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dangermousieThe British author Simon R. Green is one of two of my favorite working fantasy/scifi authors (the other being Terry Pratchett) so I decided to a little primer to his series. I love his brand of weary heroics, damaged but crazy-tough men and women, and cheeky humor.
The Secret History Series
About: This was my gateway drug, the reason I fell so madly for SRG. I read the first book in one huge breathless gulp, literally not putting it down until I was done. The protagonist, Eddie Drood, is one of the extremely competent field agents of the Drood family, the family Eddie has been raised to believe protects the world from supernatural evils. Only, after a routine mission goes haywire, Eddie finds out he's been outlawed by his own family and is to be killed on sight. He has no idea why - the only path open is to talk to his enemies. The truths he might find out just might shatter his world, though.
Favorite Characters: Eddie Drood, Molly Malloy, Giles Deathstalker (yes, I am indifferent to him in his own books but I adore him here).
Favorite Ship: Eddie/Molly, of course. Is there any doubt? The duty-bound Drood with a rebellious streak but a boyscout's sense of honor and the 'villain' Wild Witch of the Woods Molly Malloy, unpredictable, dangerous, but with her own goodness and unbeatable in a fight. Oh, also Henry Drood/Roger the Devilspawn (TRUE LOVE DEFEATS HELL PLANS).
Favorite Scene: Eddie and Molly come back to his ancestral hall ready to kick butt and take names and deal with some trauma together. Or the fight on the motorway when Eddie realizes his Family has abandoned him and he must be killed on sight but does not know why. Or when he holds her in book 2 near the end (to say more would be spoilery).
Book Order (Really should be read in order) The Man with the Golden Torc; Daemons are Forever; The Spy who Haunted Me; From Hell with Love
The Deathstalker Series
About: In a galactic empire many thousands of years in the future, evil Empress Lionstone rules with an iron fist. Her rulings are arbitrary, mysterious, and deadly, as an inoffensive minor historian Owen Deathstalker is about to find to his cost. Suddenly outlawed and with a price on his head, Owen will pick up allies, enemies and true love, have amazing adventures and hair-raising escapades, and maybe even overthrow the evil empire itself. In the last 3 books, the action shifts 200 years in the future, where Owen's indirect descendant Lewis must deal with the death of the Golden Age Owen has helped to build and a Deathstalker must try to save the world. Again.
Favorite Characters: Finlay Campbell (more below), Evangeline Shrek (more below), Lewis Deathstalker (a distant descendant of the original Deathstalker, Lewis does not have Owen's superpowers but what he has is honor, and determination, and just a bone-deep sense of decency. I liked Owen but didn't love him - he was a bit too distant for me. Lewis? Lewis I loved).
Favorite Ship: Actually, this one is my favorite ship in all of SRG - Finlay/Evangeline - being from feuding families is the least of their problems. She is a high-born aristocrat who is secretly a leader of the clone underground and a clone herself, cloned by her monstrous 'father' after he killed his real daughter for refusing to participate in incest. He is an effete, useless aristocrat who, in reality, is the most feared gladiator of his day. He cares nothing for causes but becomes the best champion the clone underground ever had, just because it is her cause. He will die to protect her and she would die rather than let him - partly because she loves him but partly because she can protect herself perfectly well, thank you very much. Second favorite ship is Lewis/Jesamine - the vulnerable tough guy and the toughest "fragile opera diva" in the Universe.
Favorite Scene: Finlay barely making it back from a dangerous mission for a cause he does not care for but for which he fights because it's Evangeline's cause and Evangeline has to send him on a suicide mission just as he gets back. And he knows that is what it is and so does she but she will still send him and he will still go. And he tells her she shouldn't touch him or the blood on him will get on her. SHIP. MAD SHIP. Also, Evangeline taking on all her father's minions with her secret knife; Lewis freeing Jesamine from prison.
Book Order (And these really are best read in order) Deathstalker; Deathstalker Rebellion; Deathstalker War; Deathstalker Honour; Deathstalker Destiny; Deathstalker Legacy; Deathstalker Return; Deathstalker Coda
The Nightside Series
About A fantasy take on film noir, the main draw of this series are its elaborately created, fascinating world with its mythology and its deeply flawed but still relatable characters. John Taylor is a supernatural take on a private eye - for a price he will locate whatever you are looking for in the scary, fascinating world of the Nightside - where everything is twice as bright and ten times as dangerous. That is if he can keep his enemies at bay and his mysterious destiny in check. These are the most stand-alone of the series, though still best read in order.
Favorite Characters: John Taylor, Shotgun Suzie (Taylor's close friend, gun-happy bounty hunter more messed up than you can imagine and twice as scary as that), Walker (the 'neat city gent' who runs the Nightside with no fuss and no raised voice. My total crush), Julian Advent (great Victorian adventurer and do-gooder who ended up in Nightside through a timeslip and decided to become a crusading journalist - a career life-threatening in the extreme in the Nightside), Cathy (John's 17-yr-old secretary. John saved her from being eaten by a sentient house and now she runs his business, goes to all the best clubs, and has hired AIs from the future and another dimension to run things. She is AWESOME), Razor Eddie Punk God of the Straight Razor (self-explanatory).
