Kadrey, Richard: Sandman Slim
Sandman Slim (2009)
Written by: Richard Kadrey
Genre: Urban/Dark Fantasy
Pages: 388 (Hardcover)
I was suspicious of this book for a WHILE when I first learned of it. For starters, the cover reminded me TOO much of the cover for Mike Carey's The Devil You Know, which is a book I haven't read but keep meaning to. Also, I'm kind of suspicious of the whole hero in an urban fantasy setting thing. I think my suspicion comes from the fact I'm not at all impressed with The Dresden Files and I worried this book would be more of the same.
However, someone I know really liked it and I read another review on one of the LJ book communities that inferred that this book is a cut above Jim Butcher's series. That was enough to make me look at the book in the store: the adorable small, cute hardcover was enough to make me go ahead and buy it.
The premise: Stark is the only living man who's been dragged into Hell, and now he's escaped with a vengeance. Literally: he's going to bring down every single person who betrayed him and stuck him into Hell in the first place, but in doing so, he learns there's much more going on in the world than he ever imagined, and he's being recruited by both Heavenly and Hellion forces to fight. But for a man who only wants revenge, who cares what happens to the rest of the world? Stark is about to find out.
Review style: Two sections, what I liked and what I didn't, no spoilers.
What I Liked
The first person, present-tense POV won me over almost right away. When done right, it pretty much sweeps you off your feet and carries you through the text, to the point that you don't MIND when you notice there isn't a SINGLE CHAPTER BREAK IN THE BOOK. Ahem. Good thing the voice is so solid, because otherwise this would've annoyed the snot out of me. And the voice is rather Palahniuk-esque, but not over-the-top like Palahniuk can kind of be. Then again, when I consider the descriptive violence in the book, some people might consider that over-the-top.
I really enjoyed the cast. I have a fondness for anti-heroes, and Stark fits that image perfectly. And the thing is, I understood where he came from and didn't mind his actions because frankly, if I were in his shoes? I'd be mad as hell too and focused on only one thing: me and my revenge. His moments of vulnerability shoot the character with some sympathetic moments, and that's all well and good in terms of rounding him out, but I liked his darkness. I liked his special brand of invincibility and how he still hurt and bled like hell.
And the supporting cast was great. I loved all of them, and I found the invention of the Jades (that IS an invention, right?) particularly inspiring. I love the semi-romance, if you can call it that, budding between Stark and Candy. The battle was fantastically funny with Stark considering various elements of the battle itself (while fighting alongside Candy) as a first date. It made sense in its humorous way, given what Candy is and what Stark has become. Of course this is a first date for someone like him! But yeah, loved the supporting cast. There's not a single good guy/girl I didn't like, save for maybe Aelita the angel, who I found to be quite unreasonable, but in keeping with the book's special brand of cynicism. Yay for a cameo by Lucifer! And the HEAD. OHMIGOD the head! :)
The world-building involved, all focusing on Heaven, Hell, and the Kissi and the nephilim, is really solid and fantastically interesting. I don't mind the cynicism either, but those more religiously inclined might be offended by Stark's (and the book's) general fuck-you to God and creation. Anyone with an open mind should be fine (god knows I was), and I found the possibilities that Kadrey's created here to be rich for potential installments. Also fascinating regarding the world-building was the use of magic and magical items. The key? Oh, that was cool.
And here's another warning to potential readers: I've already touched on the descriptive violence (it's there, yo), but there's also a happy amount of profanity, and by happy, I mean the profanity pulls no punches. So expect the usual shit and damn, but also fuck and goddamn. If such excessive swearing bothers you, either get over it because it fits the character, or don't read the book at all. But like I said, it suits the character and what he's been through and what he is (and I rather like the reveal at the end of what he is), and the lack of profanity and violence just wouldn't have fit. Not Stark.
And these warnings? Note they're in the "LIKE" section. It works for me, and it works very well.
What I Didn't Like
I still don't entirely understand the whole "Sandman Slim" name and mythos. The monster who kills monsters. Oooookaaaay, but what does that MEAN? Why is THAT name chosen for Stark? Is it a prophecy (I hope not)? Or is it just what monsters are called who kill other monsters? The latter doesn't make sense, so I don't know. I hope Kadrey builds on it in future installments.
Defeating the major villains was a little too easy, once we reached that point. Without spoiling anything, I know the defeat of Mason wasn't as easy at it appeared, and that's good, but it still happened too quickly, without much tension to make me really antsy, and I wanted to be a little more antsy.
And really, that's all that's coming to mind. It's not a perfect book, but those were the particular scabs I wanted to pick at. :)
My Rating
Worth the Cash: I thought long and hard about this rating, and I want to point out the "worth the cash" rating is worth noting because this book is currently available in HARDCOVER. I enjoyed this SO MUCH that when the sequel (surely to God there's a sequel) comes out, I will be getting it in HARDCOVER. So yeah, I enjoyed the hell out of this. I feel it's kind of a cross between Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Butcher, leaning more towards the graphic violence (which makes sense, as Kadrey is also a graphic novelist) and plenty of profanity. The world-building and religious views might also make some people uncomfortable, so know thyself before picking up this book. Neither Heaven nor Hell is painted in a pretty light. Personally, I loved it. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Kadrey does with his character of Stark, aka Sandman Slim, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the religious world-building goes into that, because it's anything but cheesy. It's a fast read despite the fact there are NO chapter breaks, and the cast is just ridiculously enjoyable. Where Stark might sometimes feel like an unsympathetic bastard, the supporting cast more than makes up for it in awesomeness. So yeah, worth the cash, and that's in hardcover!
Cover Commentary: The cover, despite its similarity to the Mike Carey one I mentioned above, is quite striking. I like the coloring, the placement of the title and the font that's used, and the choice of the shadow is actually very particular to this book, and that's something to appreciate now that I've read it. The cover was one of the things (the other being the title itself) that kept me eying this book since its release, and I'm quite glad I feel for it. Also, the hardcover itself? Small and ADORABLE. Its height is maybe an inch bigger than a mass-market paperback, which I think is awesome. :) Also, the author photo on the dust jacket is quite bad-ass. :)
Next up: Ariel by Steven R. Boyett
DON'T FORGET: September's book challenge is Emma Bull's War for the Oaks. Details are here.