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Nightside #6
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth
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 says whatever action I take, not only is the Nightside doomed, but the rest of the world will soon follow…
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2006
71 people are currently reading
2132 people want to read
About the author
Simon R. Green
315 books3,199 followersSimon 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
June 7, 2016
حضور اسطوره ها در دنیای مدرن وجه جالب این مجموعه ست
June 5, 2021
Hello Mommy Taylor. How are you doing? Are you set to drive your legions of spawned monsters upon Nightside, completely ruining EVERYONE's future? Oh. Okay. Well, say hello to your son for me.
Not bad. The full showdown is here, a great huge war with colorful characters of gods, demons, walking mythologies against one of THE primary movers and shakers of the universe. Not bad at all.
It may not come close to being my favorite UF of all time but it definitely has its moments and the big worldbuilding is pretty special.
But frankly, I hope it dials it back for the upcoming novels. Being overpowered rather reduces the stakes.
Not bad. The full showdown is here, a great huge war with colorful characters of gods, demons, walking mythologies against one of THE primary movers and shakers of the universe. Not bad at all.
It may not come close to being my favorite UF of all time but it definitely has its moments and the big worldbuilding is pretty special.
But frankly, I hope it dials it back for the upcoming novels. Being overpowered rather reduces the stakes.
January 8, 2017
5 Stars
Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth by Simon R. Green is the sixth book in the Nightside series. Who would ever guess that 6 is the magic number as this is the best book in the series to date. These stories are classic noir like private eye mysteries in an urban fantasy setting. They are perfect for my interests today. I have been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Combine my new favorite genre with a detective noir like story and you have made me something special. I loved this book. I loved the writing of Green. I loved the world of Nightside. And I especially loved our main character (can't call him the good guy), John Taylor.
These marvelous urban fantasies have worked because of the amazing place, the scary and relatable hero John Taylor, and his equally interesting friends and associates. I love the humor, the action, and the writing.
"I raised my gift, my single supernatural inheritance from my inhuman mother, and opened up my Sight. And through my third eye, my private eye, I looked out over the Nightside, searching for Cathy. I can find anyone, or anything, if I look hard enough. I don't like to use my gift too often, because when I do I blaze so brightly in the dark that I am easy to see. And then my Enemies send agents to kill me. But for the moment, I was too mad to care."
The amazing world building combined with the fantastic writing of Simon Green make the Nightside series a favorite of mine.
"He stopped right before me, and actually bowed slightly. "Here we are at last," he said, in a voice like everyone's favourite uncle. "Two sons of distinguished parents, who only ever wanted to be left alone to work out their own destinies. I was born to be the Antichrist, but I declined the honour and went my own way. And much good it did me. We've always had a lot in common, you and I, John Taylor.""
The characters are simply incredible, larger than life, and unforgettable...
"And so, finally, I led my brave little band of heroes out of the bar. Shotgun Suzie, Razor Eddie, Tommy Oblivion, and Dead Boy. I eased open the door, slowly, silently, and one by one we crept out into the narrow cobble-stoned back alley. It smelled really bad."
This was an amazing journey filled with a lot of action and more importantly filled with cool, creative, and kick-ass actions from Taylor and his friends. I couldn't put this one down and didn't want it to end. Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth could have been the concluding book of the series as things really are brought together and to a satisfying conclusion. I am not sure where the series will go now as this one was a game changers.
A favorite series of mine. Outstanding!
Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth by Simon R. Green is the sixth book in the Nightside series. Who would ever guess that 6 is the magic number as this is the best book in the series to date. These stories are classic noir like private eye mysteries in an urban fantasy setting. They are perfect for my interests today. I have been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Combine my new favorite genre with a detective noir like story and you have made me something special. I loved this book. I loved the writing of Green. I loved the world of Nightside. And I especially loved our main character (can't call him the good guy), John Taylor.
These marvelous urban fantasies have worked because of the amazing place, the scary and relatable hero John Taylor, and his equally interesting friends and associates. I love the humor, the action, and the writing.
"I raised my gift, my single supernatural inheritance from my inhuman mother, and opened up my Sight. And through my third eye, my private eye, I looked out over the Nightside, searching for Cathy. I can find anyone, or anything, if I look hard enough. I don't like to use my gift too often, because when I do I blaze so brightly in the dark that I am easy to see. And then my Enemies send agents to kill me. But for the moment, I was too mad to care."
The amazing world building combined with the fantastic writing of Simon Green make the Nightside series a favorite of mine.
"He stopped right before me, and actually bowed slightly. "Here we are at last," he said, in a voice like everyone's favourite uncle. "Two sons of distinguished parents, who only ever wanted to be left alone to work out their own destinies. I was born to be the Antichrist, but I declined the honour and went my own way. And much good it did me. We've always had a lot in common, you and I, John Taylor.""
The characters are simply incredible, larger than life, and unforgettable...
"And so, finally, I led my brave little band of heroes out of the bar. Shotgun Suzie, Razor Eddie, Tommy Oblivion, and Dead Boy. I eased open the door, slowly, silently, and one by one we crept out into the narrow cobble-stoned back alley. It smelled really bad."
This was an amazing journey filled with a lot of action and more importantly filled with cool, creative, and kick-ass actions from Taylor and his friends. I couldn't put this one down and didn't want it to end. Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth could have been the concluding book of the series as things really are brought together and to a satisfying conclusion. I am not sure where the series will go now as this one was a game changers.
A favorite series of mine. Outstanding!
December 17, 2014
These books are pure genius! I absolutely love them! I really can't praise Simon R. Green enough for his Nightside series. Every single book so far has been amazing!
December 23, 2017
I like the Dresden Files, a lot. But the one thing I tend to dislike about the Dresden Files is... Dresden. He's always had a sanctimonious air about him, and got away with being essentially a bold-faced idiot for the entire first half of the series. He had a hypocritical and incredibly annoying tendency to refuse to excuse in his enemies what he handled just fine in his friends.
So, honestly, if you'd told me it was possible to find a fantasy noir protagonist who is just miles worse than Dresden... I would have believed you, of course, but I'd've been sad.
So now I'm sad.
I have no idea how this series ended up with the rep it did. There is almost nothing redeeming about it. The world building is good enough, I suppose, but even more localized than Butcher's "everything's in Chicago for some reason". It stretches the limits of even my imagination to think everything's tacked into a tiny hidden corner of London, which, while it's bigger on the inside than out, is still just one corner of London. Does New York exist? Paris? Moscow? Where's the world outside and why doesn't it become affected?
The writing, however, is straight up appalling; repetitive, clunky and full of overused descriptions. There's literally nothing that can just be like itself, everything is like some other similie or metaphor. I mean, I write for a loquatious overeducated Victorian who literally won't use a word when five will do, for the fun of it, when the mood strikes me, but seriously, hold your horses which are like animals in the middle of running full-tilt and sweating profusely, spattered with grime and the pungent Nightside dirt. Also, please drop the copy/paste. I understand the books are supposed to be standalones, or at least readable by new people, but whoa.
