The Dirty Streets of Heaven

Volume One of Bobby Dollar

By: Tad Williams

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Bobby Dollar is an angel - a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby’s wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own - pride, anger, even lust.

But his problems aren’t all his fault. Bobby can’t entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he’s not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn’t trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. End-of-the-world bad. Beast of Revelations bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby’s going to need all the friends he can get - in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

You’ve never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you’ve never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven.

Brace yourself - the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.

©2012 Tad Williams (P)2012 Penguin Audiobooks

Kinda weak for T W

Tad Williams’ books stand out because they are deep, complex and populated with engaging characters. This one, not so much. It’s entertaining enough but very shallow character development and relatively weak story. Felt more YA than his usual fair.

I liked it

interesting twist on a mystery. I found Bobby Dollar very likeable and will be listening to more in this series.

love tad williams and this is a great book

Would you listen to The Dirty Streets of Heaven again? Why?

aaaaa no it was great but i dont even watch the same movies twice...

What does George Newbern bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

i think he did a good job and pleasant to listen to

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

ahhh..yes and have been through all three in the series

A Very Human Heaven

Not a bad story, but not a great one. The ending was both a bit predictable and not terribly fulfilling. Characters were generally interesting, but, again, their agendas were somewhat predictable. I bought this without knowing it was a detective mystery, and books in this genre have to be fantastic for me to like them, so if you just like detective mysteries you'll probably like this. If you like supernatural stories, not so much. This heaven was, as mentioned, very human, the supernatural very natural, and so on.

Urban fantasy with actual Angels and Demons

An urban fantasy with actual Angels and Demons. Written in the style of a detective-noir the main character is a not perfect angel advocate arguing for departed souls to go to heaven. He gets caught up in a after-life threatening conspiracy.
I liked this but it really going to depend on the readers taste. The humour is dry, snarky and puny. If you like modern detective noir you'll probably like this.

Exceptional Noir

A dirty little love story that leaves you begging for more. Dont say I didnt warn you!

Addicted

I actually casually picked up Sleeping Late on Judgement Day first. and it was so good. i had to know the story from the beginning. did not dissapoint.👌

Most Imaginative Gumshoe Novel Ever!

It's such a fantastic surprise when a book exceeds your every expectation. I didn't just like this book -- I loved it!

First reason: the character of Bobby Dollar, who is a modern take on the classic hard-boiled, pulp-fiction private eye. This guy can go wise-crack for wise-crack with Sam Spade or stand toe-to-toe with Mike Hammer.

Second reason: the imaginative setting. I can't think of any other neo-noir setting that is quite so much fun as this one. The uneasy truce between heaven and hell is the perfect background for a private-eye procedural where all-is-definitely-not-what-it-seems.

Third reason: the performance. George Newbern makes Bobby's wisecracks come alive. His pitch-perfect delivery of the "Prince Sat-on-a-panda" wisecrack had me in stitches.

I've been a fan of Tad Williams's since Tailchaser's Song and I'm very happy to see him return to stand-alone novels. I eagerly await the next installment in the Bobby Dollar series.

Too long

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I read it as part of a book club. I wanted to read a Tad Williams book so I thought this was a good place to start. I would recommend a friend to see what other books Williams has written and see if any of them are more interesting.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I sensed something was up, but I didn't make the connection.

What about George Newbern’s performance did you like?

He had a good voice. You could tell from the tone of the voice which character it was, which is not always the case with some narrators.

Do you think The Dirty Streets of Heaven needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

There is a lot of background information and unfinished threads in the story which I think will be picked up in the following books. I will read the next books when they come out.

it was a fun read

Would you listen to The Dirty Streets of Heaven again? Why?

I don't think I'll listen to it again. Re-reading/listening is pretty rare for me. I liked this one, but I don't think it's going to come around again in my listening queue

Would you recommend The Dirty Streets of Heaven to your friends? Why or why not?

I would definitely recommend the story to anyone who likes urban fantasy, but also to non-fantasy readers. The ideas and characters are interesting.