A Book Obsession..: Kirsten Reviews: Live and Let Drood by Simon R. Green

Kirsten Reviews: Live and Let Drood by Simon R. Green

, by Kt Clapsadl

Live and Let Drood by Simon R. Green

Secret Histories #6

The name is Bond, Shaman Bond. Better known as Drood, Eddie Drood Yes, I’m one of those Droods—the family who’ve been keeping the forces of evil contained in the shadows for as long as humans have walked the earth. Recently, I suffered a slight case of death, but thanks to Molly, my best girl (who happens to be a powerful witch), I got over that right quick. Unfortunately, my family wasn’t so lucky. In my absence, Drood Hall was destroyed and all my relatives were killed. Which left me as the Last of the Droods. I didn’t much like being The Last Drood, I can tell you—and then I realized that things weren’t as they seemed. Someone had activated a dimensional engine, sending my Drood Hall off to an alternate Earth, replacing it with a burnt-out doppelganger. My family is still alive out there. Somewhere. And nothing’s going to stop me from finding them…

'Live and Let Drood,' the sixth book in Simon R. Green's 'Secret Histories series picks up where its protagonist, Eddie Drood, self styled magic-using James Bond-type left off. Fully recovered from death, apparently only a mild case, Eddie returns home to find it gone. More than that, Drood Manor has been attacked, and every single member of his family is missing.

Eddie and Molly Metcalf, his snarky, effervescent and pragmatic lover have a lot of enemies, and there's no telling which one of them might have been responsible for such a crime, but Eddie's out for blood.

Green has already established that Eddie Drood is a bit of a secret agent, but one that uses magic, and this latest installment continues utilizing this device to its fullest extent. Between travelling to new secret bases and dealing with a guy who's basically this series' version of 'Q,' Green is clearly enjoying himself. Even the quips and banter between Eddie, Molly, and the various other characters have the Ian Fleming flavor, and at times one is waiting for Sean Connery to step out onto the page in a recognizable cameo. Who knows, it could happen.

Eddie and Molly are so good at what they do that it's hard to buy them being in real danger, which means there are some bigger than life bad guys waiting around the corner for them. That is, if Eddie and his fiery companion don't knock them over the head first.

However, just as in any franchise, it's sometimes easy to see plot twists before the characters do, and this book has several that were obvious enough that I was waiting for Eddie to catch on for several chapters.

Aside from that quibble, Eddie Drood and the other characters are engaging enough that the reader is quite ready to head off with them to get a little revenge and cause as much trouble as possible along the way.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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