Review: Something from the Nightside (Simon R. Green)

Title: Something from the Nightside
Series: Nightside, Book 1
Author: Simon R. Green
Publisher: Ace Books
US Release Date: May 27, 2003
Genre: Adult Hardboiled Urban Fantasy Horror
Content Rating: Adult (horror elements, strong violence, gore)
Format Read: Mass Market Paperback
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary:

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.

*          *          *

Series: This is the first in the 12-book Nightside series. All books, along with a short story compilation, are currently available for purchase.

Something from the Nightside is a darkly imaginative but heavily commentative adventure that covers a lot of genres - from urban/contemporary fantasy with both supernatural and paranormal elements, to hardboiled and noir mystery, as well as monster and survival horror. It has a little something for anyone who enjoys a quick story set in the sinister shadows, where few actually tread but many a mind loves to wander. I'm not sure how I discovered the Nightside over a decade ago, but it has been a favorite since and I've read almost all of the 12 novels in the finished series. They aren't perfect - far from it - but Green's world of unique characters and sinful delights is a guilty pleasure.

John Taylor is a classic hardboiled detective, albeit one with psychic powers and a mysterious past (even to him). He has loose morals but strong convictions, always finds himself walking into interesting situations, and has delightfully dangerous acquaintances. Having grown up in the Nightside, he knows its many hazards and secrets all too well, allowing him to unfortunately think and speak about it and its colorful regulars at length. Prone, both mentally and physically, to long-winded monologues about the places and people he encounters, John spends most of the book ruminating on the Nightside, and can take several pages at a time to describe his many, many thoughts and opinions about a single person or place out loud to his tag-along client. It's so unrealistic as to be comical, but commentary aside I found this second read to be better written than I'd originally remembered, and my opinion of the book has grown a little.

The mystery element of the story, however, did not grow better with age. It takes a backseat to the Nightside tour and was little more than a glorified treasure hunt, each stop only leading to the next stop of the mystery as a passing thought with no clues as to what they'll find at the end. The tour makes the book, but the clueless mystery was disappointing, especially when it ended with an unexpected horror climax.

But you don't read this book for the mystery - you read it for the Nightside. Green lets his imagination run wild and presents a dark world of deliciously disquieting offerings and residents. The darkness isn't overly disturbing, though - the brief descriptions only hint at the horrors inhabited within, most things mentioned offhand or in passing as tantalizing tidbits for the reader's imagination instead of painting the entire debauched and grotesque picture. Yes the violence and horror can get slightly unsettling at times, but for the most part Green's depiction of the debased world is a tame one with vague explanations and little language that is greatly appreciated by those of us with somewhat delicate sensibilities.

Conclusion: If you enjoy urban fantasies, detective stories, and/or soft horror set in dark and wild locations with dangerous characters, then I highly recommend you give the Something from the Nightside a try. I look forward to re-reading more in the series soon!

Scribble Rating: 

3.5 of 5 Scribbles

Other Reviews That Might Interest: 

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Love, Lies and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings by Lydia Sherrer
Made to Kill by Adam Christopher 

Review: Seriously Wicked (Tina Connolly)

Title: Seriously Wicked
Series: Seriously Wicked, Book 1
Author: Tina Connolly
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy
Told: First Person (Cam), Past Tense
Content Rating: Teen (kissing, minor innuendo, darker magic rituals, some animal harm)
Format Read: ARC
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary:

The only thing worse than being a witch is living with one.

Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.

Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose—and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.

Now Cam’s suddenly got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.

To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch...will that mean she’s wicked too?

*          *          *

At just over 200 pages, Seriously Wicked is a quick and seriously fun story about a teen girl raised by a witch to be a witch but who refuses to become one. Forced to help the witch summon a demon so she can rule the town, hilarity ensues involving mannequins, dragons, algebra, unusual ingredients, and a cute boy (naturally).

Despite the more serious elements of wicked witches, darker magic, and soul-devouring demons, the story was upbeat and playful with an energetic pace and thrilling climax. Cam was a girl of conviction and I adored her strength of moral character and the way she cared about everyone, even if they didn't always deserve it, while best friend Jenah added a lighter aura to the colorful story. Devon was a total sweetie (when not possessed by a leering demon), and although his and Cam's romance was only the start of one (see: demon possession) it made satisfying progress in this book and I hope he'll stick around for the rest of the series. I've already ordered the second book, Seriously Shifted, from my local indie and can't wait to continue Cam's magical adventures!

