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    Kill the Dead
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    Kill the Dead
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    Kill the Dead
    Ebook553 pages7 hours

    Kill the Dead

    By Richard Kadrey

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Supernatural fantasy's best antihero returns, in the high-octane follow-up to Richard Kadrey's acclaimed Sandman Slim

    James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, crawled out of Hell, took bloody revenge for his girlfriend's murder, and saved the world along the way. After that, what do you do for an encore? You take a lousy job tracking down monsters for money. It's a depressing gig, but it pays for your beer and cigarettes. But in L.A., things can always get worse.

    Like when Lucifer comes to town to supervise his movie biography and drafts Stark as his bodyguard. Sandman Slim has to swim with the human and inhuman sharks of L.A.'s underground power elite. That's before the murders start. And before he runs into the Czech porn star who isn't quite what she seems. Even before all those murdered people start coming back from the dead and join a zombie army that will change our world and Stark's forever.

    Death bites. Life is worse. All things considered, Hell's not looking so bad.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateNov 8, 2011
    ISBN9780007465149
    Author

    Richard Kadrey

    Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim supernatural noir books. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime,” and is in development as a feature film. Some of his other books include The Wrong Dead Guy, The Everything Box, Metrophage, and Butcher Bird. He also writes the Vertigo comic Lucifer.

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    Reviews for Kill the Dead

    4/5

    446 ratings29 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The premise: ganked from publisher's website: James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, crawled out of Hell, took bloody revenge for his girlfriend's murder, and saved the world along the way. After that, what do you do for an encore? You take a lousy job tracking down monsters for money. It's a depressing gig, but it pays for your beer and cigarettes. But in L.A., things can always get worse.Like when Lucifer comes to town to supervise his movie biography and drafts Stark as his bodyguard. Sandman Slim has to swim with the human and inhuman sharks of L.A.'s underground power elite. That's before the murders start. And before he runs into the Czech porn star who isn't quite what she seems. Even before all those murdered people start coming back from the dead and join a zombie army that will change our world and Stark's forever.Death bites. Life is worse. All things considered, Hell's not looking so bad. My RatingWorth the Cash: to those fans who enjoyed the first, Sandman Slim. I don't recommend reading Kill the Dead without the first book under your belt though. There's too many off-handed comments made referencing the first book and it's world-building that don't get explained, so if you haven't read said first book, you're going to be a bit lost and a lot grumpy. But it's an enjoyable sequel, and I'll be happy to pick up the next in the series, whatever and whenever that might be. If you're interested in the first book, Sandman Slim, check out Free Fridays at Barnes & Noble's book club. You can click here for a free electronic copy, which also includes an excerpt to Kill the Dead. Can't get much better than that, can it?Review style: There's actually not a whole lot I want to talk about, save for comparing this to the current urban fantasy trend (aka, Buffy-Lit) and why this is a breath of fresh air for some urban fantasy readers. I'll talk about how this works as a sequel, and then nitpick a few issues. Oh, and zombies. We'll talk zombies. No spoilers, so feel free to read the full review at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)REVIEW: Richard Kadrey's KILL THE DEADHappy Reading!
    • 4/5
      The premise of this series is great. Stark (our hero) is likeable and interesting and a bastard. But the book needs to be tighter. Kadrey's writing gets too loose and I often found myself having to backtrack to sweep up the crumbs he left behind. For example, you lose track of whose speaking in a conversation. There are holes in the plot, which make you wonder if perhaps you missed something earlier in the novel, and in general the plot wanders a bit to much.
      Still, it doesn't wander so far that you put the book down. It just annoys you occasionally.
      Its probably a 3 star on those issues, but I liked it. I finished it and I bought the next book. That means its a 4.
    • 5/5
      You know how you can overlook a really good friend's faults? Moreover, how those faults kinda become the things you cherish most about him or her? For me, that's exactly why I love James Stark/Sandman Slim. This character is so broken and disjointed. He's unpredictable, but not in the sense that he's chaotic, but in that I believe Richard Kadrey had no idea (even in book two) who or what he wanted Stark to be. The end of this book is proof that Stark could turn out to be anything (aside from a nazi robot zombie vampire, of course), and I'd still have a sizable man-crush on him.

