Richard Kadrey

Working as a sideshow gladiator in Hell after being snatched by demons at the age of nineteen, James Stark escapes and returns to Los Angeles, where he plots to destroy the magic circle that stole his life.

Sandman Slim

altlovesbooks

"If I learned anything Downtown, it's this: the only real difference between an enemy and a friend is the day of the week."

I wasn't sure going into this book if I'd enjoy it or not, if we're being honest from the beginning. This book was featured in the book club I'm a part in, and I very nearly passed it up. I'm glad I stuck with it though! 

Stark spent 11 years in Hell, escapes, and is now looking for revenge against the guy who put him there. Starting out from nothing he builds up a small mixed bag of friends, and together with stolen cars, guns, and a basically immortal body (mostly the immortal body part), he starts working towards an end goal that seems more complicated by the day.

This is very much a dark humor book. Lots of sarcasm, lots of violence, some low brow humor, and some moments where it feels like the main character has paused to mug for the camera and wait for canned laughter. If you can get past all that, there's surprising scenes of philosophy mixed in, where Stark contemplates good vs. evil, what makes monsters different than men, and the cost of vengeance. The characters, side and main alike, are all written convincingly, I think, and the settings all managed to be varied and interesting despite the book taking place (basically) in LA. 

I'm glad I took the time to read this!

Kirsten Simkiss

Sandman Slim is chaotic - in the best way! From the trash fire he wakes up in at the start to the gift he gets at the end, Stark isn’t really my usual type of main character. That being said, you definitely cannot complain about this character not taking agency in his own life. He might not always make the smartest chess move on the board, but he makes it through, one way or the other.

What I enjoyed most about this book were the wealth of side characters. From a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of skill sets, the side characters are intelligent supporting roles throughout the book. I particularly enjoyed Allegra, Vidocq, and Candy, though there are several others to choose from. I love a book with strong side characters.

Is it my favorite book in the world? Nah, not really. Was it a fun read? Absolutely. It’s not particularly deep - or at least it wasn’t for me - but if you’re looking for urban fantasy action, this is a great choice for you. A little on the gory side in places though, so be warned. This book is definitely intended for adult readers.

“An addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece.” —William Gibson “A sharp-edged urban fantasy, drenched in blood and cynicism, tipping its hat to Sam Peckinpah, Raymond Chandler, and the anti-heroes of Hong Kong cinema….A bravura performance.” —San Francisco Chronicle “I couldn’t put it down.” —Charlaine Harris Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster rider that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable tale of a vengeful magician/hitman’s return from hell is part H.P. Lovecraft, part Christopher Moore, part Jim Butcher, and totally, unabashedly dark, twisted, and hilarious.

A Novel

Sarah Escorsa

“Fuck me. I’m a rock star. And all I really wanted was a burrito.”
  


➽ And the moral of this reread is: My #1 boyfriend. Worse than the bogeyman and tooth decay. Not a fan of mythological soap operas (a shame, that). The Joseph Stalin of laundry. Loves painting walls with livers and spinal cords. Gives fellow monsters girls booty calls to massacres. Always in for a cigarette, a drink, and a lobotomy. How anyone can resist his undying charm is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe, if you ask me. (view spoiler)[
  

  

  
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[August 2017]

Cunningly/shrewdly/mercilessly/whatever ruling over millions of mostly brain-dead murderous crustaceans doesn't mean one cannot be a complete, utter idiot sometimes. I mean, look at this delicious little piece of uproariously gruesome beauty here. It's been sitting unread on my to-be-ruthlessly-crushed to-be-read shelf for TWO bloody shrimping years. You really have to be some special kind of nitwit a little distracted to let such a disgraceful, revolting thing happen. In my defense, I have to say that my rampaging, decapodic kids are forever and always getting mixed up in subaquatic skirmishes, so it's no wonder I end up missing out on some slightly scrumptious books sometimes. Ergo, I forgive myself. Such a splendidly generous soul I am (view spoiler)[
  
 (hide spoiler)].

So. Why should I have read this decades, if not centuries ago, you ask? Because:

➽ This world. This story. It's original. It's creative. It's dark and noir and stuff. It's gritty. It's messy. It's blackly hilarious. It's twisted. It's brutal. It's quite devastatingly beautiful, really. Also, it features asshole angels and yummy demons. And bloody shrimping Lucifer (aka my hero and role-model extraordinaire) himself. You just cannot go wrong with such a beautiful collection of cunning, devious, ruthless, perverse, murderous bastards. 



➽ This writing. It's first person, present tense (and I  loved slightly liked it anyway *utters a shrimpy gasp*). It's scrumptiously in-your-face and charmingly aggressive. It's non-stop bloodbath action. And it's one hell (view spoiler)[
  pun somewhat intended. You are quite welcome
 (hide spoiler)] of a page-turner despite the weird book structure (or lack thereof and stuff). Think of it as a perpetual acid high adrenaline rush that will keep kicking you in the lovely derrière until your turn the very last page. Which is kind of scrumptious and stuff. 

➽ This Jimmy Stark/Just Stark/Sandman Slim/New boyfriend of mine. He is a teensy little bit fucked-up screwed-up messed-up after spending the last 11 years of his life in Hell (fun times). He is delectably raw. He is exquisitely offensive foul-mouthed irreverent rude. And wickedly snarky, too. Also, he shoots/cuts/chops first and asks questions later. His slightly violent tendencies really are a thing of beauty. I like to think of him as my boyfriend Daniel Faust's somewhat demented/manic/homicidal/vindictive cousin from L.A. So much bloody shrimping hotness. 



No wonder it was lust love at first sight between us. I mean, how was I supposed to NOT fall for him, when he says lovely, delicate stuff like: "If either of these guys even blinks funny, I’m going to be painting the walls with livers and spinal cords." And, just like that, forever doomed I was. Yes, it is quite official: I am in LURVE again (view spoiler)[
  warning: the following spoiler might hurt the sensitivity of some barnacles
  (view spoiler)[❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤(view spoiler)[EW EW EW and YUCK YUCK YUCK (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]
 (hide spoiler)]. 

➽ This yummy cast of luscious supporting characters. Such a beautiful collection of benevolent, sane, gentle, decent, sophisticated personas here. And it's not only the the villainous villains well-meaning Mother Theresa wannabes I am talking about here. I mean, they are quite adoption-worthy in a pleasingly repulsive way, but it's my Stark's sidekicks I have a perverted weakness for: Vidocq because, you know, Vidocq and stuff. Kasabian, because, who would not fall for a sleazy, obnoxious undead head? And I am SO Kidnapping You Candy the Jade (IaSKYCtJ™), because: "Candy isn’t using the guns anymore. She’s back to teeth and claws, a meat grinder in tight jeans and Chuck Taylors." So beautiful. Sigh.



Cute, caring, affectionate teddy bears really are pretty disgusting, if you ask me.

» And the moral of this If You Are a Fan of Historical Romances and Cute Love Stories then this is THE Book for You Crappy Non Review (IYAaFoHRaCLSttiTBfYCNR™) is: this is so bloody shrimping good I am going to jump straight into book 2. When I should be somewhat devouring Edge of Forever. 



Yeah yeah yeah, shame on me and all that crap, but I have Awesome Pippa DaCosta's blessing and stuff, so there.

· Book 2: Kill the Dead ★★★★★
· Book 3: Aloha from Hell ★★★★
· Book 3.5: Devil in the Dollhouse ★★★★★
· Book 4: Devil Said Bang ★★★★
· Book 5: Kill City Blues ★★★★
· Book 6: The Getaway God ★★★★★
· Book 7: Killing Pretty ★★★★
· Book 8: The Perdition Score ★★★★★
· Book 9: The Kill Society ★★★★★
· Book 10: Hollywood Dead ★★★★★
· Book 11: Ballistic Kiss ★★★★
· Book 12: King Bullet ★★★★★



[Pre-review nonsense]


  Sandman Slim
. Slightly unhinged. Slightly screwed up. Slightly reckless. Slightly violent. Slightly enraged. Slightly hilarious in a beautifully offensive way. Out for delicious revenge. Just my kind of prince: not bloody shrimping charming at all.

BOOM.

Kidnapped.



» Full Jimmy I Lurves Him Stark Just Made it Directly to the Most Scrumptious Boyfriends Ever High Security Wing of my High Security Harem YUM and Stuff Super Crappy Non Review (JILHSJMiDttMSBEHSWomHSHYaDSCNR) to come.

Kadrey knows what makes a good B-rated revenge 80s revenge film and somehow perfectly puts it into a written form. Ugly magic, bastard angels, God's first mistaken crack at free will selling drugs as a white supremacist group, an alchemist who accidentally became immortal, a sad sack severed head that somehow didn't die, and one really angry dead man who went to hell without ever dying and clawed his way out to kill the people who did it to him. Fantastic.

Andy

Supernatural fantasy has a new antihero in Sandman Slim, star of this gripping, gritty new series by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim

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