As for John Taylor himself, good lord. If he weren't wearing the protagonist hat, he'd be just straight up there with the incredibly obnoxious, petty bullies of this world. He literally cannot pass an opportunity to troll people, just because he can, even if these people are just doing their jobs, walking around, or mildly disagreeing with him for excellent and incredibly important reasons. Just a small example (from a later book) comes to mind, where he deliberately baits a household's butler because he just doesn't like the guy. His ability to just solve problems using his astonishing reputation indicated that we never really see him do much to warrant that reputation, and all the inarticulate, stupid weak thugs that try to oppose him just back off and run after three minutes f confrontation. That, too, repeats ad infinitum.
And all this without a shred of a sense of humour. At least Harry Dresden makes quips that are actually funny.
The cast of characters surrounding Taylor isn't much better. What is the interesting cool thing about Suzie, again? What, aside from being Taylor's friend, makes her different from the maniacs he opposed?
The plots and ideas have some potential to them, I fully admit. They could be made really interesting but unfortunately they never rise. Likewise the moral and philosophical aspect of the story - while it gets hammered into our heads repeatedly - never manages to be shows. We hear so much about the grey areas of moral ambiguity, but all we see is Taylor strutting around bullying everyone, caring for no one but his friends, and somehow getting away with it all to do and bring about the right thing.
And, incidentally, what kind of series has its climax in book six and then just... goes on? What an odd decision. Personally, I'm afraid that despite its appeal stylistically as fantasy noir, I can't recommend it.
So, honestly, if you'd told me it was possible to find a fantasy noir protagonist who is just miles worse than Dresden... I would have believed you, of course, but I'd've been sad.
So now I'm sad.
I have no idea how this series ended up with the rep it did. There is almost nothing redeeming about it. The world building is good enough, I suppose, but even more localized than Butcher's "everything's in Chicago for some reason". It stretches the limits of even my imagination to think everything's tacked into a tiny hidden corner of London, which, while it's bigger on the inside than out, is still just one corner of London. Does New York exist? Paris? Moscow? Where's the world outside and why doesn't it become affected?
The writing, however, is straight up appalling; repetitive, clunky and full of overused descriptions. There's literally nothing that can just be like itself, everything is like some other similie or metaphor. I mean, I write for a loquatious overeducated Victorian who literally won't use a word when five will do, for the fun of it, when the mood strikes me, but seriously, hold your horses which are like animals in the middle of running full-tilt and sweating profusely, spattered with grime and the pungent Nightside dirt. Also, please drop the copy/paste. I understand the books are supposed to be standalones, or at least readable by new people, but whoa.
As for John Taylor himself, good lord. If he weren't wearing the protagonist hat, he'd be just straight up there with the incredibly obnoxious, petty bullies of this world. He literally cannot pass an opportunity to troll people, just because he can, even if these people are just doing their jobs, walking around, or mildly disagreeing with him for excellent and incredibly important reasons. Just a small example (from a later book) comes to mind, where he deliberately baits a household's butler because he just doesn't like the guy. His ability to just solve problems using his astonishing reputation indicated that we never really see him do much to warrant that reputation, and all the inarticulate, stupid weak thugs that try to oppose him just back off and run after three minutes f confrontation. That, too, repeats ad infinitum.
And all this without a shred of a sense of humour. At least Harry Dresden makes quips that are actually funny.
The cast of characters surrounding Taylor isn't much better. What is the interesting cool thing about Suzie, again? What, aside from being Taylor's friend, makes her different from the maniacs he opposed?
The plots and ideas have some potential to them, I fully admit. They could be made really interesting but unfortunately they never rise. Likewise the moral and philosophical aspect of the story - while it gets hammered into our heads repeatedly - never manages to be shows. We hear so much about the grey areas of moral ambiguity, but all we see is Taylor strutting around bullying everyone, caring for no one but his friends, and somehow getting away with it all to do and bring about the right thing.
And, incidentally, what kind of series has its climax in book six and then just... goes on? What an odd decision. Personally, I'm afraid that despite its appeal stylistically as fantasy noir, I can't recommend it.
August 18, 2024
4/5
This was a great conclusion to the overarching plot of the first 6 books in the series, I am curious what will happen in the remaining books.
This was a great conclusion to the overarching plot of the first 6 books in the series, I am curious what will happen in the remaining books.
October 31, 2014
جلد 6 نایت ساید. یه چیزی شدیدن من رو اذیت می کنه, و اون هم اینکه آنتاگونیست اصلی داستان, که اونقدر خوب بهش پرداخته میشه و داستانش ذره ذره موازی داستان هر جلد پیش رفته, توی این جلد تموم میشه و پرونده ش بسته میشه. انگار ولدمورت جلد 3 هری پاتر بمیره. یا دارث ویدر کبیر وسطای داستان پاش گیر کنه به یه چیزی, بیفته ضربه مغزی شه.
متن و خصوصیات داستان کاملن شکل و شیوه آپوکالیپتیک داره. آنتاگونیست میمیره, نصف قهرمان های داستان میمیرن, نایت ساید (جایی که تقریبا تمام مجموعه درش میگذره) با خاک یکسان میشه.
نویسنده مجبوره یه داستان بزرگ دیگه رو طراحی کنه برای 6 جلد بعدی. اما نمیدونم اینکه یه مجموعه 12 جلدی قراره دوتا داستان بزرگ و کاملن مجزا داشته باشه رو باید سبک و تکنیک نویسنده به حساب آورد یا ضعفش در بسط دادن و پرداختن داستان...
پ.ن) تقریبا مطمئنم مجموعه قرار بوده 6 جلدی باشه. شواهد و قرائن بسیاری هست...
متن و خصوصیات داستان کاملن شکل و شیوه آپوکالیپتیک داره. آنتاگونیست میمیره, نصف قهرمان های داستان میمیرن, نایت ساید (جایی که تقریبا تمام مجموعه درش میگذره) با خاک یکسان میشه.
نویسنده مجبوره یه داستان بزرگ دیگه رو طراحی کنه برای 6 جلد بعدی. اما نمیدونم اینکه یه مجموعه 12 جلدی قراره دوتا داستان بزرگ و کاملن مجزا داشته باشه رو باید سبک و تکنیک نویسنده به حساب آورد یا ضعفش در بسط دادن و پرداختن داستان...
پ.ن) تقریبا مطمئنم مجموعه قرار بوده 6 جلدی باشه. شواهد و قرائن بسیاری هست...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2011
Before I got this book, I was almost literally trembling with anticipation. I knew that the war with the mosntrous Lilith is in this one and I also know that SRG is a true master of epic battles - check "Deathstalker War", "Blue Moon Rising" and "Shadows Fall".
And I was not disappointed.
The books takes it time to gain momentum, but one the conflict starts, it is... well, sharper than a serpent's tooth. The horrible Lilith descends into the Nightside, determined to remake it in its own image, and, later, to enslave all world, severing its connection to either Heaven and Hell. Angels and gods fall before her and while the always honourable Walker forms a desperate defence line, it's up to John Taylor to defeat the Biblical myth and prevent the horrible future, in which he is responsible for the end of the world...
