Daemons Are Forever

Secret Histories #2

by Simon R. Green

The Drood family is all that stands between Humanity and all the forces of darkness. They were supposed to protect the world, but ended up ruling it. Eddie Drood discovered the lies at the heart of his family, and brought them down. For his sins, they put him in charge: to run the family, and to redeem it. Eddie feels the need to prove to the world that the Drood family is as strong as it ever was. So he decides to wipe out one of Humanity’s greatest enemies, the soul eaters known as the Loathly Ones. But once started on this venture, he discovers that the Loathly Ones are just the forerunners of something far worse; the Many-Angled Ones, the Hungry Gods, descending from a higher dimension to consume every living thing in this world. Eddie Drood has got his work cut out for him…

Daemons are Forever is the second title in Simon R. Green's Secret History series featuring Eddie Drood, aka Shaman Bond.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Mystery, Magic

428 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Simon Richard Green is a British science fiction and fantasy-author. He holds a degree in Modern English and American Literature from the University of Leicester. His first publication was in 1979.

His Deathstalker series is partly a parody of the usual space-opera of the 1950s, told with sovereign disregard of the rules of probability, while being at the same time extremely bloodthirsty.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was brilliant. I believe that's not an overstatement. This second book in the Secret Histories series illustrates that you either like Simon R. Green or you don't. His sense of humor might turn off some readers, and some of the prose can have a repetitive aspect. I think he likes to repeat things for emphasis. I had to look this up. It's called analepsis: repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis. Yeah, Green loves analepsis. As for me, everything I love about him is showcased in this novel. His silly but clever sense of humor. His belief in heroism. His cynical viewpoint of human nature. His understanding of the way people think. His love for fairy tales, mythology, folklore. His ability to write horror in a way that really gets you in the gut. His kooky characterization. It's all here.

The intersection of fantasy and spy literature is very appealing about this book. It's clear that Green loves Bond and can also poke fun at its motifs and conventions in a way that only a Bond fan can. I like that this is a part of the story, but it doesn't stay in pastiche territory. There's a nod to it several times, but Green has something a lot more interesting to explore with this book. He even throws in a little Lovecraftianesque elements.

The story starts with Eddie trying to pull his family back together and get the Droods back on track. He gets a lot of resistance in this endeavor, but Eddie is not the type to give up. He has Molly Metcalfe, the Witch of the Woods at his side, and some help from his uncle Jack, the Armorer. The rest of the Droods are more than happy to watch Eddie fall on his face. Eddie knows what many of us had to figure out for ourselves, family complicates our lives, makes us crazy, but they're family, so you can't just walk away from them, unless you have to.

Eddie decides they need a big bad to fight, so he decides they'll take on the Loathely Ones. I can't tell you more, because so very much happens and you'd have to read it to even get it. So much goes into this one.

I listened to this on audio, and I'm so glad I did. At first I was meh about the narrator. But he won me over but good. He's British, and also talented in voicing many dialects. Each character sounds distinctive, and he even changes the cadence of the speaker. He knows how to build drama, and also inject sarcasm and pathos into the dialogue and prose.

This was awesome action, now shying away from gore, but also quite horrific at times. I think the action balance was better in this one than The Man with the Golden Torc. Green takes more time with the exposition, and that's very crucial with this story. Eddie has a lot of plotting and planning to do, and he can't make these decisions on the fly. The fantasy is solid and the ideas are all over the place, but everything comes together very nicely. I was pretty upset about one character death, and I don't think Eddie is going to take what happened lightly or let it go. Revenge is a dish best served cold. The characters are all interesting, and add something to the story. If you think a character is wasted, keep reading and wait for it.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Eddie and Molly. They challenge each other, support each other, and accept each other, which is crucial, considering who both of them are. I think Eddie would be screwed in many cases without Molly, and while she's very independent, it's clear that Eddie is very important to her.

This is a crap review and I need to recharge my laptop. I'll end it by saying I loved this book and it just makes me love Simon R. Green even more than I already do. Highly recommended.