      I hate everything about a synopsis: writing one, reading one. I tend to skip them because they're nothing more than spoilers disguised as information. So, going into KILL THE DEAD, I had no idea what I was in store for. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself surrounded by the walking dead.

      Kadrey did everything right in this second volume of the Sandman Slim story line. I have only ever once given a sequel/continuation anything more than four stars, and that was Koontz's ODD INTERLUDE serial, which was (in my opinion) better than the first book in the series. To say the least, I was shocked that I loved KILL THE DEAD as much as I did SANDMAN SLIM. I couldn't see how Kadrey was going to keep up the epicosity, but he pulled it off. From the first paragraph on, I was entertained. With me, that's rare. Usually I find something about a book to complain about, but this time around I couldn't help but gush over every page, even the plot holes were like a birthmark on a lover's face. It's something you accept because the whole is worth loving... See, told you I had a raging boner for this series.

      All right, enough maudlin bullshit, let's get down to business. Will you like this as much as me? Who knows? I sure can't say. I'll be completely honest with you, though: I'm biased as fuck. Keep that in mind if you read KILL THE DEAD.

      SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!

      In a status update here on Booklikes, I mentioned how this book had become oddly Matrix-esque. Funny thing is, that was before the bullet-time scene wherein Stark ravages a swat team by using his angel vision (which is not unlike Neo seeing the Matrix in code form). Then you have Stark falling for porn star/zombie-carver, Brigette, who's a badass on par with Trinity, and their quick, albeit doomed, love affair. I don't know if Kadrey was purposefully channeling the Wachowski brothers (now brother and sister; good for you Larry/Lana), but it sure as hell felt like a tribute.

      END SPOILATION

      If nothing else, go into KILL THE DEAD expecting witty sarcasm and laugh-out-loud commentary. Stark is nothing if he's not funny. And vulgar. Did I mention how vulgar he is? You need to be a little sick and twisted to enjoy Kadrey's work, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