I have praised SRG many times, so I might be repeating myself, but he deserves it. This book is brilliant, bold, full with action, suspence and drama and as epic as a book can be. It seems like the ending of the original storyline of this monumental urban fantasy saga, but I have seen that there are more novels in the storyline... I can't wait to get them!
And I was not disappointed.
The books takes it time to gain momentum, but one the conflict starts, it is... well, sharper than a serpent's tooth. The horrible Lilith descends into the Nightside, determined to remake it in its own image, and, later, to enslave all world, severing its connection to either Heaven and Hell. Angels and gods fall before her and while the always honourable Walker forms a desperate defence line, it's up to John Taylor to defeat the Biblical myth and prevent the horrible future, in which he is responsible for the end of the world...
I have praised SRG many times, so I might be repeating myself, but he deserves it. This book is brilliant, bold, full with action, suspence and drama and as epic as a book can be. It seems like the ending of the original storyline of this monumental urban fantasy saga, but I have seen that there are more novels in the storyline... I can't wait to get them!
June 7, 2017
4 Stars
Consistently good story, and so much fun. I admit that I kinda put this on the back-burner for 5 days; but sometimes you just have to stop reading and spend time with family.... they tend to complain.
Great fantasy series; short and sweet, with a lot of action. Lilith's (John's mother; keep up!) return from Limbo is still going on; with much death and destruction. We watch as John Taylor and Co. get their asses handed to them by Lilith and her brood. A lot of friends, foes, or just plain Nightside patrons end up dead and some are just MIA, due to sacrificing for the greater good.
"And the things we sacrifice, for Love."
Consistently good story, and so much fun. I admit that I kinda put this on the back-burner for 5 days; but sometimes you just have to stop reading and spend time with family.... they tend to complain.
Great fantasy series; short and sweet, with a lot of action. Lilith's (John's mother; keep up!) return from Limbo is still going on; with much death and destruction. We watch as John Taylor and Co. get their asses handed to them by Lilith and her brood. A lot of friends, foes, or just plain Nightside patrons end up dead and some are just MIA, due to sacrificing for the greater good.
"And the things we sacrifice, for Love."
January 29, 2013
I always complain that these are too over the top, and this visit to the Nightside is probably the most over-the-top of all so far. I kept reading, knowing I would like it in the end, but there were a lottttt of eyerolls here for me.
However, the ending redeemed itself wonderfully! There was a good wrap up of the Lilith story arc, and it made good sense! So the more than satisfying ending edged it back up a bit, and I will eagerly eyeroll through the next book in the series!
Great, great, resolution
However, the ending redeemed itself wonderfully! There was a good wrap up of the Lilith story arc, and it made good sense! So the more than satisfying ending edged it back up a bit, and I will eagerly eyeroll through the next book in the series!
Great, great, resolution
July 4, 2014
It wasn't the strongest of the series so far, which was rather surprising given that the arc with his mother was apparently concluded.
It's kind of cute watching the way John and Suzi are slowly moving forward, too. I did like meeting John's father and seeing different sides to recurring characters.
Still in all, I have come to enjoy these books and am looking forward to starting Hell to Pay.
It's kind of cute watching the way John and Suzi are slowly moving forward, too. I did like meeting John's father and seeing different sides to recurring characters.
Still in all, I have come to enjoy these books and am looking forward to starting Hell to Pay.
August 18, 2019
Yay!!!! Clap, clap, clap. This is the climax of the series, which makes me wonder what the following books are about. This book resolved all loose strings and arcs, and was the most exciting in the series, and it had the highest stakes. Great fun.
October 30, 2022
3.5 Fantasy beach read
November 14, 2023
به نظر میاد قدرت تخیل بیانتها و افسارگسیختهی آقای نویسنده هیچوقت دست از متحیر کردن خوانندهاش برنمیداره:)
باریکلا…توی دنیای کلیشههای تکراری و کپیکاریهای پیدرپی، نوشتن اثری که مستقله ولی در عین حال به هزار و سیصدجا ارجاعات داره کار هر کسی نیست.
با شادمانی میرم سراغ جلد بعدی
هر چند توقعم از مامان جان بیشتر از این حرفا بود^^
باریکلا…توی دنیای کلیشههای تکراری و کپیکاریهای پیدرپی، نوشتن اثری که مستقله ولی در عین حال به هزار و سیصدجا ارجاعات داره کار هر کسی نیست.
با شادمانی میرم سراغ جلد بعدی
هر چند توقعم از مامان جان بیشتر از این حرفا بود^^
March 5, 2016
Sixth in the Nightside dark urban fantasy series for young adults starring John Taylor as the most feared man in the Nightside…and it's always an adventurous ride with JT.
My Take
Oh man, the family reunion from hell!
It cracks me up everytime how freaked security people get when they realize it's "John 'Bloody' Taylor" and they turn and run for it! Another fun bit is the toys — cars, computers, etc. — that pop in from some future. Man, what I wouldn't give for JT's computers! Lust!!
Fascinating turnaround for JT's relationships with everyone and I'm looking forward to Hell to Pay if only to find out who survived!
Lots of adventure and violence with a very loving ending and a friendly reunion.
The Story
Having successfully returned from viewing the beginning of the Nightside by dropping in, literally, at Strangefellows, John Taylor and Suzie Shooter freak Alex out with both Suzie's injuries and the evolution of their relationship. Then JT gets a bit freaked when attacked in the loo and finds out just how angry the 13 families of the Reasonable Men are with him as well as Walker's increased fury.
Well, there's only one way out of Strangefellows…through the cellars with a quick visit to the Doormouse and a newly exposed skill of Razor Eddie's before JT heads back to the future to learn from his frenemies just what goes wrong in the war against Lilith. A war Lilith initiates in the Street of the Gods.
The Characters
The "Nightside is 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".
John Taylor is an independent sort who prefers going his own way. Unfortunately, he has too many enemies preferring that his way ends…last week. Alex Morrisey is a direct descendant of Merlin Satanspawn and is geased to run Strangefellows, the oldest bar in the world.
Almost everyone we've met so far appears…
…Razor Eddie, a.k.a., the Punk God of the Straight Razor; Tommy Oblivion, the existentialist detective; Sandra Chance, a necromancer with some truly unappetizing habits; the Caretaker who guards the private graveyard for those who want eternal protection; the Doormouse; Dead Boy, a 17-year-old who was mugged and murdered 30 years ago; Julien Advent, the Victorian Adventurer and editor/owner of the Night Times; Old Father Time; Merlin Satanspawn; The Collector, one of the original three friends who first summoned Lilith; Walker, the second friend and JT's general nemesis; and, Charles Taylor, JT's dad.
Lilith, a.k.a., Mommie Dearest for her winning motherly personality…not…intends to remake the Nightside back into her original vision. The problem is that she doesn't intend to stop with the Nightside. At least, not until she eliminates all those messy humans.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a bit Diaper Babe in the battlefield with a very post-apocalyptic feel — the foreground carpeted in skulls and broken skyscrapers in the background.
As for the title, Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth, is absolutely perfect! *snicker* I'll leave it to you to find out why!
My Take
Oh man, the family reunion from hell!
It cracks me up everytime how freaked security people get when they realize it's "John 'Bloody' Taylor" and they turn and run for it! Another fun bit is the toys — cars, computers, etc. — that pop in from some future. Man, what I wouldn't give for JT's computers! Lust!!
Fascinating turnaround for JT's relationships with everyone and I'm looking forward to Hell to Pay if only to find out who survived!
Lots of adventure and violence with a very loving ending and a friendly reunion.
The Story
Having successfully returned from viewing the beginning of the Nightside by dropping in, literally, at Strangefellows, John Taylor and Suzie Shooter freak Alex out with both Suzie's injuries and the evolution of their relationship. Then JT gets a bit freaked when attacked in the loo and finds out just how angry the 13 families of the Reasonable Men are with him as well as Walker's increased fury.
Well, there's only one way out of Strangefellows…through the cellars with a quick visit to the Doormouse and a newly exposed skill of Razor Eddie's before JT heads back to the future to learn from his frenemies just what goes wrong in the war against Lilith. A war Lilith initiates in the Street of the Gods.
The Characters
The "Nightside is 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".
John Taylor is an independent sort who prefers going his own way. Unfortunately, he has too many enemies preferring that his way ends…last week. Alex Morrisey is a direct descendant of Merlin Satanspawn and is geased to run Strangefellows, the oldest bar in the world.
Almost everyone we've met so far appears…
…Razor Eddie, a.k.a., the Punk God of the Straight Razor; Tommy Oblivion, the existentialist detective; Sandra Chance, a necromancer with some truly unappetizing habits; the Caretaker who guards the private graveyard for those who want eternal protection; the Doormouse; Dead Boy, a 17-year-old who was mugged and murdered 30 years ago; Julien Advent, the Victorian Adventurer and editor/owner of the Night Times; Old Father Time; Merlin Satanspawn; The Collector, one of the original three friends who first summoned Lilith; Walker, the second friend and JT's general nemesis; and, Charles Taylor, JT's dad.
Lilith, a.k.a., Mommie Dearest for her winning motherly personality…not…intends to remake the Nightside back into her original vision. The problem is that she doesn't intend to stop with the Nightside. At least, not until she eliminates all those messy humans.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a bit Diaper Babe in the battlefield with a very post-apocalyptic feel — the foreground carpeted in skulls and broken skyscrapers in the background.
As for the title, Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth, is absolutely perfect! *snicker* I'll leave it to you to find out why!
July 14, 2014
Hmm, yes. So the battle finally begins. And ends. John Taylor does many different things, and despite everyone's beliefs to the contrary, he never really seems to have any clue what he's doing. A lot of "great powers" go down very easily.
As an aside: In the past couple books, I got really tired of the characters saying "not in any way that mattered" or "in every way that matters." I GET IT THANK YOU I GET IT. Family isn't always defined by blood, yadda yadda yadda. *sigh* I hope the end of the Lilith story arc signals the end of that oft-repeated sentiment.
As an aside: In the past couple books, I got really tired of the characters saying "not in any way that mattered" or "in every way that matters." I GET IT THANK YOU I GET IT. Family isn't always defined by blood, yadda yadda yadda. *sigh* I hope the end of the Lilith story arc signals the end of that oft-repeated sentiment.
September 29, 2010
*spoilers maybe*
I feel like I have been riding this glorious train to awesome town and there are all sorts of characters that I have met on the train whilst having the time of my life. Certainly enough to keep me entertained and in good spirits throughout the trip, and awesome town should be about 2-3 stops away and there is plenty of time to enjoy the company and shenanagins. Suddenly the conductor announces that the stop for awesome town has been moved up to the next stop. Now all the fun that was supposed to be packed into the rest of the trip must be packed into the next few minutes, and new friends are exiting the train to avoid paying the bill at the end of the trip. It all happens so fast and awesome town turns out to be a shanty with a PS3 and lots of snacks innit. Cool, but not awesome town to be sure.
The Lillith War could have been epic, but instead it was rushed and all the build up of back story and motivation seems to have been wasted on something that is not quite amazing. I'm not going to lie, I did enjoy the story but I wanted more.
I feel like I have been riding this glorious train to awesome town and there are all sorts of characters that I have met on the train whilst having the time of my life. Certainly enough to keep me entertained and in good spirits throughout the trip, and awesome town should be about 2-3 stops away and there is plenty of time to enjoy the company and shenanagins. Suddenly the conductor announces that the stop for awesome town has been moved up to the next stop. Now all the fun that was supposed to be packed into the rest of the trip must be packed into the next few minutes, and new friends are exiting the train to avoid paying the bill at the end of the trip. It all happens so fast and awesome town turns out to be a shanty with a PS3 and lots of snacks innit. Cool, but not awesome town to be sure.
The Lillith War could have been epic, but instead it was rushed and all the build up of back story and motivation seems to have been wasted on something that is not quite amazing. I'm not going to lie, I did enjoy the story but I wanted more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2013
I enjoyed, though sometimes it just seemed some of the action was just to pull the plot along, and it felt like there were a number of ghosts in the machine. I think this is really my fault, as this is the first in the series that I have read, and it is number six(!), so I think it would work better having been more familiar with the previous work. Having said that, if you happen to pick it up for 20 cents at a library book sale, it's not too hard to get into the swing of things if no other books from the series have been read.
October 23, 2016
This series is a lot of fun to read. It's completely over-the-top, but I'm okay with that. This kind of short, action-packed story was exactly what I needed right now. I've been in a reading slump for the last month.
This book had me on the edge of my seat, especially toward the end. I had no idea how everything was going to come together in the end. When it did come together, I thought it was the perfect ending.
This also seems like a good stopping point for the series. There are obviously six more books, but this one had a solid ending that tied up the main plot very well.
Rating: 9/10
This book had me on the edge of my seat, especially toward the end. I had no idea how everything was going to come together in the end. When it did come together, I thought it was the perfect ending.
This also seems like a good stopping point for the series. There are obviously six more books, but this one had a solid ending that tied up the main plot very well.
Rating: 9/10
July 1, 2012
I liked this book possibly more than any of the others before it. We got to see a lot of fantastic characters and we get a resolution to the two primary issues that have haunted John Taylor. Namely, his future enemies and his mother.
September 9, 2016
کتاب خوبی بود..
حالا نمی دانم نویسنده برای جلد های بعدی چه چیزی در چنته دارد!
حالا نمی دانم نویسنده برای جلد های بعدی چه چیزی در چنته دارد!
October 11, 2015
Excellent climax to the series. Great pacing and some lovely poignancy at certain points.
