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Sandman Slim #7

Killing Pretty

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Someone has tried to kill Death—ripping the heart right out of him—or rather the body he's inhabiting. Death needs Sandman Slim's help. He believes anyone who can beat Lucifer and the old gods at their own game is the only one who can solve his murder.

Stark follows a sordid trail deep into LA's subterranean world, from vampire-infested nightclubs to Weimar Republic mystical societies. Along the way he meets a mysterious girl—distinguished by a pair of graveyard eyes—as badass as Slim; she happens to be the only person who ever outwitted Death. But escaping her demise has had dire consequences for the rest of the world... and a few others.

416 pages, ebook

First published July 28, 2015

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About the author

Richard Kadrey

121 books3,409 followers
Richard Kadrey is a writer and freelance musician living in Pittsburgh, best known for his Sandman Slim novels. His work has been nominated for the Locus and BSFA awards. Kadrey's newest books are The Secrets of Insects, released in August 2023; The Dead Take the A Train (with Cassandra Khaw), released in September 2023; The Pale House Devil, released in September 2023.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 346 reviews
January 20, 2022
Sometimes it sucks to be Jimmy Stark. You save the world from utter destruction and complete annihilation over and over, and what do you get in return?

Idiot angels winged-pricks spray-painting graffiti on the front of your store.
No purpose in life.
Bad times for video rental businesses.
Not a dime from the assholes you saved the universe for.
✘ Your shadow walking privileges revoked.
✘ No more field trips Downtown (aka Hell).
✘ The disgusting ability to think things through before doing them.
Coffee instead of hangover-inducing Aqua Regia *shudders at the thought*
✘ An actual job and an actual boss .
✘ A bloody shrimping retired Crown Vic to royally cramp your style.

Damn, no wonder my boyfriend is going through an existential crisis. I mean, how do you go from frolicking with aggravating mummies and fighting ancient, slightly pissed off gods to leading such a pathetic, normal life? This is pretty Deadly Suicide Inducing Stuff (DSIS™), if you ask me, and the kind of Radical Life Overhaul Crap (RLOC™) that has broken bastards more noxious than my boyfriend. And that's saying something.



I feel you, Skellie. Being good sucks so much it should be outlawed and stuff.

But hey, it's not ALL bad. I mean, it IS bad, but this being Sandman Slim, bad things are, you know, eagerly expected and ardently awaited and stuff. They are, you know, GOOD bad things and stuff. Besides, if I wanted to read about GOOD good things, I'd read Bloody Shrimping Suicide Inducing Historical Romance (BSSIHR™) or something. And that would definitely be a bad thing. And by that I mean a BAD bad thing. But anyway. Where we were? Oh yes, it's not ALL bad:

First of all, my beloved Jimmy Stark has got a new pal crashing at his place. Things were kinda sorta of weird at first because the poor guy had been kind of murdered. He also had no recollection of how he got killed dead and no heart. Which can sometimes be a little problematic, you'll have to admit. But it turns out Jimmy's new roomie is Death so having no ticker isn't really a major problem for him and stuff. He's a pretty inoffensive guy for now, by the way, and easier to live with than most barnacles I know. I mean, he enjoys watching musicals, Disney cartoons and "shiny happy people stuff."



Yeah, I'm with you on that one, spawn of Satan kiddo.

I personally think this a pretty repulsive hobby, but given that poor Death is struggling to adjust to life with puny humans, I've decided to cut him some slack and stuff. Besides, he's slightly cool. Kind of like Death Takes a Holiday but without the prince crap and the romance crap. Well no, not really, but 98% of you younglings have no idea what the fish I'm talking about anyway, so who gives a shrimp? I do have one grudge against him, though: since he is Death his being deadly dead means dead people don't die dead. Which is indeed a problem when you are in the Nefarious Extermination Business (NEB™) like me. I unleash my homicidal children on the enemy but the enemy just will neither perish nor succumb nor expire nor croak! It's pretty outrageous, if you ask me. The shrimp are getting so restless they're threatening to go on strike and stuff! That is totally unacceptable! Also, I have it on good authority that "souls are going bad on the shelves!" Outrageous, I tell you! Time for Death to resume doing the Deathly Deadly Dead Thing (DDDT™) before puny humans start outnumbering decapods and stuff!



