Tag Green

2012: #16 – Agents of Light and Darkness (Simon R. Green)

Title: Agents of Light and Darkness
Author: Simon R. Green
Series: Nightside #02
Format: Kindle
Pages: 240 (2012 total – 3,859)
Word Count: 54,758 (2012 total – 1,038,983)
Release Date: October 28, 2003
Publisher: Ace
Categories: mystery, private investigator, paranormal, young adult
Source: personal copy
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Back of the book:

I’m John Taylor. I work in the Nightside – the gaudy, meon noir, secret heart of London, where it’s always three in the morning, where gods and monsters make deals and seek pleasures they won’t find anywhere else.

I have a gift for finding things. And sometimes what I’m hired to locate can be very, very dangerous indeed.

Right now, for example, I’m searching for The Unholy Grail, the cup that Judas drank from at the Last Supper.

It corrupts all who touch it – but it also gives enormous power. So I’m not the only one hunting. Angels, devils, sinners, and saints – they’re all out there, tearing apart The Nightside, seeking the dark goblet.

And it’s only a matter of time until they realize that the famous John Taylor, the man with the gift for finding things, can’t lead them straight to it . . .

My thoughts:

I thought this second book in the series was much stronger than the first. The first had altogether too much world-building, but this time we get right to the meat of the story. The Unholy Grail (a cup that Judas drank from that grants its holder great power) is supposedly on the loose in the Nightside, and everyone knows about it. Including the Angels, both from above and below. Taylor is brought in to find it — hopefully before the Angels tear the Nightside to pieces.

Since this is a YA book, it’s a relatively quick read. I felt more connected to Taylor and his unusual associates this time around, and will likely continue with the series.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

  • Recommendation: It’s an interesting place to visit, that’s for sure.”My Years of Reading Seriously
  • Agents of Light and Darkness is a quick, easy read. Don’t read it under the covers at night with a flashlight, though, especially with a vivid imagination.”Jandy’s Reading Room
  • “Verdict:  Check it out from the library.  I’ll say if you like Supernatural Paranormal Urban Fantasy pick it up.  You’ll like it.”Ravenous Biblioworm’s Book Reviews

Past reviews:

2011: The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
2010: Ivory Tower Cop (George Kirkham & Leonard Territo)
2009: Full Speed (Janet Evanovich)
2008: Dead Until Dark (Charlaine Harris)
2007: Flowers in the Attic (V.C. Andrews)
2006: Blue Moon (Laurell K. Hamilton)
2005: The Austere Academy (Lemony Snicket)

2010: #49 – The Beach House (Jane Green)

beachhouse Book #49 was The Beach House by Jane Green.  The back of the book reads:

Nan Powell is a free-spirited, sixty-five-year-old widow who’s not above skinny-dipping in her neighbors’ pools when they’re away and who dearly loves her Nantucket home. But when she discovers that the money she thought would last forever is dwindling, she realizes she must make drastic changes to save her beloved house. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach.

Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise, laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family and friends expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside down. As she did so masterfully in her New York Times bestseller Second Chance, Jane Green once again proves herself one of the preeminent writers of contemporary women’s fiction.

When we first meet Nan Powell, she is wandering naked around her neighbor’s back yard and sampling their kitchen garden after a quick skinny dip in their pool.  They’re not home, of course.  So, needless to say, Nan is a little eccentric, and she is also well-practiced in the art of denial. She’s been ignoring the fact that she’s running out of money for as long as she can, and now she has to do something about it.  So she decides to rent out rooms in her much-desired house on Nantucket. What follows is a story of people who are looking for some healing in their lives, and finding it in a peaceful summer on a peaceful island. Unfortunately, I felt that the story fell a little short on emotional punch.  There are some conflicts that could have led to some really interesting places, but the author chose not to take the story in that direction. The "unexpected visitor" story arc fell completely flat. It felt a little like things had to be wrapped up quickly, so there wasn’t time to make anything messy.  I still liked the story and enjoyed listening to it, but I think it could have been taken further. 

Other reviews:

S. Krishna’s Books: The Beach HouseJane Green
Book Review: The Beach House by Jane Green
Michele – only one ‘L’: Review: The Beach House by Jane Green
Booking Mama: Review: The Beach House
The Beach House Review << Belle of the Books

Audiobook length: 11 hrs 14 min | Approximate word count: 93,775

2009: Dead Girls Are Easy (Terri Garey)
2008: The Whole Truth (David Baldacci)
2007: Holiday in Death (J.D. Robb)
2006: All That Remains (Patricia Cornwell)
2005: Iâ€™ll Be Seeing You (Mary Higgins Clark)

Used in these Challenges: Countdown Challenge 2010; 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Chick Lit Challenge; Audiobook Challenge; New Author Challenge 2010;

2007: #73 – Something From the Nightside (Simon R. Green)

Book #73 was Something from the Nightside, the first book in Simon R. Green’s Nightside series. The back of the book reads:

John Taylor is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That’s why he’s been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.

For John Taylor, there’s no place like home…

I wasn’t particular impressed with this. The first 4/5 of the book was a pattern of something/someone attacking them followed by long-winded explanations from Taylor or question/answer sessions with the client. It picked up just enough at the end that I’ll give the second book a shot, hoping that it will be better now that all of the “this is what the Nightside is” information is out of the way. I wanted to like this, Jim Butcher gives a nice blurb on the front, but it just didn’t have enough depth for me.

Page count: 240 | Approximate word count: 51,734

2006 – The Penultimate Peril (Lemony Snicket)
2005 – Cause of Death (Patricia Cornwell)

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