May 20, 2025
Én nem hittem volna, hogy tényleg lezárja a sorozat közepén az egész eddig átívelő szálat, de tényleg lezárta a sorozat közepén az egész eddig átívelő szálat. És egészen normálisan zárta le, megfelelő mennyiségű "oké, és ezt hogy a fenébe fogjuk megoldani?" dologgal, amik szerencsére megmaradtak a hihetőség keretein belül, és csak annyira volt menthetetlen az egész helyzet, amennyire az még szórakoztató is tudott maradni, és nem ment át idegesítőbe.
Az külön tetszett, hogy sikerült kicsit körbe is érnie a sztorinak, és egy olyan megoldást felhasználni, amire ott volt az esély, de hogy közben meg azért is mégis elég távol volt ahhoz, hogy ne gondolj rá, mint egyértelmű válaszra. Egész ügyes megoldás volt, azt kell, hogy mondjam, és nem halt meg benne Walker!
Persze, persze Taylor a főszereplő, de az a helyzet, hogy Walkert sokkal jobban kedvelem. (És nyilván shippelem Taylorral, felerészt spite-ból, felerészt meg azért mert szórakoztat.)
És közben rájöttem, hogy mi az ami bosszant az egész sorozatban: a power scale.
Drága szerzőnk ugyan elmondja, hogy "protected by seriously heavy magic" meg hasonló dolgok, de igazából rettenetesen nincs kiegyensúlyozva az egész. Valahogy kimarad az egészből az, hogy bárkit is látnánk ténylegesen kínlódni azokkal a dolgokkal, amiket ilyen jelzővel illet, és oké, hogy a főszereplőnket viszi előre az a három blöff meg két hazugság amit elrejtett a kabátujjában, és hogy mindenki más is eléggé unique a csapaton belül, de hogy jó lenne ha megmutatná, hogy egész pontosan mit jelent az, hogy "seriously heavy magic". Nem látunk senkit, aki erőben közelíteni a csapatunkhoz, valóban fennakadna ezeken, vagy bármelyik főszereplőnket, szóval igazából ezt érzem a standardnak, ami csak azért gáz, mert mikor nagyobb threat jelenik meg, akkor nem tudom perspektívába tenni azt, hogy végül is mekkora az ereje. Persze, miután elég ártatlant ölt meg, illetve elég épületet döntött romba, akkor felfogom, hogy jó, akkor ez mégiscsak veszélyt jelent. Viszont a hétköznapokban használt mágia nincsen igazán jól felépítve, ami miatt nem tudom elhinni neki, hogy ő aztán kemény gyerek a gáton!
Meg a főszereplőt is el kéne páholni egyszer rendesen, mert bár nagyon szeretem, hogy megment mindenkit az utolsó pillanatban, de egy rendes vereség jót tenne neki, akkor talán jobban megkedvelném. Nem utálom, nincsenek vele nagy problémáim, de hogy valami mégis hiányzik az egészből ahhoz, hogy úgy őszintén szeressem. És ennek semmi köze ahhoz, hogy ki nem állhatom az E/1-t. Sokkal inkább ahhoz, hogy egyszer nem volt igazán beleverve a földbe.
Bár azt hiszem, hogy ez nem is az a könyvsorozat, és nem is feltétlen kellene ezt elvárnom, csak egész egyszerűen zavar, hogy némileg trehány a mágiarendszer, még úgy is, hogy ez egy soft magic system.
Ezt leszámítva egész jól szórakoztam és tényleg izgultam helyeken, hogy ezt vajon miképp fogják helyrehozni, és egész elégedett voltam a megoldásokkal. A szeretett mellékkarakter halála pedig őszintén sziven ütött, hát én nem erre szerződtem már! (Még akkor se, hogyha benne vagyok hat kötete, és pontosan tudom mire számítsak.)
Összességében egy jó lezárás volt egy hosszú szálnak, és határozottan bátor is, mert most mi a fenét fogunk még itt csinálni, hat köteteten keresztül?
De hát ezt úgy tudhatom meg, hogyha tovább olvasom.
Az külön tetszett, hogy sikerült kicsit körbe is érnie a sztorinak, és egy olyan megoldást felhasználni, amire ott volt az esély, de hogy közben meg azért is mégis elég távol volt ahhoz, hogy ne gondolj rá, mint egyértelmű válaszra. Egész ügyes megoldás volt, azt kell, hogy mondjam, és nem halt meg benne Walker!
Persze, persze Taylor a főszereplő, de az a helyzet, hogy Walkert sokkal jobban kedvelem. (És nyilván shippelem Taylorral, felerészt spite-ból, felerészt meg azért mert szórakoztat.)
És közben rájöttem, hogy mi az ami bosszant az egész sorozatban: a power scale.
Drága szerzőnk ugyan elmondja, hogy "protected by seriously heavy magic" meg hasonló dolgok, de igazából rettenetesen nincs kiegyensúlyozva az egész. Valahogy kimarad az egészből az, hogy bárkit is látnánk ténylegesen kínlódni azokkal a dolgokkal, amiket ilyen jelzővel illet, és oké, hogy a főszereplőnket viszi előre az a három blöff meg két hazugság amit elrejtett a kabátujjában, és hogy mindenki más is eléggé unique a csapaton belül, de hogy jó lenne ha megmutatná, hogy egész pontosan mit jelent az, hogy "seriously heavy magic". Nem látunk senkit, aki erőben közelíteni a csapatunkhoz, valóban fennakadna ezeken, vagy bármelyik főszereplőnket, szóval igazából ezt érzem a standardnak, ami csak azért gáz, mert mikor nagyobb threat jelenik meg, akkor nem tudom perspektívába tenni azt, hogy végül is mekkora az ereje. Persze, miután elég ártatlant ölt meg, illetve elég épületet döntött romba, akkor felfogom, hogy jó, akkor ez mégiscsak veszélyt jelent. Viszont a hétköznapokban használt mágia nincsen igazán jól felépítve, ami miatt nem tudom elhinni neki, hogy ő aztán kemény gyerek a gáton!
Meg a főszereplőt is el kéne páholni egyszer rendesen, mert bár nagyon szeretem, hogy megment mindenkit az utolsó pillanatban, de egy rendes vereség jót tenne neki, akkor talán jobban megkedvelném. Nem utálom, nincsenek vele nagy problémáim, de hogy valami mégis hiányzik az egészből ahhoz, hogy úgy őszintén szeressem. És ennek semmi köze ahhoz, hogy ki nem állhatom az E/1-t. Sokkal inkább ahhoz, hogy egyszer nem volt igazán beleverve a földbe.
Bár azt hiszem, hogy ez nem is az a könyvsorozat, és nem is feltétlen kellene ezt elvárnom, csak egész egyszerűen zavar, hogy némileg trehány a mágiarendszer, még úgy is, hogy ez egy soft magic system.
Ezt leszámítva egész jól szórakoztam és tényleg izgultam helyeken, hogy ezt vajon miképp fogják helyrehozni, és egész elégedett voltam a megoldásokkal. A szeretett mellékkarakter halála pedig őszintén sziven ütött, hát én nem erre szerződtem már! (Még akkor se, hogyha benne vagyok hat kötete, és pontosan tudom mire számítsak.)
