Small Reviews (7) : Something from the Nightside and Agents of Light and Darkness, Dark Wars - The Tale of Meiji Dracula, Song of Kali
This is the seven post with multiple books.
First let us start with the two first books from Simon R Green's Nightside. First Something from the Nightside 
and Agents of Light and Darkness
. I bought the first Omnibus that solaries printed a couple years back. I read them one after another. The first one I read in one day (which for me is quite good) and the second one in one week (I was reading another book at the same time. The setting is quite different from other books..
and Agents of Light and Darkness. I bought the first Omnibus that solaries printed a couple years back. I read them one after another. The first one I read in one day (which for me is quite good) and the second one in one week (I was reading another book at the same time. The setting is quite different from other books..
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. For John Taylor, there's no place like home...
In the first book we get to know a little bit from the Nightside and our main character John Taylor and some other characters like Alex Morrisey, Razor Eddie, Punk God of Straight Razor and a killer called Suzie Shooter. Each have unique skills. John Taylor have a gift that he calls it Private Eye. He is also the son of Lilith (the one who first created the Nightside). He is also the target of several parties within and out of the Nightside. Then we have Alex Morrisey the owner of a neutral bar within the Nightside. He helps the Detective with information. Then we got Razor Eddie a former gang member turn vigilante that kills bad guys with his Razor that coincidently is the only thing that can kill him. He is for all purposes immortal. Then we've got Suzie Shooter aka Dear God it's Her Run!!. The most dungerous bounty hunter and with her trademark Shotgun he brings hers bounties ... dead. There is quite a love tension between her and John Taylor.
Well as I said the first book deals with Taylor as he returns to the Nightside as he tries to find the girl child of Joana Barrett. As he returns he meets with several people (whom I introduced before) and we get a gimplse of the world of Nightisde. We get to know several parties inside Nightside and we get to know a bit of John Talyor fears and self discovery. The book is full of dark humour and references to some english movies/series like Monty Python or Dr Who. I thought it was quite good book. The second book deals with John Taylor trying to find for the Vatican the unholy grail that Judas drank at the Last Supper. In this book we get to see a bit more of our personages and their tales. It's quite an advance from the frist book. As Taylor and Suzie band together to stop armageddon. The angels are nothing like the sweet creatures and we get to see a bit of old Magickal themes. This book revels and excels because Simon Green tries to blend different sets and themes that work very nicely. I will read in the near future the third and fourth book of this twelve planned series. 7/10 and 7.5/10
The next book was Dark Wars - The Tale of Meiji Dracula 
by Hideyuki Kikuchi the writer of the famous Vampire Hunter D
by Hideyuki Kikuchi the writer of the famous Vampire Hunter D
Japan, 1880. Seventeen-year-old Daigo possesses a wicked talent for the sword. Though many have come to challenge him, none has triumphed. But one moonless night, a stranger arrives in Daigo’s quiet village, bearing the key to a mystery that haunts Daigo’s family–a tale too incredible to be believed, the proof too compelling to be doubted.
Count Dracula cannot change who he is, or what he craves, or how many souls he must steal to slake his undying thirst. An entire country is about to fall prey to the count’s bloodlust–and no one’s at greater risk than those closest to Daigo, especially the beautiful, love-struck Chizuru. Only Daigo can save his community from this demon of the night. But Daigo has never faced a more formidable opponent. He’s never confronted a vampire’s speed, a vampire’s strength, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, a vampire’s seduction. . .
Count Dracula cannot change who he is, or what he craves, or how many souls he must steal to slake his undying thirst. An entire country is about to fall prey to the count’s bloodlust–and no one’s at greater risk than those closest to Daigo, especially the beautiful, love-struck Chizuru. Only Daigo can save his community from this demon of the night. But Daigo has never faced a more formidable opponent. He’s never confronted a vampire’s speed, a vampire’s strength, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, a vampire’s seduction. . .
