"Wonderfully imaginative. Green presents some great plot twists, and a few sparkling and quite original concepts. The novel rattles along at such a pace that, if you're into spoof fantasy, you'll find it compelling despite yourself."

"Wonderfully imaginative. Green presents some great plot twists, and a few sparkling and quite original concepts. The novel rattles along at such a pace that, if you're into spoof fantasy, you'll find it compelling despite yourself." (Mark Latham DEATHRAY )

"The wise cracking plot hits the ground running and ends with a rip-roaring finale. Green has certainly provided himself with plenty of scope for future adventures. A fun ride." (STARBURST Barbara Davies )

"A fun read." (David V Barrett FORTEAN TIMES )

"A fun read."

You know what? It's all true. Everything that ever scared you, from conspiracy theories to monsters under the bed to ghosties & ghoulies & long-leggity beasties. The only reason they haven't taken over the world yet is because my family has always been there to stand in their way. We guard the door, keeping you safe from the big bad wolf, and you never even know our names. Of course, there's a price to be paid. By us, and by you. The username's Bond. Shaman Bond. Licensed to kick supernatural arse. And Bond - real name Eddie Drood - comes from one of the oldest families in England, a family that has been protecting Humanity from the forces of darkness for more centuries than anyone can even remember. And Eddie Drood loved his job - until the day it all blew up in his face . . . SECRET HISTORIES is a mix of James Bond and Blade, a fast-paced roller-coaster ride through the dark side.

Simon R. Green is the author of the bestselling DEATHSTALKER cycle, the New York Times bestseller ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, and many other novels. He lives in Bradford-upon-Avon in Wiltshire.

2007-09-19 Dr maybe

Simon R Green ,as any fan of his writing will already know, is the author of the phenomenally entertaining "Deathstalker" series. He would always be hard pressed to top that so it should come as little surprise that his latest novel -an attempt to fire up a new saga pales into comparison when set against the exploits of Owen Deathstalker and company.
The Man With The Golden Torc ,as the title hints is an attempt to mesh together the spy genre with the supernatural thus we find Shaman Bond (yes really) aka Eddie Drood acting as a field agent for his family who have been protecting humanity from all kind of nefarious and unpleasant paranormal and mystical beasties . The torc refers to the device around his neck which allows him to armour up protecting him from all the unnatural elements and weapons railed against him. The torc is the personal protector of all the Drood family but Eddie is the black sheep , tolerated and allowed some autonomy because he is so good at his job. Suddenly though he is declared rogue for reasons that remain a mystery and must assiduously hunt for clues that will lead him to the truth .Along the way he hooks up with a mortal enemy -Molly the witch and learns that his family has some long hidden deeply unpleasant secrets. He also discovers his golden armour is not as impenetrable as he first thought.
The book is entertaining enough and full of imaginative touches but it filches too heavily from ideas already utilised in the Deathstalker chronicle. Eddie is declared rogue like Owen and then must fight to prove his innocence. Both have hereditary powers-Eddie the torc , Owen the boost and both hook up with a feisty women and have an unrequited thing going on. The family is again an inviolable but assiduous influence. There are some nice homage touches to the Bond series -the "Armourer" is obviously a "Q" substitute and the "Matriarch" a darker "M"(If you take into account the Judi Dench portrayal)
The story lacks the scope and sheer range of characters of the Deathstalker novels , no surprise I suppose given that they had whole galaxies to cover but the interchanges between characters seem rather contrived now and some of these verge on the embarrassing . It doesn't help either that its given a first person narrative so we only see things from one point of view. On the plus side he doesn't use the phrase "Inhumanly fast" once.
The Man With The Golden Torc is worth a read but I doubt it will have you salivating for the next instalment like The Deathstalker novels did. Sorry to keep mentioning them but they are the standard by which Simon R Green will always be judged. The next book in this series is to be called "Daemons Are Forever" .I feel the one after should be titled "The Sprite Who Loved Me " or "Golemeye" or maybe "Die And Let Live" .....just a thought.