That's better but let's try to lose the ridiculous pinky fairy gear next time, shall we? It kinda sorta makes me want to puke and stuff.

[Oops, looks like I got a little carried away talking about my new buddy the Angel of Death here. Oh well, I'm pretty sure you had nothing better to do than read this fascinating thing, so all is well and stuff]

Soooo, here's another reason why my Jimmy Stark's current predicament isn't entirely crappy: villainous villains doing viciously vile things abound. And when I say "viciously vile things," I'm talking about the kind of stuff that is so sick it even makes amoral, ruthless bastards like my Jimmy recoil. Pretty scrumptious, huh? Then we've also got entrepreneurial Nazis (quite the lovely, entertaining bunch, by the way) and necromancers and Bugsy Siegel and the Side-Stepping Samba (SSS™) and asshole angels and George Raft and Horns and Hooves and Tails Oh My (HaHaTOM™) and Afterlife Showbiz Inc and a most delicious array of Undead Type Thingies (UTT™) and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and Yummy Yummy Samael Needs More Page Time (YYSMPT™) and my boyfriend might be going through a silly mid-life crisis but he just got himself a brand new evil nemesis so woo-hoo, yay, let's dance and stuff!



➽ And the moral of this No This Isn't My Favourite Book in this Glorious Series But It's Still Better than 98% of the Crap I Read So There Crappy Non Review (NTIMFBitGSBISBt98ofCIRSTCNR™) is: yeah yeah yeah Wondrous Mr Kadrey (WMK™) needed this instalment to set up the new arc for my boyfriend's adventures so yeah yeah yeah this kinda feels like a filler but yeah yeah yeah it was still bloody shrimping entertaining as fish so yeah yeah yeah slightly liked it I did so yay yay yay and yay yay yay and yay yay yay. And stuff.

· Book 1: Sandman Slim ★★★★★
· Book 2: Kill the Dead ★★★★★
· Book 3: Aloha from Hell ★★★★
· Book 3.5: Devil in the Dollhouse ★★★★★
· Book 4: Devil Said Bang ★★★★
· Book 5: Kill City Blues ★★★★
· Book 6: The Getaway God ★★★★★
· Book 8: The Perdition Score ★★★★★
· Book 9: The Kill Society ★★★★★
· Book 10: Hollywood Dead ★★★★★
· Book 11: Ballistic Kiss ★★★★
· Book 12: King Bullet ★★★★★



[Pre-review nonsense]

Sandman Slim, assistant private eye? Jimmy Stark, with a grown-up job? What is this fished-up world coming to, I ask you?



Damn, my boyfriend must really be going through one hell of an existential crisis to have sunk so low. But hey, at least he's got a new best friend. And a pretty awesome one at that. I mean, his name is Death and stuff. Doesn't get any cooler than that, if you ask me.

➽ Full Okay This Might Maybe Kinda Sorta Have Been a Kinda Sorta Filler But My Boyfriend is Still Super Hot and Deliciously Ruthless So All is Forgiven and Stuff Crappy Non Review (OTMMKSHBaKSFBMBiSSHaDRSAiFaSCNR™) to come.
Profile Image for Jason.
1,179 reviews265 followers
August 26, 2015
4 Stars

Killing Pretty is a good summer read. Sure it is lesser Sandman Slim but I still love James and enjoy every moment spent with him. The series needed to start somewhere as pretty much every story line was concluded in the last book. The Getaway God could have concluded the series but thankfully for us Richard Kadrey is not finished with James and neither are we. Long live Sandman Slim.

Killing Pretty would not work at all if you had not read the previous novels. Not for any complex reasons or back stories. Not for deep and secret ties, or characters, or plot lines. Killing Pretty only works as a series reboot because of the presence of the few amazing remaining characters that we have come to love. James Stark, Candy(Chihiro), Kasabian, Vidocq, and many more. This book and series read to me as near perfection as I am a true fan boy. I would give all the books full marks just for my enjoyment. Kadrey has me as a fan for life and I really hope that we have many more adventures to come for Sandman Slim.

