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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Cover & Blurb Unveiled for Richard Kadrey's Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim 2)

What do you do after you’ve crawled out of Hell to wreak bloody revenge? If you’re Stark you turn to bounty hunting, tracking and decimating whatever rogue monsters you’re paid to kill. Stark hates the work, but he needs the money, especially the big bucks Lucifer is offering. In town as an advisor on a biopic of his life, Lucifer needs protection, and he wants Stark as his bodyguard. But the gig isn’t all bad; there is the very sexy, very hot French porn star Brigitte Bardo, a friend of Lucifer’s in LA to remake her reputation as a legit actress. While it isn’t love, it’s pretty damn good, and after 11 years of demonic chastity, it’s enough for now.

Stark has enough trouble juggling a diva devil and a scorching French bombshell without a zombie plague to complicate matters. And just what happens when a human-angel half-breed is bitten by the living dead? His human side begins to die, transforming him into an unstoppable angel of death—a killing machine devoid of emotion or thought, with no regrets or future to worry about. Not a bad way to be when you’re choices are limited. Now, Stark has to decide...if he does finds a cure for the zombie infection, will he take it?

Richard Kadrey made a name for himself in the late 80's and early 90's as a pioneer in Cyberpunk with books like Metrophage and Kamikaze L'Amour. With the Sandman Slim series he has brought an edge to Urban Fantasy seldom seen which is why it made my best of 2009 list. Coming later this October we'll be treated to some more of Kadrey's Stark no pulled punches style with Kill the Dead. This is a man not afraid to stab an Angel in the back.

The cover is perfect for the series.  It is stark and desolate yet colorful like Kadrey's prose. I especially like the clashing of the green sky with the orange type. Sandman Slim just came out in mass market for those who didn't take the hardcover plunge. Also, the hardcover is on sale at Amazon for $9, which is a steal and a great little package.

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REVIEW | Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim is the most unforgiving Urban Fantasy I've ever read with deep underpinnings of a hardboiled crime noir and sometimes biting humor. Kadrey has concocted the epitome of anti-heroes with Stark who is kind of a mystical Charles Bronson with some very cool powers and weapons.

 Used and abused by Hell and ignored by Heaven, Stark is a native of LA with the mentality of a demon. He has been burned, beaten, befouled, disembowel, and trained as the most fear fighter in Hell for the past 10 years and now he escaped and is back for revenge on those who killed his girlfriend and sent him to Hell. But Stark is not a detective so don't mistake this for a Dresden Files knock-off. If Stark met Dresden in a dark alley he would probably kicked Dresden in the balls for being such a Goody two-shoes before he knew what was going on.

 As with Kadrey's Butcher Bird, Sandman Slim plays with religious mythology in some standard ways, but also takes it places most other authors wouldn't dare. If you have delicate feelings about Christendom I'd stay away from Sandman Slim, but if you don't mind Kadrey's sometimes tawdry hand doing awful things to angels than this just may be the one for you. Stark says and does some very bad things related to religion and God in particular that some devout may have an extreme dislike with. However, if you keep in mind this is fiction or you are open to different interpretations you should have no problem. Most of the truly horrible things that befall the characters are not shown, but rather just mentioned briefly which makes it easier to stomach and most serve the story or development of the characters in some fashion. Surprisingly, there is a lack of sex although Kadrey will probably remedy that in subsequent volumes. Kadrey has introduced a great cast of characters with a lot of back-story left to be revealed, which bodes well for the continuation of this series.

If you are in the mood for a dark high-octane revenge tale with talking heads, Fallen Angels, demonic weaponry, and cool occult artifacts check out Sandman Slim. It is definitely a ride you won't soon forget. I had wished for a bit more closure with the ending, but Kadrey has bigger plans it seems. I give Sandman Slim 8 out of 10 Hats. I'll most definitely be checking out the succeeding volumes in this planned trilogy. Fans of Simon R. Green's Nightside, Carey's Felix Castor, and maybe people looking for a razor-sharpened version of Sniegoski 's Remy Chandler will surely find something to like here. I highly recommend checking out Kadrey's twitter feed as he writes some of the snarkiest tweets around.

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