Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

May 1st 2010, Eos
388 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Personal Library
First in Sandman Slim series
Adult Fiction

James Stark's great rep got him sent to hell. When his fame as a teenage magician attracted the attention of demons, they snatched him up and dispatched him to the inferno, where he spent the next 11 years as a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's minions. Now released and hell-bent for revenge, Stark loses no time seeking out the dark magic cabal that nearly destroyed him; but he soon discovers that in the war between heaven and hell, he is not the only one with big plans?

Opinion:

Sandman Slim – don’t you just like how that rolls off the tongue? This book had me laughing out loud in quite a few places. But it isn’t a comedy by any means – it’s dark urban fiction and it hooks you right in with Kadrey’s character Stark who is smart ass, intense chain smoking & drinking, self indulgent bastard who you can’t help but like even with his act now and maybe I’ll think about it attitude. You hurt for him and his lost love Alice, though sometimes I think he clung to her memory a bit too much after what ten years? This guy was done wrong and you want to see him get some revenge.

This book has a good mix of stuff. You hear about hell, hellions (demons), fallen angels, angels and other paranormal creatures. I often shy away from books with a theme of angels and demons in it because sometimes I feel like they are a bit too preachy. However, what I like about this book is that I didn’t get religious overtones at all. This is like a lesson in all the bad habits one man could possibly ever pick up.

I really like Kadrey’s take on the hidden paranormal community that lives along side humans. I definitely recommend this to paranormal and urban fiction fans who like their reading treats with a bit of a darker and dirtier twist. If you get a kick out of Jim Butcher's Dresden files I think you'll like this series as well. I only wish there were more out already, I’ve zipped through the second book Kill the Dead as soon as it came out and I am eagerly awaiting Aloha from Hell that comes out October 18^th!!

Rating:

5/5

Pabkins

Countess of Crazy, Insane babbler, Giver of the Evil Eye, Walking Hazard Zone, Maker of Monsters, but above all Lover of a Zombie and those things that are creepy crawly.  Step in to my library my pretties…

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