Night Fall

A Secret Histories Novel

By: Simon R. Green

Narrated by: Gideon Emery

Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Droods are all about control, making people do what they're told for the greater good. The Nightside is all about choice: good and bad and everything in between. The Droods want to make the world behave. The Nightside wants to party. They were never going to get along. 

For centuries, ancient Pacts have kept the Droods out of the Nightside, but now the Droods see the Nightside as a threat to the whole world. They march into the long night, in their armour, to put it under their control. All too soon, the two sides are at war. It's Eddie Drood and Molly Metcalf against John Taylor and Shotgun Suzie. The Drood Sarjeant-at-Arms and their Armourer against Dead Boy and Razor Eddie. More groups join in: the London Knights, the Ghost Finders, the Spawn of Frankenstein, Shadows Fall, and the Soulhunters. Science and magic are running wild, there's blood running in the gutters, and the bodies are piling up. 

Is anyone going to get out of this alive?

©2018 Simon R. Green (P)2018 Recorded Books

Enjoyed the story

I enjoyed the story but strange matter bullets don’t hurt strange matter armor. I understand everything else being different because it’s the night side but that I had an issue with

Collection of disjointed short stories.

I struggled to find a story in this book. It was more like a collection of short stories that didn't have much in common. Just an excuse to tell little blurbs about each character Simon has written about for the past decade. Not his strongest book but mildly entertaining.

An emotional ride

The Nightside has expanded, killing everyone in the Wolfshead, and no one knows why. The Droods decide the Nightside must be conquered, to save Humanity, pitting Eddie Drood and Molly Metcalfe against John Taylor and Shotgun Susie.

It's no secret that Night Fall was the end of the Nightside and Secret Histories series. I was reluctant to buy it for that reason. I have missed John Taylor over the past few years, as well as Razor Eddie and the others. I thoroughly enjoyed Secret Histories as well. But for Night Fall...

For me, it was an emotional ride. I spent a good portion of my listening time angry. Angry at the characters, angry because I expected better of the Droods, the Authorities, everyone...Does that sound strange? I suppose it would, but I had a true emotional, visceral reaction to much of the story, which doesn't happen that often. The ending is a surprise and I often thought I knew who was behind it all, but was wrong. It does wrap up some story lines though, sometimes not in the way you would expect or even want. Characters die, and some of them are characters you know well.

Gideon Emery is a great narrator, but I wish there had been a way to bring in Marc Viator for the voices of the Nightside. I didn't hear John Taylor, or Shotgun Susie in their own 'voice', which somewhat diminished the performance for me, especially since I was saying goodbye.

In the end, I was sad to say goodbye, but it was a great book. It pulls you into the gritty, shocking, violent confrontation of the Droods vs the Nightside, and doesn't let you go until the end.

Nerdgasm!!!!!!

What a wonderful finale! So much crossover with almost all of his other works. Yes!

Disappointing

I've read all the Nightside books and nearly all of the Secret Histories series, but I'm not a fan. I don't want to ruin the mood for people who are, however, so you may want to skip this review. In any case, it will contain mild spoilers.

Listening to this book, I was struck by how much inventive these series have been. A lot of it is pop culture borrowing; for example, the character of Julien Advent is adapted from an old British television series, the weapon shops of Isher are from stories that A.E, van Vogt wrote in the 1940s, and so on. I was initially drawn to Simon Green because he was clever about that kind of thing.

The trouble is, that kind of cleverness isn't very nourishing, and too much of it is cloying. Most of Night Fall is Green being cute, in a halfhearted, slackly written way, not always paying attention to what he's just written. For example, at the beginning Green makes a point of saying that John Taylor is drinking water with an adrenaline chaser. In a couple of pages Taylor is throwing his drink in someone's face and it's burning his attacker's eyes, because Green has forgotten it's not alcohol. As the book goes on, there are a number of loose threads, things discussed by characters before they've happened, and a whole scene that seems to be missing. The first two third of the book accomplish nothing but make the following points: (a) the Droods want to start a war with the Nightside, for no good reason, (b) the Matriarch is willing to murder and deceive to make it happen, and (c) nobody is getting their act together to stop it.

It would have been a lot easier to skim through this with a printed book. The narration isn't much incentive for preferring the audiobook. Gideon Emery is normally an excellent narrator, but, like Green, he seems to be going through the motions here much of the time, and I can't blame him. His Nightside voices aren't very good, and he's too ready to give characters creaky voices to show their age (even with middle-aged characters), and to fall back on the standard British caricature of a Chinese accent. None of that sounds like any real person I've ever heard.

In the last third of the novel Green finally gets the story moving, and some of it could have worked quite well if it were more sharply written. Eddie acts out of character for much of it, Molly doesn't seem like herself, the Droods don't make much sense, and the Sergeant-at-Arms turns into a plot device, pure and simple. Some good people die nobly. Some people are redeemed, mostly in unearned ways. It all seems phoned in.

There's no reason that this amount of material should have been spun out for nearly 18 hours. It would have been much more effective at a third of the length. Maybe Green didn't have the time to write a shorter book, Or, possibly, the energy, since he seems uncharacteristically unengaged here, and, life being what it is, there might have been a reason for it.

Disappointing

I'm a long time reader of both the Nightside and Secret Histories series, so I was excited to listen to this story. While the premise was good, it was painful to see favorite characters killed off. The ending was anticlimactic and unsatisfying. I'm very disappointed that this is the ending to two series that I've loved following.

Hmmmm..

This story felt like it was written quickly and then scaled back. It felt rushed... if that makes any sense to you.

Sad to see the end...

I absolutely love both the Nightside and Secret History series, and hate to see them end. However, I still enjoyed seeing all of my favorites in one story, even though not all survived. Guess it's time to start from the beginning!

Still crying into my pillow!

Let me start by saying the night side series is in my all time top 5. I like the secret histories but I would not have jump on listening to it without John Taylor. It's a great book! We have to say good-bye to some beloved characters. The epilogue could have added more details. But maybe there will be some short stories in the future. Also you get to find out what is in Agatha's egg. Hope you placed your bets!

Mixed emotions...

Simon R Green is one of my all time favorite storytellers. If you are a fan, it is a must read. I feel many emotions about this book but can’t give a specific review without spoilers.