The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (2010) Simon R. Green

John bloody Taylor is still in Nightside, just as appalling as ever.

The Authorities are gone, replaced by the new Authorities; not necessarily kinder and gentler, but almost certainly less evil than the group they replaced.

And Walker is dying. The man who was an uncle to John Taylor, as well as his nemesis many times, wants John Taylor to take over his position. John has no interest in replacing Walker, but Walker isn’t one to take no for an answer.

Additionally, John has cases of his own. The first involves an elf (“never trust an elf”) and the second involves a promise John made during the Lilith War–a promise he didn’t keep.

But as always, it’s the writing and the dialog that I love best.

“But…he’s an elf! When did you last hear od one of them lower himself to ask a mere human for help?”

“Never,” I said. “Which would suggest that not only is this case going to be impossible, unethical, and quite mind-bogglingly dangerous, but I’ll probably end up stabbed in the back by my own client.”

“Well, of course,” said Cathy. “I thought that was all understood when i said, Your client is an elf.”

The other thing I like is that although this is a continuation of events from earlier books, and despite the ending that was so obviously an opening for the next book, the story arc is complete within the book.

I would not, however, recommend starting here if you are not already familiar with the Nightside series. There are several incidents that really only have their full impact if you’ve been following along from the beginning, and know the relationships between John Taylor and the other inhabitants of the Nightside.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Ace

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