Book Review: Something from the Nightside

Reviewed By: Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM

Something from the Nightside     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Simon R. Green
Class/Genre:   Fantasy
Series: Nightside # 1
2003, Ace Books, 230 pages/ $6.50 / PBO

John Taylor is a pretty typical PI. He has an office in a seedy part of town, he owes money to a bunch of people, he smokes and drinks. And he doesn’t like to visit home.

But for John Taylor home is a place a bit different than it is for most people. Taylor is from a place called the Nightside. The Nightside is kind of a dimension away from ours and coexists with in London. The people there are a bit different. And John, against his better judgment is going home. He is drawn into this by a missing person case. The person missing is fifteen and John could be her mother’s last hope. Luckily John has powers in the Nightside.

This is an interesting premise for a book, but it seemed to try to hard in places. After the fourth or fifth time of being told “things are different in the Nightside” I think I got it. That didn’t stop the phrase from being used over and over again though. And as is typical of fantasy novels, some of the characters were a bit over the top.

Despite a few problems I had with the book, it was a fun read, Lots of action and some pretty wild characters. I get the feeling Simon Green is setting up a series, and I’ll be willing to read more of them.

Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM