Sandman Slim

Sandman Slim is a great entry into the world of the supernatural. Sandman just fought his way out of Hell and back into Los Angeles to avenge the death of his girlfriend. And what a ride it is! Throw in a bit of Heaven, Hell and in between with assorted other bad guys and magic users and you've got a good time. It seems that Sandman was part of a group of magic users who threw him down into Hell eleven years ago. Now he's on a mission to find all of them and exact payback. The story has a few ups and down initially. I found that once I was beyond the first fifty pages, I was hooked. The story throws enough twists to you that you're definitely going to be saying to yourself that you didn't see that twist coming. And I really did find myself saying that a few times. I'm a fan of hardboiled fiction and this is definitely in that genre. I would highly recommend this book and can't wait to see what else Richard Kadrey writes next.

I am a big fan of Jim Butchers, Harry Dresden books. I devour them as soon as they are written. Looks like I have another character to add to my list. Sandman Slim is hopefully the first in a series. The character of Stark or Sandman Slim, is a magic using Hells Escapee with 11 years of gladiator fighting with demons and worse under his belt. And now that he's back on Earth he's seriously pissed. The plot of the book was very well paced. Kadrey has some simply hysterical similies and metaphors which are just so unexpected and refreshing. A girl storming out of a room in a rage and pounding down the stairs is referred to as "God's tiniest tyrannosaurus" These little phrases slipped effortlessly into the narrative really keep the reader on their toes and the interest level high while simultaneously staying completely in character with the first person narrative. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of Jim Butcher and the likes of Simon Green. I would offer the one caution that Kadrey does have an affinity for swearing...quite a bit. But it does fit the character and I think it would have read false if it was sugar coated or watered down. All and all a very fun read!

I loved this book. But then I am a big fan of your classic down and dirty comics. I think if you like dark graphic novels you will dig this book. Sandman Slim (or Jimmy if you want to piss him off) has just escaped from Hell. He is here to revenge his girlfriend and will stop at nothing to get the guys that did her in. And, hey, if he gets stuck in a plot to stop world destruction on the way to his main goal who's to say that he actually meant to save the world? Sandman Slim is your typical down and dirty anti-hero. He does good deeds because he is stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has no intention of being a hero. He has a dark biting sense of wit, and this shows through in the number of over-the-top biting analogies he makes or phrases he tosses out. Almost every line he speaks sounds like it's jumping out of a comic book; so if you don't like this type of writing I would skip this book. I felt like I was wandering the dark streets of a dirtier Gotham City for parts of the book; at other times I was sure I had fallen into Simon Green's Nightside books (Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1)). I enjoyed this book immensely. The dry, dark sense of humor had me chuckling a number of times. Slim's gun-toting attitude was amusing as was his serial stealing of hot cars. Oh, yeah, and Slim is a super cool magician too, so don't forget that. Slim was one of those characters that keeps getting beat to a pulp and then gets up and dusts himself off for some more; reminded me in some ways of both John Taylor (Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1)) and Harry Dresden (Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)). All of the characters in this book were quick and dirty types (a lot of over the top quotes thrown around like in the Nightside series). I particularly liked the Jade and the Doctor, as well as Slim's close alchemist friend. This book was quick paced, action packed, and didn't pull any punches when it came to the gore involved. If you don't like to get down and dirty then don't read this book. Surprisingly there really wasn't any explicit sex, just violence galore. The book wrapped up nicely, but there could be more books in the future featuring Sandman Slim and I certainly hope that there are. I would recommend this book if you liked: Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1), Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1), The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, or dark graphic novels (Batman, Sin City, etc.).

Oh, this is fun. If you have a weekend where you're just looking to do something slightly illegal and/or destructive, read this instead. This is clever, funny, grungy and filled with mischevious, not-entirely-productive glee. The author says things like, "The more stupid people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them." Our anti-hero has spent the last eleven years in hell becoming some kind of demon-killing hero. Only, he's not nice. Grungy, leather-jacket wearing, weapon coveting and unwashed, he is socially inappropriate with normal humans and downright rude to angels. This features large, well-set up vignettes of exploding public works, video-game magic made real and appropriate snarky commentary. This is really fun if you're in an anti-authoritarian mode, or you're starting to think it might be entertaining to break things. Enjoy.

(This review is based on an advanced readers copy) This is a dark and dirty work of fantasy, so if you're looking for elves, look elsewhere. Stark comes across as a complete hardass, but isn't completely unsympathetic, I mean, I'd want to see some heads roll if I were sent down to Hell, alive. Sandman Slim is unapologetically a novel of brute force, cynical dark humor, and visceral fun. My synopsis barely covers the plot, which would be more entertaining to read in the book rather than me spouting out what at this stage in the game would be spoilers. There were a few plot points I saw from almost the opening pages, which only put me off a little bit as I read. However other plot elements, like the ENTIRE ENDING, totally took me off guard. I like a book that can surprise me. For the squeamish out there, here's your warning: If you're devoutly religious and you don't like controversy, fiction, or thumbing your nose at God, Angels, Devils, what-have-you, this is not your book. If you don't like violence, unsugarcoated gut spilling, antiheroes that make goody-two-shoes nervous and other such nastiness, steer clear. However, if you're like me at all, and you like a good adrenaline infused read, go pick this up when it comes out July 21st.