Favorite Ship: None, really. I like John and Suzie but they are much much too messed up to really be a genuine ship of mine - Suzie can barely bear being touched, after all. I do love them together - their tentative hopefulness.
Favorite Scene: Any time John goes righteous - mmmm. The whole story with Sinner and Pretty Poison. John and Suzie being hunted by Herne the Hunter. Suzie letting John hug her. The vision John gets of the horrible horrible future.
Book Order Something from the Nightside; Agents of Light and Darkness; Nightingale's Lament; Hex and the City; Paths not Taken; Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth; Hell to Pay; The Unnatural Inquirer; Just Another Judgement Day; The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny
The Forest Kingdom/Hawk and Fisher Series
About: I have a confession to make. I have only read two books in this series so far. I adored Blue Moon Rising (my first SRG and the one that made me seek out the Secret Chronicles after which I became a goner) - the Forest Kingdom part of the series is a gritty, dark, heroic take on a traditional fantasy/fairy-tale - princes, princessess, dragons, and kingdoms. Only the characters feel real and the danger genuine. Lovely tongue-in-cheek humor, too. The second part of the series, Rupert & Julia's adventures as Hawk and Fisher, so far haven't been my thing, but I intend to try further.
Favorite Characters: Rupert, the Prince of the Forest Kingdom who everyone thinks is too fanciful and kind and weak and Julia, the unwanted warrior princess. Once again, duh.
Favorite Ship: Rupert/Julia, duh. They are the only ones out there.
Favorite Scene: Rupert forcing himself to go back to Darkwood even after going through it before and knowing what sort of hell it is - even though he can never sleep without lights or nightmares ever again.
Book Order Blue Moon Rising; Blood and Honour; Down Among the Dead Men; Beyond the Blue Moon; Hawk & Fisher; Hawk & Fisher: Winner Takes All; Hawk & Fisher: The God Killer; Hawk & Fisher: Wolf in the Fold; Hawk & Fisher: Guard Against Dishonor; Hawk & Fisher: The Bones of Haven
The Twilight of the Empire Series
About: This is a prequel series to Deathstalker and I have not read it yet
Favorite Characters: -
Favorite Ship: -
Favorite Scene: -
Book Order Mistworld, Ghostworld, Hellworld
Other
About: This are miscellaneous books not part of a series. I've only read part of Drinking Midnight Wine so far.
Favorite Characters: -
Favorite Ship: Toby/Gayle. They are the only one so far.
Favorite Scene: Seeing echoes of later Nightside series.
Book Order Shadows Fall; Drinking Midnight Wine
The Secret History Series
About: This was my gateway drug, the reason I fell so madly for SRG. I read the first book in one huge breathless gulp, literally not putting it down until I was done. The protagonist, Eddie Drood, is one of the extremely competent field agents of the Drood family, the family Eddie has been raised to believe protects the world from supernatural evils. Only, after a routine mission goes haywire, Eddie finds out he's been outlawed by his own family and is to be killed on sight. He has no idea why - the only path open is to talk to his enemies. The truths he might find out just might shatter his world, though.
Favorite Characters: Eddie Drood, Molly Malloy, Giles Deathstalker (yes, I am indifferent to him in his own books but I adore him here).
Favorite Ship: Eddie/Molly, of course. Is there any doubt? The duty-bound Drood with a rebellious streak but a boyscout's sense of honor and the 'villain' Wild Witch of the Woods Molly Malloy, unpredictable, dangerous, but with her own goodness and unbeatable in a fight. Oh, also Henry Drood/Roger the Devilspawn (TRUE LOVE DEFEATS HELL PLANS).
Favorite Scene: Eddie and Molly come back to his ancestral hall ready to kick butt and take names and deal with some trauma together. Or the fight on the motorway when Eddie realizes his Family has abandoned him and he must be killed on sight but does not know why. Or when he holds her in book 2 near the end (to say more would be spoilery).
Book Order (Really should be read in order) The Man with the Golden Torc; Daemons are Forever; The Spy who Haunted Me; From Hell with Love
The Deathstalker Series
About: In a galactic empire many thousands of years in the future, evil Empress Lionstone rules with an iron fist. Her rulings are arbitrary, mysterious, and deadly, as an inoffensive minor historian Owen Deathstalker is about to find to his cost. Suddenly outlawed and with a price on his head, Owen will pick up allies, enemies and true love, have amazing adventures and hair-raising escapades, and maybe even overthrow the evil empire itself. In the last 3 books, the action shifts 200 years in the future, where Owen's indirect descendant Lewis must deal with the death of the Golden Age Owen has helped to build and a Deathstalker must try to save the world. Again.
Favorite Characters: Finlay Campbell (more below), Evangeline Shrek (more below), Lewis Deathstalker (a distant descendant of the original Deathstalker, Lewis does not have Owen's superpowers but what he has is honor, and determination, and just a bone-deep sense of decency. I liked Owen but didn't love him - he was a bit too distant for me. Lewis? Lewis I loved).
