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INTERVIEWS

Peter Higgins, author of Wolfhound Century

Myke Cole, author of Shadow Ops Series

John Brown John, translator of the Zamonia Novels

Jim C. Hines author of Libriomancer

Nick Harkaway author of Angelmaker (review here)

Martha Wells author of The Cloud Roads

David Tallerman author of Giant Thief

Mazarkis Williams author of The Emperor's Knife

Rob Ziegler author of Seed

Steven Gould author of 7th Sigma

Douglas Hulick author of Among Thieves (review here)

Mark Charan Newton author of Nights of Villjamur (review here)

Kameron Hurley author of God's War (review here)

Brent Weeks author of The Black Prism (review here)

Anthony Huso author of The Last Page (review here)

Brandon Sanderson author of The Way of Kings (review here)

Lou Anders Editor of Pyr Books

Ian Tregillis author of Bitter Seeds (review here)

Sam Sykes author of Tome of the Undergates (review here)

Benjamin Parzybok author of Couch (review here)

Kristine Kathryn Rusch author of Diving Into the Wreck (review here)

Ken Scholes author of Lamentation

Cherie Priest author of Boneshaker (review here)

Lev Grossman author of The Magicians (review here)

Character Interviews

Alexia and Lord Maccon from Gail Carriger's Soulless

Lord Akeldama from Gail Carriger's Soulless

Eva Forge from Tim Akers's The Horns of Ruin

Atticus from Kevin Hearne's Hounded

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Cold Days by Jim Butcher

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Scourge of the Betrayer by Jeff Salyards

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Control Point by Myke Cole

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway
My BlogCatalog BlogRank Wikio - Top Blogs - Literature

REVIEW | Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey (Eos)

Last year Sandman Slim was the most adrenaline pounding, foul-mouthed, and no-nonsense take on Urban Fantasy seen in years.  Kadrey took Urban Fantasy slapped it around, gave it some balls, and didn't apologize for it.  Nor should he have. So the sequel Kill the Dead comes to us on quite a high and I can happily report that it lives up to the first volume. I wouldn't say it was better, but most definitely on the same plateau. I loved every second of all the zombie killing, alcoholism, and back talking. Stark is still the anti-hero Kadrey's LA needs.  Kill the Dead is more a mystery story than crime novel as Sandman Slim was.

Kill the Dead sees Stark getting drawn into a missing person case while also being tasked as Satan's bodyguard. At first you have to ask what the hell does Satan need a body guard for? Well, he has got enemies. Lots of them from nearly every camp whether light, dark, or grey. Other reasons are eventually given as well. Satan is in town to make a movie because that is what every one in LA is trying to do, which means this time around Stark levels up the crowd he mixes with. Not that they are better people. Just richer and even more perverse than we've seen so far, which says quite a bit.

There were a few characters who got left in the dust this time around. The good Doctor Kinski and his nurse barely show up and Stark's magic fellows Allegra and Vidocq do little more than mix some potions, which seems a poor use, especially given Vidocq's background. There wasn't enough Angelic interaction this time around, but Kadrey makes up for it with a big change to Stark in the last quarter and a few good backstory reveals and plenty of action. 

We do get just the right amount of Kasabian, the bodiless head, filling the world with his thoughts that just bring to mind a dirty old landlord wearing a stained wife-beater every time. As a character Satan brings a lot to the table as well. Kadrey definitely makes him feel fresh and dangerous. Also, Stark finally gets a love interest of sorts that certainly knocked my socks off. Let's just say she was the perfect kind of woman for him.
mystery

Kill the Dead delivers more combat than most action movies and blends in the feel of a modern take on Mickey Spillane. The Noir style still plays off well and the lack of chapter breaks makes the story speed by at a lightning pace to the point that it ends before you are ready for it to stop. Kadrey gives you no fluff as every detail is used to propel the story ahead. I give Kill the Dead 8 out of 10 hats. The use of zombies at first made me groan as I didn't think Kadrey needed to go there given the big world he created in Sandman Slim, but he manages to use them as a lethal weapon and even gives them a few nice twists. Kill the Dead is just as strong as Sandman Slim and left me wanting for the Angel showdown that we know is coming in the third volume Aloha From Hell.

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