Sunday, August 21, 2011

Book Review - Sandman Slim 03 - Aloha From Hell by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim 03 - Aloha From Hell
Richard Kadrey
Uncorrected Proof
438 pages
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0061714320
Genre: Urban Pandemonium Fantasy

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James Starks (A.K.A. Sandman Slim) demon killer and nephilim* has been to Hell and back… literally. When his fame as a teenage warlock attracted the notice of demons years ago, they snatched him up and sent him off to the underworld, where he spent the next eleven years as a combatant in the Arena fighting demons as entertainment for Satan's spawn. Since escaping Hell (a long story revealed in the first two books) and returning to L.A. he’s been busy killing demons, staking vampires, and preventing a zombie invasion but things of late have been a bit slow and Stark’s is a little off his game.

So what exactly does a half-angel do on his day off? Apparently he attempts to locate and rescue the survivor of a failed exorcism. But the demon possessing this victim knows Sandman Slim intimately and now Starks must descend into Hell to rescue his dead soul mate. But in the land of Nod nothing is at it seems. He must travel through a barren desert then traverse Malchut of Atzilut, Gan Eden, Tartarus, Eleusis, and the suicidal streets of a burning Los Angeles before he can face down the minions of Hell. But first, he’s going to have to take an unexpected side trip back into the Arena as the epic battle between Heaven and Hell threatens to rage out of control.

As reported previously all the books in this series are very quick reads (for those who like their death, destruction, mayhem, and demon-killing cranked up to level 11!) This series is a good starting point for anyone interested in blood and guts urban fantasy.

Disclaimer: Review copy provided free as part of the Amazon.com Vine Program.

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

My favorite quote: “After you’ve been shot, stabbed, slashed, burned, and almost zombified and survived it all, death gets kind of abstract.”

Sandman Slim Series by Richard Kadrey
1. Sandman Slim (2009)
2. Kill the Dead (2010)
3. Aloha from Hell (2011)

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Additional Reading:

Richard Kadrey Sandman Slim Website

Richard Kadrey Official Website

Richard Kadrey Wiki Page

Richard Kadrey Interview

Richard Kadrey 7 Question Interview

Rue Morgue Interview

My Past Reviews of the Sandman Slim series:

Sandman Slim 01 – Sandman Slim (4 stars)

Sandman Slim 02 – Kill The Dead (4 stars)

* Nephilim – fallen angels.

2 comments:

Homework Help said...

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.

Distance Learning said...

I happen to read this book when I was travelling last month. Its story is kinda complex but it's perfectly good to read while travelling alone.