24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please don't be the end of the Nightside series....., March 5, 2006
This review is from: Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (Nightside, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)
I hope this is not the end of the Nightside series! John Taylor is a private investigator with a gift for finding things. He is also the son of Lilith, the creator of the Nightside, and Lilith has decided to destroy the current version of the Nightside and remake it the way she chooses. If you haven't read the previous Nightside books, do not start with this one as it is not a stand alone book and begins right where the previous one ended. This book is the culmination of an ongoing plotline in which John first discovered Lilith was his mother and then found out that his battle with his mother would result in the total destruction of the Nightside- to the point that future versions of his closest friends have already tried to kill him. In this book, John is desperately searching for some way to defeat Lilith that does not cause the future horror of the Nightside to occur. There are a lot of time shifts in the book, which Simon Green handles extremely well. One of the most intriguing things of this particular book was the evolution of Walker. I won't spoil the details by revealing more than that. Suffice to say, we learn a lot about the Authorities and this greatly affects Walker. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and sincerely hope to see another Nightside book on the horizon!
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29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is This The End?, March 4, 2006
This review is from: Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (Nightside, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)
At the start of this series detective John Taylor learned of a devastated future that he was responsible for bringing about. Since then he has searched for the identity of his mother and the origin of the Nightside. Now that he has his answers things get really bad.
John returns from the past and discovers that everyone wants him dead and that his mother is finally making her move on the Nightside. The action escalates very quickly and things look very grim. In some ways the book reminded me of BLUE MOON RISING in the way despair builds. But this book is true to the previous books (I only found one flaw but it was minor) and many of our favorite characters get a chance to shine again.
By the end of the book we have to wonder if this is the last book. Certainly a major plot line has been taken care of but there are plenty of unanswered questions at the end. I did think of one final resolution that would have been better and would have still kept in line with previous books but that is not the way things turned out. Although one of the unanswered questions could still bring it about. If you have enjoyed the previous books then you will love this one.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mother Dearest Returns, October 24, 2007
This review is from: Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (Nightside, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)
Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (2006) is the sixth Urban Fantasy novel in the Nightside series, following
Paths Not Taken. In the previous volume, Lilith declared that John Taylor was an unexpected and unwelcome complication. She started sucking the living energy out of him.
Taylor used his private eye to determine how she was doing it and reversed the flow. He left Lilith weak and helpless and kicked her in the face on his way out. Then her monsters started to advance towards her.
In this novel, Walker has Cathy kidnapped to force Taylor to turn himself in to the Authorities. Naturally, John declines the offer and uses his third eye to find Cathy somewhere within the Necropolis. He can't really pin down the location for some reason, but John and Suzy head toward the approximate area via a couple of magical cantrips.
When they reach the Necropolis, Eddie the Punk God of the Razor appears and tells them that Cathy is not actually on the Necropolis grounds. He slices a doorway with his razor to the dimension that contains the Necropolis private burial grounds and they slip into the ice cold land. There they find Tommy Oblivion and Sandra Chance, with Cathy somewhere in the vicinity.
Tommy and Sandra think that they have a deal with Walker, but he has just taken this opportunity to get rid of all four of them. Sandra is rather disturbed by his betrayal, especially when the earth golems appear and Eddie's razor can no longer slice the dimensional walls. Of course, Taylor finds a way to escape and they take Cathy with them back to the Nightside.
In this story, Taylor sends Cathy to Strangefellows with Tommy and the other three investigate the sudden quietness on the streets. They go to the Street of Gods and find only the dead, dying and dazed. Lilith has returned and the Street has been devastated. However, they do find Walker under the collapsed wall of a church. Taylor convinces Sandra to restrain herself from killing him, but she only does so when John states that Walker will not like his role in the war against Mother Dearest.
Taylor heads off alone to find the Dead Boy and then the pair search for Julian Advent, the great Victorian Adventurer. They find the newspaper owner investigating a sweat shop operation involving short fairies and magical implements. After Dead Boy takes care of the guard, Taylor takes Julian and Dead Boy aside and lays out his plans.
Both the Holy Host and the Satanic Horde are staying away from this conflict. But Taylor is acquainted with a particular Holy messenger and summons this angel using the special attributes of Dead Boy and Julian. Pretty Poison is not using that name anymore, but she knows what he wants and agrees to help him just this once.
This story takes Taylor into the unique possible future where his Enemies live and from where they have been sending back agents to kill him for decades. He has been there once before, but now he needs to learn the reason for their attempts on his life. He finds that the War itself is their rationale for trying to kill him. He has to fight his mother without raising armies against her and thereby destroying the Nightside.
When he returns to the present -- or a week later, depending on your viewpoint -- John finds that Lilith has started the War without him. Her allies and coerced partisans have attacked everyone living within Nightside. She has even raided the private graveyard of the Necropolis and raised the dead to fight for her against their friends and relatives.
Walker and his friends have fought back using every method and trick in their arsenal and are still losing. Even the Lord of Thorns is helpless before Lilith. Nightside is being destroyed before their eyes. Something else must be done.
BTW, Taylor and Suzy Shooter have public displays of affection in this novel. Their friends -- and enemies -- are appalled.
Highly recommended for Green fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical powers, devious spells, and quirky romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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