mythological aspects but thought the plot jumped around too much.
Toby Dexter follows the woman of his dreams into a door that appears out of nowhere and ends up in the world of Mysterie, leaving behind the world of Veritie and thereby becoming a pivotal figure in history.
Toby Dexter follows the woman of his dreams into a door that appears out of nowhere and ends up in the world of Mysterie, leaving behind the world of Veritie and thereby becoming a pivotal figure in history.
Nov 09, 2008
Netanella
rated it:
What a great read! The cast of characters read like the script of a Gaiman graphic novel - a Norse demigod, Luna, Gaia, a fallen Angel, a werewolf, a nephilim, the King of Cats, the Serpent in the Sun, the Waking Beauty, etc., etc. The plot of the novel - to save the worlds of Veritie and Mysterie from the evil plots of the Serpent and his Son - was engaging, oftentimes bone-splintering and gorey, and humorously written. The one thing that is very noticeable, though, after coming off of readin
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Aug 10, 2010
"There is a world beyond the world, a place of magics and mysteries, evils and enchantments, marvels and wonders. and you are never more than a breath away from all of it. Open the right door, walk down the wrong street, and you can find waiting for you every dream you ever had, including all the bad ones. Secrets and mysteries will open themselves to you, if something more or less human doesn't find you first. Magic is real, and so are gods and monsters."
I liked this b More...
I liked this b More...
Oct 12, 2008
Roger
rated it:
checked this out from the library not too long after settling in to Chicago [the suburbs, really]. i was starting a game of Mage: The Awakening with a new group of friends. my first role-playing game ever, and for some reason this book was the perfect book to pick up on a whim.
i'll always have fond memories of riding the Metra train, commuting to the city while reading this book. something about the combination of this book, the crisp Fall air, the magic and mystery of things coming More...
i'll always have fond memories of riding the Metra train, commuting to the city while reading this book. something about the combination of this book, the crisp Fall air, the magic and mystery of things coming More...
Apr 02, 2008
Cait
rated it:
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Mar 23, 2009
Heather
rated it:
This was the first Simon R. Green book that I read. It isn't what I would say is his best work ever, but it was enough to get me to read another one of his books.
Jul 23, 2011
David
rated it:
Not Simon Green's best work, although it does have it's moments. I have to say: I also found the opening chapter rather depressing!
Apr 18, 2011
Mark
rated it:
I really liked this one. It has the feel of Green's Nightside books and some of the Secret Histories but is a nice stand alone.
Jan 20, 2009
Mgrisafe
rated it:
One of my all time favorites. It is all about the characters and the mythology. I love how he turns a phrase.
Jan 26, 2012
Richard
rated it:
Just a couple of pages in at present. Found a reference to The Son's of The Serpent, ancient Romans in Bath. Figure this must be a reference to the Roman deity, Glycon, whom I first encountered in The Specter Garden, with Alan Moore as host on his Moon and Serpent, Grand Egyptian Theater of Marvels recording.
Aug 06, 2011
Lesley
rated it:
A delightful riff off some seriously overdone fantasy tropes which makes them actually readable with pleasure
Sep 25, 2010
Jetamors
rated it:
I would've liked it better if the protagonist hadn't been so annoying.
Jul 19, 2010
Vanessa
rated it:
I'm a huge fan of Simon Green and his particular brand of science fiction/fantasy but this was one was a bit of a letdown.
Aug 11, 2008
Jason
rated it:
This fantasy book was not developed enough for my taste. By the end of the book, it is just becoming an interesting premise and setting, with potential for more. The reader learns about the world at the same rate as the confused-but-game main character. The story is implausible (even for a fantasy-type book, where you're SUPPOSED to suspend your disbelief), and the action-packed finish and subsequent wrap-up are cheesy and shallow.
Nov 18, 2010
Joy Marie
rated it:
Another great Simon R. Green book. Very inventive and I like the way he tied religion in with science fiction and the supernatural.
Aug 21, 2010
Elvet
rated it:
I picked this up at a second hand shop with some others from the same author. Simon R. Green didn't ring a bell, but I liked the premise of the books I bought, especially this standalone.It's another variation on the magical world parelleling our real one, but it had a few twists. I would have got my value had I bought it new.