Conclusion: Am I glad I read this? Heck yes! I wish I'd read it in 2015 when it first landed on my shelves. Do I recommend it? Most definitely. If you like your reads quick, fun, and full of magic, I cannot recommend Seriously Wicked highly enough.

For Fans Of: Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Series: This is the first book in the Seriously Wicked trilogy.

Scribble Rating: 

4.5 of 5 Scribbles

Review: Raging Sea (Michael Buckley)

Title: Raging Sea
Series: The Undertow Trilogy, Book 2
Author: Michael Buckley (site)
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Genre: Young Adult Speculative Urban Fantasy
Told: First Person (Lyric), Present Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (violence, murder, mental and physical torture, child soldiers, shoplifting and grand theft auto, driving without a license, some sensuality and language)
Format Read: ARC (publisher)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Lyric Walker was there when the Alpha arrived. Like many, she wondered if they were invaders, never suspecting that they were on the run from a greater terror. When the real threat arrived, it came with a tidal wave that destroyed Coney Island. Everything and everyone Lyric ever cared for, including the Alpha prince Fathom, was either killed or lost forever.

It changed the world. Now the military fights a war it cannot win against an enemy that will not die. Walls and roadblocks pit state against state. Refugees are public enemies, and a new nightmare approaches that is even more terrifying and deadly.

In the midst of this chaos, Lyric, along with her best friend, Bex, and the prickly Alpha girl Arcade, search for Tempest, a rumored top-secret camp where her parents might be imprisoned. But once they find it, she is captured as well, and offered a deadly deal she cannot refuse. The world’s last, best hope is a group of thirty-three children who possess the same powers as she. It falls on her to train them before the second wave of a cataclysmic invasion eliminates mankind for good.

Lyric will protect the ones she loves but may have to sacrifice her heart—and her life—to do it.

*          *          *

Review copy provided by publisher for an honest review. Thank you, HMH!

In a Sentence: A seriously disappointing sequel due to an unbalanced story and lack of character ingenuity.

It's rather heartbreaking when a sequel doesn't live up to the first book. Undertow was an intense and engrossing read for me (see my review here), and after its explosive climax I couldn't wait to get my hands on Raging Sea for more of the same. But to my great disappointment, the intensity and power of the first book did not carry into the second.

Right from the start both the story and characters let me down. Opening several weeks after the end of Undertow, Lyric and teen associates are on the run. This seemed an intense place to begin, but instead turned out to be a tedious road-trip from hell that was not only a torture for everyone involved (especially me) but also rather unbelievable as they did little more than drive and steal and were bad at both. Yes I could understand they were teenagers and didn't have much life experience to work with, but they had shown the capacity for ingenuity in the first book so I couldn't understand how they somehow lacked it in this one. Despite consistent roadblocks that should've been engaging I struggled to maintain interest for the first third of the book, and by the time it took a completely predictable but possibly more intense turn my expectations weren't very high.

The only high point in the beginning was Lyric's "wild thing." I'd been excited when she discovered it in the end of Undertow, and at the open of Raging Sea I felt she was on the path to really embracing it. But then only a few chapters in the wild thing up and deserted her, and it took her brain and backbone with it. She soon had little confidence in herself and her new abilities, and in turn I expected little of her.

And then came Chapter 13. Like a switch was flipped Lyric got her s#!t together (pardon my symbolism) and turned into a completely different character, and while I really didn't buy it I didn't look the gift horse in the mouth. Her ingenuity returned and she was confident, competent, and cunning...for all of a chapter. Then she began acting completely on whim, impulsively throwing herself into things without considering the consequences (namely getting her family tortured or killed) only to give up at the first difficulty when her "plans" hit a snag. Within a chapter or two she was back to being incompetent and indecisive, and although the story had become a bit more engaging I was just as frustrated as Lyric by the outcome her poor decisions had wrought.