[Faye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read: July 2017

I've tried to read this book four times. I even threw away my hard copy the third time I gave up, but when I saw it on offer on amazon kindle for 99p I bought it again for one last try! Simon R. Green has written two of my favourite urban fantasy series - the Nightside and Ghost Finders series - but I don't think the Secret Histories books are really for me. There were no characters that I really liked and the plot dragged. Usually Simon R. Green novels are fast paced and exciting and full of his wild ideas and imagination, to the point where you just suspend all disbelief and go along for the ride, but I couldn't do that here.
It is so frustrating to give up on this series, when I know how good Simon R. Green can be, but I'm going to have to DNF this one at 52%

Rating: 1/5 stars

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars on this book. Three would have been dropping it below the rating I gave the first volume in this series. In the end however I believe this is a 4 star book if with a few things I find to be slight flaws.

For one thing the books (seems to me) to take forever to get passed it's rehash of the first volume and set up of "where we are now".

I remembered a passage from P.G.Wodehouse in one of his books while setting up the story. There is he says, always the problem of how much background to give as those who haven't read the first book saying "what ho, what's going on here" or the crowd who has read the preceding volume saying "Old stuff, get on with it".

In this case I was well into the "old stuff get on with it" camp by the time we "got on with it".

I don't want to be unfair here. I suppose Green did want to be sure that everyone knew who all the players were, who the Drood family was and how everything got where it is. Still, it seemed to me that the story took around 150 pages to actually find itself and get going.

Also for me the edgy humor in the book while it's something I like managed to reach the "over the top" point a few times and hits a totally absurdest tone. Of course that could be just me...and a further "of course" that could be what Mr. Green was aiming at.

On the whole however the book does pull itself together, jell and then take off. It becomes another fast moving "save the world or else" adventure with Eddie threatened from all sides. Between the BIG baddy villain and the Drood family itself Eddie has his hands full.

Quote from Daemons are Forever 2008 paperback edition page 358:
"...I was going to have to pull off one of my last-minute, odds-defying, race-against-time-and-save-the-bloody-day miracles. I don't think people appreciate just how much those things take out of me."

Another good book of what is usually called the "thrill ride" variety, an urban fantasy with a decidedly humorous drama feel. Enjoy.





*********************** Spoiler Below Line ********************************




I do have a pet peeve here and one that I have with other books...it's "Mr. Stab". Jack the Ripper was a real man, a monster in his own right and I hate to see him used as a character in a novel where he's in any way sympathetic or even semi-sympathetic. This almost ruined A Night in Lonely October by Zelazny for me.

The Ripper was evil, he committed evil acts...actual evil acts. To me that is different from a fictional "serial killer" or whatever...maybe just me, but I don't care to have the character being painted as "the poor soul can't help himself" or whatever. If the man repented I'm glad. I know God's forgiveness covers all. But please don't paint him in pastel colors...

Also the Mr. Stab Penny plot line was one of those foredoomed situations that could only go one way...we all saw it had to go the way it did barring some last minute rescue by Eddie, and that would of course have changed the profile of the characters and the story. It bugged me, I have a negative reaction to the entire picture it paints.

Again this may not hit others as it hits me...that whole foreshadowing of doom thing from Molly's words, "it's always the bad boys that makes a girls heart beat a little faster" touches a lot more on reality than most of the book. Sadly so. Oh well, rant over.

A sad sidetrack in an otherwise good book.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

In one sentence: my review of [[book:The Man With the Golden Torc|155459] stands double. In fact, I'm beginning to feel almost as repetitive as Simon R. Green, just by reiterating this! However, there are things I missed in my previous, somewhat-hastily-written review, so I shall address those now.

Firstly, Green has too many characters and doesn't know what to do with them. I wonder if he just can't control his urge to explore every cool concept that wanders across that fantastic imagination of his. For it's clear that most of his characters are intriguing--if not always original--creations; there's just too many of them. Eventually their personalities begin to clash and Green has trouble incorporating them into the plot. This overabundance of characters leads to the second and third problems: lack of character development and horrible pacing, respectively.

The characters in Daemons are Forever don't lack character development so much as consistent development. Much like their magical abilities, which Green amends and ameliorates to suit whatever situation he's dreamt up now, the characters' personalities seem far too mutable for my liking. As a result, most end up as two-dimensional canvases on which a conflict or witty remark can be painted--or rather, painfully grafted.

