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kathydavie's review
5.0
Sixth in the Nightside dark urban fantasy series for young adults starring John Taylor as the most feared man in the Nightside…and it's always an adventurous ride with JT.
My Take
Oh man, the family reunion from hell!
It cracks me up everytime how freaked security people get when they realize it's "John 'Bloody' Taylor" and they turn and run for it! Another fun bit is the toys — cars, computers, etc. — that pop in from some future. Man, what I wouldn't give for JT's computers! Lust!!
Fascinating turnaround for JT's relationships with everyone and I'm looking forward to Hell to Pay if only to find out who survived!
Lots of adventure and violence with a very loving ending and a friendly reunion.
The Story
Having successfully returned from viewing the beginning of the Nightside by dropping in, literally, at Strangefellows, John Taylor and Suzie Shooter freak Alex out with both Suzie's injuries and the evolution of their relationship. Then JT gets a bit freaked when attacked in the loo and finds out just how angry the 13 families of the Reasonable Men are with him as well as Walker's increased fury.
Well, there's only one way out of Strangefellows…through the cellars with a quick visit to the Doormouse and a newly exposed skill of Razor Eddie's before JT heads back to the future to learn from his frenemies just what goes wrong in the war against Lilith. A war Lilith initiates in the Street of the Gods.
The Characters
The "Nightside is the dark and corrupt city within the city of London. Where the sun never shines and where pleasure and horror are always on sale — for the right price.Not a nice place to visit or a nice place to live".
John Taylor is an independent sort who prefers going his own way. Unfortunately, he has too many enemies preferring that his way ends…last week. Alex Morrisey is a direct descendant of Merlin Satanspawn and is geased to run Strangefellows, the oldest bar in the world.
Almost everyone we've met so far appears…
…Razor Eddie, a.k.a., the Punk God of the Straight Razor; Tommy Oblivion, the existentialist detective; Sandra Chance, a necromancer with some truly unappetizing habits; the Caretaker who guards the private graveyard for those who want eternal protection; the Doormouse; Dead Boy, a 17-year-old who was mugged and murdered 30 years ago; Julien Advent, the Victorian Adventurer and editor/owner of the Night Times; Old Father Time; Merlin Satanspawn; The Collector, one of the original three friends who first summoned Lilith; Walker, the second friend and JT's general nemesis; and, Charles Taylor, JT's dad.
Lilith, a.k.a., Mommie Dearest for her winning motherly personality…not…intends to remake the Nightside back into her original vision. The problem is that she doesn't intend to stop with the Nightside. At least, not until she eliminates all those messy humans.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a bit Diaper Babe in the battlefield with a very post-apocalyptic feel — the foreground carpeted in skulls and broken skyscrapers in the background.
As for the title, Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth, is absolutely perfect! *snicker* I'll leave it to you to find out why!
My Take
Oh man, the family reunion from hell!
It cracks me up everytime how freaked security people get when they realize it's "John 'Bloody' Taylor" and they turn and run for it! Another fun bit is the toys — cars, computers, etc. — that pop in from some future. Man, what I wouldn't give for JT's computers! Lust!!
Fascinating turnaround for JT's relationships with everyone and I'm looking forward to Hell to Pay if only to find out who survived!
Lots of adventure and violence with a very loving ending and a friendly reunion.
The Story
Having successfully returned from viewing the beginning of the Nightside by dropping in, literally, at Strangefellows, John Taylor and Suzie Shooter freak Alex out with both Suzie's injuries and the evolution of their relationship. Then JT gets a bit freaked when attacked in the loo and finds out just how angry the 13 families of the Reasonable Men are with him as well as Walker's increased fury.
Well, there's only one way out of Strangefellows…through the cellars with a quick visit to the Doormouse and a newly exposed skill of Razor Eddie's before JT heads back to the future to learn from his frenemies just what goes wrong in the war against Lilith. A war Lilith initiates in the Street of the Gods.
The Characters
The "Nightside is the dark and corrupt city within the city of London. Where the sun never shines and where pleasure and horror are always on sale — for the right price.Not a nice place to visit or a nice place to live".
John Taylor is an independent sort who prefers going his own way. Unfortunately, he has too many enemies preferring that his way ends…last week. Alex Morrisey is a direct descendant of Merlin Satanspawn and is geased to run Strangefellows, the oldest bar in the world.
Almost everyone we've met so far appears…
…Razor Eddie, a.k.a., the Punk God of the Straight Razor; Tommy Oblivion, the existentialist detective; Sandra Chance, a necromancer with some truly unappetizing habits; the Caretaker who guards the private graveyard for those who want eternal protection; the Doormouse; Dead Boy, a 17-year-old who was mugged and murdered 30 years ago; Julien Advent, the Victorian Adventurer and editor/owner of the Night Times; Old Father Time; Merlin Satanspawn; The Collector, one of the original three friends who first summoned Lilith; Walker, the second friend and JT's general nemesis; and, Charles Taylor, JT's dad.
Lilith, a.k.a., Mommie Dearest for her winning motherly personality…not…intends to remake the Nightside back into her original vision. The problem is that she doesn't intend to stop with the Nightside. At least, not until she eliminates all those messy humans.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a bit Diaper Babe in the battlefield with a very post-apocalyptic feel — the foreground carpeted in skulls and broken skyscrapers in the background.
As for the title, Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth, is absolutely perfect! *snicker* I'll leave it to you to find out why!
sblack0215's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tani's review
3.0
I listened to this one, as I do with all of the Nightside books. As usual, the narration by Marc Vietor was really good. He's truly the voice of John Taylor for me. The length of these books is also great for me, as I struggle to focus on longer audiobooks.
Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book. Lilith was definitely suitably threatening, but I think I felt like the book was too scattered. John has to do a lot to combat Lilith, which is understandable, but I kind of felt like the book lacked in the kind of unified storyline that I've enjoyed in the other books, and the solution to the big problems that have been built up over the past five books ends up being kind of anticlimactic.
I did like how the book used so many of the characters that we've met in prior books. A lot of prior events come full-circle here, and a lot of familiar characters make appearances, as well as some new ones. That was really satisfying, since at this point, we're a good distance into the series. I hope that Green continues to make use of his characters, as so many of them are really wonderful. (Some I even like better than John Taylor, but shh, don't tell him that.)
Anyway, I am interested to see where the story can go now, as the main story that started in the first book feels like it's been wrapped up.
Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book. Lilith was definitely suitably threatening, but I think I felt like the book was too scattered. John has to do a lot to combat Lilith, which is understandable, but I kind of felt like the book lacked in the kind of unified storyline that I've enjoyed in the other books, and the solution to the big problems that have been built up over the past five books ends up being kind of anticlimactic.
I did like how the book used so many of the characters that we've met in prior books. A lot of prior events come full-circle here, and a lot of familiar characters make appearances, as well as some new ones. That was really satisfying, since at this point, we're a good distance into the series. I hope that Green continues to make use of his characters, as so many of them are really wonderful. (Some I even like better than John Taylor, but shh, don't tell him that.)
Anyway, I am interested to see where the story can go now, as the main story that started in the first book feels like it's been wrapped up.
ogreart's review
4.0
Since Goodreads no longer trusts me to add a new edition when needed, I am writing this here. I listened to an audiobook, not an audio CD. But it's the right narrator, Dan Calley, so this is closer.
The Lilith War. There is nonstop action in this book. And noble sacrifice. Worth the listen!
The Lilith War. There is nonstop action in this book. And noble sacrifice. Worth the listen!
louloureadsbooks's review
4.0
So far I've really enjoyed this series.
It's not to everyone's taste, fair dos.
It also gets a lot of comparison to the Dresden Files. So far I'll take Nightside and John Taylor over Harry Dresden his Files any day.
For me, Nightside is gloriously over the top and doesn't take itself seriously.
The main character is a bit of a bastard (but not nearly as much of one as he'd like to be) and he makes no bones about it. It's quite a brutal but unsentimental, rip roaring, leave your brain at the door pulp fantasy.
I love the world building and the characters and I have no problem suspending my disbelief and slipping into Nightside.
Now that Lilith has been dealt with, I'm really interested to see where the stories go next and if they continue to hold my interest.
It's not to everyone's taste, fair dos.
It also gets a lot of comparison to the Dresden Files. So far I'll take Nightside and John Taylor over Harry Dresden his Files any day.
For me, Nightside is gloriously over the top and doesn't take itself seriously.
The main character is a bit of a bastard (but not nearly as much of one as he'd like to be) and he makes no bones about it. It's quite a brutal but unsentimental, rip roaring, leave your brain at the door pulp fantasy.
I love the world building and the characters and I have no problem suspending my disbelief and slipping into Nightside.
Now that Lilith has been dealt with, I'm really interested to see where the stories go next and if they continue to hold my interest.
gsatori's review
4.0
Yay!!!! Clap, clap, clap. This is the climax of the series, which makes me wonder what the following books are about. This book resolved all loose strings and arcs, and was the most exciting in the series, and it had the highest stakes. Great fun.
seeinghowitgoes's review
4.0
And finally, the tale ends.
In this larger than epic epic finale, we finally see Lilith in all her true terrible glory. The Nightside becomes a battlefield as Lilith decides the only way to go ahead, is to simply wipe it all out and start again.
The battle was pretty gruesome and you see a lot of characters and die self-prophecies come true and Simon Green wasn't shy about turning his world into a battleground and you can't help but wonder if there really is a way out of all of this.
In the end, I thought the conclusion was a little strange, and perhaps a bit weak. I initially rated the novel a 5, but that was right after I'd just read it and would adjust it down to a 4 now.
In this larger than epic epic finale, we finally see Lilith in all her true terrible glory. The Nightside becomes a battlefield as Lilith decides the only way to go ahead, is to simply wipe it all out and start again.
The battle was pretty gruesome and you see a lot of characters and die self-prophecies come true and Simon Green wasn't shy about turning his world into a battleground and you can't help but wonder if there really is a way out of all of this.
In the end, I thought the conclusion was a little strange, and perhaps a bit weak. I initially rated the novel a 5, but that was right after I'd just read it and would adjust it down to a 4 now.
annasbookishbrew's review
4.0
I accidently stared this series exactly in the middle - and it was still a hell of a good time. I think that says a lot.
This book was so surprising to me. The characters are badass and quirky, the story is A LOT and there were many points in it were I just went "what the fuck!" ( Like this time when John fed an undead motor bike with dead people fluids to make it carry him somewhere but it was grumpy cause it forgot it's medication). All in all the writing is incredible and the characters so much fun! The plot was definitely convoluted and the plot armor is heavy with this one. But all in all a great ride!
This book was so surprising to me. The characters are badass and quirky, the story is A LOT and there were many points in it were I just went "what the fuck!" ( Like this time when John fed an undead motor bike with dead people fluids to make it carry him somewhere but it was grumpy cause it forgot it's medication). All in all the writing is incredible and the characters so much fun! The plot was definitely convoluted and the plot armor is heavy with this one. But all in all a great ride!