SS 04: Devil Said Bang: A Sandman Slim Novel

Getting out of hell is just the beginning What do you do after you've escaped Hell, gone back, uncovered the true nature of God, and then managed to become the new Lucifer? Well, if you're James Stark, you have to figure out how to run Hell while also trying to get back out of it . . . again. Plus there's the small matter of surviving. Because everyone in Heaven, Hell, and in between wants to be the fastest gun in the universe, and the best way to do so is to take down Lucifer, a.k.a. James Stark. And it's not like being in L.A. is any better—a serial-killer ghost is running wild and Stark's angelic alter ego is hiding among the lost days of time with a secret cabal who can rewrite reality. Starting to care for people and life again is a real bitch for a stone-cold killer. Review“The most irreverent, darkly comedic, and downright cool installment to date. ... Powered by Kadrey’s twisted wit and distinctive narrative voice, this novel is replete with memorable lines, images, and pop culture references. …The action-packed and bombshell-laden blend of dark fantasy, crime fiction, and Hellish sitcom is utterly readable.” (Publishers Weekly )“Richard Kadrey’s ‘Sandman Slim’ series is one of my favorite sets of fantasy books from the last few years.” (John Scalzi )“Allow me to both love this series for its feel of crossing hard-boiled crime pulp with H.P. Lovecraftian fantasy, and hate the author for being so damn good at it.” (Bookgasm )“A hell of a good time” (io9.com )“Full of action, wit, and suspense, this grabbed a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Kadrey is a master storyteller (overused, I know, but very apt) and he will have you rooting for him in Hell and on Earth.” (Suspense magazine on Aloha From Hell )“This bad-ass supernatural horror stuff is clearly the material he was born to write. Kadrey has an ungodly (literally) amount of fun with Stark’s wryer-than-wry and violenter-than-violent observations and dialog.” (Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com on Aloha From Hell )“If authors were tarot cards, Richard Kadrey would unarguably be the Hierophant of Paranormal Fantasy.” (Paul Goat Allen on Aloha From Hell )“Kadrey’s stylized treatment of the ubiquitous urban fantasy genre makes it seem fresh” (Kirkus Reviews on Aloha From Hell )“Compelling...brilliantly metaphoric...profane mixture of noir atmospherics, black humor, and nonstop action will please Kadrey’s many fans.” (Publishers Weekly on Aloha From Hell )“Kadrey’s prose is raw and gutter-tough, Raymond Chandler meets Lux Interior at the Whisky a Go Go at the end of days.” (Austin Chronicle on Aloha From Hell )“Everything a sequel should be; that is, more. … There’s hardly a moment where you’re not chewing your fingernails to the wrist wondering what happens next. … Kadrey is a hell of a writer, versatile and seasoned, and these pulpy, dark, ultraviolent novels are his best work yet.” (Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com, on Kill the Dead )“Think Get Shorty meets Hellraiser.” (San Francisco Chronicle on Kill the Dead )“James Stark, antihero of 2009’s Sandman Slim, returns in this gritty, over-the-top tale of supernatural mayhem…Profane, intensely metaphoric language somehow makes self-tortured monster Stark sympathetic and turns a simple story into a powerful noir thriller.” (Publishers Weekly on Kill the Dead )“Kadrey knows how to spin a story, his prose is crisp and effortless, and the entertainment value is high.” (Charles de Lint, Fantasy and Science Fiction on Kill the Dead )“…endlessly inventive and high-octane…Kadrey’s an excellent writer who’s able to juggle all of it without dropping a single pin.” (Locus on Kill the Dead )“A sharp-edged urban fantasy, drenched in blood and cynicism, tipping its hat to Sam Peckinpah, Raymond Chandler and the anti-heroes of Hong Kong cinema. Kadrey brings it off through the propulsive force of Stark’s in-your-face, first-person, present-tense narration. It’s a bravura performance.” (San Francisco Chronicle on Sandman Slim )“His best work yet. . . . Kadrey tells his story in a swirl of tight, darkly intense prose. . . . Sandman Slim is very, very good indeed.” (SF Site on Sandman Slim )“Sandman Slim is one of the best books I have read in a very, very long while. Richard Kadrey is a genius. I read it on the plane ride home and was totally blown away.” (Holly Black on Sandman Slim )“Paced like greased lightning (watch out for friction burns on your turning finger), blend the movie-ish delights of tough guy noir and such smart-mouthgore-fests as “Reanimator” and “Army of Darkness”, seasoned by soupcons of Gaimanian romanticism and Koontzian sentiment.” (Booklist on Sandman Slim )“Kadrey’s tale lives on a tightrope, but the author nails the right balance of detective fiction and theological fantasy, seriousness and humor, pathos and absurdity.” (Lincoln Star Journal on Sandman Slim )“Nicotine and octane in equal parts might come close to the high-energy buzz from Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim. Crisp world building, recognizable and fully-realized characters, and a refreshingly unique storytelling style make for an absorbing read.Sandman Slim is my kind of hero.” (Kim Harrison on Sandman Slim )“The best B movie I’ve read in at least twenty years. An addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece, Sandman Slim swerves hell-bent through our culture’s impacted gridlock of genres…it’s like watching Sergio Leone and Clive Barker co-direct from a script by Jim Thompson and S. Clay Wilson.” (William Gibson on Sandman Slim )“Sarcastic, irreverent and ridiculously enjoyable riff on the Urban Fantasy genre. … a lot like a mosh pit -- rough, exuberant, unpredictable -- and a heck of a lot of fun.” (Miami Herald on Sandman Slim )“Dirty, disgusting, vulgar, violent, poisonously testosterone-driven, so politically incorrect it ought to be prosecuted, and generally all-round offensively in your face. … I loved it. It’s amazing.” (Robin McKinley on Sandman Slim )“The perfect escapist storyline … side-splittingly funny. … gruesome slapstick mixed with down-and-dirty Hammett-esque mayhem and double-dealing. … If you’ve been hoping someone would bring the full-strength SoCal toxic waste to the urban fantasy game, then Sandman Slim is your poison.” (io9.com on Sandman Slim ) About the AuthorRichard Kadrey has published five novels, including Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell, Butcher Bird, and Metrophage, plus the forthcoming Devil Said Bang, and more than fifty short stories. A freelance writer and photographer, he lives in San Francisco, California.