      In summation, I dug the hell out of this book, and will likely love every sequel that comes after it. There's something about Stark that gels with me: be it his attitude, his sense of humor, or the fact that he's everything a boy like me looks for in a hero. I'm starting to understand why people like Harry Potter...
    • 5/5
      This is the second book in the Sandman Slim series; you wouldn't have to read the first book to read this one, but the first one gives a lot of great background and is a wonderful book so I would recommend reading it. I actually listened to this on audio book; the audio book was exceedingly well done.Stark (Sandman Slim) is whiling away his time drinking, doing miscellaneous work for the Golden Vigil, and wishing he could kill Mason (the evil man who sent him to hell for eleven years). Then he gets a message that Lucifer (Satan) is in town and wants to meet. Ends up Lucifer needs a body guard while he is in town working on his new movie Morningstar and he wants it to be Stark. As if this wasn't odd enough Stark is called in by the Golden Vigil to consult on a mysterious and violent death. Stark also kind of notices, in between his drunken hazes, that people have been disappearing at a higher rate than normal. Next thing you know revnants (zombies) are roaming the streets and the whole world is on the brink of apocalypse...again. All Stark has to back him up is a mysterious belt buckle, some Hellion hoodoo, some kick-butt weapons, and a bit of half-angelic boost.This was seriously a very awesome book. I was excited to read it after how much I liked Sandman Slim and I am so happy I did. Stark is tough and not afraid to get hurt; he is an excellent anti-hero who always impresses with his harshness, yet is somehow still a kind of moral hero of sorts. Oh yeah and he is hilarious, the humor in this book is dark but I was laughing out loud a number of times during this book. The shear awesomeness and funess (is that a word?) of the whole thing was just exhilarating. This book is very violent, but in a fun way...You learn a lot more about Stark and his world in this book. You learn more about his family and more about his history. You get a chance to understand him better and how his human and angelic sides work (or don't work) together. We get some great new characters; one of my favorites was Brigitte. Brigitte is a porn-star/actress with an awesome secret, some serious attitude, and of course some serious sexiness. I also loved that we got to spend so much time with Lucifer and get to understand him better too. There are some shocking revelations in this book that will keep readers guessing as well.The action scenes and pacing are spectacular, I listened to this on audio book and it was hard to stop. I just wanted to keep listening. Kadrey is just an excellent writer and I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. This story wrapped up well, but definitely has some issues to deal with still in future installments. For some reason this book reminded me a lot of The Crow movie; it has that same anti-hero thing going on, is ultra-violent, and action packed. This book reads like a movie and it would be great if they made it into one some time.Overall an absolutely stellar read and an excellent addition to this series. These are definitely adult reads (lots of violence and some sex). If you haven't read these books you should give them a try especially if you are a fan of the anti-hero/superhero type of things, love urban fantasy, or love action. Fans of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Remy Chandler by Thomas Sniegoski, Spellbent by Lucy Snyder, and Felix Castor by Mike Carey should find lots to love in this book.
    • 4/5
      James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, is the monster who kills monsters. He obtained his reputation by killing demons in the arena in hell. He is a human and a fallen angel all rolled into one with bad habits like smoking and drinking to access, but he is on our side. Stark lives over a movie rental store, Max Overload, in LA with a very talkative severed head. He is recruited by Lucifer to act as bodyguard while he is in town making a movie about his life. This brings him in contact with the Sub Rosa or magical first families in town. He discovers a number of Sub Rosa have disappeared recently. Then the zombies appear. Soon LA is overrun by the living dead.Richard Kadrey is great at fast paced action. His books don't have chapters, they are one long roller coaster ride. I am not a big fan of zombies and I try to avoid them, but Kadrey's writing is so addictive he can make zombies seem less passe. His characters are people you care about and want to come back to again and again. Be warned, if gritty black humor isn't your style you may want to avoid the series.
    • 4/5
      Demon Hunter extraordinaire, escaped Nephilim from Hell, and all-around bad-ass Sandman Slim is back in action and hot on the trail of yet another underworld killer. This time, however, he has to quell a major zombie infestation shambling out of the bowels of Los Angeles, join forces with a zombie-slaying porn star, and interact with the strangest cast of characters since The Wizard of Oz met Lord of the Rings. And even then you still couldn’t touch the zany antics of this son-of-a-fallen-angel, James Stark, aka Sandman Slim. Intrigued yet? Well, you should be. Kadrey’s second Sandman Slim novel is grittier, more guttural, and ultimately more satisfying than the first. And that’s something that just doesn’t happen too often!In my earlier review of Sandman Slim, the first book in the series (see August 2009 post) I said, “Kadrey definitely knows how to spin a dark tale. His language, while offensive to some, fits the character of the story perfectly. Gritty, dark, angst-ridden and graphic the dialogue and fight scenes are coarse, bloody, and down-right mean-spirited.” Kill the Dead is doubly so.Kadrey’s story treaties with demon-killing and the required weapons needed to do so and with the pre-requisites necessary to become the Devil’s bodyguard and with three different “types” of zombies and with the ability to walk away from earth into shadows and with fallen angels and father issues and gruesome, blood-splattering annihilation. So, why then do I find this macabre story so fascinatingly entertaining and downright funny? Because Kadrey is as compelling and comedic a writer as you'll ever come across. And I mean that in the best possible way. While the supernatural aspects drive the story the twisted/sick humor kept me reading page after page. And believe me when I tell you that the grisly humor is not gratuitous in any way but necessary to make the whole thing work. Because even gruesome needs a break before it crawls into the sewer forever and Kadrey instinctively understands exactly when to sprinkle in those lighter moments. His dialogue and banter knows no equal and his characters, the dregs of the earth, are painfully fun to watch. The bikers, two- dollar whores, meth addicts, murderers, hexed ghouls, and numerous nasties living right around the corner - seen but unnoticed - help drive this story and the zombies make you want to run like hell as fast as you can in the other direction. Which might explain why I associated with them in my head as I read Kill the Dead and perhaps tells you more about me personally then I usually divulge. But Sandman Slim was really an entertaining and fun read for me and many a scene of dialogue made me laugh out loud. I’m certain this book isn’t for everyone but for me it’s right there… dark, macabre, grisly, and hilarious.Opening line:Imagine shoving a cattle prod up a rhino’s ass, shouting “April Fool!”, and hoping the rhino thinks its funny. That’s about how much fun it is hunting a vampire.Favorite quote: "The universe is a meat grinder and we're just pork in designer shoes, keeping busy so we can pretend we're not all headed for the sausage factory."Dialogue banter: "Marshall Wells said you liked to talk.""I'm a people person.""Is that before or after you cut people's heads off?""I only cut off my enemies' heads. I break my friends' hearts.""So, that's, what, zero hearts broken?""The night's still young."Oh, and one other thing regarding the actual composition of this book. In an unusual editorial decision Richard Kadrey wrote Kill the Dead with no obvious chapters and very few breaks in the action (or perhaps the entire book is one huge 430 page chapter, hard to tell.) When the reader wants to set the book aside Kadrey gives them no hints as to where to leave the bookmark. That fact didn't really bother me much, but I can see how it might be irritating to some. So, if that’s the kind of thing that bugs you then be forewarned. By the way... Kill the Dead is also a very quick read (for those who like their death and destruction cranked up to level 11!)Buy it. Read it. You won’t be dissatisfied.4 out of 5 stars The Alternative Southeast Wisconsin
    • 4/5
      When your night-job's bodyguarding Lucifer, and your dayjob's working for angels, and your hometown's LA, who are you? Sandman Slim. Otherwise known as Stark. With Mason busy razing Hell, the Devil's come to LA to make a movie, and he's asked Stark to guard his back. Bring on the zombie apocalypse, the porn stars, and the neo-Nazi Kissi, because LA needs one more bad thing to worry about.Don't read this if you're looking for something you can put down easily.
    • 4/5
      First off, you have to read the first book first. This is not a stand alone volume. I read the first one only a couple of months ago and I was unsure on a couple of things.

