Sandman Slim

Sandman Slim, Book 1

By: Richard Kadrey

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

When he was 19, James Stark was considered to be one of the greatest natural magicians, a reputation that got him demon-snatched and sent downtown - to Hell - where he survived as a gladiator, a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's fallen angels.

That was 11 years ago. Now, the hitman who goes only by Stark has escaped and is back in L.A. Armed with a fortune-telling coin, a black bone knife, and an infernal key, Stark is determined to destroy the magic circle - led by the conniving and powerful Mason Faim - that stole his life.

Though nearly everything has changed, one constant remains: his friend Vidocq, a 200-year-old Frenchman who has been keeping vigil for the young magician's return. But when Stark's first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head that belongs to the first of the circle, a sleazy video store owner named Kasabian, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than he counted on, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.

©2009 Richard Kadrey (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

One of my favorite series.

Been a go to listen while iam at work I must have listened to it a dozen times. The narrator gives each character there own unique voice it sounds great.

Who is Sandman Slim?

My first Audiobook finished from start to end. I'll say it was read and voiced very well. Some voices better than others, mostly some of the interpretations of the female variety were sometimes hard to connect to the voice held. Elsewise it was done very well and really took me into the story.
As you go in you definitely get the feelings of an origin story more and more, but one that hooks you and makes you want to dig in deeper. Some of it is more aged and I'm looking forward to book two to see if the writing style improved with how acclaimed the series has become.

Awesome - great narration, great story

If you love film noir and you love fantasy/horror, you'll love this book. The cherry on top is that that narration is awesome. Highly recommended.

Too much rage

I may have gotten spoiled for this story by first listening to Mike Carey's "Vicious Circle," which represents the supernatural genre much better than "Sandman Slim." I have trouble with audiobooks where only rage and violence motivate the main character. Such stories make me wonder about the author who created such a character, and feel pity for anybody who harbors so much anger all the time. Although I enjoyed the plot device of a living human returning to Earth from an extended stay in Hell, and I liked the supernatural characters, all the constant rage and violence put me off. On the positive side, MacLeod Andrews does an excellent job of reading this book. I advise anyone who is considering buying this audiobook to purchase "Vicious Circle" instead, for a more civilized -- yet still exciting -- supernatural thriller.

Brilliant, amazing, out-of-bounds book!

Kadrey is a king of fiction creativity. At last, a novelist who will take the reader anywhere and everywhere! There is never a possibility of guessing what comes next in any of his novels: perfect.
Excellent narration and pace for this audio book. Listened to it a few times since I downloaded it and doubtless will come back to it again in the future.

the only problem? You will have to have them all

Sandman Slim - James Stark - is a really intricate character. Was kidnapped and forced into Hell where he did 11 years as a gladiator, fighting monsters in the arena in Hell for the enjoyment of fallen angels. He finally killed his master, fallen angel Azazel, and returned to LA, looking for the people who kidnapped him… and this just the beginning…

There are now 5 books in this series and they are all excellent. Start with this one, Sandman Slim as it sets the story for the whole series. MacLeod Andrews is brilliant as a reader. Parts are so funny you'll have to pause your player, just to laugh and admire such a well turned phrase and they fit so perfectly into the story - never a feeling of calling attention to themselves as with lesser writers.

Please keep them coming!

Sly Slim

Magicians, demons, angels and more in this supernatural thriller. The boogie man of hell gets a hall pass to seek revenge on earth against the mortals that doomed him and killed the love of his life. Twists and turns keep the story revealing itself as Sandman Slim works his way through many surprises that continuously complicate what he thought would be quick revenge killings.

A bit of sarcasm and humor add to Sandman Slims personality and his inappropriate off color character goes perfect with the crazy plot line. The narrator did not have many voices but did a good job with the main characters timing.

So so

Narrator was good. Lots of violence and fighting flat 2 dimensional characters. It feels a little like The Dresden Files but without the heart.

Not particularly good

The book was an okay listen, bolstered by a strong (though in places annoying) performance by the narrator. It's what I would classify as a "beach read" if it were a physical book, although not a particularly good one at that.

Ultimately the story, characters, and world are not particularly interesting or original. This book falls into the usual traps of urban fantasy which are including everything but the kitchen sink (angels, devils, vampires, you name it), an anti-Hero Mary Sue main character, and the use of tons of goofy similes and superficial descriptions that confuse cliche with originality. Ultimately, all of the characters are pretty superficially developed, not particularly interesting, or just plain goofy. The dialog in many places is equally goofy, with the main character saying things that are supposed to be "cool" but are just ridiculous (e.g., when he torches a neo-Nazi enclave telling them "Don't $%^ with my doughnut shop."

The same goes for the plot - most of the book has a poorly developed plot that is is just a series of scenes that are strung together, interspersed with pointless filler (e.g., stealing and crashing the motorcycle). While the book does have a healthy dose of action scenes in it, even these are pretty unsatisfying since they generally revolve around the main character "doing something impulsive, getting injured, but still prevailing". If I had to use one word to describe the whole book it would be "juvenile."

A darker gray man series

I love the world building and mystery in Sandman Slim. It turns out there is a heaven and hell along with many layers of creatures and and entities that live in between both worlds. Sandman Slim is our guide as we discover this new world that is all around us. We follow along as he seeks revenge and wait to discover the answers to the many mysteries presented in this first of a series. Narration is top notch.