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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
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've 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 ...
The culmination to the Lilith storyline that's been hinted at since Something From The Nightside and which picked up speed with Nightingale’s Lament, this is a satisfying read in that Green ties together a number of loose ends whilst also setting the scene for the continuation of the series.
As with all of the Nightside books so far, there are some wonderful ideas and imagery in this book - Lilith's rampage against her 'children' for example is brutal in its simplicity, as is the confrontation between Merlin and Lilith whilst the scenes where Taylor's allies fall in the quest to aid him are very chilling. And yet as has been the case through the books, I can't help but wish that Green had more pages to play around with. I would love to have seen him expand out Lilith's character and motivation for example because as it is, she is a rather two-dimensional villain - the ultimate meglomaniac but without any fleshed out quality that would make her truly interesting. I'm not a fan of the relationship between Taylor and Suzie Shotgun, again because it isn't developed particularly well on the page, but it's good to see a character as truly pragmatic as Suzie in an urban fantasy and whilst I think it would have been more interesting for her to not make it to the end of the book, I was nevertheless pleased to see her return.
Despite Green's best efforts, the reader is never left in any doubt that Taylor will triumph in the end, but where Green does succeed is in setting out the cost of the victory. The Nightside at the end of the book is one that is in dire need of rebuilding - many of the old powers and the Authorities are gone and buildings have been turned into rubble. It will be interesting to see what Green chooses to do with the future books as regards the rebuilding and the shifts in the dynamics that it will necessitate.
The Verdict:
This is okay - it gives a definite resolution to one arc and sets the seeds for another. I'm definitely intrigued to see what will happen next in the Nightside and whilst I think the Taylor/Suzie romance is too perfunctory to be believable, perhaps it can be developed to give Taylor more of an emotional core.
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've 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 ...
The culmination to the Lilith storyline that's been hinted at since Something From The Nightside and which picked up speed with Nightingale’s Lament, this is a satisfying read in that Green ties together a number of loose ends whilst also setting the scene for the continuation of the series.
As with all of the Nightside books so far, there are some wonderful ideas and imagery in this book - Lilith's rampage against her 'children' for example is brutal in its simplicity, as is the confrontation between Merlin and Lilith whilst the scenes where Taylor's allies fall in the quest to aid him are very chilling. And yet as has been the case through the books, I can't help but wish that Green had more pages to play around with. I would love to have seen him expand out Lilith's character and motivation for example because as it is, she is a rather two-dimensional villain - the ultimate meglomaniac but without any fleshed out quality that would make her truly interesting. I'm not a fan of the relationship between Taylor and Suzie Shotgun, again because it isn't developed particularly well on the page, but it's good to see a character as truly pragmatic as Suzie in an urban fantasy and whilst I think it would have been more interesting for her to not make it to the end of the book, I was nevertheless pleased to see her return.
Despite Green's best efforts, the reader is never left in any doubt that Taylor will triumph in the end, but where Green does succeed is in setting out the cost of the victory. The Nightside at the end of the book is one that is in dire need of rebuilding - many of the old powers and the Authorities are gone and buildings have been turned into rubble. It will be interesting to see what Green chooses to do with the future books as regards the rebuilding and the shifts in the dynamics that it will necessitate.
The Verdict:
This is okay - it gives a definite resolution to one arc and sets the seeds for another. I'm definitely intrigued to see what will happen next in the Nightside and whilst I think the Taylor/Suzie romance is too perfunctory to be believable, perhaps it can be developed to give Taylor more of an emotional core.
