This November, Sandman Slim rides again! I’ve been a fan of Richard Kadrey‘s excellent series since they were first published in the UK (2012), when the publisher gifted me the first three books. Each new book has been a must-read for me (in addition to the author’s other, non-Sandman Slim books), but after a busy period I fell a little behind. With In the Devil Wind — the 13th, final novel in the series — on the way, I think I have the incentive to finally get caught up! A nice goal for the summer, perhaps.
Here’s the synopsis:
In this heart-pounding epilogue novel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling Sandman Slim series, James Stark once again finds himself between a rock and a hard place — except this time the rock is Heaven, and the hard place is Hell…
A devil’s work is never done.
James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, is trying to find his footing in a Heaven that’s anything but heavenly. And when God gets attacked and the angels and hellions start picking sides for a new war, the celestial realm is one spark away from an explosion. Stark just wants to be left alone to watch old movies, but when a madman named Dixie Midnight starts cutting a bloody path through the palace, he’s dragged back into the fray.
Stark’s investigation uncovers a conspiracy that goes deeper than he could have ever imagined. And every new encounter leads to yet another mystery, another foe, and — at one point — a spell that is inexorably draining his very essence. Betrayed by those he should be able to trust, hunted by supposed friends and enemies alike — all while running out of time, because apparently there is nothing after the afterlife — Stark must navigate the treacherous corridors of Heaven and the backroads of Hell to solve a problem he only sort of understands.
And he’d kill for a good apple fritter.
Death is not the worst thing that can happen to Stark — dealing with bureaucratic assholes, renegade angels, and homicidal sociopaths is. Stark thought he was done with being the monster killer… done with being the monster. He was wrong.
And that means Heaven must wait…
Richard Kadrey’s In the Devil Wind is due to be published by Harper Voyager in North America and in the UK, on November 17th.
Also on CR: Reviews of Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha From Hell, Devil in the Dollhouse, Devil Said Bang, and Kill City Blues
The cover and details for The Dead Take the A Train, the new novel by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey has been unveiled! An eye-catching, twisted cover pairs nicely with the synopsis, and places the book firmly on my must-read list:
Later this year, Voyager are due to publish King Bullet, the twelfth and final book in Richard Kadrey‘s superb Sandman Slim series. I started reading this when I was a lowly intern at Voyager in the UK (a job I still look back on very fondly). I’ve fallen a little behind on the series, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the novels I’ve read so far. I can’t wait to get caught up and see how the series ends. Here’s the synopsis:
Well, that cover is rather fantastic. I’d spotted the synopsis for this novel a short while before the cover was unveiled, and my interest has only grown with that gorgeous cover. I know, “don’t judge a book by its cover” — I’m not, really, as I’m already a big fan of Richard Kadrey‘s novels, and have routinely recommended and cheered each and every new novel he’s written and had published. (Shamefully, that hasn’t stopped me from falling behind…) The Grand Dark is “a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy… a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.” That sounds pretty intriguing! It has also been described as akin to the work of China Miéville and M. John Harrison. Here’s the full synopsis:
This August, Kadrey’s fan-favourite anti-hero Sandman Slim returns in Hollywood Dead, his tenth novel! I’m a big fan of the series (although, I have fallen a little behind), and I’m really looking forward to reading this one. Here’s the synopsis:
Civilian Reader 