The Man with the Golden Torc (Secret Histories, Book 1)

This book rates 3 1/2 stars if you have read many Simon R Green books, or 4 stars if you havent. The reason for the difference is that although the book is well written (and the hardback book I received has a good quality jacket), it is typical Simon Green. The setting is a bit different, but that is all. All his books tend to revolve around the following storyline:

There's the rebellious white male in his late 20's with powerful magical abilities who is suddenly victimised for no apparent reason. This forces him to join forces with a powerful, attractive yet psychotic woman, and together, they beat the bad guys and fall in love. Along the way, there are some fantastic scenes and characters.

I Like Simon Green's book, I really do. But it's becoming a bit of the same ol' thing. Not a bad read, but I hope the next one's got something a bit different in it.

4 stars? 5 stars?? I'm starting to question some of you... O_o
I couldn't make it past the first chapter. I was driven to complete distraction with the un-ending assault of just how cool the golden armor was. Seriously. As soon as Eddie pops on his gold force field, he can't stop extolling it's virtues. How'd he get past that dog? The armor! You see, it's stealthy! Now he's sneaking past some guards. How is he doing that?! Oh right. The armor. It's sneaky! Mr. Green, could you please tell us readers why Eddie is able to just walk past those security cameras? What? The armor keeps him undetected? OH yeah! How could I have forgotten the stealth properties of the golden armor!? Especially with you reminding me EVERY OTHER PARAGRAPH. Not to mention the excessive repetition of the impervious-ness of the armor, the sense enhancing of the mask, etc. etc.
Also, I must take issue with everyone likening Eddie to James Bond. I like the idea of a supernatural James Bond. Eddie Drood isn't it. James Bond doesn't need to tell you how cool he is. James Bond doesn't need to browbeat you senseless with how cool his gadgets are. James Bond doesn't need superpowered armor. Eddie Drood as something from marvel comics? Maybe. James Bond? Hell no.

I am seriously skeptical about starting the Nightside series now. Having read the reviews, it seems that Mr. Green's penchant for overkill description isn't limited to Drood's golden, glorious, smooth, gleaming, seamless, stealthy bomb-and-bullet-proof armor.

I thought this was a rehash of the his Deathstalker series. Same protagonist fighting the good fight against both his enemies and his friends.

His style remains unchanged, one of the most fertile minds writing in SF today. He may not have any breakthrough concepts but he must have the greatest number of antagonists per page of any author.

If you liked his other books, you will like this one. But that said, if you read his other books, don't expect any new ground.

I prefer his Haven and Nightside series. They seem to be written in more of an intimate, Chandler style. The Epics such as this series are almost frantic with all the ideas and characters to stuff into a mere few hundred pages.

Take James Bond, add a pinch of James Dean, sprinkle in a bit of irony, enrobe in impregnable living armor (the Golden Torc) and you have Eddie Drood - the hero of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC.

The Drood Family has been charged with protecting humanity from ill-intentioned supernatural creatures. Eddie, the black sheep of the family, just wants to do his job as a field agent. He couldn't care less about power or family intrigues. Unfortunately, the latest family intrigue involves him: Someone has convinced the family he is a traitor.

The Matriarch of the Drood clan sends Eddie on a mission certain to end in his death. Eddie survives the wave of attacks-for the time being. Unfortunately, an arrow laced with "strange matter" penetrates his "impenetrable" armor, and is gradually poisoning him (reminiscent of that old Dennis Quaid movie, D.O.A.). But Eddie isn't going down without a fight. He's determined to learn why his family wants him dead. In the spirit of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," he teams up with the wild witch Molly Metcalf, an ardent foe of the Droods. Eddie finally closes in on the awful secret at the heart of the Drood's power - The Heart. This entity from another dimension provides the Droods with their Torcs, their living armor. As Eddie uncovers the terrible price The Heart demands in exchange for Torcs, the Droods learn that a man with nothing to lose is a dangerous man indeed.

