Simon Green is back in the game with his latest installment in the Nightside series. The series had seemed to stagnate a bit, but Green found a fresh angle to put John Taylor back in the thick of it, and I really enjoyed seeing him in action again. Taylor's relationship with Suzie Shooter adds an interesting dimension to the story as well. I think the first entries in the series, focused around solving the mystery of Taylor's mother, were the best in the series, but this is worth a read too. ( )

When the Gunslinger of God goes to clean up the Nightside, he will have his work cut out for him. There is no shortage of people for Adrien Saint, shootish of Sinners to put down with his unlimited ammunition Peacemakers.

This guy could actually have walked straight out of Preacher, someone else who doesn't mind writing a bunch of crazy over the top stuff. Apart from that, he is also apparently unkillable by anyone who lives there, including John Taylor.

JT is the man the New Authorities turn to in their desperation, after seeing a bunch of fellow denizens blown away in a hail of blood, brains and bullets.

The monster hunter Chandra Singh offers to assist John in trying to turn The Walking Man from his path.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/02... ( )

Having read all of these stories to date, I have to say they are getting a bit silly - like the books are an excuse to parade out a bunch of twisted characters with little storyline to hold them together. The point is getting lost amongst a lot of characters that aren't needed.

That said, Nightside books remain sinfully delicious, like a rich chocolate - light and fluffy, with favorite characters revisited like old friends, and a setting just as trippy for the reader as it is for the inhabitants. To a certain extent, the extensive cast of crazy characters ARE a part of the setting!

This time John Taylor, PI extraordinaire, is asked by the new Authorities to take down the Walking Man - God's right hand of justice incarnate. The Walking Man has come to the Nightside to eliminate all sinners and bad people (which, let's face it, is most of the Nightside's denizens). The problem: as God's right-hand badass, he's invulnerable. So how is John supposed to stop him?

Silly and fluffy, but still a lot of fun. ( )