I was looking for something fun to read this morning, and found this book on the shelf. I've read it before and enjoyed it, and thought enough of it to keep it, instead of consigning it to Goodwill, or the Library book sale.
It's a quick read, at least the second time through, only about three hours counting breaks to grab some food.
This is part of a series, and usually I don't like to jump into the middle of a series, because it often seems like you miss some of the subleties. In this case, the series is "The Nightside". The author doesn't spend any discernible time bringing you up to speed either, which is a clever trick. He uses his description of the Nightside as part of the description and setting of each scene, so you learn about the world as you go. However, I never felt like he was springing something on me because he just realized he needed a plot twist.
Instead, it is almost as if he is giving you the picture one piece at a time, so that you can get used to each idea as he builds up your picture of the Nightside. The ideas that make up this story are pretty big - the agents of light referred to in the title are agents of good, as in Good with a capital G. That in itself may not seem very big - but he goes to significant effort to show you a glimpse of the power that the supernatural really would be.
I have read several stories of the supernatural, and this is the first one that seems to live up to the "super" part of the term. By "super" in this context I mean "beyond" or "exceeding" the natural.
I won't spoil the story by saying more, except for this: Normally in a novel the character undergoes a transformation or growth. In this novel, a character in the story other than "our hero" undergoes a growth, and it is only our understanding of the main character that evolves.
I recommend this book strongly.
