THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC

For ages, Eddie Drood and his family have kept humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night. But now one of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie’s become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he’s on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence...

I'm a huge fan of the Nightside series, so I was looking forward to reading the first book in Simon R Green's Secret Histories series.

Eddie Drood - aka Shaman Bond - is an agent of good who comes from an ancient and very powerful family. The Drood family protect the world from supernatural threats that humans have no idea are going on around them. They also have golden torcs around their necks that turn into full body armour. He's good at his job as a field agent, but when he's attacked and labelled rogue, he's forced to depend on his enemies for help. And slowly realises that his family and his personal purpose may not be what he'd always believed it to be.

On his own and making new enemies along the way, he stumbles from one bad and dangerous situation to another, leaving behind a battered mess everywhere he goes. He seems to find more trouble at every turn, instead of answers, but when he teams up with the wild witch Molly Metcalf, together they begin to uncover a conspiracy he never imagined possible.

The cast of characters is extensive and very bizarre, proving that Simon R Green has a very fertile imagination and can deliver an exciting and twisted plot that keeps you guessing and involved until the very end. The answers about the Drood family past, the torcs they all wear, and their real motivation becomes just another explosive situation for Eddie.

The Man With The Golden Torc is a fast, clever story that'll keep you guessing at every turn. Who are the real bad guys? Are there really any good guys? At times, it feels overloaded with gadgets and supernatural paraphernalia, but that's totally expected from a Bond-esque type story.

This was a really fun book that you have got to read to the end. The answers make the ride that much better!

The Man With the Golden Torc, October 2008, ISBN 0575082224, Gollancz Paperback