Kill City Blues

Sandman Slim, Book 5

By: Richard Kadrey

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Audie Award Finalist, Fantasy, 2014

Another day, another apocalypse....

James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, has managed to get out of Hell, renounce his title as the new Lucifer, and settle back into life in L.A. But he also lost the Qomrama Om Ya, an all-powerful weapon from the banished older gods. Older gods who are returning and searching for their lost power.

The hunt leads Stark to an abandoned shopping mall - a global shopping paradise infested with Lurkers and wretched bottom-feeding Sub Rosa families, squatters who have formed tight tribes to guard their tiny patches of retail wasteland. Somewhere in this kill zone is a dead man with the answers Stark needs. All Stark has to do is find the dead man, recover the artifact, and outwit and outrun the angry old gods - and natural-born killers - on his tail.

But not even Sandman Slim is infallible, and any mistakes will cost him dearly.

©2013 Richard Kadrey (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Best narrator ever!

What did you love best about Kill City Blues?

The narrator, MacLeod Andrews, brings an already great story--to life. LOVE this man.

I also want more of the Grays. Maybe in the next book???

What did you like best about this story?

Richard Kadrey creates strong characters (James Stark) that make even the unbelievable--believable.

I love how Kadrey--through Stark--explains the unexplainable. From God, heaven, and the devil to magic. He layers these explanations/ruminations throughout the stories.

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

MacLeod Andrews is a storyteller. He brings each character to life. LOVE his storytelling.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for book 6.

wonderfully twisted as usual

the only complaint I have is that it's over to quickly. wickedly entertaining. I walk through Hollywood listening to sandman slims adventures with a smile.

Another great visit to crazy world of Sandman Slim

This is turning out to be a great series. Stark has changed a lot, but remains much the same. He still does crazy stuff and takes huge risks, but for better reasons. It nice to see the growth of his character grow in a believable way while keeping his gritty punk edge.
As always, a couple chuckles, a couples grimaces and a couple moments of surprise. If your just seeing this series, start at the beginning. It is well worth the listen if you're into this genre.
I absolutely love the split God characters and the original Lucifer (sp?).

Enjoyable read

I enjoyed the whole series, not high fantasy but fun reading. Seems to borrow from other writers. This doesn't bother me because he writes better than the other writers do.

Hell Yes!

If you could sum up Kill City Blues in three words, what would they be?

Freakin' Awsomely Awesome

What other book might you compare Kill City Blues to and why?

Lots of Urban Fantasy out there, lots of angel stories, but there's nothing like the Sandman Slim series.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sometimes I pee a little, just a little!

Any additional comments?

Kadrey has kept the series alive (dead?) by staying true to who Stark is. It's his F...ed up world and I'm just glad I get to read it.

You'd be crazy to hate Hell's most infamous killer

and other phrases I thought I'd never be writing. Sandman Slim, the Monster who Kills Monsters, and direct descendent of Wild Bill Hickok, didn't have an ordinary childhood. No, it's not the fact that he was a nephilim raised among an underclass of magic-users who could get pretty much any spell to work without studying; the poor son of a gun was raised in LA. So getting dragged down to Hell when he was 19, the only living human to have been sent on the coal cart, might've been less of a shock to him than most. Still, spending 11 years being brutalized, violated, forced to fight in the arena of Hell's capital, and then made the ultimate assassin by having the one key to accessing any point in Creation implanted in his chest is bound to make anyone a little cranky. Perhaps then it's no surprise he murdered his slavemaster and beat feet for home. And that's just the backstory.

In book five we find that only the devil knows how many gears a Hellion Hog's gearbox has, because the series just seems to keep picking up momentum. Our main character managed to get out of being the new Lucifer and in the process found an object left over from the beginning of the universe, a weapon capable of killing a good, which is kinda convenient since Lovecraftian Old Ones banished to another dimension are really trying to make a comeback, all while an insane angel is intent on becoming the new God by killing the current one.

That makes this little doodad a very hot-ticket item, and it's up to our band of intrepid cutthroats (err heroes, I mean) to set off on a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl through the ruins of a horror-infested mall (aren't they all horror-infested) to get to it before anyone else does on the basis that they're such a bunch of near-do-wells they're far less likely to actually do anything with the weapon than anybody who actually wants it.

I wouldn't call this a bridge novel exactly, but it ends at a point that felt incomplete, possibly due to size constraints. Or because the book did a lot of finishing old story threads while opening up entirely new ones. In this way, while crazy, violent, but chaste-ish fun, it's probably not the best one to pick up first for a true representation of it.

More good stuff from the mind of Kadrey!

What did you love best about Kill City Blues?

I liked it all, the characters, the Attitude, the "in your face" defiance of religious Norms! Pushing the limits, who am I kidding,? Smashing the limits, making new limits & smashing them as well! When a Man becomes the Devil then tricks God into taking over his duties as Lucifer (Hells Paper pushing Mayor of sorts) while he goes back to being a man (somewhat) killing angels, deals with Vampires, pissing off Ghosts, & Demons & ghouls & old Gods... Oh My..! What more could a guy ask for out of one book??

What did you like best about this story?

Everything! This story could go on and on & never get boring!

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't do spoilers!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed a few times out loud.. But crying.?! Nah!

Any additional comments?

If you listened to the other Sand Man Slim books Im sure you don't need to read a review to know your buying this one too! You won't be disappointed!

They keep getting better

Finally binge-reading all of the Sandman Slim books after bumping into one of Kadrey's Facebook comments. The man knows how to turn a phrase.

Amazing stories by an amazing author.

Once again Richard Kadrey has scored another win with Kill City Blues. His Sandman Slim books are like a warm blanket for me on a cold night and this was no different. I love seeing how the characters constantly change and evolve and this book really focused on that concept. I can't get enough of this series.

LOVE This Series!

I love just about everything in this series and in this Book 5. I love all the characters that MacLeod Andrews brings to life so perfectly. I love the writing that is so rich with emotion about the universe, the world and people.
I can totally see this entire series as a film. I know I have said it before in my previous reviews, but these are such awesome books that impart a beautiful visual display as I listen.
I don't mind at all that the book ends with a "To Be Continued". I certainly will read/listen to the next one. I don't want it to end.