Daemons are Forever also lacks anything resembling an interesting story. Halfway through the book, my only thought was, "This is so ... dull." The majority of the book is devoted to exposition, either through dialogue or the internal narration of our protagonist, Eddie Drood. It's mostly, "Hmm, invaders from another dimension want to come over here and gobble us up--ideas, anyone?" Occasionally, the plot seems to sense that something is amiss and makes its own halfhearted attempt to rise up and progress in some way, but Green quickly puts a stop to that. He tosses in token action scenes--with those slippery mutable powers that every character has--to satisfy those readers who are easily bribed by such shiny baubles.

The contradictory nature of the magic underpinning Green's Secret Histories series is what irks me the most. For example, at one point Eddie clearly establishes that Merlin's Glass can't teleport him into the Sanctity (a particular room in his home base) itself. Then, only about twenty pages later, he does just that. Fantasy is supposed to be about "anything is possible," but a fantasy story without any magical ground rules, where any magic goes, eliminates the element of risk and completely destroys the enjoyment found in the element of surprise. The best moments of any book come when a character reaches down inside himself or herself to summon up that last bit of determination and come up with a plan, a smart plan, to save the day. It's not simply a matter of one of the supporting characters saying, "Oh, by the way, I can make this problem go away with a wave of my hand."

Daemons are Forever could have benefited from a better editor, one not afraid to mark up the manuscript with massive red pen marks. There's too much fluff, not enough substance.

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an urban fantasy series about a powerful clan of magical secret agents who fight demons and save the world, I think Secret History series is most likely among one of the best in the genre. The plots are complicated, the characters are vividly written and funny, the sense of humor is great. What is not to love?

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 in Simon R. Green's Shamus Bond series

I must admit that I'm a sucker for the titles of these books. I've loved James Bond as a kid and it's nice to have an urban-fantasy series with a James Bond type character, although I don't know why no one had thought of this sooner.

Continuing on from The Man with the Golden Torc , Daemons Are Forever picks up the pieces of the aftermath with the Drood family. Things finally seem to be going well for Eddie. He's in love, in charge of the greatest family to have ever lived, and no longer being hunted. To bad for him that this is a series because we can't have him living happily ever after can we? In quick succession things start to fall apart as beings from a higher dimension (5th dimension?) start to infiltrate out world bringing with them obscene objects that can cut through the Droods impenetrable golden armors. Too bad it's up to Eddie and his family to sort things out and save the world. If only his family wouldn't keep trying to stab him in the back, maybe he could make it out of this one alive, or at least in one piece.

Like all of Mr. Green's books, this one is heavy on the action, palpitating with brilliance, foaming with Lovecraftian mythology and dripping with unbelievably cheesy (but delicious) humor. A great beach read, if I liked the beach, which I don't.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit to getting bored with this book and quitting in the middle. It's not something I normally do but the library wanted it back today and I wasn't fascinated enough for a marathon reading session.

The first book in this series, The Man with the Golden Torc, was very fast-paced and full of suspense--a lot like the James Bond series Green is supposed to be riffing.

Unfortunately Daemons Are Forever doesn't live up to its predecessor. The action (or lack thereof) is extremely plodding and much of the first part is spent bringing the reader up to speed on the events of the last book.

The characters in Daemons seem to be channeling the players from Green's Nightside series--Interesting but not enough without the Nightside background to hold the story up.

[Shayan Kh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars.

Not that it was really better than the last one, just it was more familiar, and the story is a bit more mature.
There were too many parts of this book that disappointed me.

Like how the hell did his grandmother won a battle with Deathstalker? And withought her torc too?!
Or how did she worked so well with Eddie all of the sudden? She almost said she is proud of him! Even considering a year and a half time gap.
The other thing that got on my nerve, was the talk of higher and lower dimensions. I mean, these concepts are basicaly the thing I look in a Simon Green's book. But this wasn't good. The way he described higher dimensions was like he was talking about universes with more spacial dimensions than our own. Then it is safe to assume what he means when he say lower dimensions. But none of what he describes makes sence in a lower dimension. I really didn't like it.
Or what the hell happend to Harry being an asshole?

