Rating: 
Summary: Green scores with this one!
Review: Although DRINKING MIDNIGHT WINE, a books about a parallel magical world ala Harry Potter, is a real departure from Simon R. Green's space opera DEATHSTALKER series, it is still characteristic of the author. Green's dry, homicidal wit is still in evidence every bit as much with Angel as it ever was with Hazel D'Ark and Ruby Journey. Toby is every inch the bumbling, reluctant hero that Owen Deathstalker was. The additions of Gayle and others only made the book richer and more unpredictable than the DEATHSTALKER books had a tendency to be. This one is a must-read for Simon R. Green fans. Absolutely wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Hawk and Fisher, where are you?
Review: Didn't really care for this. I really prefer the Haven/Hawk&Fisher books. The story dragged, the characters talked too much, and the ending felt rushed. For all of the 'end of the world is at hand' I didn't really feel any tension or threat from this story.
Rating:
Summary: Mythical England in the 21st Century
Review: Drinking Midnight Wine is very similar to Shadows Fall in ambiance and tone, but otherwise differs greatly in characters and plot. It is almost traditional in approach, with Faery coexisting with the mundane world and with some persons in each who can move between the worlds.Toby Dexter, a bookshop assistant, lives in Bradford-on-Avon and works in Bath. Over a period of time, he has become attracted to a woman who also rides the commuter train between the two towns. On one particularly wet evening, he is behind the woman as she gets off in Bradford and sees her make a doorway in a wall and walk through. He follows her and finds himself in bright sunlight. Although very similar to his Bradford, the town is somehow different. The people are also familiar yet different. He is told that he is now in Mysterie rather that Veritie. He meets the mysterious woman, Gayle, and finds himself hopelessly in love. They discover a plot to destroy Mysterie and conquer Veritie and together they work against it. The plot involves the Serpent in the Sun, the Serpent's Son Nicholas Hob, and Angel, who is an angel of some kind. Arrayed against these plotters are Gayle, Toby, Gayle's sister Luna, Jimmy Thunder the godling, Leo Morn and his friend Brother Under the Hill, the Waking Beauty Carys Galloway, and the Mice. In reading the prior reviews, I notice that the Americans seem to have read only the Deathstalker and Hawk & Fisher novels, although one mentioned Blue Moon Rising. Green has written at least 20 novels to my knowledge. Almost all of them have action plots and the majority are sword and sorcery works, but this is not the first novel largely given to character exposition and urban settings. His novel Shadow Falls reads like an Amber work, but with a different mythology. Several reviewers compared this novel to Neverwhere. While agreeing with the similarity, one should consider that Gaiman was dealing with traditional fantasy elements in his novel. Others have walked through doors or mirrors into Wonderland. This novel is a coming of belated age tale. If ever a person is a case of delayed adolescence, it is Toby Dexter. In Mysterie, he is forced to examine his comfortable life and reevaluate his priorities and, in so doing, he changes others as well. This novel is vintage Green with a new twist and an excellent example of urban fantasy. Hopefully, Green will make this a series; Mysterie has sufficient unrealized possibilities for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: A good read...
Review: Green has been my favorite writer since I picked up "Deathstalker Rebellion" some five or six years ago. Since then, I've plowed through just about every one of his other books and he's been getting better and better. That said, "Drinking Midnight Wine" is not a favorite of mine. I wouldn't be surprised if this book sets up a new series, as it has that kind of feel to it - everyone needs to be introduced, the worlds need to be explained. Green seems to be in love with Mysterie and Veritie, as he relishes describing them and how they relate to one another. Absolutely no lack of creativity in worldbuilding, but sometimes the worlds take over the story... The characters are great, well-developed; protagonist Toby Dexter is adorable. The first part of the novel moves at an almost languid pace (I read it during downtime at work - very relaxing) and picks up speed at the end - and yeah, it does feel rushed. Readers used to Green's in-your-face style in the "Deathstalker" series will find a more subdued writer here. All in all, it was a good read. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: A good read...
Review: Green has been my favorite writer since I picked up "Deathstalker Rebellion" some five or six years ago. Since then, I've plowed through just about every one of his other books and he's been getting better and better. That said, "Drinking Midnight Wine" is not a favorite of mine. I wouldn't be surprised if this book sets up a new series, as it has that kind of feel to it - everyone needs to be introduced, the worlds need to be explained. Green seems to be in love with Mysterie and Veritie, as he relishes describing them and how they relate to one another. Absolutely no lack of creativity in worldbuilding, but sometimes the worlds take over the story... The characters are great, well-developed; protagonist Toby Dexter is adorable. The first part of the novel moves at an almost languid pace (I read it during downtime at work - very relaxing) and picks up speed at the end - and yeah, it does feel rushed. Readers used to Green's in-your-face style in the "Deathstalker" series will find a more subdued writer here. All in all, it was a good read. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: A good read...
Review: Green has been my favorite writer since I picked up "Deathstalker Rebellion" some five or six years ago. Since then, I've plowed through just about every one of his other books and he's been getting better and better. That said, "Drinking Midnight Wine" is not a favorite of mine. I wouldn't be surprised if this book sets up a new series, as it has that kind of feel to it - everyone needs to be introduced, the worlds need to be explained. Green seems to be in love with Mysterie and Veritie, as he relishes describing them and how they relate to one another. Absolutely no lack of creativity in worldbuilding, but sometimes the worlds take over the story... The characters are great, well-developed; protagonist Toby Dexter is adorable. The first part of the novel moves at an almost languid pace (I read it during downtime at work - very relaxing) and picks up speed at the end - and yeah, it does feel rushed. Readers used to Green's in-your-face style in the "Deathstalker" series will find a more subdued writer here. All in all, it was a good read. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: Sneaky Simon green!
Review: He sneaked this one out on us. I found it in the local bookstore almost by accident. It says its a 2001 released in the States in 2002. Interesting. Anyway - fun book. Yes its similiar to Neil Gaiman's NeverWhere (stop right now and buy it if you haven't) but different in many respects. First - its light hearted at times and Neverwhere is anything but. Fun, adventure filled tale of a simple man who becomes entwined in magical doings and such. Green is fast becoming one of my favorite authors and this book is a nice change of pace from the DeathStalker & Hawk & Fisher stuff. Highly enjoyable "one off" book that promises and delivers on the familair theme of the everyman caught up in events beyond his control and perhaps his understanding. Only complaint is that its bit slow to start but once the actions starts- its a blast. Simon is great at the action stuff and we could have used more of that here. Oh yeah - Jimmy Thunder rocks - he definitely needs his own series of Detective novels!!
Rating:
Summary: Green is my new favorite author
Review: I came across Simon R Green, through his new novel something from the nightside, which I loved. Drinking Midnight Wine wasn't quite as good, but still a fun read. I don't understand why there is a review from Publishers Weekly telling almost every single major plot point. It tells you Leo Morn's true nature, who lives, who dies, and what ultimatley happens to angel. Still I enjoyed this book, and think Green can write fantasy better than all the Tolkien clones. Green comes at his fantasy books from a different angle, with a sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: Green is my new favorite author
Review: I came across Simon R Green, through his new novel something from the nightside, which I loved. Drinking Midnight Wine wasn't quite as good, but still a fun read. I don't understand why there is a review from Publishers Weekly telling almost every single major plot point. It tells you Leo Morn's true nature, who lives, who dies, and what ultimatley happens to angel. Still I enjoyed this book, and think Green can write fantasy better than all the Tolkien clones. Green comes at his fantasy books from a different angle, with a sense of humor.
Rating: 
Summary: My First Let Down
Review: I have loved Simon R. Green's work since I first read Deathstalker. I loved his psychopathic characters, the not-so-good good guys, and the not-so-bad bad guys, the same old plot but with some original twists, and the sarcastic twists of humor that he wove within his novels. When I finally got around to picking up his latest novel, however, I found myself in a world of disappointment. While I enjoyed the characters of Jimmy Thunder and Angel, I found Toby Dexter a rather obnoxious character who couldn't get through his head that when a woman says that she's uninterested, it means that she is uninterested! And I thought that Gayle could have been a lot more intriguing if you got the impression that she thoroughly knew that she could never fall in love with Toby and never did. The plot failed to hold me, and I hate to admit that I put the book down midway, a first for a Simon R. Green novel considering I read the first three Deathstalker novels within the space of a week. The plot seemed rushed, the characters embryonic and seemed more than anything the author's attempt to escape into a fantasy world through Toby rather than helping us to escape into that world. I think I'll be sticking to the worlds found in the Deathstalker and Hawk and Fisher novels.
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