Fans of Green's "Nightside" series will feel right at home in the world of Eddie Drood. Several elements from the Nightside books make cameo appearances, including a Hand of Glory and sentient, meat-eating cars.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC provides a deeply satisfying read. Green does a wonderful job of world building without too much back story and has endowed Eddie Drood with a dry wit that leavens even the darkest moments of his journey. Green also gets bonus points for naming Eddie after the title character in Charles Dickens's last, unfinished work. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC is the first book in Green's new series, and readers will look forward to rejoining Eddie Drood in DAEMONS ARE FOREVER.

Reviewed by Deb Gross
07/11/2007

This book, to me, feels like the way a long comic book would read. It's very fast with a ton of action. Don't think of this book as a serious read because it doesn't deserve that kind of attention. This is a light hearted 'comic-type' fun action book. I didn't rate this book the way I normally would. You can't compare this book to more serious art like George RR Martin's ASOIF. It's not thought provoking. It's not supposed to be. I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was like revisiting my childhood days. There is a really interesting twist at the end also. As far as writing goes this would probably be less than a 1, but I really had fun with this book so I gave it a 3.

The Man With the Golden Torc (2007) is the first fantasy novel in the Secret Histories series. The Drood family has been protecting England from supernatural and alien menaces for millennia. They also conceal evidence of the others that live among and prey upon humans. Some believe that the family name was originally Druid, but only the family elders know if this is true.

The torc is a golden neck ring that turns into a suit of magical armor at the uttering of the proper Words. The torc is bestowed on each Drood scion shortly after birth. All Droods can manifest the armor, but only field agents have enough experience to use it fully.

In this novel, Shaman Bond is a Drood. Eddie Drood, to be precise. He is a field agent for the family, fighting evil monsters and alien creatures. One day, everything changes.

Martha Drood has called Eddie back to the family home. He has been away for ten years and doesn't relish returning, but one obeys when the Matriarch calls. After reaching the estate, he first walks to the old chapel to see his great-great-great grandfather Jacob Drood, the family ghost.

Returning to the house, Eddie finds the Sargeant-at-Arms waiting in the vestibule. Jeeves shows Eddie to the library and leaves to inform his grandmother of his arrival. Eddie had spent much time in the library pestering the old librarian for information on the family history and other subjects and still has fond memories of those times.

Uncle James encounters Eddie wandering through the racks. James is his favorite living relative. After his parents died, Uncle James coaxed Eddie out of his misery with lots of personal attention. As a widely known mercenary soldier, the Grey Fox provided an immediate example for Eddie. James even encouraged him to become a field agent and leave the family home.

Uncle Jack is the family Armourer. Retiring as a field agent after twenty years of fighting for the good cause, Jack used this experience to produce devices to aid other field agents. Eddie visits him to get his portable door recharged, to pick up a heavier weapon and to renew old acquaintances.

Alexandra Drood was Eddie's childhood sweetheart, but he hasn't seen her for the past ten years. She is now training as the replacement for Uncle Jack for when he retires. She has been running the Armoury for a while and gives Eddie a hard time over his presence there.

Matthew Drood is a cousin about Eddie's age. Matthew was always a teacher's pet. He has never been a field agent, but is still an ardent believer in following the family rules. Since Eddie is more of a freethinker, he and Matthew don't get along very well.

Molly Metcalf is a wild witch. She and Eddie have been trying to kill each other for years. She is an enemy, but Eddie highly respects her talents and perseverance.

In this story, Eddie is assigned to take the Soul of Albion back to Stonehenge and bury it there. After getting a Colt Repeater -- it never runs out of self-guided bullets -- from Uncle Jack, Eddie starts the run to Stonehenge. On the way, he finds the road to be empty of other cars and is suddenly attacked by several groups of very bad characters.

Eddie counters all the attacks and destroys the opposition, but he also becomes a tad suspicious. He checks out the Soul and finds a tracer instead of the jewel. Then Uncle James turns up and states that Eddie has been declared as a rouge.

Eddie takes his bullet-riddled and scorched automobile back to London and hides it in a safehouse. Thinking over his conversation with James, he decides that he needs more information. The only place to get answers is from his enemies, so he makes a list and starts looking.