But all that said, it was still a fun action pact book about selfless knights in golden armors. What's there not to like?

[Goetz · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a film this would be a Chuck Norris vehicle... I am on page 148 and I am giving up on this book and author. It is just too many cardboard characters spouting platitudes, too much unmotivated violence, too many easy gadgets, too little internal consistency, too many repetition of backstory bits without elaboration. It feels like Green tried to copy the Laundry Series by Charles Stross, but lacks the skills. I had not read the first in this series by Green, but I doubt it would make me feel different about this one. There is just too much crammed into this book without anything really fleshed out. Already the basic premise of this enormous disfunctional family (several thousand) with most of them still living at home and tasked with keeping Evil at bay could have been enough for a full fledged and interesting novel, but the power struggles are just used as filler between the mindless action scenes.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good continuation of this paranormal suspense series loosely (very loosely) based on James Bond: Eddie Drood is Bond, the Armourer is Q, Penny is Moneypenny, the Matriarch is M, and the books' titles are hauntingly not-quite-familiar.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daemons Are Forever is the second book in the Secret Histories series written by Simon R. Green. It stars Edwin Drood, code named Shaman Bond and he is a part of the Droods, an ancient family that purportedly watches over the world and protects it from various threats, including supernatural and magical ones.

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.

Daemons Are Forever is written rather well. 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 narrative.

All in all, Daemons Are Forever is written rather well and is a good start to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.

[Terri Weitze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon R. Green excels at creating a magical world populated with interesting and believable characters. This series follows a member of an ancient and powerful family whose purpose is to protect humankind. It is well written, although I feel a little heavy on the descriptions and the character inter-relationships are fun as a world-destroying crisis has to be dealt with along with personal and family politics. While part of a series, this book can be read as a stand alone as there is enough exposition to keep the reader up to date without being onerous to people who have read Book 1.

[Gary Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a bit slow to lift off the ground and have to admit the character of Harry made me want to punch something in the beginning. But once the climax was reached definitely enjoyed the novel.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Drood family is humanity's protector. And in this outing, we got to see a lot of the workings of the Drood family as they worked together on a major threat. Sorry for all the spoiler warnings, but I don't want to ruin it for you.

What I enjoyed:
* The family is endlessly interesting and different. It was nice to get to know a bunch of them this time around.
* Eddie and Molly are a blast and a great couple.
* The helpers that were brought in were intriguing.
* You know there is plenty of more turmoil, just waiting around the bend.
* Martha's turnaround.
* The mysteries still to solve - who did kill Sebastian? Will they track down the Blue Fairy?

What could have been better:
* Eddie took a bit to man up, to be a leader instead of just an agent.
* 18 months to get Deathstalker???
* I would have preferred a few less deaths. I know to expect them from Green, but I still liked a bunch of those who died, and even felt for the nameless soldiers of the Drood family.
* As much as I would have hated it, the ending was awfully convenient, with Molly being cured and Deathstalker sent back to the future.

[Patricia Burroughs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of those cases where the fact that I listened to the audiobook may come into play. It amuses me that the guy who recced this series to me when I said I prefer British settings admitted that he stopped reading the series in the middle of this--only the second--book. He felt the writing was dry and didn't keep him involved.

There is so much action and conflict and competent characterization in this book that it's hard for me to imagine that. Does the reader make that much difference? Stuart Blinder reads with verve and enthusiasm and kept me entertained and enthralled. His accents don't necessarily make sense, that I can tell, but they make it easy to tell the characters apart. I'm not sure why one character had a Scottish accent, for example, but there was no reason he couldn't have. Blinder's female voices aren't annoying, either, so that's a plus.

I really am enjoying this series. At a point where I felt as if we were driving to the climax I checked and thought, "How can there be four hours left on this book?" But there was, and the plot kept evolving and the tension kept climbing.

You know, I started out with four stars and have written myself into five. This was a very entertaining 19 hours of listening.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simon R. Green is really the Dan Brown of the urban fantasy genre. On one level, his plots are quick-moving and exciting. His character ideas can even be pretty good.

