Fans of Simon R. Green’s “Nightside” series will know what to expect from this anthology, a collection of short stories that might have previously been a little hard to find (although I had read most of them from owning the older anthologies some of them had appeared in). It can also be a good first sampling of the series for newcomers, to get a feel for the world and the wild and diverse characters that live in the Nightside.

Most of the stories in this collection follow supporting characters from the series rather than having all of them follow John Taylor during an investigation, but to me, that makes this collection even better, since it adds to the backstory and mystery of the people that John considers friends, and family.

The best stories were the ones I would (and did) reread almost immediately:

“How Do You Feel?”, a tale focusing on Dead Boy’s quest to finally confront the person responsible for killing him so many years ago, and his coming to terms with finding out what really happened that night, and with moving forward from it.

“Razor Eddie’s Big Night Out” is a revelation, an origin story of how Eddie became the Punk God of the Straight Razor, and sheds a lot of light on why even people in the Nightside steer clear of the man at all costs.

“The Spirit of the Thing” is amusing, a story that’s about more than it seems on the surface, and about balancing the scores that no one cares or talks about.

The gem of this collection is the new novella, “The Big Game”. It touches on some of the big secrets of John Taylor, his relationship with and connection to his closest friends — Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, Shotgun Susie — and the real strength of his gift to “find” things… and that means find anything.

If you’re a Nightside fan, this collection is one you need on your shelves.

Tales from the Nightside by Simon R. Green
Series: A Nightside Book
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Ace; First Edition edition (January 6, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425270750
ISBN-13: 978-0425270752