If you have never read a Sandman Slim novel than if you enjoy the following you should quickly grab book one and get your ass caught up.

Do you like...
Big guns, big horns, demons, angels, vampire, gratuitous actions, killing, voodoo, hoodoo, magic, mayhem, Lucifer, God, ghost, ghouls, werewolves, angry women, sex, more killings, a monster for a hero, shadow stepping, Heaven, Hell, talking Corpses, zombies, and other undead, cool ass weapons for even more killings, potty mouth, killing, hexing, cursing, and more?

If you do.... You will love Sandman Slim.

This is a good example.



"Here’s the thing. Most angels aren’t like the idiot outside. They’re annoying, but a necessary evil, like black holes or vegans. Most angels are gray-suit-yes-sir-no-sir-fill-it-out-in-triplicate company men. Someone you wouldn’t remember if they shot themselves out of a cannon dressed like Glinda, the good witch. A few angels, not many, go rogue and have to be put down like dogs. No tears shed for them. Still, as annoying as angels are, they keep air in the tires and gas in the tank so the universe can go on dumbly spinning. The only angels anyone is happy to see take a powder are Death and the Devil, one of whom is currently asleep in the storage room at Max Overdrive."
Profile Image for The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo.
2,409 reviews343 followers
November 7, 2023
My daily dose of snark with Stark. Exactly as expected, if a bit on the boring side.

In this one, the (former) Angel of Death hires Sandman Slim to solve a murder: his own. Beneath his jacket is a gaping hole where his eternally beating heart used to be. Who would kill Death, and for what purpose?

Shenanigans and Hellion hoodoo spells abound. Candy, called Chichiro now, has literally become someone else and I can't say I like her much. She's become very standoffish, superior and too good for Stark's shenanigans and hoodoo. I wish he'd kick her to the curb. Oh, and the video store's been destroyed again. I've lost count of how many times this makes.

Onward to The Perdition Score.
Profile Image for Kiki.
58 reviews4 followers
July 30, 2015
A decent yarn and a responsible re-set of Stark's power. However, it's not one of those books you finish and think, "Yeah, that was $13 well spent." It read more like a bridge novella than a destination, an actual installment of Sandman Slim's saga. The ending was anticlimactic, and my first thought was, "Wait. That's it?" I didn't even realize I was near the end.

I also don't really understand why Vincent, a character I liked a lot, was killed, just to make Samael the new Death. And I really didn't fucking like Julie in this book. She spent the whole time chiding Stark about doing things her way, and after she let her agency take the credit for fixing death, she fired him for doing it. How the fuck did you think he was going to save the world? On busywork stakeouts? And who do you think she and Chihiro will call when they need doors kicked in to save the world? Stark, of course, but Julie will expect him to do it for free, because he doesn't work for her anymore. Julie went from being likable, reasonable law enforcement, to being just like Wells. They use Stark, because he can't help but save everyone, and then they fuck him over, because he didn't do it in a way they find acceptable, or because he didn't fill out the right bullshit forms. It's infuriating to see it happen over and over in every book. Though, I have to admit, that's a lot like how life really is. Doesn't mean I like reading about it repeatedly.

So, I enjoyed the it reasonably well, but thought it was lazy work. I'm not sure I'll pre-order the next installment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Anne.
1 review
August 22, 2015
Sandman Slim is my favorite urban fantasy series, by far. However, I thought this was the weakest book in the series yet. Most of the story felt rushed. In the previous books, I enjoyed both the originality of the mythology created by the author and the accuracy of real-world occult references, such as the references to Gnosticism and the history of religions. I was impressed that the author knew his shit so well. There are some cool things in this one, but nothing as spectacularly awesome as the first descriptions of Hell or the room. Some things in this book bugged me a lot. First, the synopsis for the book has almost nothing to do with what actually happens in the book, Second, This seemed like the author forgot all about one of his own characters and reused a name at random. I happened to remember because I thought it was an awesome character design. Third, I was saddened by . All in all, I sort of felt like I was reading a good fanfic written by someone who doesn't remember the books that well.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 4 books4,346 followers
October 22, 2020
So, get your black hoodoo knives out, folks, and step right up for another night of Stab Death Dead, you Nazi freaks, where you, too, can stay alive forever on a technicality because Death isn't around any longer to pick up your soul from your broken body.

