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A review by marklpotter
The Dark Side of the Road: A Country House Murder Mystery with a Supernatural Twist by Simon R. Green
4.0
There is an art to simple story telling. Now, I don't mean telling simple stories but simply telling a story and telling it well. This is what I expect from Simon R. Green and I have yet to be disappointed. It is nice to know what you're in for when you pick up a book and with Green that is powerful, yet broken, heroes and even more powerful villains. A seemingly overpowered main character doesn't mean that the hero or heroes will have it easy in the pages of of this man's books. The Dark Side of the Road is no different.
Ishmael walks on the dark side of the road, and that's really my only complaint about this book. You see our hero says these words, "I walk on the dark side of the road", too many times. Outside of that this is a Simon R. Green novel through and through. Ishmael is a solid main character and true to form Green leaves a lot about him on the dark side of the road, if I may be so bold...
Make no mistake, this is romp, a dark and twisted romp but a romp nonetheless. We have an alien as the main character and with that come alien reactions and emotions. Ishmael is human enough that it's easy for the reader to himself questioning why he has done something in a certain way. It's the realization that Green has done such a good job of writing the alien side amalgamated with the human side that it's almost impossible to separate.
The Organization represents the shadowy-organization-fighting-for-good trope and is done in a pretty standard manner but things are tropes for a reason and Green doesn't drop the ball. You won't find anything groundbreaking in The Dark Side of the Road but you will find a solidly written story with well written characters. Ishmael will make you squirm a little bit when you forget he's not human and the rest of the cast will leave you guessing all the way to the big reveal. If a solid romp is what you're looking for then this is an entertaining read. If you're not looking for a good solid romp then maybe you should question your taste in books.
Ishmael walks on the dark side of the road, and that's really my only complaint about this book. You see our hero says these words, "I walk on the dark side of the road", too many times. Outside of that this is a Simon R. Green novel through and through. Ishmael is a solid main character and true to form Green leaves a lot about him on the dark side of the road, if I may be so bold...
Make no mistake, this is romp, a dark and twisted romp but a romp nonetheless. We have an alien as the main character and with that come alien reactions and emotions. Ishmael is human enough that it's easy for the reader to himself questioning why he has done something in a certain way. It's the realization that Green has done such a good job of writing the alien side amalgamated with the human side that it's almost impossible to separate.
The Organization represents the shadowy-organization-fighting-for-good trope and is done in a pretty standard manner but things are tropes for a reason and Green doesn't drop the ball. You won't find anything groundbreaking in The Dark Side of the Road but you will find a solidly written story with well written characters. Ishmael will make you squirm a little bit when you forget he's not human and the rest of the cast will leave you guessing all the way to the big reveal. If a solid romp is what you're looking for then this is an entertaining read. If you're not looking for a good solid romp then maybe you should question your taste in books.