This book was quite good to read. I read it in four days. This was before I had a glimpse of Vampire Hunter D. It was quite good book. Well the plot is quite simple. Vlad or Count Dracula arrives and sets a residence in Edo (Tokyo). Daigo Shoichiro, a 17yr old swordsman and his friend meet count in the eventing as they are trying to see a painting. As Dracula victims pile up Jigoro a sensei builts a team to hunt Count. The final battle between Daigo and the Count was quite good. Kikuchi brings Edo's settng beautifully. He crafted a beautiful tale and gives us some insights into Edo's changing years as the old classical Japan was reforming into a new technological empire. The scorn that was setting in against the Bushido code and the old religion. Not to mention the amazing drawings made by Amano. 7.5/10
Dan Simmon's Song of Kali 
is quite a book. I've got several books by Dan Simmons and this one was the first book I read. This is a novel hard to compreehend which genre it is. It's part Terror and part an Adventure novel. There was something in this book that make me sick. In the beginning as our protagonist family arrives at Calcuta they discribe it a dirty city, our main characters sweat with miasma and everything awful. It's quite bad image. I remember being sick and re-reading it several times that couple of pages. It's quite disgusting. I think I've nver felt that from a novel before or even afterwards. Now the plot... Luczac and his wife and baby go to Calcuta to find a poet who apearently is writing new things despised being dead for 8 years. If he is alive where can he be found. They met Krishna (a local intelectual) who have been asked to assist them by a mutual friend. They meet the local writers guild who denies a meeting between him and Das (the indian writer). Luczac and Krishna then meet a man that tells them about a secret society dedicated to Kali a Hindu godess of death and destruction. He also tells them that to join the sect he had to bring a corpse from the river. And the corpse was of Das. Again Luczac goes to the guild and this time they let him see the writer. Das is suffering from leprosy an confirms the story that they had heard fromt hat man but Luczac refuses to believe. Then they give him a extensive collection of Das poety very different from what he knew. In exchange Das asks him to bring books of poetry. Luczac as he is drawn into the tale and getting frightening tries to send hims wife and child home but they are unable to do it. Concealing a gun inside a book of poetry given by Krishna he returns to Das and gives him the books. As he tries to return home he hears two shots and the guards knocked him out. After a supernatural manisfestation of Kali he escapes only to find that his child was kidnapped. After days of dead-ends a couple is caught trying to smuggle jewels hidden within the child who died of trauma. With their child dead they return to America and he destroys the poetry and their life returns slowly to normal. In the end we learn that the whispers of the Song of Kali can be heard.
is quite a book. I've got several books by Dan Simmons and this one was the first book I read. This is a novel hard to compreehend which genre it is. It's part Terror and part an Adventure novel. There was something in this book that make me sick. In the beginning as our protagonist family arrives at Calcuta they discribe it a dirty city, our main characters sweat with miasma and everything awful. It's quite bad image. I remember being sick and re-reading it several times that couple of pages. It's quite disgusting. I think I've nver felt that from a novel before or even afterwards. Now the plot... Luczac and his wife and baby go to Calcuta to find a poet who apearently is writing new things despised being dead for 8 years. If he is alive where can he be found. They met Krishna (a local intelectual) who have been asked to assist them by a mutual friend. They meet the local writers guild who denies a meeting between him and Das (the indian writer). Luczac and Krishna then meet a man that tells them about a secret society dedicated to Kali a Hindu godess of death and destruction. He also tells them that to join the sect he had to bring a corpse from the river. And the corpse was of Das. Again Luczac goes to the guild and this time they let him see the writer. Das is suffering from leprosy an confirms the story that they had heard fromt hat man but Luczac refuses to believe. Then they give him a extensive collection of Das poety very different from what he knew. In exchange Das asks him to bring books of poetry. Luczac as he is drawn into the tale and getting frightening tries to send hims wife and child home but they are unable to do it. Concealing a gun inside a book of poetry given by Krishna he returns to Das and gives him the books. As he tries to return home he hears two shots and the guards knocked him out. After a supernatural manisfestation of Kali he escapes only to find that his child was kidnapped. After days of dead-ends a couple is caught trying to smuggle jewels hidden within the child who died of trauma. With their child dead they return to America and he destroys the poetry and their life returns slowly to normal. In the end we learn that the whispers of the Song of Kali can be heard.
This book is a evil book but excelent believe me. When you start to read the book you will not want to stop. It's a book dedicated to an evil side of humanity. Calcuta here has done as Sodoma and Gomorra has done to chrstianity. It's quite scaring book and without an happy ending. I would advice to anyone who loves a horror novel. It's quite excelent. 9.5/10.
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