Daemons Are Forever

April 14, 2008
This lighthearted second installment (after 2007’s The Man with the Golden Torc
) in the adventures of “very secret agent” Eddie Drood follows the former rogue and reluctant patriarch as he struggles against enemies within and without his temporally extended family. Fighting against the Droods’ stiff-necked traditionalists and their previous deals with various devils, Eddie finds ways to combine the magic of his girlfriend, woods witch Molly Metcalf, and cousin Harry’s “hellspawn” half-brother and lover, Roger Morningstar, with the high-tech gadgets of the family Armourer to save the world from an intrusion of the Hungry Gods. Other than some page-long character-developing digressions, the pace is fast and energetic, which keeps attention off the occasional giant plot hole. Green loves the wide-screen splash of cinematic battles against zombie hordes, and genuine traces of tragedy and nobility underlie the nonstop punning banter and pop culture references, lending surprising nuance to this merry metaphysical romp.

May 15, 2008
Now that he has exposed the darkness at the heart of his ancient family (as outlined in "The Man with the Golden Torc"), modern-day shaman Eddie Drood stands as its headyet the bargain once made with supernatural creatures, the Loathly Ones, still holds sway over some of his relations. With the help of his witch friend, Molly, Eddie must sort through his family while saving the world from destruction by these daemons. The author of the "Deathstalker" series and other fantasies continues the adventures of supernatural secret agent Edwin Drood as he seeks to purge the world's darkest corners in this second entry in his new noir urban fantasy trilogy. Gently spoofing the consummate action/adventure hero James Bond (note the punning title), Green supplies some much needed tongue-in-cheek humor to a genre that often takes itself too seriously. A good choice for larger libraries.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.