The Man With The Golden Torc by Simon R. Green

Add a dash of James Bond, a pinch of Clive Barker, and a heaping tablespoon of explosions, shootouts, and fisticuffs. Then bring to a boil and voila! You now have Simon R. Green’s heterogeneous mixture of these various genre elements, and you know what? It tastes good.

The Drood families are the secret protectors of the world. They protect the world from everything: aliens, monsters, extradimensional entities, demons, and even megalomaniacal villains who want to conquer the world. All Droods are given a golden torc (a necklace around the throat, sort of like a choker) which gives them the ability to cover their bodies with invulnerable golden armor, as well as superhuman strength. Edwin Drood, our hero, has been a faithful, yet distant, member of the family and has a reputation for punching first and not asking questions later. When he is declared rogue and his family turns on him, his world comes crashing down around him. He is now on the run from them and all the bad guys their money can hire. His only allies are former enemies, a witch, and an immortal Jack the Ripper. He will need to hit, break, smash, and crush everything in his way in order to clear his name. Along the way he starts to question his life, why he does what he does, and who are the real bad guys in the world. It looks like he will have to start using his noggin if he wants to survive.

This is an advanced read, and suitable for everyone 16 and up. There is a large amount of violence, lots of gore, but that is to be expected with a horror/action hybrid. There is also some minor sexual content as well that may make it inappropriate for younger readers. Another drawback is that the book takes a bit to pick up, but only because it is the first in a series and needs to lay out the foundation for its supernatural world. This book would mostly appeal anyone who is really into supernatural/gothic horror or who really needs a good action fix.

Posted under a librarian reads, review