Another serious disappointment was Lyric's relationship with Fathom. The boy had an even smaller part in this book than the first, and since his scenes in Undertow were its highlights I painfully felt their absence in Raging Sea. Even when he was present though he was little more than an object for Lyric to direct her emotions at, and most of the time sadly could've been played by a waterproof cardboard cutout since she rarely let him speak let alone do anything of much note. I was aggrieved by how Lyric treated him, refusing to understand his position or listen to him even though he clearly knew more about what was going on than she did. Instead she continued to do things her own incompetent way and dumped all her frustrations on him, which only made me dislike Lyric and in turn her story even more.

The climax was really the book's only highlight, just as intense and engrossing as the first book's climax with good action and movement. As it hit its peak and Lyric finally re-rediscovered her wild thing I actually found myself tempted to read the final book, imagining the trilogy might be worth finishing after all. And then came the last page. I expected the cliffhanger but not the content, and the content elicited a groan and head shake that meant there probably won't be a third book for me. I have since read the summary for the final book (Heart of the Storm) and it does intrigue me a little, but after how everything went down in this book my interest is currently extremely low to continue Lyric's story any further.

Conclusion: While I really enjoyed the first book, this sequel was a disheartening read due to the main character's incompetence and the story's flip-flopping. While the second half was better than the first and the climax a thrilling ride, thanks to the last page I doubt I'll be finishing the trilogy.

Scribble Rating: 

2.5 of 5 Scribbles

Review: Undertow (Michael Buckley)

Title: Undertow
Series: Undertow, Book 1
Author: Michael Buckley (site)
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Speculative Urban Fantasy
Told: First Person (Lyric), Present Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (intense situations, violence, sensuality, death, child abuse, a few words of language)
Format Read: ARC (trade)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s only hope of survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

Action, suspense, and romance whirlpool dangerously in this cinematic saga, a blend of District 9 and The Outsiders.

*          *          *

In a Sentence: An intense speculative urban fantasy about racism and the importance of family and identity.

I was initially attracted to this book because I thought it was about aliens, so imagine my surprise when the aliens instead turned out to be a nation of underwater beings who emerge from the ocean. While I was a little disappointed (I'm on an alien kick right now), I was impressed with the imagination behind the unique and unusual race, and once I started reading all disappointment about aliens was forgotten.

This was a seriously intense story that like its namesake sucked me in and would not let go. Written in an edgier style that brought the grittier setting to stark life, the all too realistic story was a pressure-cooker of tense situations and frayed nerves as two square miles of walled and guarded Coney Island became ground zero for an implosive case of racism. But despite revolving around heavier subjects of fear, child abuse, death, government control, racial segregation, violence and war, among others, the story was remarkably not as oppressive as it could've easily been and the book was a rush of a read with a surprising twist of "magical" powers near the end. After so much heavy realism the powers were a bit fantastical, but the explosive climax had good movement and description and was thoroughly entertaining - I could definitely see this book being made into an epic movie.

Lyric was a wild thing suffocated by her situation. Due to her father's overbearing nature to protect his family, and Lyric's own fearful self-preservation, she had to rein in who she really was to slide under the radar. But what she was at heart could not be contained, and when it mattered she was fierce about fighting for her friends and family and what she felt was right. Fathom, driven by family and tradition, made for an intriguing character and even more intriguing love interest. He and Lyric had really great chemistry so their scenes together were the highlights of the book for me, although sadly there were few and Fathom got disappointingly little screen time. Bex was a good if wild friend for Lyric that, while her life mainly fed the heavier subject matter, also added some essential "everyday" diversion from the broader conflict. The Alpha were a diverse species of unique and imaginative beings with intriguing features and powers, and although I'm not usually one for creature-like people they were too interesting not to be fascinating and I enjoyed getting to know them (even the creepy ones).

Conclusion: While not quite what I was expecting, this book proved an extremely intense and engrossing read I did not want to put down. Highly recommend for spec fic, dystopian, post-apoc and sci-fi readers. The first in a trilogy, I look forward to reading Book 2: Raging Sea (releasing February 2, 2016), soon!

For Fans Of: Speculative Fiction, The Twixt series by Dawn Metcalf

Scribble Rating: 

4.5 of 5 Scribbles