kuzumel reviewed on 3/23/2015 + 112 more book reviews

Whew! What a ride on this one!

Kadrey unleashed some major forces in this latest Sandman Slim saga (when you involve so many deities, that is the right word). As usual, once the storyline starts moving, it pretty much never lets up until the end, with a shocker twist after the battle between God(s?), Stark, Samuel versus the Angra. OK. The story really just took a deep breath for the first 5 pages. So make sure there is minimal chance of interruptions when you get about half way thru.

I thought this book was better than the last one, but it could be all the loose plotlines that got tied up by the end. Although I still don't understand why the Old Gods created the "8-Ball" in the first place. Many of the past characters - at leaat those still alive or walking (guess who is St. Nick, the serial killer?) - make their appearances in the 5 or so days of this book, giving Stark plenty of chances to practice his snark and oneliners. So I had to stop and RoFL a few times.

One of the pleasant surprises was the Shonin character. I saw a documentary on these self-preserving (literally) monks a few years ago. I never thought an author would find a way to USE them in a modern storyline. But Kadrey did so, and with ascerbic humor and insults from the 400-year old Shonin.

So, why only 4-stars?

I want to hold something back for the next book in the series - someone murdered Death!

--
Kuzu

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