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A review by bella818
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green
4.0
Angels with Brass Knuckles (3.5 out 5)
As the second book in Simon R. Green’s Nightside series, Agents of Light and Darkness is much better than its debut novel. Green gives us a no bars attached version of the Nightside, where the villains are not as silly as the evil house-monster in the first book. John Taylor, once again, finds himself on a well-paid mission, but this time, he’s hired by an emissary from the Vatican to find the Unholy Grail, Judas Iscariot’s cup from the Last Supper. Unfortunately, for Taylor, it appears that everyone in the Nightside is looking for it, including both good and evil angels, causing all kinds of death and destruction as they turn the dark city upside down searching for the cup. Fortunately for Taylor, he has Shotgun Suzie, a really disgusting weapon, and later THE Merlin of Arthurian lore, on his side.
Without giving too much away, the novel’s ending is predictable, but Agents of Light and Darkness is a definite improvement from Something from the Nightside. There is less rambling, and Green’s handling of Shotgun Suzie makes the gun-happy woman endearing. It leaves the reader wanting more of her! The novel also has an underlying mystery – just who is Taylor’s mother? – that hopefully the series will resolve within the next upcoming books in the series. Otherwise, even that mystery runs the risk of a “series rambling” about mommy issues.
As the second book in Simon R. Green’s Nightside series, Agents of Light and Darkness is much better than its debut novel. Green gives us a no bars attached version of the Nightside, where the villains are not as silly as the evil house-monster in the first book. John Taylor, once again, finds himself on a well-paid mission, but this time, he’s hired by an emissary from the Vatican to find the Unholy Grail, Judas Iscariot’s cup from the Last Supper. Unfortunately, for Taylor, it appears that everyone in the Nightside is looking for it, including both good and evil angels, causing all kinds of death and destruction as they turn the dark city upside down searching for the cup. Fortunately for Taylor, he has Shotgun Suzie, a really disgusting weapon, and later THE Merlin of Arthurian lore, on his side.
Without giving too much away, the novel’s ending is predictable, but Agents of Light and Darkness is a definite improvement from Something from the Nightside. There is less rambling, and Green’s handling of Shotgun Suzie makes the gun-happy woman endearing. It leaves the reader wanting more of her! The novel also has an underlying mystery – just who is Taylor’s mother? – that hopefully the series will resolve within the next upcoming books in the series. Otherwise, even that mystery runs the risk of a “series rambling” about mommy issues.