Unfortunately, the characters are conveyed mostly via explicit description. We know someone is dangerous, because the author tells us so. Character change works the same; one character even narrated that he'd learned the meaning of family. This felt hollow, and like the really good bits of a story were cut out.

But, the world of the Droods is an interesting idea, as are the magical bits of armour that protect them from the various creatures of the night. (Though, one wonders why they have so few field agents, given their super-powers).

It feels like this book might have been better if the plot had been developed over a trilogy and the chanracters were given the chance to really show how they'd changed.

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in "The Secret Histories" series by Simon R. Green is no less exciting than the first and this, believe me, is no small feat. The plot as always is incredibly epic - I would not describe it in detail, as I don't want to spoil the fun in any reader, but I'd say that it includes inredibly powerful alien gods, which would make Cthulhu to whimper. Eddie Drood, who is now leading his all-powerful family, has to stop them, despite the firce internal opposition and to do this, he gets the most amazing allies (including the very great, awesome and original Giles Deathstalker) and they travel to most amazing places. Once you begin reading this book, you can't leave it till it's over - it's that interesting.
Simon R. Green, I am thankful that you exist and write the most incredible fantasy stories!

[Shandare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Simon R Green’s work and the Drood series. But I find this instalment to be one of the weaker offerings. Green a,ways creates a wide narrative canvas, with many elements in his world, but the plot in the case is somewhat higgledy-piggledy.
It’s like standing in a room with bizarre settings and madcap romps exploding like fireworks all 360 degrees. Where do you look? Where do you focus?

The other off-putting aspect of Daemons are Forever is the characterisation. There are shifts between book 1 and 2 in how the characters present. Book 1 has Molly proudly declaring she abducted aliens to experiment on THEM — yet here she’s baffled by the fact that Edwin can confirm they exist. Other little inconsistencies pop up, enough to make it annoying, especially if you’re a series reader like me.

That said, the series is fun, so don’t let this bump in the road put you off.

[Eric Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say this was a 4.5. It was just a funny and smart and weird and an intense ride as the first one but the villains while very creative and fascinating weren't quite the best. There were a couple of other things involving pacing and a couple of questionable decisions early on that just didn't feel that natural for me but I think they set up some interesting situations both in this book and in possible future books to be worth it. There were some nice nods to various science fiction properties and legends and some incorporation of Green's other works that I have heard of but never read that makes me curious about it. All in all another excellent read and a wonderful addition to the series.

[Kati · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the characters so much! Eddie and Molly, Harry and Roger, Callen, the Armorer and even the Matriarch! I really love them and I can't wait to read more about their adventures, I plan to read the whole series ASAP! So, why only two stars?

This book was just way, way too long. And not just the book in general but most of the scenes too so some of the jokes simply fell flat. The book would've been so much better if Green had cut out a good third of it. It felt like the plot was dragging on and on, getting more and more convoluted. And because of that, it got slightly boring after a while. I very much prefer Green's shorter works, those that are around 300 pages top.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading "there was blood on the air". The author usually works it into his novels, and it reminds me of the Hawk and Fisher series that got me reading again when I was younger. A fun read.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put A Little Green in Your Life

So, even if you're a Simon Green fan it's a good idea to disclose your Green likes and dislikes upfront. In the Green canon I greatly admire and enjoy anything "Nightside". I think the "Ghost Finders" series is annoying and sort of childish. I'm O.K. with Ishmael Jones even though all of the books in that series are, essentially, the same book. There, now you can take my review with those few grains of salt.

I think of these "Secret Histories" books as sort of "Nightside" without the rich specific Nightside setting. The premise is clever and Eddie Drood is a fine protagonist. The plots are repetitive and some of the bon mots are retreads but, and this is the fine point, I don't care. Sometimes you just want some Green to read and if you've read everything from the Nightside, then this is a fine go-to substitute. And, every now and then you get that Nightside magic.