Kinda sounds like a rehash of an old Piers Anthony book, doesn't it? But never you mind. Death is still kinda Death. Stark doesn't get roped into the job. Indeed, I really liked the actual poor Death stuck in a rotting corpse without his heart, watching old Disney movies, getting a slice of life (or at least doughnuts and opioids), and I thought he would be a FINE addition to the family.

Death always gets a bad rap unless you're Gaiman, and then it's total crush territory. Don't get me started on Pratchett. Kadrey's Death is mellow cool.

Let's put this novel in perspective, shall we? It's FUN. It's fun like all of the other Sandman Slim novels. Total popcorn fiction. It's also head and shoulders above MOST similar UF. I won't say it's the best of the bunch, but it was sufficiently Supernatural-like to make me chortle and guffaw and this is a GOOD thing.


Profile Image for Elena Linville.
Author 1 book76 followers
December 31, 2023
Stars: 4.5 out of 5.

This books marks a turning point in James Stark's life, and a sort of reboot of the series as a whole. After all, Stark saved the world from the Old Ones in the previous book and got rid of his arch-nemesis Mason once and for all (hopefully). So he should be able to live happily ever after, right?

That's precisely what this book covers - how do you live after you fulfilled your purpose. Stark saved the world, but lost the Room of Thirteen doors in the process, so he can't travel through the shadows anymore. So for the first time since he came back from Hell, he is stuck on Earth. No more popping to see Lucifer for a drink, heck no more zipping through LA from shadow to shadow. He has to brave the horrible traffic like any other shmuck.

But more importantly, they had to fake Candy's death at the end of the previous book, so she has a new face, new name, and is trying to build a new life for herself. Which means their relationship is basically starting over. Oh, and did I mention that Stark never got paid for his efforts to save the world? So he is broke as well. So no money, no girlfriend, no easy means to travel... and no purpose in life. Stark is not a very happy boy.

It was interesting to see our protagonist struggle with what to do with his life now that he doesn't have a big bad to defeat or even a little bad in the face of Mason. Stark is questioning his own choices and actions in this book. This is especially visible in his relationship with Candy/Shihiro. Yes, it's the same person underneath the glamor, but he still feels like he is cheating on the old Candy when he is with her new persona. And the things she told him in the previous book keep haunting him as well. Is he using her? Is he trying to mold her to be a monster like he is because he wants somebody like that by his side? Does he really love her or the image he created of her in his head?

I also had a lot of fun watching him function like a normal(ish) human being in LA - battling traffic, workplace rules, and having a boss he had to report to. As you can imagine, it failed horribly. Stark is not cut out to be an investigator - he is not the meticulous type who can sit in a stakeout for hours or go through surveillance footage. He gets bored and then his destructive tendencies kick in. And I think he finally came to terms with the fact that kicking doors and busting heads is what he does best. Now, he will have to figure out how to put this talent to use and earn some  money in the process. Maybe working with the new Augur would turn out to be a blessing in disguise. 

All in all, I really love where this series is going. This is a more subdued book, compared to the previous one, but that's exactly what we all needed. Time for retrospective and reassessment. 
Profile Image for Kitty.
727 reviews5 followers
March 11, 2016
I love this series, but not this book. Sandman Slim is just not the same with his wings clipped. This was wordy and out of character for kadrey. Hoping the next one is back up to his usual standard. And for the record, I hate Candy. Hate her. Hate hate hate her. I've hated her from the very beginning and only hate her more in each additional novel. She's childish and obnoxious and selfish and irritating and a terrible match. Kill her off already!
Profile Image for Tim Hicks.
1,602 reviews121 followers
October 3, 2015
Three, and I'm being generous. I am among the minority who think this series has jumped the shark. The whole book felt tired, as if Kadrey's losing interest himself.

