Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "There is only the one church in the Nightside..." (more)
Key Phrases: dark chalice, Unholy Grail, Speaking Gun, Bedlam Boys (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The New York Times bestselling author takes readers back to the Nightside.

A quest for the Unholy Grail-the goblet from which Judas drank at the Last Supper-takes private eye John Taylor deep into the secret, magical heart of London...called the Nightside.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Reissue edition (October 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441011136
• ISBN-13: 978-0441011131
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Nightside Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take A Cup Of Unkindness, May 26, 2004

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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In this, the second volume in Simon Green's tales of The Nightside we find John Taylor back in his old haunting grounds, playing tough guy, noir detective and doing what he does best - finding things. This time he is on a grail hunt, not for the cup that Jesus drank from, but the other cup, the Judas Cup, which provides both ultimate power and ultimate corruption.

If it was just John Taylor and an ugly silver cup this would be a piece of cake for John - find it and return it to the Vatican, who will hide it from all the powers, human and otherwise. But no such luck - everyone is after it. Demons, gangsters, and angels - thousands of them, good and bad, all prepared to end the universe to gain the cup. Knowing he is out of his depth, Taylor brings Shotgun Suzie on board, and together they challenge Armageddon.

One can't fault Green for originality of plot. As The Nightside reels from the attacks of angels who are nothing like the sweet creatures of New Age philosophy, we quickly realize there is more to the story than a simple rehashing of old magickal themes. Green likes to play with ideas, even when disguised as a fantasy barn-burner. And there is plenty of that - the only reason there isn't more violence is that people keep getting slaughtered before Taylor and Suzie arrive on the scene.

The only thing that wears thin in this series is Green's habit of overplaying the characterization. Taylor, who plays a gumshoe with hidden magical talents and a knack for walking directly into trouble, is always in danger of being a stereotype, of which there are many in this tale - the wise guy bartender, the killer with a heart of gold, and, of course, Merlin. Simon Green dances the thin line between parody and imitation and brings ot off most of the time, but not always.

If you like magical stories where bad things happen to everyone and the main character keeps getting warned about his mother you might very well like this story, as I did. And there is nothing wrong about a novel that includes a bar where the spooks get drunk to the sounds of King Crimson. This was written to be fun, and more often than not, it is.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Angels Have Come to The Nightside, November 6, 2003

By	Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In the first book, Something From The Nightside, we met investigator John Taylor and were gradually introduced to The Nightside, a perpetually dark neighborhood hidden in London. The Nightside is home and/or workplace to some very odd, powerful and scary beings. In this book, we jump right into the weirdness of The Nightside as John is concluding a case with a very disturbing and dangerous entity.

John hears that the Grail may be nearby and is soon hired to find it. But this is the Unholy Grail, the cup used by Judas at the Last Supper.

The Unholy Grail is sought by many powerful and dangerous beings. Among them are the Angels (from on High and the Fallen) and they are nasty. Unfortunately for John, using his talent for finding things can alert others as to his whereabouts. Thus John must use all of his natural skills, experience, and reputation to stay alive, find the Grail, and keep it out of the wrong hands (which are just about everyone's).

En excellent sequel that reveals a little more about John Taylor and the history of The Nightside. It is obvious that if this one sells well enough the author will have more tales for us.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In search of the Unholy Grail, November 26, 2004

By	Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In Something From the Nightside, Simon R. Green introduced us to a secret world found deep beneath the streets of London, a fantastical place where it is always 3 AM and the unimaginable is commonplace. John Taylor, a private eye blessed with a unique gift for finding anything, returned home to the Nightside after several years in the real world, reneging on a promise he had made to himself to never go back. A girl was missing, and - more importantly - her mother was willing to pay good money to get her back. It appears Taylor is now back to stay, if for no other reason than to investigate the mystery of his own destiny and that of the inhuman mother he never knew. All of that will have to wait for the moment, however, as angels have come to the Nightside.

The very future of the Nightside, not to mention a little something called the Apocalypse, hangs in the balance as the forces of good and evil tear the Nightside apart in search of a powerful object that has gone missing. It is nothing less than the Unholy Grail, the cup from which Judas Iscariot drank at the Last Supper. If anyone can find it, it is John Taylor - and everyone in the Nightside knows it. Already commissioned by a strange little man representing the Vatican, Taylor finds himself at the very center of the most dangerous case of his career. Even the good angels care little for man, and they don't shirk from leaving burned out husks and pillars of salt in their wake. They also can't be trusted any more than the angels of darkness, as Taylor learns all too well - first-hand. Unfortunately for Taylor, this means he can't use his special gift for finding things in his search for the Unholy Grail, as it allows the angels to pinpoint his location. Knowing he will need some extra muscle to survive this one, he teams up with trigger-happy Shotgun Suzie and calls in a few special favors from erstwhile associates such as Razor Eddie, Punk God of the Straight Razor, and Strangefellows bar owner (and Merlin ancestor) Alex Morrisey.

Taylor's search takes him to such infamous places as the Pit, a club run by the Demon Lordz; the headquarters of the Fourth Reich; the old Styx Theatre where the dead and undead go for entertainment; and that most secret and mysterious of places - the warehouse holding all of the treasures of the Collector. The reader will learn all about the Speaking Gun, the only weapon capable of harming angels, and witness characters and events unusual even by Nightside standards. Aside from the search for the Unholy Grail, Agents of Light and Darkness also holds out clues to the possible future we glimpsed (courtesy of a Timeslip) in Something From the Nightside, especially John Taylor's place in that future and the truth about his long-lost mother. It is a truth that seemingly threatens to destroy the Nightside and the world around it.

This is a very quick read, and it is constantly entertaining. Black humor abounds, moral truths are addressed in the most unusual of manners, friends and enemies interact in increasingly unexpected ways, and the ending does not disappoint, actually adding much to an already exciting and highly compelling story. Even secondary characters such as Shotgun Suzie and the Collector begin to take on an unexpected depth in this novel - obviously, Green is still building for the future of the Nightside series. While this book stands apart from its predecessor, underlying themes tie the two together and pave the way for future eagerly anticipated jaunts to this ingenious underworld of Green's creation.