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sgilbert3114's review against another edition
3.0
I love the Nightside series, I really do. And I wanted to like this one so much, and I really enjoyed parts of it. That being said, in many ways this is the worst book so far in the series. While this book had many good moments, overall I just didn't feel like they meshed into a cohesive whole. To read my whole review, check out my blog: https://allyouneedarebooksandcats.wordpress.com/2021/12/27/the-good-the-bad-and-the-uncanny/
alice2000's review against another edition
4.0
Going into this installment I was less than impressed. I've been a devoted fanatic since the beginning, but the beginning plot in this story was leaving a lot to be desired. Elves and werewolves and just sorta boring.
Then Taylor hooks up with Larry Oblivion and Walker enters the picture big time and things really take off. There are serious changes to the Nightside by the end of this book- world shaking things. Characters die and things change.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as Just Another Judgement Day and I really missed having Suzie around, but all in all a worthy installment. Bring on the next one!
Then Taylor hooks up with Larry Oblivion and Walker enters the picture big time and things really take off. There are serious changes to the Nightside by the end of this book- world shaking things. Characters die and things change.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as Just Another Judgement Day and I really missed having Suzie around, but all in all a worthy installment. Bring on the next one!
rogal's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
Definitely not the strongest in the series. It actually took about half the book to just get past the set-up and exposition - which is rare. It didn't help that Larry Oblivion isn't really the most interesting of secondary characters - we need more Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, and Susie Shooter.
That said, I wouldn't call this book filler as much as set-up. It's certainly set up some interesting things which will definitely have consequences to-come and oculd lead to some very fun/dangerous things. So while this book doesn't stand well on its own, it could lead to bigger and better, or dreadfully worse, things. I wish the ending was a bit less anti-climactic, but I hold out hope that the arc it's creating and the eventual pay-out will be well worth the set-up.
And, the great strength of the series, it's still filled with random weird and wonderful little references, such as the blind Greek man singing the love song to his mother.
Definitely not the strongest in the series. It actually took about half the book to just get past the set-up and exposition - which is rare. It didn't help that Larry Oblivion isn't really the most interesting of secondary characters - we need more Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, and Susie Shooter.
That said, I wouldn't call this book filler as much as set-up. It's certainly set up some interesting things which will definitely have consequences to-come and oculd lead to some very fun/dangerous things. So while this book doesn't stand well on its own, it could lead to bigger and better, or dreadfully worse, things. I wish the ending was a bit less anti-climactic, but I hold out hope that the arc it's creating and the eventual pay-out will be well worth the set-up.
And, the great strength of the series, it's still filled with random weird and wonderful little references, such as the blind Greek man singing the love song to his mother.
vailynst's review
4.0
Mini-Review:
In many ways, this also felt like a filler novel in the series but several plot points are wrapped up in a fashion that one would call 'a very Nightside' manner. There's a portion where I was a little confused because I was wondering why JT would act like that but it wasn't JT at all. That portion was about Larry. Duh. One of the downsides of the way Marc Vietor chooses to narrate the story.
If I keep this meandering pace up, I may finish up the series before the year is out. =D
In many ways, this also felt like a filler novel in the series but several plot points are wrapped up in a fashion that one would call 'a very Nightside' manner. There's a portion where I was a little confused because I was wondering why JT would act like that but it wasn't JT at all. That portion was about Larry. Duh. One of the downsides of the way Marc Vietor chooses to narrate the story.
If I keep this meandering pace up, I may finish up the series before the year is out. =D
easolinas's review against another edition
4.0
Walker has always been a central force in the morally grey Nightside -- he'll do just about anything, good or bad, to maintain the status quo.
But all that changes in the eleventh Nightside book, along with a lot of other stuff in the mystery zone between good and evil. Unfortunately "The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny" is a mixed bag of supernatural plots: it seems less like a cohesive book than a trio of interlaced short stories, and two of them suffer from some severe issues with pacing... but the subplot about Walker and John is tragically, horrifically brilliant.
As usual, John has weird cases -- first he has to get an elf lord (nicknamed Screech) from one of the Nightside to the other... and Walker is determined to stop him (cue werewolves, Neanderthal bikers, etc). As payment, Screech has some mildly freaky news for him. Then John is hired by Larry Oblivion, a zombie detective who wants to find his brother... except John can't find him. Oh yes, and his brother Hadley Oblivion, the terrifyingly divine Detective Inspectre, is back in the Nightside.
Finally, John is contacted by Walker, who reveals that he's terminally ill, and wants John to be his successor in the Nightside. Of course, John refuses -- and as he investigates the whereabouts of Larry's brother, Walker keeps popping up to show John the good, the bad and the uncanny about his job. The problem is, he isn't revealing everything to John -- and John starts to realize that Walker is more dangerous than ever before.
"The Good, the Bad and the Uncanny" is probably the wobbliest Nightside novel thus far -- it's basically a novella with two short stories twined around it, with very little connecting them. The central story about Walker is absolutely brilliant, a dark gem about temptation, fanaticism and mortality, but one of the side-plots is never really finished (except for a "to be continued" at the end), and the other is wrapped up rather hastily.
Fortunately the Nightside is as weird and deliciously freaky as ever; Green dabbles in a mansion dragged into hell, a transvestite super-heroINE in a fluffy pink car, the ultimate drug den, and a lobotomized Argus who can see the entire Nightside. And his writing is as vivid ("she grinned back at me like a shark scenting blood in the water") and clever as ever (when a trio of witches start yelling "All hail John Taylor, who shall be king hereafter!", he just says, "Alex put you up to this, didn't he?").