Összességében egy jó lezárás volt egy hosszú szálnak, és határozottan bátor is, mert most mi a fenét fogunk még itt csinálni, hat köteteten keresztül?
De hát ezt úgy tudhatom meg, hogyha tovább olvasom.
June 17, 2019
This review is a mess. Just a mashup of my thoughts on the book via random questions.
*p96 Reference to Dr. Who.* "There's always the traveling Doctor but you can never rely on him being around when you need him."
*Part about the mirrors and pools was boring and drawn out. It was boring to hear about what everyone else was doing while John sat in a building.
*Still don't understand what knowledge he got from going back to the past. It was all the stuff he knew about.
*What is John's powers? Every book I read the stuff he could/couldn't do happens now or can't happen. Now he can remove metal things from people like cavities. There are certain points in the books where I'm certain he doesn't have powers because he never does anything. This was book #6 and I STILL have no idea what his powers are. In this book alone we learn about two more powers he has that he didn't even know he could do.
*I don't understand Sandra Chance wanting to kill John for a bounty to spend money in another dimension. I'm not sure how money works in other dimensions but I don't think you can use the same currency in Nightside as another dimension. Maybe I'm wrong and they have a currency exchange building. Also, I'm not sure how Lilith can't go to that dimension if God created the universe. Nothing would be off limits to her.
*John getting werewolf healing powers from a werewolf but none of the changing so he now suddenly can't die. Come on really! "It's not fair," said Sandra. "You bastard, Taylor! You always have a way out." I know how you feel Sandra I was just thinking the same thing!
*The names of the characters are so insane. Plus let's talk about how many characters are in this book alone. There's;
John Taylor, Suzie Shooter, Alex Morrisey (guessing the author is a fan of Morrisey aka The Smiths), Tommy Oblivion, Eamonn Mitchell, Betty & Lucy Coltrane, Kid Psychoses, King & Queen of America, Walker, (ALL OF THESE PEOPLE MENTIONED BY PAGE 10), Merlin Satanspawn, Sneaky Pete, Cathy Barrett, Lilith, Doormouse, Old Father Time, Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, Sandra Choice, Nimue, Lamentation/Saint of Suffering, Caretaker, Bloody Blades, Soror Marium/The Carrion in Tears, Molly Widdershins, the Devils Bride, Abomination Inc, the Incarnate, the Engineer, Splendid, La Belle Dame du Rocher (PAGE 50!), Thin White Prince, Harlequin, Little Sisters of the Immaculate Chainsaw, Fennella Davis, Charles Taylor, the Collector, Rossignol, Julien Advent, Beadle, the Chronovore, the Traveling Doctor, Pretty Poison, the Beast, Jessica Sorrow, Count Video, King of Skin, Larry Oblivion, Annie Abattoir, Lord Pestilence, Lord of Thorns, Cold Harald, Dominic Flipside, Whispering Ivy, DEad Eye Dick, Ms.Fate, Sister Morphine, Madeleine.
* This book finds us battling John's mother Lilith. Also, have a thing going with Suzie Shooter and John Taylor as they are an official insane couple.
*The ending was lackluster. This huge buildup and then just done!
*p96 Reference to Dr. Who.* "There's always the traveling Doctor but you can never rely on him being around when you need him."
*Part about the mirrors and pools was boring and drawn out. It was boring to hear about what everyone else was doing while John sat in a building.
*Still don't understand what knowledge he got from going back to the past. It was all the stuff he knew about.
*What is John's powers? Every book I read the stuff he could/couldn't do happens now or can't happen. Now he can remove metal things from people like cavities. There are certain points in the books where I'm certain he doesn't have powers because he never does anything. This was book #6 and I STILL have no idea what his powers are. In this book alone we learn about two more powers he has that he didn't even know he could do.
*I don't understand Sandra Chance wanting to kill John for a bounty to spend money in another dimension. I'm not sure how money works in other dimensions but I don't think you can use the same currency in Nightside as another dimension. Maybe I'm wrong and they have a currency exchange building. Also, I'm not sure how Lilith can't go to that dimension if God created the universe. Nothing would be off limits to her.
*John getting werewolf healing powers from a werewolf but none of the changing so he now suddenly can't die. Come on really! "It's not fair," said Sandra. "You bastard, Taylor! You always have a way out." I know how you feel Sandra I was just thinking the same thing!
*The names of the characters are so insane. Plus let's talk about how many characters are in this book alone. There's;
John Taylor, Suzie Shooter, Alex Morrisey (guessing the author is a fan of Morrisey aka The Smiths), Tommy Oblivion, Eamonn Mitchell, Betty & Lucy Coltrane, Kid Psychoses, King & Queen of America, Walker, (ALL OF THESE PEOPLE MENTIONED BY PAGE 10), Merlin Satanspawn, Sneaky Pete, Cathy Barrett, Lilith, Doormouse, Old Father Time, Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, Sandra Choice, Nimue, Lamentation/Saint of Suffering, Caretaker, Bloody Blades, Soror Marium/The Carrion in Tears, Molly Widdershins, the Devils Bride, Abomination Inc, the Incarnate, the Engineer, Splendid, La Belle Dame du Rocher (PAGE 50!), Thin White Prince, Harlequin, Little Sisters of the Immaculate Chainsaw, Fennella Davis, Charles Taylor, the Collector, Rossignol, Julien Advent, Beadle, the Chronovore, the Traveling Doctor, Pretty Poison, the Beast, Jessica Sorrow, Count Video, King of Skin, Larry Oblivion, Annie Abattoir, Lord Pestilence, Lord of Thorns, Cold Harald, Dominic Flipside, Whispering Ivy, DEad Eye Dick, Ms.Fate, Sister Morphine, Madeleine.
* This book finds us battling John's mother Lilith. Also, have a thing going with Suzie Shooter and John Taylor as they are an official insane couple.
*The ending was lackluster. This huge buildup and then just done!
June 3, 2018
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is the sixth book in Nightside Series written by Simon R. Green and centered on John Taylor, the main protagonist, who is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things.
Lilith has returned and coming with her is the apocalypse. Lilith, creator of the Nightside, wanted to recreate the Nightside to her original image, before it was infected – not just Nightside, but the world too. She wants to recreate the world to worship and love her. However, John Taylor has been to the future and no such paradise exists – the future is desolated and bleak with human civilization decimated. In fact, it was from this future that the Harrowing come from trying to stop Taylor from creating this future by killing him.
Nightside was originally created as a place where neither Heaven nor Hell could intervene directly, but by the present day it has been corrupted from her original concept and wishes to completely destroy it and starting over. However it was a time-travelling John Taylor to the past to see how the Nightside was created which planted the seed of corruption (Paths Not Taken). A trip he wouldn’t have taken had it not for Lady Luck hiring him to find the origins of the Nightside (Hex and the City).
