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sparks_fitz's review against another edition
3.0
Cheese with a good concept, fun characters, and to be fair some iffy weirdness (not problematic, but touches on some sensitive subjects without a lot of tact). Schlocky, but just original enough to feel fresh, with a city setting and a bottle murder mystery with magic (that particularly concept is one I would like to revisit, perhaps in a video game). Fun, found it at a thrift store in a 3 books in 1 volume, and I like to read it on trips. 3 stars.
tessla's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bbabyok's review against another edition
2.0
Good idea that didn't play out like I would have wanted. I know Simon Green is a better writer than this book would suggest.
raptorimperator's review against another edition
3.0
This went differently than I expected. It started off as a typical fantasy/action/adventure piece, but then turned into a murder mystery story, which was quite nice. An enjoyable fun, quick read, even if the writing style leaves much to be desired.
namulith's review against another edition
3.0
A murder mystery with magic, vampires and werewolves. I enjoyed the setting a lot, but found the actual mystery a bit too simple. The solution was blatantly obvious and that took some enjoyment away from an otherwise nice book.
fiddlak's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ianbanks's review against another edition
3.0
I am a long-time fan of the Hawk And Fisher books (I like this series far more than I like the parent book that the characters make their debut in) but it is frustrating that such a fun series is written in such a formulaic way. It’s frustrating because there is so much variety in the stories being told that Mr Green could really afford to stretch his considerable talent to make this feel less like a generic set of stories and more like its own wonderful thing. Basically we’ve have a police procedural set in a fantasy city: think 87th Precinct meets Thieves World. It’s a great idea and one that was - back in the day - comparatively rarely used. But while Hawk and Fisher walk the mean streets of Haven, the steps they take ring very hollow. Green feels very influenced by Andrew Vacchs here: there’s a pair of cops who are less cynical than their reputations would have you believe battling the very worst that humanity and the supernatural can throw at them. But the style Green uses here feels very mannered and by-the-book: in the parlance of memes, Green hasn’t “seen some shit,” he’s just read about it. I don’t really mind, though: he was a young and inexperienced author at the time and his voice has grown considerably since these novels were first published. And this is a great introduction to the world: we meet a small section of Haven’s population and, in the guise of a locked-room mystery, we learn a lot of the rules of this world without feeling that we are being given an “As you know, Bob...” speech every couple of pages. Green writes a fun book, for which I can forgive a lot of sins.
eclipse777's review against another edition
3.0
A short okay fantasy mystery to pass the time with, prefer the Garret Files by Glen Cook
elden's review against another edition
3.0
You can definitely tell that this is some of Simon R. Green's earlier work. The storytelling is just not up to par with some of his other stories. It still has the basic structure of his Nightside series, but it is missing something that makes his other series so much better. That is why I gave this book 3 stars.
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