cover image Daemons Are Forever

Daemons Are Forever

Simon R. Green, . . Roc, $23.95 (406pp) ISBN 978-0-451-46208-4

This lighthearted second installment (after 2007’s The Man with the Golden Torc ) in the adventures of “very secret agent” Eddie Drood follows the former rogue and reluctant patriarch as he struggles against enemies within and without his temporally extended family. Fighting against the Droods’ stiff-necked traditionalists and their previous deals with various devils, Eddie finds ways to combine the magic of his girlfriend, woods witch Molly Metcalf, and cousin Harry’s “hellspawn” half-brother and lover, Roger Morningstar, with the high-tech gadgets of the family Armourer to save the world from an intrusion of the Hungry Gods. Other than some page-long character-developing digressions, the pace is fast and energetic, which keeps attention off the occasional giant plot hole. Green loves the wide-screen splash of cinematic battles against zombie hordes, and genuine traces of tragedy and nobility underlie the nonstop punning banter and pop culture references, lending surprising nuance to this merry metaphysical romp. (June)