The series improves. The suspense builds and the action is faster and more intense. Much less digression in this one. Almost every new character is actually a part of the plot. The author provided several new and major revelations while still maintaining the mystery. My curiosity is still peaked and I'm diving into the next one. ( )

Hex and the City, by Simon R. Green, is the fourth in the Nightside series.

John Taylor gets hired by Lady Luck herself to hunt down the origins of the Nightside. But there are those that don't want John prying into the past. Along with his ragtag group of companions, John visits some scary individuals and fights off deadly foes to eventually discover who his real mother is.

This installment is by far the darkest and most violent. But still infused with a wonderful dark humor that is as unique as the Nightside itself. Hex and the City brings in more unique and fun characters, and we get to see deeper into John's origins. I had to start reading Paths Not Taken, fifth in the series, immediately after finishing this one. ( )

This fourth book in the series returns us to the fantastically awful world of the Nightside, a hidden world within London where it is always 3am. Our hero, John Taylor, is hired to investigate the origins of the Nightside, but his client has a hidden agenda. John's mother is finally revealed, as the larger story arc takes on a frantic pace. Stunningly creative, the Nightside grabs the imagination and keeps you coming back for more in a noir detective series that really is all about the night. ( )

We discover more about the Nightside, here, and learn that John was apprenticed to Carnacki the Ghost Finder.

After an auction for the Chaos Butterfly that does not go well, Lady Luck turns up and gives John a job. Given it is one he wants to do anyway, he is happy to stick his nose in, and go looking for the origins of the Nightside.

This is all tied up with who his mother is, the thing no-one will tell him. Taking a Sinner, Demon and Madman with him, he goes questioning the Powers, and has to go past the Lamentation, Herne the Hunter, the Lord of Thorns, Merlin, and Walker and the Authorities to get there.

Myths and Legends multiply it seems, in the Nightside.

Very interesting stuff.

http://superprose.blogspot.com/2007/0... ( )

I hoped to like Simon Green's novels. So similar to the Dresden Files. But so pale in comparison. Just read Jim Butcher, don't waste your time with this series. ( )