And there's a brilliant climactic scene with John and Walker, reminiscent of Christ being tempted by the Devil with all the kingdoms of the world... except this is the Nightside. On the other hand, some sections are stretched out -- there's a thirty-page car chase, and a forty-page flashback that has little to do with the plot.
Snarky anti-hero John Taylor is in some unpleasant situations here, especially since his gift sometimes doesn't work right, and we see how rock-hard John's principles can be. And Walker is a tragic, frightening figure here, a fanatical man who has sold his soul to maintain the Nightside, and is faced by the question of what will happen when he's gone. The Oblivion Brothers aren't quite as engaging -- often they seem like pallid copies of Dead Boy and the Walking Man.
John Taylor sees "The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny" in the eleventh Nightside novel, a wildly uneven affair that leaves one door open for mayhem in the next outing. Worth reading, but flawed.
But all that changes in the eleventh Nightside book, along with a lot of other stuff in the mystery zone between good and evil. Unfortunately "The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny" is a mixed bag of supernatural plots: it seems less like a cohesive book than a trio of interlaced short stories, and two of them suffer from some severe issues with pacing... but the subplot about Walker and John is tragically, horrifically brilliant.
As usual, John has weird cases -- first he has to get an elf lord (nicknamed Screech) from one of the Nightside to the other... and Walker is determined to stop him (cue werewolves, Neanderthal bikers, etc). As payment, Screech has some mildly freaky news for him. Then John is hired by Larry Oblivion, a zombie detective who wants to find his brother... except John can't find him. Oh yes, and his brother Hadley Oblivion, the terrifyingly divine Detective Inspectre, is back in the Nightside.
Finally, John is contacted by Walker, who reveals that he's terminally ill, and wants John to be his successor in the Nightside. Of course, John refuses -- and as he investigates the whereabouts of Larry's brother, Walker keeps popping up to show John the good, the bad and the uncanny about his job. The problem is, he isn't revealing everything to John -- and John starts to realize that Walker is more dangerous than ever before.
"The Good, the Bad and the Uncanny" is probably the wobbliest Nightside novel thus far -- it's basically a novella with two short stories twined around it, with very little connecting them. The central story about Walker is absolutely brilliant, a dark gem about temptation, fanaticism and mortality, but one of the side-plots is never really finished (except for a "to be continued" at the end), and the other is wrapped up rather hastily.
Fortunately the Nightside is as weird and deliciously freaky as ever; Green dabbles in a mansion dragged into hell, a transvestite super-heroINE in a fluffy pink car, the ultimate drug den, and a lobotomized Argus who can see the entire Nightside. And his writing is as vivid ("she grinned back at me like a shark scenting blood in the water") and clever as ever (when a trio of witches start yelling "All hail John Taylor, who shall be king hereafter!", he just says, "Alex put you up to this, didn't he?").
And there's a brilliant climactic scene with John and Walker, reminiscent of Christ being tempted by the Devil with all the kingdoms of the world... except this is the Nightside. On the other hand, some sections are stretched out -- there's a thirty-page car chase, and a forty-page flashback that has little to do with the plot.
Snarky anti-hero John Taylor is in some unpleasant situations here, especially since his gift sometimes doesn't work right, and we see how rock-hard John's principles can be. And Walker is a tragic, frightening figure here, a fanatical man who has sold his soul to maintain the Nightside, and is faced by the question of what will happen when he's gone. The Oblivion Brothers aren't quite as engaging -- often they seem like pallid copies of Dead Boy and the Walking Man.
John Taylor sees "The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny" in the eleventh Nightside novel, a wildly uneven affair that leaves one door open for mayhem in the next outing. Worth reading, but flawed.
angelahayes's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
I have had The Nightside Series on my TBR for YEARS! I finally got around to dusting them off and taking a walk on The Nightside. They are a somewhat gritty and darkish urban fantasy with paranormal and sci-fi elements- there is suspense, drama, and plenty of things that go bump in the night.
The series follow John Taylor, a Private Detective who has a reputation for ‘finding things that don’t want to be found”. So, what is The Nightside? It is a place (parallel/alternate reality) in London- but hidden to ‘normal’ Londoners; it is where you can find every imaginable paranormal/supernatural creature can be found, and much more. It’s "that square mile of Hell in the middle of the city where it's always three a.m. Where you can walk beside myths and drink with monsters. Where nothing is what it seems and everything is possible."
I have enjoyed my trip to The Nightside- I found it to have a bit of a noir, steampunk, supernatural feel to it- which I enjoyed. The books are all very quick and easy reads- they didn’t ‘blow me away’, but they definitely entertained!
Thank you, Mr. Green!
I have had The Nightside Series on my TBR for YEARS! I finally got around to dusting them off and taking a walk on The Nightside. They are a somewhat gritty and darkish urban fantasy with paranormal and sci-fi elements- there is suspense, drama, and plenty of things that go bump in the night.
The series follow John Taylor, a Private Detective who has a reputation for ‘finding things that don’t want to be found”. So, what is The Nightside? It is a place (parallel/alternate reality) in London- but hidden to ‘normal’ Londoners; it is where you can find every imaginable paranormal/supernatural creature can be found, and much more. It’s "that square mile of Hell in the middle of the city where it's always three a.m. Where you can walk beside myths and drink with monsters. Where nothing is what it seems and everything is possible."
I have enjoyed my trip to The Nightside- I found it to have a bit of a noir, steampunk, supernatural feel to it- which I enjoyed. The books are all very quick and easy reads- they didn’t ‘blow me away’, but they definitely entertained!
Thank you, Mr. Green!