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.

A good book with nice Lore

As I saw from another review, the magic side of this story isn’t the most riveting, but the human parts of it are definitely where this book shines. I’ve listened to it several times now and keep coming back to this series.

The way Stark is written and how Mr. Andrews portrays him really show a person with flaws and emotions, and someone who struggles with making the best decisions. If you enjoy characters with nihilistic world views and a character that keeps persisting out of spite and hatred for those who wrong them, You may like this book.

Loved it!

Comedy meets action in the Sandman Slim series. I absolutely loved these books, and the narrator was perfect as Sandman Slim. I would compare these to the Monster Hunter International books by Larry Correia.

Enjoyable Dark Tale...

But probably not for everyone. I personally enjoy a good yarn with some blood and guts and well placed vernacular of the foul sort. Makes me feel like I am not alone in my world view of "things that really %^$# me off". A different sort of story and the reader did an excellent job as well.

A fun, bloody, gruesome romp

I stumbled upon this novel by accident, and I'm truly glad that I did. This was a brilliant story that was made even greater by Macleod Andrew's awesome reading. Kadrey has basically back-handed most fantasy novels written within the last 20 years. He is able to mix virtually every element of fantasy without it seeming tacted on or sluggish, and has created a brand new sort of tragic ficitional icon that struggles with himself and his own shortcomings as a person, as he does beasts, devils, and pompous angels (LoL). The interesting thing about this novel is that it totally points its finger and makes fun of the old "good vs. evil" theme. Stark, the story's protagonist, who is about one insult and apple fritter away from being deemed a "villain", is by far one of the most interesting anti-heroes I've come across. To me he is on par with timeless comic characters such as Spawn or John Constantine of the Hellblazer series. Mix this with the always tragically interesting LA scene, and Kadrey has constructed a winning piece of fiction. Truly a great novel, and one I'll probably listen to over and over again with each installment. Cannot wait for the next ones.

Gritty uban fantasy in the vein of Desden Files.

Any additional comments?

Sandman Slim is a tremendous amounts of fun. The main character is similar to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden in a lot of aspects, but is a lot more bitter, a little funnier and a lot grittier. As a first book in a series, Kadrey did an excellent job mixing backstory, introduction to the characters and world, action and the rules of magic in this universe. I appreciated the incorporation of traditional folklore, religion, mythology, and some others of Kadrey's own imaginings. There is great potential for this series (which strikes similar notes to the television show Supernatural). This first book gave us a completed arc, but kept enough tantalizing questions and implications to leave me wanting more (in a good way).

A good setup

The narrator for these stories is great!
The writing is quick and fun.
The story is a bit formulaic, but it is quite entertaining. This book sets up the next book very well and is worth every second.

Shrug

Narrator was good, book was good enough to finish, I'll buy the next one. Nothing special though.

Really enjoyed!

Sandman Slim was a good read and the narrator was excellent, did a really great job! The main character in this Urban Fantasy is sarcastic, non apologetic and a bit crazy. Story moved along very fast and was entertaining. Plan on readying the next book in the series.

A nice surprise

What made the experience of listening to Sandman Slim the most enjoyable?

Narration is good
Story is good and has like able characters this was a nice surprise
Cursing was a bit but overall good book

Good story.

Had trouble in the beginning with the main characters "stupidity". But it got better as it went on and I realised it was just a bit of character development that was overlong on the no brains side. Some of the action felt short. I realise it was meant to be abrupt intentionally but it did not have enough contrast to have that sudden feeling. Overall I enjoyed the story for its originality.