Richard Kadrey has created one of the best new anti-heroes in the fantasy genre.
James Stark, AKA Sandman Slim, has it rough. He spent 11 years in Hell, battling demons and dark creatures in Lucifer's arena, until he escapes to find the black magician responsible for sending him there. How does Stark deal with all of this? He has a gritty, dark sense of humor and a penchant for revenge. He is not the hero L.A. needs but it's all it has.
Sandman Slim is a breath of fresh air to the genre. The stories are short but packed full of humorous banter, Stark's interior monologue worth the price of the book alone. Kadrey is also able to put Stark in a wonderful mythos, one that has built throughout all three books and which features Heaven and Hell and all their eccentricities.
Here is a bit more about the new book, Aloha From Hell:
Supernatural fantasy’s greatest anti-hero goes back to hell! In Sandman Slim Stark came back from hell for revenge. In Kill the Dead he tackled both a zombie plague and being Lucifer’s bodyguard. Once again all is not right in L.A. Lucifer is back in Heaven, God is on vacation, and an insane killer mounts a war against both Heaven and Hell. Stark’s got to head back down to his old stomping grounds in Hell to rescue his long lost love, stop an insane serial killer, prevent both Good and Evil from completely destroying each other, and stop the demonic Kissi from ruining the party for everyone. Even for Sandman Slim, that’s a tall order. And it’s only the beginning.Richard stopped in at the University Bookstore in Seattle, WA to read an excerpt from Aloha From Hell and answer questions from his fans. Here is that video: EVENT VIDEO: ALOHA FROM HELL BY RICHARD KADREY