Regardless how it got corrupted, Lilith wants Nightside to be destroyed, but Nightside won't go down without a fight. However, it seems that Lilith could take them all down rather easily – including the authorities and Merlin Satanspawn. The only promise of succession is John Taylor. However, there is a prophecy that whatever action John Taylor takes not only Nightside is doomed, but the rest of the world would soon follow. Despite this John Taylor is willing to stand against his mother. With Shotgun Suzie, Alex Morrissey, Razer Eddie, Tommy Oblivion, and Dead Boy standing by his side, but it doesn't seem to be enough to defeat Lilith and her army.
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is written rather well, albeit a tad confusing, but that is to be expected when time travelling is involved. It seems that most of the secrets strewn throughout the series are answered somewhat well with the dry humor and sardonic with that the series is popular for. The war itself is rather exciting and messy and the solution to end the war was rather ingenious, albeit a tad prosaic. Nightside was saved, but the landscape of Nightside is irrevocably changed.
All in all, Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is a wonderfully written book and a very good continuation of the series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
Lilith has returned and coming with her is the apocalypse. Lilith, creator of the Nightside, wanted to recreate the Nightside to her original image, before it was infected – not just Nightside, but the world too. She wants to recreate the world to worship and love her. However, John Taylor has been to the future and no such paradise exists – the future is desolated and bleak with human civilization decimated. In fact, it was from this future that the Harrowing come from trying to stop Taylor from creating this future by killing him.
Nightside was originally created as a place where neither Heaven nor Hell could intervene directly, but by the present day it has been corrupted from her original concept and wishes to completely destroy it and starting over. However it was a time-travelling John Taylor to the past to see how the Nightside was created which planted the seed of corruption (Paths Not Taken). A trip he wouldn’t have taken had it not for Lady Luck hiring him to find the origins of the Nightside (Hex and the City).
Regardless how it got corrupted, Lilith wants Nightside to be destroyed, but Nightside won't go down without a fight. However, it seems that Lilith could take them all down rather easily – including the authorities and Merlin Satanspawn. The only promise of succession is John Taylor. However, there is a prophecy that whatever action John Taylor takes not only Nightside is doomed, but the rest of the world would soon follow. Despite this John Taylor is willing to stand against his mother. With Shotgun Suzie, Alex Morrissey, Razer Eddie, Tommy Oblivion, and Dead Boy standing by his side, but it doesn't seem to be enough to defeat Lilith and her army.
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is written rather well, albeit a tad confusing, but that is to be expected when time travelling is involved. It seems that most of the secrets strewn throughout the series are answered somewhat well with the dry humor and sardonic with that the series is popular for. The war itself is rather exciting and messy and the solution to end the war was rather ingenious, albeit a tad prosaic. Nightside was saved, but the landscape of Nightside is irrevocably changed.
All in all, Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is a wonderfully written book and a very good continuation of the series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
April 25, 2021
I think this is where I get off the train. Six books in with another six to go.
The crumby part is, the Nightside is still one of the coolest and most interesting worlds that I have seen in any media. But, it feels like these books were all written by a teenager with a very poor grasp on story cohesion, narrative beats, and dialogue. It's not really that interesting to read about a group of extremely overpowered characters who can use their abilities and reputations to get out of any problems that the writer wants them to, while other times being useless or taking up huge chunks of the story with pointless dead ends.
There is a whole chapter in the middle that seemed, at first, to be showing each side character fighting and struggling to protect their home in the Nightside War, only by taking out the "struggling" part. Basically, just a bunch of different versions of "But he was so strong that he killed all the bad guys-the end". Like a kid with action figures.
Still, I could have rolled with it. The only thing that really, truly grated on me was the repetitiveness. There are entire exchanges of dialogue repeated from the previous books, as well as exact character descriptions that I have read over and over again in each book, like they were copy/pasted. (ex-Merlin "they say he has his father's eyes" or Suzie "also known as-oh god! It's her! run!") It's as if the author thought these were such clever lines they needed to be used again and again. And at least twice per book we have the same scene of a gang of people about to attack only to be scared off by the hero's reputation. It's entertaining once or twice, not twelve times.
I can't help but wonder how amazing this world would have been if it had been written by a better writer. (So, basically-Neverwhere, Hellblazer, Preacher, Supernatural, Dresden Files, Iron Druid...).
The crumby part is, the Nightside is still one of the coolest and most interesting worlds that I have seen in any media. But, it feels like these books were all written by a teenager with a very poor grasp on story cohesion, narrative beats, and dialogue. It's not really that interesting to read about a group of extremely overpowered characters who can use their abilities and reputations to get out of any problems that the writer wants them to, while other times being useless or taking up huge chunks of the story with pointless dead ends.
There is a whole chapter in the middle that seemed, at first, to be showing each side character fighting and struggling to protect their home in the Nightside War, only by taking out the "struggling" part. Basically, just a bunch of different versions of "But he was so strong that he killed all the bad guys-the end". Like a kid with action figures.
Still, I could have rolled with it. The only thing that really, truly grated on me was the repetitiveness. There are entire exchanges of dialogue repeated from the previous books, as well as exact character descriptions that I have read over and over again in each book, like they were copy/pasted. (ex-Merlin "they say he has his father's eyes" or Suzie "also known as-oh god! It's her! run!") It's as if the author thought these were such clever lines they needed to be used again and again. And at least twice per book we have the same scene of a gang of people about to attack only to be scared off by the hero's reputation. It's entertaining once or twice, not twelve times.
I can't help but wonder how amazing this world would have been if it had been written by a better writer. (So, basically-Neverwhere, Hellblazer, Preacher, Supernatural, Dresden Files, Iron Druid...).
February 27, 2025
"War never changes." is a phrase that does not appear in this book, unlike "my third eye, my private eye" and "my enemies".
This is the big one, where John Taylor goes up against Lilith and the fate of the Nightside hangs in balance. Unfortunately, it fell short for me:
- Either Lilith was supposed to appear as a chessmaster, having several plans in motion at once, or her plan suddenly switched and was retconned in the same book.
- John's gift of finding anything is getting more abstract. Using it to find objects is old news. Using it to find weaknesses or a way out of a bad situation is cool. But using it to find a hypothetical possibility/action? That makes me wonder, why he has not used it before to solve several of his major problems. Ah yes, he does not dare use it because "his enemies" and then Lilith. Right.
- John essentially has a second gift, except it's never named as such - his short-range object teleportation ability. In previous books, it was highly specific - removing bullets from guns. Now it has become "remove matter from inside different matter", which should be a pretty major ability. Definitely very handy in a fight.
- There seems to be a lot of "the ends justify the means" reasoning. People die left and right and John angsts about it for just a few minutes. Even John's enemies realizing that they messed up their own goal and thereby put the world in danger was just "oh well. whatever. whoopsie." Maybe that's a staple of noir/hard-boiled fiction, but that might be why I'm avoiding that genre. Life is hard enough.
With the Nightside being saved, I wonder what happens next - next to Lilith, other threats should be relatively trivial. Or the opposite - suddenly, a new and even bigger threat appears. Either way, the next story has to handle it well.
