Product Description
Second in the trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Man with the Golden Torc.
Eddie Drood’s clan has been watching mankind’s back for ages. And now he’s in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. But it’s not going to be an easy gig…
During World War II, the Droods made a pact with some nasty buggers from another dimension known as the Loathly Ones, which they needed to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided that they liked this world too much to leave. Now it’s up to Eddie to make things very uncomfortable for them—or watch everything humanity holds dear go up in smoke.
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 Excelenat urban tech/magic fantsey, humor ( f41171c )
This is a rare mix of humor and perilous plot. If you don't like the sometimes broad and other times sly British humor you will not appreciate this book. I strongly suggest reading The Man With the Golden Torc (Roc Fantasy). This is an obvious send-up on Diamonds Are Forever (title nor the book). But Daemons from the Greek used by some Romanic poets to stand for the best and worst of our compulsions and in modern usage means a semi automatons computer program performing a closely related set of tasks. So the title is already humorous.
Eddie's new super car has a feature that even the Bond Movie guys would envy. It goes into overdrive and travels through parallel dimensions to get around obstacles. Molly is also a hoot as when she stated that she turned unpleasant members of his family into things and mentions the pheasants they had for dinner.
The characters are getting better and not unexpectedly Eddie's reform of the family leaves him in the unpleasant position of being in charge.
Excellent mix of peril and humor and the plot is excellent. Over all nice read. Although the presence of some characters from Green's other series can be a bit disconcerting. Bun Bear and The Sea Goat are not a problem nor is Merlin Satanspawn but Deathstalker fits in less that smoothly. Still very good and motivated.
BTW Melmoth the Wanderer (Oxford World's Classics) s considered one of the great horror stories by such luminaries as HP Lovecraft.
Yet another horrid cover. The opponent looks like a badly drawn Baneside or possibly a cowboy ghoul who died of a surfeit of lather fringes. And where Eddie got the radioactive copper gauntlet from is a mystery.
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 Daemons Are Forever
The technology gets more outlandish and the family politics more convoluted. The story moves slower because of this, but the entertainment value is still good. However, you probably won't feel compelled to finish this one in a single sitting.
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 Good Post-Urban Fantasy Action Epic
With Simon Green, everything blends together in a titantic battle of forces and powers that always put the very existence of at least one Earth on the line. The man's written this genre in and out by now, and 'Daemons are Forever' is strong. If you like his stuff you can't go wrong with this.
It has Green's usual mix of magic, technology, hyper-dimensional beings, minor gods, evil tyrants, treachery, time travel, love, and family values (Drood style). Good and interesting fights abound.
The flaw is a crossover with the Deathstalker series (also written by Simon Green). I found this pushed against my sense of disbelief, in that I prefer established universes remain distinct. I'm not a fan of the Death Star vs. the Borg vs. the Stargate Universe, and the crossover gave off that vibe.
In summation, if you like Simon Green's stuff this was one of his better offerings. Can easily be read in one sitting if you aren't careful. A good buy.
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The Hungry Gods Are Coming ( awjordin )
Daemons Are Forever (2008) is the second fantasy novel in the Shaman Bond series, following The Man With the Golden Torc. In the previous volume, Edwin Drood and Molly Metcalf confronted the Heart. With the help of the strange matter within Eddie, they broke its power and shattered it into thousands of diamond shards. Then they confronted the family, faced down the Matriarch, and remade the Droods into a force against Evil.
The strange matter within Eddie had been chasing the Heart for a long time and thoroughly approved of the manner of its passing. Strange -- AKA Ethel -- decided to stay for a while (maybe a few thousand years) within this dimension to help Eddie and the Drood family. It gave Eddie a new torc and armor that was silver rather than golden.
In this novel, Eddie takes Molly out for a spin in a fully restored -- and enhanced -- 1933 Bentley to pick up some items at his Knightsbridge flat. When they near the place, Eddie notices a slew of spies and agents in the street. He takes the car through a lower dimension into the garage, discovers that his flat has been torn apart, gets whatever is left, and starts to leave.
Codename Alpha -- a rather overbearing sort -- is waiting for him outside the building, with two helicopters and dozens of men. Eddie does not pay any attention to his voice on the bullhorn while discussing the situation with Molly. Finally, they wipe out the lot, take down the helicopters, and then drive home. The Armourer is furious about the few scratches on his car.
It seems that the political animals are getting restless. The group waiting outside his flat were from the Department of Dirty Tricks within MI5. The Prime Minister is trying to take advantage of the family's perceived weakness, but he picked on the one man who still had his armor and paid the price.
Eddie convenes his Inner Circle and selects a target for a conspicuous display of family power. The Loathly Ones are soul eaters who were originally brought to this dimension by the family during World War II. Now they have grown to be a clear and pressing danger. So Eddie decides to totally destroy their power.
In this story, Eddie leads a raid against a Loathly One construction in South America and has a Pyrrhic victory. Only ten other Droods returned from the raid. Of course, they left the remains of thousands of Loathly One drones and an interdimesional gate on the battlefield, but nobody in the family noticed the victory.
Edwin finds that the family is backsliding. The Matriarch is bitter and just waiting for Edwin to fail so that the family can call her back to lead them. Only his Inner Circle is siding with him and even they are bickering about petty matters.
This tale shows Eddie having great frustrations and doubts about his abilities. Still, he looks for other family members to take over some areas where he feels deficient. He finds one in the past and another in the far future.
The family becomes less hopeful over time. When Eddie disappears for eighteen months on a journey to the future, the family lets Harry Drood take over the leadership. The Loathly Ones have almost taken over the world by the time that Eddie returns.
The story is typical of the author. Even this new series leads one into despair before the final -- and last minute -- save by the hero. The next volume is The Spy Who Haunted Me. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Green fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, various magics, and family intrigue.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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another hoot from Green ( mandragoran )
I always love Simon R Green's books. Nightside, Hawk and Fisher, does not matter. While at times the dialog is predictable it is usually really good. What I do not like is that now he has become popular enough and all the new books are published in hardback when all the others are paperback. Nightsides newest book prime example, I simply am not going to pay over $15 for a 250 page hardback.
As for this one, it is the normal story line, new leader messes up, everyone is against him and he pulls it out in time. The reason I gave it 4 stars is the same as the previous paragraph, the new characters and the dialog.
Entertaining read for anyone who likes off color humor and some really good lines.
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