This was a four just barely. I was not thrilled with the ending. I felt like their was too much explaining in an attempt to set up the world and the next book.

The book was pretty action packed and that slowed it down a little. I think Green fans will like it. Clearly a James Bond Nightside and feels like Nightside might fit right inside this world. ( )

I loved the humor. A Harry Potter for adults? Leave disbelief at the door and jump in for a few chuckles. ( )

The Man With the Golden Torc is the first book in Simon R. Green's Secret Histories series. I checked it out because I'd checked out book 11, Moonbreaker, from my library's new audio books section and loved it! Yes, I'm spoiled for a number of things in the series, but I don't care. I loved book one, too.

Although I haven't watched many James Bond movies and never read any of the books, I had to enjoy hero Eddie Drood introducing himself by his use-name, Shaman Bond.

As if the warning in the foreword weren't enough, the sights Eddie casually describes as he walks toward his next assignment should not be read by anyone with paranoid tendencies. On the other hand, the book is funny. I truly enjoyed the multitude of in-jokes to delight fans of horror, the supernatural, and fantasy/folklore that are sprinkled throughout the book like colored sugar on cookies (or chocolate chips, if you prefer).

Drood Hall is a very interesting place, but I wouldn't want to live there. We do get treated to some descriptions of the family pile, complete with an unexpected attack. Eddie is given a mission that leads to a chase scene any supernatural action movie would envy.

Chapter Notes:

Chapter 1:

a. Love the motto of Dr. Dee & Sons & Sons.

b. All the Droods have seen 'The Omen'.

Chapter 2: We're introduced to Archie Leech and his Kandarian amulet.
Mentions: the Kabbalah, Necronomicon, the Book of Judas, and the Herod Canticles (haven't heard of that one)

Chapter 3:

a. We're introduced to Eddie's favorite Internet Café and its manager, Willy Fleagal, whose T-shirt slogan is one I agree with.

b. Another introduction is to the Wulfshead Club, a place I can imagine a number of characters from other fantasy worlds enjoying. We meet some interesting persons there.

c. The Dr. Delirium who is gossiped about here will be an important character in book 4, From Hell, With Love.

d. Rossum's Unionized Robots is a play on Rossum’s Universal Robots, from the 1920 play 'R.U.R'. by Karel Čapek.
Mentions: Bill Gates and Julia Roberts

Chapter 4:

a. Eddie drives a 1930s powder blue Hirondel convertible sports car.

b. Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics are mentioned. (Eddie's a fan.)

c. Lenard Cohen's 'I'm your Man' is mentioned.

d. The Drood Hall grounds are described.

e. Eddie thinks Jacob Drood, the family ghost, is his great-great-great grandfather. He tells us how he met the ghost. (I like Jacob's T-shirt.)

f. Other mentions: MTV, 'Dark Shadows,' and 'The Addams Family' (TV show versions for both).

g. A headless nun haunts the north wing.

h. Jeeves is the peerless butler created by humorist P. G. Wodehouse. Read the books and watch the videos.

i. Eddie's late parents were Charles and Emily Drood. Their photo is described as well as part of the interior of the enormous Drood Hall.

j. The weird creature met in this chapter will be alluded to again in Moonbreaker.

k. The Droods have Rembrandts, Goyas, and Schalckens, among other priceless works of art.

Chapter 5:

a. Boz, Gladstone, and Disraeli are mentioned.

b. We're introduced to the Drood Hall War Room, which is guarded by Goblins. "The London Times' and its famous crossword puzzles are mentioned.

c. I think by the Ice Queen, Eddie means Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Snow Queen'.

d. There's a brief history of the Drood Family Matriarchs.

e. Don't miss the part where the Matriarch discusses possible wives for Eddie and his opinion of them.

f. The Soul of Albion and Stonehenge are mentioned.

g. For the legend of the three crowns of Anglia, read 'A Warning to the Curious' by M. R. James, definitely included in the collected ghost stories, though if you have a kindle, you might want the more extensive collection of his supernatural writings in A Pleasing Terror.

Chapter 6:

a. The armoury is described. (I love the T-shirt some of the interns are wearing. The one the Armourer is wearing is a tad unnerving.)

b. We meet two cousins from Eddie's year, Alexandra and Matthew Drood.

c. Look here for the gadgets the Armourer gives to Eddie. ( )

A very fun read from a while ago. An interesting conceit of "What if James Bond worked for a magical secret society?" I've been meaning to find the sequels for when I've the time to read them. ( )

Pick one, Nightside or Droods. Too similar to bother with both. ( )