This is the big one, where John Taylor goes up against Lilith and the fate of the Nightside hangs in balance. Unfortunately, it fell short for me:
- Either Lilith was supposed to appear as a chessmaster, having several plans in motion at once, or her plan suddenly switched and was retconned in the same book.
- John's gift of finding anything is getting more abstract. Using it to find objects is old news. Using it to find weaknesses or a way out of a bad situation is cool. But using it to find a hypothetical possibility/action? That makes me wonder, why he has not used it before to solve several of his major problems. Ah yes, he does not dare use it because "his enemies" and then Lilith. Right.
- John essentially has a second gift, except it's never named as such - his short-range object teleportation ability. In previous books, it was highly specific - removing bullets from guns. Now it has become "remove matter from inside different matter", which should be a pretty major ability. Definitely very handy in a fight.
- There seems to be a lot of "the ends justify the means" reasoning. People die left and right and John angsts about it for just a few minutes. Even John's enemies realizing that they messed up their own goal and thereby put the world in danger was just "oh well. whatever. whoopsie." Maybe that's a staple of noir/hard-boiled fiction, but that might be why I'm avoiding that genre. Life is hard enough.
With the Nightside being saved, I wonder what happens next - next to Lilith, other threats should be relatively trivial. Or the opposite - suddenly, a new and even bigger threat appears. Either way, the next story has to handle it well.
March 20, 2018
I'm waffling between 2-3 stars on here. On the one hand, we get a resolution , but somehow I just sauntered through the book and didn't care. With the way everything was going, I fully expected this to be the final book, though I know it's not as I have the 7th one sitting on my to read pile afterward. There's always been a bleakness of the Nightside and this one really amps up the helplessness, which is refreshing regarding the main character's overpowered nature, but somehow I lost empathy by the end of it. I saw the ending coming a mile away (not hard to do) and while it was a good end, it felt cheap?
On the other hand I rather enjoyed some of the character development regarding some of the adversaries throughout the series. Walker especially was great to look past the antagonist ideas and into the human side a little deeper, so I appreciated that.
I rather enjoy this series but the repetitive turn of phrases that happen in every book are getting so tired that I want to shake whoever edited this. Cut it. Do your catchphrase once at the beginning and drop it. It's very hard to recommend this series when two books in new readers tell me they can't stand the "my third eye, my PRIVATE EYE" constantly. I used to defend it - now I can't because it is so overused that it pulls you right out of it and into eyerolling territory. Works for Taylor being full of himself at times, but it's tired.
I'm interested to see where this goes after this book, since it feels very much like an "end" in my eyes, but there's more books after it so we'll see where fate takes the characters next.
On the other hand I rather enjoyed some of the character development regarding some of the adversaries throughout the series. Walker especially was great to look past the antagonist ideas and into the human side a little deeper, so I appreciated that.
I rather enjoy this series but the repetitive turn of phrases that happen in every book are getting so tired that I want to shake whoever edited this. Cut it. Do your catchphrase once at the beginning and drop it. It's very hard to recommend this series when two books in new readers tell me they can't stand the "my third eye, my PRIVATE EYE" constantly. I used to defend it - now I can't because it is so overused that it pulls you right out of it and into eyerolling territory. Works for Taylor being full of himself at times, but it's tired.
I'm interested to see where this goes after this book, since it feels very much like an "end" in my eyes, but there's more books after it so we'll see where fate takes the characters next.
July 4, 2019
I listened to this one, as I do with all of the Nightside books. As usual, the narration by Marc Vietor was really good. He's truly the voice of John Taylor for me. The length of these books is also great for me, as I struggle to focus on longer audiobooks.
Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book. Lilith was definitely suitably threatening, but I think I felt like the book was too scattered. John has to do a lot to combat Lilith, which is understandable, but I kind of felt like the book lacked in the kind of unified storyline that I've enjoyed in the other books, and the solution to the big problems that have been built up over the past five books ends up being kind of anticlimactic.
I did like how the book used so many of the characters that we've met in prior books. A lot of prior events come full-circle here, and a lot of familiar characters make appearances, as well as some new ones. That was really satisfying, since at this point, we're a good distance into the series. I hope that Green continues to make use of his characters, as so many of them are really wonderful. (Some I even like better than John Taylor, but shh, don't tell him that.)
Anyway, I am interested to see where the story can go now, as the main story that started in the first book feels like it's been wrapped up.
Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book. Lilith was definitely suitably threatening, but I think I felt like the book was too scattered. John has to do a lot to combat Lilith, which is understandable, but I kind of felt like the book lacked in the kind of unified storyline that I've enjoyed in the other books, and the solution to the big problems that have been built up over the past five books ends up being kind of anticlimactic.
I did like how the book used so many of the characters that we've met in prior books. A lot of prior events come full-circle here, and a lot of familiar characters make appearances, as well as some new ones. That was really satisfying, since at this point, we're a good distance into the series. I hope that Green continues to make use of his characters, as so many of them are really wonderful. (Some I even like better than John Taylor, but shh, don't tell him that.)
Anyway, I am interested to see where the story can go now, as the main story that started in the first book feels like it's been wrapped up.
June 28, 2019
4 Stars
I have had The Nightside Series on my TBR for YEARS! I finally got around to dusting them off and taking a walk on The Nightside. They are a somewhat gritty and darkish urban fantasy with paranormal and sci-fi elements- there is suspense, drama, and plenty of things that go bump in the night.
The series follow John Taylor, a Private Detective who has a reputation for ‘finding things that don’t want to be found”. So, what is The Nightside? It is a place (parallel/alternate reality) in London- but hidden to ‘normal’ Londoners; it is where you can find every imaginable paranormal/supernatural creature can be found, and much more. It’s "that square mile of Hell in the middle of the city where it's always three a.m. Where you can walk beside myths and drink with monsters. Where nothing is what it seems and everything is possible."
I have enjoyed my trip to The Nightside- I found it to have a bit of a noir, steampunk, supernatural feel to it- which I enjoyed. The books are all very quick and easy reads- they didn’t ‘blow me away’, but they definitely entertained!
Thank you, Mr. Green!
I have had The Nightside Series on my TBR for YEARS! I finally got around to dusting them off and taking a walk on The Nightside. They are a somewhat gritty and darkish urban fantasy with paranormal and sci-fi elements- there is suspense, drama, and plenty of things that go bump in the night.
The series follow John Taylor, a Private Detective who has a reputation for ‘finding things that don’t want to be found”. So, what is The Nightside? It is a place (parallel/alternate reality) in London- but hidden to ‘normal’ Londoners; it is where you can find every imaginable paranormal/supernatural creature can be found, and much more. It’s "that square mile of Hell in the middle of the city where it's always three a.m. Where you can walk beside myths and drink with monsters. Where nothing is what it seems and everything is possible."
I have enjoyed my trip to The Nightside- I found it to have a bit of a noir, steampunk, supernatural feel to it- which I enjoyed. The books are all very quick and easy reads- they didn’t ‘blow me away’, but they definitely entertained!
Thank you, Mr. Green!
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