      I liked this one more than the first one. I felt that Stark was more emotional, more three-dimensional, more human. I understood his self-hatred better and why he doesn't want to be on Earth anymore. Still, a near-death scene was unemotional and barren. I wanted even a couple of words to sense that there was deep emotion there even if it was under the surface.

      A sex scene from a male perspective was definitely an eyeopener. Basically it was kiss, touch breast, penetrate. Not a lot of foreplay. Really none at all. I did feel a lot more of his emotion here, the back emotion unrelated to what was actually happening, but still not enough. I do have to say it was the first sex scene I've ever read in a book written by a guy where the guy doesn't come. Plus, it just is, not a big deal, but right..

      A big problem I had with both books so far is that it's often not clear who is talking. A descriptive paragraph leads into dialogue that could go either way and it takes awhile for a "Stark said" or similar to happen. Or there would be a long discussion without any of those handy "he asked" or "she mentioned" or "Stark intoned" that so many other authors make use of. Many times I had to go back and count to figure out who was speaking.

      I also found the female angel, a carryover from the first book, ridiculous and unbelievable. She wasn't just vindictive, she was completely evil and/or insane and much worse than her fallen brethren. This was probably the point but it was so in your face as to be completely absurd.

      I enjoyed it enough to read the next book but I'm not sure about the plot going forward. I don't like where they left it and I'll just have to hope that the next one is as good as this one was.


