Richard Kadrey Finds Kill City Blues

The Qomrama Om Ya is a weapon of unimaginable power. It was originally designed by a bunch of gods for the specific purpose of killing other gods. And James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, used to own it until he lost it to a rogue angel named Aelita.

Stark doesn't really miss it. But when someone comes looking for it, the inquiry carries side effects. Almost immediately, Stark becomes a target in another power struggle between otherworldly beings.

Mostly, he finds it irritating. He had plans to enjoy a quiet life for a spell after his most recent job, being Lucifer, required too much effort. So he split, but not far enough away to keep from being sucked back by the petty "destroy the universe" crowd. Somebody has to shut Angra Om Ya down.

Kill City Blues is a supernatural romp through a Santa Monica shopping mall. 

In previous stories, Stark sometimes let his swagger run away with itself. Not anymore. In addition to all his scars, he has become comfortable with the Kissi arm grafted to his body. (Kissi are non-angelic beings that are loosely modeled after the Qliphoth or anti-angels that first appeared in the first book.)

More than that, Stark is less cocky and more cool. As a nephilim (half-human, half-angel) who has tasted death and temporarily ascended to the top spot in hell for a spell, he has clearly relaxed into a role. There is a certain resignation in his demeanor nowadays, even when it looks like someone might take him to the brink of death.

Despite this transformation, he doesn't seem to have a need to go it alone. He welcomes support from his growing entourage — Allegra, Candy, Father Traven, Vidocq, and even his old friend Kasabian.

Each of them contributes something to the idea of a protagonist, much like everything inside Kill City begins to take shape an collective antagonist, which is where most of the acton happens. It's an abandoned shopping mall that has turned itself inside out into a sprawling retail wasteland with plenty of unpleasant surprises for anyone who gets too close.

The denizens of this world represent the worst of the worst, squatters who have formed tight and deadly tribes to define their their little patches of turf. There are ghosts, lurkers, and bottom-feeding Sub Rosa families that aren't talented enough to make it on the outside.

Stark and company have to wade through all of them. And if anything, having them along for the ride keeps him focused. They are all too happy to watch his back too. Not only is it the best chance to reclaim the Qomrama and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, but he also might be the only one on the planet who can keep the Angra Om Ya from taking it back.

A couple of graphs about Richard Kadrey. 

Few people are cooler than Richard Kadrey. He is a freelance journalist, photographer, and writer who has a knack for flatly calling it like he see it. His work pops up in places like Wired, The San Francisco Chronicle, Discovery Online, and The Site.

He has written several books and a mini-series comic book for Vertigo, but is best known for the Sandman Slim series. It was picked as one of 13 book listed on Barnes & Noble's "Best Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Last Decade" list and has showed no signs of slowing.

Kill City Blues By Richard Kadrey Carves Out 6.4 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

While some people have claimed that Kill City Blues doesn't feel as substantial as previous books in the series, chalk it up to not having a clearly defined antagonist. There is one, to be sure, but the shopping mall seems to play that role more than any single entity. Kill City Blues doesn't disappoint.

Kill City Blues: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey can be found on Amazon. You can also find the book on Barnes & Noble or download the novel for iBooks. The audiobook is narrated by long-time Sandman Slim voice MacLeod Andrews. The sixth book in the series is expected to arrive in summer 2014. Kadrey also published Dead Set this year.

Richard Kadrey Dreams Sandman Slim

When James Stark wakes up in the old Hollywood cemetery, still smoldering after lifting himself out of the fiery depths of hell, it feels like Sandman Slim is little more than a pulpy crime noir revenge story with one exception. Stark isn't an ordinary detective.

If fact, he is no detective at all. Stark is a natural-born magician who has just spent the last eleven years of life in hell. And naturally, he is pretty pissed off at the people who sent him there. Except, he isn't nearly as pissed off as one might think.

After enduring more than a decade split disproportionately between being tortured, fighting monsters in hell's arena, and working as Azezell's pet assassin, Stark seems more perplexed to be back among the living than angry. So much so, he stumbles along for a few pages with a mix of monologues, character development, and back story for identification.

James Stark emerges an anti-hero in the vein of Spawn meets Jack Sparrow.

The mashup isn't as fun as it could be, but fortunately it's just fun enough. It's something to keep in mind before ever opening the cover. At times, the story will move forward as a jacked-up urban fantasy thriller. And other times, it gets lost in its own rambling swagger. It is a side effect, perhaps, of undisciplined literature but sharply satirical storytelling.

If you can muscle through the opening, the plot breaks away from the singular setup of revenge as Stark is thrust into a cosmic showdown that promises to be worse than heaven and hell. There are more ancient and able-bodied enemies for mankind standing between him and his bounty.

Kadrey calls them the Kissi (pronounced kee-si), which are nonhuman, non-angelic beings loosely modeled after the Qliphoth. For those less familiar with its Hebrew origins, the Qliphoth is (roughly) the husk or shell that's left of creation (or the backside to the Tree of Life). Kadrey embraces one perspective of the Qliphoth to create anti-angels who thrive on chaos and live in nothingness.

Stark quickly finds himself out of the frying pan and into Armageddon.

The Kissi are just the sort of creatures that a young antagonist magician, Mason Faim, might be drawn to summon in order to remove someone he considers a rival from their group of six. And, they also have more sinister plans in mind too.

In fact, their plans are sinister enough that the Kissi are only a third of Stark's problems. He also has to contend with the Sub Rosa, who aren't very excited by the attention Stark brings to their seedy and unseen (but everywhere) subculture. And, there's the Golden Vigil, which consists of mostly of a somewhat deranged and righteous angel, magicians, and Homeland Security.

All of it forces Stark to navigate the treacherous waters between friends, enemies, and other non-interested parties. Except that Stark isn't used to wading around gently. He'd rather trudge forward and bang his head against the wall until it breaks.

A brief bit about Richard Kadrey.

Kadrey is a freelance journalist, photographer, and writer living in San Francisco. Until recently, he was probably best known for his cyberpunk novel Metrophage and collaborative graphic novels including Accelerate, which is set in future Los Angeles. He was also editor of print magazines Shift and Future Sex and has written extensive articles on art, culture and technology.

Sandman Slim may have changed all that when it landed as one of 13 books listed on Barnes & Noble’s “Best Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Last Decade" list. The Dino De Laurentiis Company optioned film rights for Sandman Slim as a feature film in 2009, with Lorenzo De Maio heading production. But keep in mind, De Maio has plenty on his plate over there.

Sandman Slim By Richard Kadrey Rises To 3.9 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Since the initial installment, Kadrey has written Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel and Aloha from Hell: A Sandman Slim Novel. With each new novel, Stark becomes even more vulgar, politically incorrect, and delightfully hardboiled. Kadrey has already said there will be a second trilogy (and likely many more to come).

Where the writing sometimes slips is when Stark is overshadowed by Kadrey. The character is always at his best with lighter monologues and when he is matched in a scene against the right characters. In the first book, Kasabian really isn't one of them, even if he is a mainstay as a despairing alter ego.

Sandman Slim is available at Amazon. You can also find the novel at Barnes & Noble or download it from iBooks. The audiobook is read by MacLeod Andrews, whose voice makes for a perfect monster who kills other monsters.