Review: Just Another Judgement Day by Simon R Green

Just Another Judgement Day is book 9 of The Nightside series which follows the exploits of private investigator John Taylor as he uses his supernatural gifts to solve cases in the Nightside.

If you’re unfamiliar with this series, here’s a blurb from the book:

In the Nightside, that sour secret hidden heart of London, it’s always three o’clock in the morning and the dawn never comes. Streets full of sin and cellars full of suffering, magic in the air and mystery around every corner; hot neon, hotter music, and the hottest scenes anywhere. Good and bad and everything in between. Dreams come true in the Nightside, especially the bad ones. Everything’s available, for the right price. So shop till you drop, dance till you bleed, and party like Judgement Day will never come.

I’m John Taylor, private eye. I have a gift for finding things, and people. I won’t promise you justice, or revenge, or your heart’s desire. But I will find the truth for you, every damned bit of it.

Welcome to the Nightside. Watch your back. Or someone will steal it.

Each book in the series is a small sip from the world – roughly 250-300 pages in mass market paperback. Each of them can easily stand alone, letting you pick up the story from anywhere without much difficulty. One of the main complaints I’ve read in other reviews of the series is that the author has a tendency to repeat himself, so if there’s anything important you’ve missed, you’re bound to hear it again.

Green’s writing is wonderfully dark and foreboding, and his imagery can be starkly descriptive and occasionally grotesque when the situation warrants it. He does seem to have his favorite turns of phrase, however, which can pull the reader out of the story at the worst moments.

As for Judgement Day itself, I’m still curious as to the over-arching plot lines of the Nightside universe: namely, John Taylor’s enemies and his final destiny. I love the cast of characters and the world that Green has built. The mythology of it all is wonderfully assorted and yet still abides by (most) of its own rules.

With that established, I do have to say that it seems like Judgement Day is another throw-away story that only slowly moves those long arching plots along. I still hold out hope that I’m wrong and each small detail will somehow be woven into the end game; but with each passing release those hopes are getting dimmer. I’ll keep reading, though, if for nothing else than a glimpse at whatever new monster is being introduced this time.