This is the second book in the Sandman Slim series; you wouldn't have to read the first book to read this one, but the first one gives a lot of great background and is a wonderful book so I would recommend reading it. I actually listened to this on audio book; the audio book was exceedingly well done.
Stark (Sandman Slim) is whiling away his time drinking, doing miscellaneous work for the Golden Vigil, and wishing he could kill Mason (the evil man who sent him to hell for eleven years). Then he gets a message that Lucifer (Satan) is in town and wants to meet. Ends up Lucifer needs a body guard while he is in town working on his new movie Morningstar and he wants it to be Stark. As if this wasn't odd enough Stark is called in by the Golden Vigil to consult on a mysterious and violent death. Stark also kind of notices, in between his drunken hazes, that people have been disappearing at a higher rate than normal. Next thing you know revnants (zombies) are roaming the streets and the whole world is on the brink of apocalypse...again. All Stark has to back him up is a mysterious belt buckle, some Hellion hoodoo, some kick-butt weapons, and a bit of half-angelic boost.
This was seriously a very awesome book. I was excited to read it after how much I liked Sandman Slim and I am so happy I did. Stark is tough and not afraid to get hurt; he is an excellent anti-hero who always impresses with his harshness, yet is somehow still a kind of moral hero of sorts. Oh yeah and he is hilarious, the humor in this book is dark but I was laughing out loud a number of times during this book. The shear awesomeness and funess (is that a word?) of the whole thing was just exhilarating. This book is very violent, but in a fun way...
You learn a lot more about Stark and his world in this book. You learn more about his family and more about his history. You get a chance to understand him better and how his human and angelic sides work (or don't work) together. We get some great new characters; one of my favorites was Brigitte. Brigitte is a porn-star/actress with an awesome secret, some serious attitude, and of course some serious sexiness. I also loved that we got to spend so much time with Lucifer and get to understand him better too. There are some shocking revelations in this book that will keep readers guessing as well.
The action scenes and pacing are spectacular, I listened to this on audio book and it was hard to stop. I just wanted to keep listening. Kadrey is just an excellent writer and I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. This story wrapped up well, but definitely has some issues to deal with still in future installments. For some reason this book reminded me a lot of The Crow movie; it has that same anti-hero thing going on, is ultra-violent, and action packed. This book reads like a movie and it would be great if they made it into one some time.
Overall an absolutely stellar read and an excellent addition to this series. These are definitely adult reads (lots of violence and some sex). If you haven't read these books you should give them a try especially if you are a fan of the anti-hero/superhero type of things, love urban fantasy, or love action. Fans of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Remy Chandler by Thomas Sniegoski, Spellbent by Lucy Snyder, and Felix Castor by Mike Carey should find lots to love in this book.
Stark (Sandman Slim) is whiling away his time drinking, doing miscellaneous work for the Golden Vigil, and wishing he could kill Mason (the evil man who sent him to hell for eleven years). Then he gets a message that Lucifer (Satan) is in town and wants to meet. Ends up Lucifer needs a body guard while he is in town working on his new movie Morningstar and he wants it to be Stark. As if this wasn't odd enough Stark is called in by the Golden Vigil to consult on a mysterious and violent death. Stark also kind of notices, in between his drunken hazes, that people have been disappearing at a higher rate than normal. Next thing you know revnants (zombies) are roaming the streets and the whole world is on the brink of apocalypse...again. All Stark has to back him up is a mysterious belt buckle, some Hellion hoodoo, some kick-butt weapons, and a bit of half-angelic boost.
This was seriously a very awesome book. I was excited to read it after how much I liked Sandman Slim and I am so happy I did. Stark is tough and not afraid to get hurt; he is an excellent anti-hero who always impresses with his harshness, yet is somehow still a kind of moral hero of sorts. Oh yeah and he is hilarious, the humor in this book is dark but I was laughing out loud a number of times during this book. The shear awesomeness and funess (is that a word?) of the whole thing was just exhilarating. This book is very violent, but in a fun way...
You learn a lot more about Stark and his world in this book. You learn more about his family and more about his history. You get a chance to understand him better and how his human and angelic sides work (or don't work) together. We get some great new characters; one of my favorites was Brigitte. Brigitte is a porn-star/actress with an awesome secret, some serious attitude, and of course some serious sexiness. I also loved that we got to spend so much time with Lucifer and get to understand him better too. There are some shocking revelations in this book that will keep readers guessing as well.
The action scenes and pacing are spectacular, I listened to this on audio book and it was hard to stop. I just wanted to keep listening. Kadrey is just an excellent writer and I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. This story wrapped up well, but definitely has some issues to deal with still in future installments. For some reason this book reminded me a lot of The Crow movie; it has that same anti-hero thing going on, is ultra-violent, and action packed. This book reads like a movie and it would be great if they made it into one some time.
Overall an absolutely stellar read and an excellent addition to this series. These are definitely adult reads (lots of violence and some sex). If you haven't read these books you should give them a try especially if you are a fan of the anti-hero/superhero type of things, love urban fantasy, or love action. Fans of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Remy Chandler by Thomas Sniegoski, Spellbent by Lucy Snyder, and Felix Castor by Mike Carey should find lots to love in this book.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Review: Overall I thought this book was a great second book in the series. My biggest complaint about the first book was that Stark was a thoroughly unlikable person with anger management issues. It didn't really seem like his attitude and personality were scaled back that much, but that little bit really helped a lot.
I liked some of the developments that occurred in the book - especially towards lining up the next show down between Stark and Mason. I liked all the different types of zombies as well. The changes in Stark that start halfway through the book were great as well.
I didn't care for what happened with Aelita and the Golden Vigil. It seemed immature and unnecessary for the story.
Spoiler Alert:
When Aelita revealed that she had realized that God had abandoned everyone and that it was necessary for her to go kill God and take his place, I just rolled my eyes. Not that I can think of any other book off hand that did that, but it just seems so cliched for some reason.
End Spoiler Alert
This biggest thing I disliked in this book was that the ending was anti-climatic. The book was building up the bad guys and building up the Zombie Apocalypse and then *poof* everything's taken care of. I still not certain why the bad guys were doing what they were doing either.
Overall a good book, though the ending doesn't live up to the rest of the book.
Review: Overall I thought this book was a great second book in the series. My biggest complaint about the first book was that Stark was a thoroughly unlikable person with anger management issues. It didn't really seem like his attitude and personality were scaled back that much, but that little bit really helped a lot.
I liked some of the developments that occurred in the book - especially towards lining up the next show down between Stark and Mason. I liked all the different types of zombies as well. The changes in Stark that start halfway through the book were great as well.
I didn't care for what happened with Aelita and the Golden Vigil. It seemed immature and unnecessary for the story.
Spoiler Alert:
When Aelita revealed that she had realized that God had abandoned everyone and that it was necessary for her to go kill God and take his place, I just rolled my eyes. Not that I can think of any other book off hand that did that, but it just seems so cliched for some reason.
End Spoiler Alert
This biggest thing I disliked in this book was that the ending was anti-climatic. The book was building up the bad guys and building up the Zombie Apocalypse and then *poof* everything's taken care of. I still not certain why the bad guys were doing what they were doing either.
Overall a good book, though the ending doesn't live up to the rest of the book.
