Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green
Agents of Light and Darkness, the second book in Simon R. Green‘s Nightside, once again follows the almost always abstruse John Taylor, the private detective who is really good at finding things. In Something From the Nightside we learned that John is a former Nightside badass who developed a conscious during his time away from the Nightside and returned to help someone in need. Agents of Light and Darkness follows a similar premise, except on a larger scale. This time it’s the Nightside itself that’s really in danger. Heaven and Hell are at war and John is stuck in between. He must locate the Unholy Grail before time runs out and the Nightside becomes collateral damage.
I liked Agents of Light and Darkness more than the first book. I always try to read at least two books of a series before truly deciding if I like it or not. In Agents of Light and Darkness, Simon R. Green takes the hyperbole that annoyed me so much from the first book and tones it down a level or two. He spends less time talking about how wild, crazy, and scary his world is and more time developing the characters that so desperately needed expanding.
This is a short book (as are most of the Nightside books) and a very enjoyable read. The pacing is much like the first — fast and fun. There are a ton of cool and colorful characters such as Suzie Shooter, Razor Eddie, The Collector, and many more. I look forward to seeing how these characters develop through the series. If you enjoy a fast-paced urban fantasy, try the Nightside series.
~Justin Blazier
I agree with Justin. This book is more epic than the first and I loved the imaginative characters. I’m listening to the audio version which is really good.
~Kat Hooper
Cool. I read the first and thought this would be an intriguing series but then never picked it up and continued. Now, I’ll have to do that. Geez, thanks a lot. :)
I have not heard of this series. This book sounds good so I am going to have to go a-digging to find more about this series and the first book. I hate to say it because of the old saying but… that cover is amazing!
Thanks for reviewing this book.
I just finished the third one, and the series keeps getting better. It’s really grown on me a lot. My review of the third should be up fairly soon. I would recommend reading 1,2, and 3 together. The fourth starts a longer running story arc that runs the next three books or so. If it’s not your thing by the end of #3 then there is no sense in starting a multi book story arc.
The audio books are really great. Mark Widor does such a good job of capturing the hard boiled noir feeling. My only complaint is that having it read to you does seem to highlight some of the repetitiveness of the descriptions Green likes to use.