"Daemons..." is the second of the Secret Histories books, and is a readable and entertaining representative of the series overall. This time out Eddie Drood is cleaning up the Drood family mess left over from Book One, "The Man With the Golden Torc". In addition, the world is being threatened by the demonic Loathly Ones and the Hungry Gods, and it's up to Eddie and Wild Witch Molly and the Droods to stop them. Of special interest, because the Droods are below optimum strength, Eddie is gathering some outsiders to help. So, we follow as Eddie recruits Janissary Jane, Mr. Stab, the Blue Fairy, Subway Sue, and so on. This is fun because it feels more Nightsider-ish, with all sorts of one-off character cameos. It's not all Droods and Drood family politics, and this allows Green to stretch his creative crazy-character muscles. As a bonus we even get a nick-of-time from the time traveling Deathstalker.

I don't know if I would start with this book if I were new to Green, and I do think you should probably start the Secret Histories series with the first book. But, that said, this was fun, fast-paced, clever, and a wild ride. Works for me.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I have shied away in past reviews from saying I'm a completist. Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series is one of the very few series I have not finished (but there are reasons for that). Upon finding out that Green's Nightside crosses over with Secret Histories a lot is, by my understanding especially by the time Night Fall rolls around I decided to return the the tales of Eddie Drood.

Much like the first book this feels like Green trying to do a James Bond overlay on a urban fantasy tale (I mean the whole PI shtick has kind of been done to death). To the point that one of Eddie's cover identities is Shaman Bond.

Going down the Bond movies tropes, well they're all here. Emotionless head of the organization (well she was in power), a Miss Monneypenny and Q,, gadgets. Add in world ending threat from beyond, and you get the image.

OK, not great. For listening to while working out it will do. And, the reader for the Nightside books is much better than the one for Secret Histories.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the Secret Histories urban fantasy series revolving around the über-powerful Drood family and Eddie Drood in particular.

I'd've given it a "3", but, really, there is just such a lot of thought and energy gone into this, that I just didn't have the heart.

My Take
Oh, yeah, I loved the army and the other snoops sitting outside Eddie's front door in the middle of London. And then when he took 'em out...LMAO. Eddie hugs a missile to his chest to absorb the impact then jumps up to the helicopter and tells the pilots to get out after which he rides the chopper down and along the street. I mean, how can you not get a kick out of this?

Nobody does really good villainous threats anymore. In the old days, a real villain could make your blood run cold with just a simile.

I think Eddie has a very practical idea about how to choose the best advisors for his Inner Circle, although I think he's wrong about the torcs. He shouldn't wait to give them out! His plan for the Nazca Plain was stupid, too. I suspect it was just too easy a disaster for Green to use.

I do enjoy Eddie's snarking:

"You killed his father," said the Armourer.

"Yes," I said. "That's going to haunt me for the rest of my life, isn't it?"

It's the usual round of crazy characters and outrageous action with lots of childishness. Betrayals and conspiracies abound and no end of action.

The Story
Surrendering to the reality of having to move home, Eddie has no intention of surrendering to the fifty-some militia types outside his front door. They're simply a bit of fun. Before he and his Enya CDs head back to Drood Hall.

It's tricky out there. Word is out. The Droods have lost their golden armor and are in disarray and the world's governments are trying to figure out how to seize the moment.

The Characters
Shaman Bond, a.k.a., Eddie Drood, now rules the Drood family. He used to be a field agent until he discovered the truth about the family. Molly Metcalf is a witch. She's not even a Drood. Horrors. But she and Eddie are in love and since Eddie is the head dictator, she stays. For now.

The Matriarch, Martha Drood, a.k.a., Grandmother, is still in mourning for Alistair. She's being courted by the Zero Tolerance faction of the family (the one that supported the family's enemy, Manifest Destiny, behind the scenes) and refuses to help or hinder Eddie. She just doesn't care about the family.

The Inner Circle whom Eddie assembles to advise him includes:
Penny (Eddie's official contact in the family when he was a field agent), Molly (is not a Drood!!!), Uncle Jack is the family Armourer, the ghost of Jacob Drood (he thought he was only supposed to stick around to help get rid of the Heart and most everybody hates or is terrified of him), Cyril the Serjeant-at-Arms (supposed to pay attention to who is coming and going, know where everyone is), and Harry.