    • 3/5
      I may be done with this series... will revisit in future.
    • 4/5
      I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the first. James Stark aka Sandman Slim is an interesting character but he needs to work out his place in the world now that he knows he's a Nephilim. This time he gets involved in a film about Lucifer, as Lucifer's bodyguard and aan explosion of zombies, discovering that there's more than one type!Not a bad read but I just didn't get engaged in the characters this time. I felt a bit lost at the beginning of the book but caught up pretty quickly., still I felt a bit like yelling at Stark about his obsession with his scars. I'd think that healing would be quite important for someone who gets hurt as often as he does.Looking forward to more in this series.
    • 4/5
      Stark investigates zombie problems in LA. I read this one out of order—it’s the second book in the series—and I was spoiled for some major developments, but it was still fun. Stark is Sam Spade, but hunting supernatural trouble, and he gets to be annoyed at practically everyone, from the government to Lucifer.
    • 3/5
      I really, really wanted to like this one after how great the first one was. And in some ways, I did. Kadrey really excels at the sort of postmodernist combining of tough-guy film noir cliches with in-your-face horror and gore, and there's plenty to go around in this volume. It kept me up late reading near the end, and that's usually a good sign... yet, somehow, it just didn't seem as good as the first book. It's been a while since I read Sandman Slim and I had a real hard time remembering who all of the various characters, demons, locations, and agencies were, because there's not really much recapping at all. Not that there needs to be, but the world-building and mythology is pretty extensive and I definitely got confused about who was who and what they were doing several times. Also, for as much of a badass as Stark ended up as during the first book, at the beginning of this one he's basically a supernatural gumshoe, and a whiny one at that. It takes quite a while to get into the meat of things, and by the time the zombie army shows up it sorta felt like a little by-the-numbers. I'm still interested to see how he pulls the third book off, so I'll keep reading... but my expectations are slightly diminished.
    • 5/5
      This is the second time around for this read and again I found details I missed first go around.This book is an action packed thrill ride. This book pretty leaves off where the first one ended and you find out more about Kinski. Lucifer makes an appearance in this book and I found myself rooting for him at times. Sometimes evil isn't all it appears to be.If you like zombies, there are plenty of references to them here with different names and personalities. I love stories with zombies in it and their appearance in the book doesn't disappoint, if anything it intrigues me more. There is a lot of fighting and killing in this book but that just makes the book harder to put down as it drags you right into the action and makes you feel like you are right in there fighting with them. I can't wait to dig into the 3rd installment and find out more about Stark and his motley band of friends.5 stars for the kick ass action sequences, zombie references and for making me think of evil in a different perspective.
    • 5/5
      More assured than Sandman Slim, with Stark starting to become more than a one-note character. Just the right amount of occult details to keep us interested, and a very interesting resolution that leaves me counting the days to the next volume. Nicely done.
    • 4/5
      James Stark, the profane damaged anti hero of Sandman Slim returns. He knows he should be going after Mason, the super villain he banished to hell in the first book, but he hits the bottle, fights and generally avoids thinking about it.
      Lucifer appears and hires him as a body guard. He accepts the job because the money's good.
      Things get a bit hectic in L.A. when zombies in massive numbers start appearing. Friends get hurt and Stark really has to front up to the danger.
      Lots of twists and better plotted than the first book. A very quick read.
    • 3/5
      Kadrey seems more self-confident in this second book in the series about James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, the nephal (child of an angelic-human union) who is back from his time in Hell to kick some bad-guy butt. There are less of the awkward "let's build the world for a moment" pauses and a smoother flow to the action. And there's lots of action...tons of action...kind of non-stop action. This isn't to say that he doesn't continue to flesh out his larger story line. We get several more intriguing glimpses into larger plots that will surely figure in future volumes.If you are devoutly Christian and bothered when someone monkeys with theology, then I recommend that you do not read this series. Personally, I don't mind people changing the rules in their private sandboxes; it's not reality. His proposition that not all angels are exactly good guys gives the story some richness and, after all, isn't entirely inconsistent with Satan's fall.As I've said before, if you find yourself enjoying the Dresden books or the Repairman Jack stories, this is worth a try. It isn't deep fare but it's better than the average for this genre.
    • 4/5
      This is book two and I wasn't expecting this book to have zombies in it. (more on that later in the review) Book one, Sandman Slim didn't so I guess I just assumed. With this series I am beginning to believe it would be best not to assume anything. I thoroughly enjoyed both books.

      I don't usually like books that involve any sort of religious context but this doesn't really come off like that. It uses the whole, God, Angels, demons, the devil but twists it into an awesome urban fantasy world.

      Sandman is definitely a fuller character in this second book and I like how he spends less time moping over his lost love and more time thinking rather than reacting.

      Now about those zombies! I loved how they were done in this book. The different types of zombies. Ones that don't think, ones that can but are more just thugs, then the ones that are just like people but with those special eating habits...and perhaps but I'm not going to add spoilers.