Favorite Ship: Actually, this one is my favorite ship in all of SRG - Finlay/Evangeline - being from feuding families is the least of their problems. She is a high-born aristocrat who is secretly a leader of the clone underground and a clone herself, cloned by her monstrous 'father' after he killed his real daughter for refusing to participate in incest. He is an effete, useless aristocrat who, in reality, is the most feared gladiator of his day. He cares nothing for causes but becomes the best champion the clone underground ever had, just because it is her cause. He will die to protect her and she would die rather than let him - partly because she loves him but partly because she can protect herself perfectly well, thank you very much. Second favorite ship is Lewis/Jesamine - the vulnerable tough guy and the toughest "fragile opera diva" in the Universe.
Favorite Scene: Finlay barely making it back from a dangerous mission for a cause he does not care for but for which he fights because it's Evangeline's cause and Evangeline has to send him on a suicide mission just as he gets back. And he knows that is what it is and so does she but she will still send him and he will still go. And he tells her she shouldn't touch him or the blood on him will get on her. SHIP. MAD SHIP. Also, Evangeline taking on all her father's minions with her secret knife; Lewis freeing Jesamine from prison.
Book Order (And these really are best read in order) Deathstalker; Deathstalker Rebellion; Deathstalker War; Deathstalker Honour; Deathstalker Destiny; Deathstalker Legacy; Deathstalker Return; Deathstalker Coda
The Nightside Series
About A fantasy take on film noir, the main draw of this series are its elaborately created, fascinating world with its mythology and its deeply flawed but still relatable characters. John Taylor is a supernatural take on a private eye - for a price he will locate whatever you are looking for in the scary, fascinating world of the Nightside - where everything is twice as bright and ten times as dangerous. That is if he can keep his enemies at bay and his mysterious destiny in check. These are the most stand-alone of the series, though still best read in order.
Favorite Characters: John Taylor, Shotgun Suzie (Taylor's close friend, gun-happy bounty hunter more messed up than you can imagine and twice as scary as that), Walker (the 'neat city gent' who runs the Nightside with no fuss and no raised voice. My total crush), Julian Advent (great Victorian adventurer and do-gooder who ended up in Nightside through a timeslip and decided to become a crusading journalist - a career life-threatening in the extreme in the Nightside), Cathy (John's 17-yr-old secretary. John saved her from being eaten by a sentient house and now she runs his business, goes to all the best clubs, and has hired AIs from the future and another dimension to run things. She is AWESOME), Razor Eddie Punk God of the Straight Razor (self-explanatory).
Favorite Ship: None, really. I like John and Suzie but they are much much too messed up to really be a genuine ship of mine - Suzie can barely bear being touched, after all. I do love them together - their tentative hopefulness.
Favorite Scene: Any time John goes righteous - mmmm. The whole story with Sinner and Pretty Poison. John and Suzie being hunted by Herne the Hunter. Suzie letting John hug her. The vision John gets of the horrible horrible future.
Book Order Something from the Nightside; Agents of Light and Darkness; Nightingale's Lament; Hex and the City; Paths not Taken; Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth; Hell to Pay; The Unnatural Inquirer; Just Another Judgement Day; The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny
The Forest Kingdom/Hawk and Fisher Series
About: I have a confession to make. I have only read two books in this series so far. I adored Blue Moon Rising (my first SRG and the one that made me seek out the Secret Chronicles after which I became a goner) - the Forest Kingdom part of the series is a gritty, dark, heroic take on a traditional fantasy/fairy-tale - princes, princessess, dragons, and kingdoms. Only the characters feel real and the danger genuine. Lovely tongue-in-cheek humor, too. The second part of the series, Rupert & Julia's adventures as Hawk and Fisher, so far haven't been my thing, but I intend to try further.
Favorite Characters: Rupert, the Prince of the Forest Kingdom who everyone thinks is too fanciful and kind and weak and Julia, the unwanted warrior princess. Once again, duh.
Favorite Ship: Rupert/Julia, duh. They are the only ones out there.
Favorite Scene: Rupert forcing himself to go back to Darkwood even after going through it before and knowing what sort of hell it is - even though he can never sleep without lights or nightmares ever again.
Book Order Blue Moon Rising; Blood and Honour; Down Among the Dead Men; Beyond the Blue Moon; Hawk & Fisher; Hawk & Fisher: Winner Takes All; Hawk & Fisher: The God Killer; Hawk & Fisher: Wolf in the Fold; Hawk & Fisher: Guard Against Dishonor; Hawk & Fisher: The Bones of Haven
The Twilight of the Empire Series
About: This is a prequel series to Deathstalker and I have not read it yet
Favorite Characters: -
Favorite Ship: -
Favorite Scene: -
Book Order Mistworld, Ghostworld, Hellworld
Other
About: This are miscellaneous books not part of a series. I've only read part of Drinking Midnight Wine so far.
Favorite Characters: -
Favorite Ship: Toby/Gayle. They are the only one so far.
Favorite Scene: Seeing echoes of later Nightside series.
Book Order Shadows Fall; Drinking Midnight Wine