Eventually Eddie approaches Molly and convinces her to help him. She takes him to talk to three other family rouges near London, but they know nothing about the reasons he had been shunned. The first two help a little bit, but the third -- Sebastian Drood -- betrays Eddie to his enemies.

This tale finally shows Eddie why he was set up by the Matriarch and then driven out of the family. The reasons turn him against the family elders. He has always believed that the family was working for good, so now he begins a drive to turn them into the type of organization that they have professed to be.

You may well have noticed the similarities between thin novel and the James Bond series. It isn't just your imagination. The next book in the series is named [[ASIN:0451462084 Daemons Are Forever]].

The plot is filled with action and violence. It strongly resembles the Nightside series in many respects, but doesn't seem to have any link to that saga. The sequel will be coming soon. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Green fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of magical quests, secret organizations, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Eddie Drood (aka Shaman Bond) is a trouble shooter for his family which protects mundnes in the world. He starts with a mission to terminate the pregnancy of a President who ha gotten himself knocked up by a not so minor demon and has checked into the Hospice of Saint Baphomet. Already you see some of the sometimes sly and other times broad humor in the book--the witness intimidation program is good too.. There is a ongoing send up of the James Bond Films as well; in particular the shoot out on M4. Then there is the watch that changes time instead of telling it--"if it breaks just use a little butter...only the best butter of course" shades of Lewis Carroll! The genre can use more humor.

The plot starts out looking pretty linear but takes a couple interesting turns and overall is excellent. The characters are very good; well drawn. Its nice to not have principal characters jump each other at every opportunity. The world building is first rate and pretty innovative. I found the description on the cover rather off putting and the cover has nothing whatsoever to do with the book. There was one annoying possible error, the use of inflammable to mean something that burns--it actually means something that doesn't burn--and hasn't been used in the old sense in North America sense the late `60s and the EU changed when the IEC standardized terminology. But compared to the often rampant editorial errors in recent books the author and editor are to be congratulated--and it could be sarcastic.

If you like dark fantasy you will love this--definitely and outstanding read.

BTW do you know who Arne Saknussemm and Cave Carson are?

This was a good story with even more creative characters like those in the Simon R. Green's Nightside novels, but it didn't quite measure up. It was interesting and entertaining with likeable main characters. The story did however seem to develop too quickly for something that is going to be a series but we'll see. Definitely worth the read!

It takes a little while to get into this one but after the **** hits the fan it is absolutely wonderful. I really enjoyed it and I am going to look for the sequel.

Edwin (Eddie) Drood aka Shaman Bond is a secret agent for humanity. His family protects the world from all the evil out there. And there is alot of evil just waiting to jump on us poor old humans. Eddie, while somewhat of a rebel, is still upholding the morals and laws he was raised with. Imagine his surprise after a meeting with the matriarchial leader of the family, his grandmother, he is attacked by various and sundry evil doers and hears that he has been labeled a rogue agent.

With his whole family and alot of enemies after him, he sets out to find out what this is all about. Feeling that his enemies probably know what is going on he visits several with unusual consequences. Finally he hooks up with the infamous witch Molly Metcalfe. These two have tried to kill each other numerous times but now they find themselves with a common enemy, the Drood family.

I loved the humor, the panache, and the just outright idiocy of this book. After you get through the first few chapters it is a very delightful read.

No need to give a plot summary--others have done that. I have been a great fan of Jim Butcher's DRESDEN FILES, and only a couple of pages into THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC we are SUDDENLY in the same kind of world...London version, with Edwin Drood a field agent for the most powerful family on earth. They just work behind the scenes, sort of. Others here have mentioned how they felt this new series is a rehash, or revision, of Green's NIGHTSIDE series. I wouldn't know, I haven't read any of that series. This is my first reading of a Simon Green book and I'm now a fan. Edwin Drood...aka Shaman Bond...is a great new character who lives in a rich world of good vs. evil, magic, creatures, ghosts, etc. I still give the edge to Dresden, but I'll be reading every book of this new Edwin Drood series--it's that good.