“Kill City Blues” by Richard Kadrey (Voyager)

Sandman Slim is back on Earth, Averting Apocalypse & causing mischief…

James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, has managed to get out of Hell, renounce his title as the new Lucifer, and settle back into life in LA. But he’s not out of trouble yet. Somewhere along the way he misplaced the Qomrama Om Ya, a weapon from the banished older gods who are also searching for their lost power.

The hunt leads Stark to an abandoned shopping mall – a multi-story copy of LA – infested with Lurkers and wretched bottom-feeding Sub Rosa families, squatters who have formed tight tribes to guard their tiny patches of this fake LA. Somewhere in the kill zone of the former mall is a dead man with the answers Stark needs. All Stark has to do is find the dead man, get back out alive, and outrun some angry old gods-and a few killers-on his tail.

In the fifth Sandman Slim novel, we get more of the same. In both a good and less-good way. Kadrey serves up another dose of gritty, sometimes gnarly, often amusing supernatural urban fantasy. All the hallmarks of the Sandman Slim series are on display – the interesting and inspired twists on classic urban fantasy and horror denizens and creatures. His characters are quippy and interesting, not to mention developing rather nicely. The action is well-written, and doesn’t take over from the plot (of the novel or series’ meta-plot). I still love Kadrey’s version of Hell, God, Lucifer and Samael (former Lucifer). All the characters feel very real, now, even if they are outlandish (Kasabian, for example).

At the same time, Kill City Blues felt somehow… less substantial and satisfying than the previous four novels (and novella – which was actually superb). Certainly, it’s tricky to sustain such high quality over five novels and a novella in a relatively short period of time, and this is not exactly a “dud”. It’s perhaps not surprising that Kadrey’s latest novel, Dead Set, is not a Sandman Slim novel. I get the feeling he needed to clear his head and take a break.

Reading this never quite felt like the author may have been going through the motions. It is probably just a case of this being a transition novel. We get some important character and plot developments, and (not wanting to spoil anything) it felt like pieces were being moved into place for what should shape up to be quite a sixth novel.

I would say this is still a must-read novel, but I would caution readers that this should be approached as part of a larger whole, rather than a possible stand-alone. It’s dark, it’s wonderfully dark and irreverent. It’s snarky and twisted fun. But it didn’t quite light all the same fires are the previous novels.

The Series: Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha From Hell, Devil in the Dollhouse (novella), Devil Said Bang, Kill City Blues

“Unholy Magic” by Stacia Kane (Voyager/Del Rey)

Enemies don’t need to be alive to be deadly

For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job.

As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem – humans filing false claims of hauntings – all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill.

But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes. Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they – along with their ruthless employers – are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

Not to long ago, I read the first book in Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series, Unholy Ghosts. I thought it marked the beginning of an interesting, original and well-written Urban Fantasy series. Unholy Magic brings us more of the same, which is certainly no bad thing. While flawed, this is still an entertaining, quick read.

iZombie, Vol.1 – “Dead to the World” (Vertigo)

Writer: Chris Roberson | Artist: Michael Allred

Told from a female zombie’s perspective, this smart, witty detective series mixes urban fantasy and romantic dramedy.

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Dylan is a 20-something gravedigger in an eco-friendly cemetery. Once a month she must eat a human brain to keep from losing her memories, but in the process she becomes consumed with the thoughts and personality of the dead person – until she eats her next brain. She sets out to fulfill the dead person’s last request, solve a crime or right a wrong. Our zombie girl detective is joined by a radical supporting cast: her best friend Eleanor, who happens to be a swinging ’60s ghost, a posse of paintball blasting vampires, a smitten were-dog and a hot but demented mummy.

Collects: iZombie #1-5

I’d heard a lot of good things about iZombie before I read it, and when I was in my local library, I saw they had this first volume. Not one to pass up a chance to read something new, I borrowed it, and actually really enjoyed it. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, either. This is quite fun.