Howard is the new head of Drood Operations and not one of Eddie's supporters. Harry Drood is James' only legitimate son and becomes the Matriarch's eyes and ears; Roger Morningstar is a half-breed demon and an illegitimate son as well as an old flame of Molly's. Seems they have other secrets as well! Strange matter, just call me "Ethel", helped defeat the Heart. Callan Drood is one of the very few agents still out in the field. He's young, rude, and rather good. Rafe Drood is back to being the assistant librarian now that William is back. Tony Drood is the engineer for the Time Train, Ivor. Well, it's an inherited position. All ya gotta do is love him.

Drood rogues invited home include:
William Drood, formerly known as Oddly John, is back at the Hall, fresh from the nuthouse. Eddie wants him back taking care of the library---including the old library. The thieving Sebastian Drood shows up with his own set of deadly secrets. Freddie Drood was just too flamboyant. Now he makes a good beard.

Outsiders invited to Drood Hall!!
Janissary Jane is the Suzie Shooter of this bunch. A mercenary who loves to fight, usually on other planes of existence. A psychopath. Eddie hopes she can train the Drood brood how to fight without their armour. Blue Fairy (he's only half-elf, ya know) has had a run of better luck until the mafiosi holding his markers run him down. Seems it's enough to entice Blue Fairy into signing on. Subway Sue used to be a luck vampire and she tried to tap the wrong person. Now Eddie wants her to tutor the Droods in how to survive. Mr. Stab earned his immortality when he stabbed all those prostitutes back in 1888. Now, he can't make love; he can only stab.

Jacob "Jay" Drood---the live one---is brought back to the Hall to teach fighting while Giles Deathstalker comes back to the past to provide a warrior's guidance.

Phil MacAlpine, a.k.a., Alpha, (MI5) is stuck trying to take Eddie and Molly in. Sucker. Truman is the leader of Manifest Destiny. Loathly Ones are a group of demons, soul-eaters. They received an invitation to invade earth from a most unexpected source.

The Cover and Title
The cover is black, green, and blue. A nightlit city street all a'tilt as Eddie faces down a Grim Reaper in true Western gunfight fashion.

I suspect it's a metaphor for evil. Just as evil is always there, so Daemons are Forever.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. This is the second in the series and i was intrigued by the tongue-in-cheek James Bond. It's LOOSELY connected. Very loosely, but if you're a fan of the movie series you'll see it. All of this series is supernatural based. Other dimensions, worlds, ghosts, vampires, time travel, etc.
It's been a while since I read the first book so I don't recall if there was much difference.
This one, however, was full of so much over the top action the 80's movies guffawed at it.
At the end I wondered just how big this family was after what it seemed liked hundreds and hundreds of them died.
Sometimes the over-the-top everything did wear a bit thin but the story was good enough to continue.
I will read on to the 3rd book.

[Ashish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok-ok - felt a little dumbed down despite a pretty good vision and scale. And a bit Lovecraft-derivative.
And the title was... very obviously shoehorned in from a a painfully awkward scene - not sure if the title happened first and the scene was added to justify it, or vice versa.
What would have made this brilliant though would have been writing it from Harry's perspective, beginning to end, downplaying the multiverse-threat side and playing up the human-emotion side and the struggle of hiding a forbidden love - now that would have made an awesome story!

[Cst · Rating 2 out of 5]

This doesn’t work. The story is too separated from the world and the characters can’t cope with the vacuum. Instead the plot drags on and on and in the end stumbles to a finish that is the best feature. Because it means the bad thing has ended.
The next book needs to be better (it is) to keep me reading.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is longer than it needs to be. The story is good and it's as funny as the first one. However, there were times I thought the book would never end. There was detail I'm not sure of the purpose. With that said, it's worth a read.

[Dean Laberge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. I jumped into the series on this book and now I want to read the first one in the series. I really enjoyed Simon R. Green's Nightside series and I get the same kind of vibe from my first book in the Secret Histories series.

[Gregory B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn't expecting much from this book considering how bland and boring I thought the first one was. But I honestly thought this was an excellent read. You know a book is good when you can emotionally connect with the story and the characters in it. Highly recommended!