      Read this series, I think its going to be one of those long series that will have a little bit of everything. At least that is how it seems to look right now.
    • 2/5
      I just couldn't get into this one like I did the first. I still really like the character and the world being built. The plot was all over the place and the cast so large it was hard to remeber what some characters meant to the plot. I was a good 150 pages into it and struggling to keep going. The story had really gone nowhere, suddenly I found myself skimming. This is never good. I will probably give the next one a chance to redden itself or not.
    • 5/5
      Stark takes on a horde of zombies, Aelita, and Lucifer (who has come to town to have a movie made about him). Just wonderful. The cast of characters is strong and Stark himself is the uber-badass.
    • 4/5
      As some other reviews noted, I found the plot here to ramble incoherently for too much of the story. Sure, I still enjoy Stark pulling out spines and spouting witty comments. But it just is not up to the plot polish of the first book.
    • 4/5
      Another volume in the Sandman Slim saga - Its been a few months after the first book, and Sandman Slim isn't living up to his hype. A few cases for Lucifer, a few cases for heaven's side - and he is barely making ends meet. Than Lucifer comes into town, working on a movie of his life, requesting that Sandman be his personal bodyguard. When the zombies show up, all hell breaks, and Sandman Slim needs to fix it.These books are fun, easy reads, not on anybody's "best literature" list. But they are full of action, full of interesting characters, and lots and lots of irreverence. Read them if you want to fill a Saturday afternoon on a deck, drinking a beer. Stay away if you are squeamish about large amounts blood and violence, and a general disregard for any sort of ethical sensibility.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book! I felt that the story itself pulled me in, and like the first book Sandman Slim, the main character was entertaining and I was constantly wondering what he would do next.

      I actually couldn't put this book down! It started off kinda slow for me, but it soon picked up into a fast read. I definitely recommend this book to people who liked the first one!
    • 2/5
      I didn't find this as good as the first book. Sandman Slim seemed bored and dissatisfied, so it was difficult to get pulled into the character or the plot. He didn't care, so why should I? He had so much passion and drive the first time around. I was disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Sandman Slim returns and LA is literally going to Hell. Lucifer is topside making a movie, the Golden Vigil is acting shady, and zombies are running amok. Stark seems to be the only one who cares about any of this, but he's been bitten by a zombie and may not survive the next few days. Brutal action, funny dialogue, and a main character you can't help but root for.
    • 3/5
      Something about this second book just didn't do it for me, despite the action and the twists and turns in the plot. In this sequel, Sandman Slim is paid big bucks to be a bodyguard to Lucifer, who has come to Hollywood to make a movie of his life. The vampires and porn stars and zombies make this book sound wicked and glamorous as all hell, but to be honest, I had to really struggle to stay focused on the story.Stark's background, which actually is actually quite original and unique for urban fantasy, had so enthralled me in the first book, but it's also not quite enough to hold a story together if it has a weak foundation in the first place. It didn't matter in the end how much action and badassery was thrown my way, it was all distraction and didn't really disguise the rather light plot. There's quite a bit of set-up for some major things happening later in this series, though, so I'll keep going and hope I'll have a better time with the next book.
    • 3/5
      Zombie noir, whee!
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars, rounded up.

      Better than the first. Snark and sarcasm run rampant, along with zombies, zeds, and more undead over-running LA.

      There was something lacking in this book, however: a start-to-finish coherent plot. The start is good, the finish is good, but the middle fell off completely. There's a lot of soap-opera-type plotting (Stark trying to figure out who his father is; falling for an undead-killing porn star), there's a lot of talk and not much action or story movement until the grand finale.

      Still, it's a good read/listen. MacLeod Andrews, as always, is an outstanding narrator.
    • 3/5
      Entertaining and fast read. Urban fantasy is not my genre--so many seem formulaic and shade too close to romance novels for my taste--but this series avoids most of that. The noir atmosphere is successful mostly, and helps keep it interesting. Zombies, I dunno.
    • 4/5
      I'm a fan. Already looking forward to the next one.