(2008) Simon Green, Orion, £7.99, pbk, 394 pp, ISBN 978-0-575-08483-4
This is the second of the secret histories series by Simon Green concerning the adventures of Eddie Drood, or Bond, Shaman Bond as he is otherwise known. Eddie belongs to an old, old, family charged with the task of protecting mankind from all sorts of supernatural nasties. Following his adventures in The Man with the Golden Torc when Eddie took on the Matriarch who was ruining the family business, he now runs the family business with a new torc and silver armour. Which is handy to have as its time to take on the Loathly Ones A.K.A. The Many-Angled Ones A.K.A. The Hungry Gods. As well as being superbad, these guys are also really bad at naming themselves, I mean the Loathly Ones! And I am sure the rock band called The Hungry Gods are bound to sue them for using their name. (Alright, I made that up, but there is a heavy metal band called The Stone Gods). Maybe they used to be called the Sloathly Ones, but they gave themselves a shake. Okay, I am being facetious, but do not expect anything deep and meaningful from Simon Green with these books. He is having fun and taking you along for the ride, just like the start of the book when Eddie takes witch, and girlfriend, Molly Metcalf, out for a spin in a newly restored (that means Qised, or here Armourerised) Bentley, but Molly’s flat has been ransacked and the Department of Dirty Tricks are out to get Eddie, which is bad news for them. The Drood’s are perceived as being easy targets, so it’s time to show everyone they are still a force to be reckoned with, by taking on the Loathly Ones with the help of Molly, Eddie’s cousin Harry, hellspawn Roger Morningstar and the Armourer and his gizmos. It’s not all plane sailing, the Matriarch and her followers want Eddie to fail and he has to do some nifty time-travelling before he can save the day. Will he? Well, what do you think? If you have not read the first book, then do not start here, read it first, then move on to this one, and when you get here you will find a lot of puns, some fast-action, some comments on pop culture and maybe a surprise guest from another one of Green’s long-running series – can you guess which one? No, not that one, that’s next time. Final comment. I hate the cover. Okay, I know we are in James Bondage-land, and it is supposed to look like its straight from the film poster of one of the movies, or maybe a title sequence, but the American covers are far better.
Ian Hunter
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