For a while, Stark can't jump through shadows. Then he finds a solution. It felt as if Kadrey created a problem then realized it was tying his hands and needed a workaround.

Kasabian and Vidocq have become uninteresting. Julie's a sensible addition, and I like the idea that they are trying to make Stark a bit less of a loose cannon.

Most of all, though, I'm getting the feeling that Stark is never really challenged. We keep meeting new immensely powerful opponents, and of course Stark goes right at them, and of course he prevails with ease. Especially in one scene where .

OK, except once, but that one actually felt like a rerun of the big climax of one of the earlier books.

It might be time for RK to move on, and apply his writing genius to something new.
Profile Image for Kaustubh Dudhane.
521 reviews42 followers
June 30, 2017
“You learn a lot about someone when you show them a gun."

I had a lot of expectations with this seventh book of Sandman Slim. I have been a great fan of Richard Kadrey. I always thought that each novel will be a notch higher on the scale of craziness. Unpredictably, James Stark goes through a mid-life crisis.

“When did things get so complicated?”
“They didn’t. We did. Men like us, with intemperate natures, we’re not supposed to consider our actions. We just do and clean up the mess later.”
“In other words, thinking hurts.”




However, Stark has its own thought process about honesty -

"Honesty can be very overrated, while a good lie can give someone peace of mind when there isn’t a goddamn thing they can do about the awful shit at the center of the truth."

Yet, Samael! My dear Samael makes an appearance and then they may be not discuss (not sure I am too drunk to remember I can't remember due to high work pressure -

"The universe hates happy ­people, that much I’m sure of. You need to cultivate a taste for colorful misery.”

Moreover, the author has an interesting take on our cliched Hollywood lines choices -

"Fate is what happens when you don’t run fast enough. Keep moving and fate gets dizzy.”

And the best part -

description

"I reach for my na’at. He drops the champagne and pulls a goddamn machete out from under his parka. This fucker thinks I’m a baby seal."

Eventually, the author describes the whole saga in a few words which I love a lot -

“Exactly which normal part of my life are you talking about? The normal part where I spent eleven years in Hell? Or the normal part where my father told me I wasn’t even a human being, right before he was murdered by an angel. Maybe it’s the part where I live with a dead man’s head and I have to beg for my cigarettes from the Devil. Or maybe it’s how I can’t even look at my girlfriend without seeing a stranger’s face. Which of these normal things in my life are you referring to?”

Although I had seen this as a mild adventure of Sandman Slim, perhaps it might be the calm before the super storm!

Since I am not perfect like Sandman Slim (yeah! I missed the tradition once), I would like to thank Milda Page Runner for introducing me to this fabulous series which I could have not done on my dumb self own.
Profile Image for Karissa.
4,048 reviews205 followers
June 11, 2015
I got a copy of this book through Edelweiss to review. This is the 7th book in the Sandman Slim series. I enjoyed this continuation of the Sandman Slim series but didn't like this book quite as much as the previous book in the series.

Stark is back at his video store trying to make his life work. He’s adjusting to not being able to shadow travel anymore and trying to deal with the fact that Candy (now called Chihiro) looks completely different and is pretending to be a completely different person (to evade arrest). Then of course there is the fact that Death showed up in a completely dead human body and is languishing in his video store. Stark needs to figure out what the deal is with Death and how to get Death back where he belongs. When people all over the world stop dying the matter becomes incredibly urgent.

This book is a bit of a transition novel as Stark tries to figure out what to do with his life. It is a bit plagued by Stark's whining; he is either whining about how sick he is about getting forced into world-changing events or whining about how he hates having a normal "white-picket fence" type of life. I got kind of sick of those parts since you know...you can't have it both ways.

There is also less action in this book than in others. Which is not to say there aren't some high-octane scenes and gruesome violence...it's just a bit less in this book. There is a lot more of Stark trying to work as a team (which is not his strong suit) and investigate Death’s appearance.

I did enjoy the idea of Death being forced into a human body. It was a fun and interesting mystery for Stark and crew to solve. The side plot of Candy taking a new identity as Chihiro was also intriguing. I am curious to see where Chihiro’s story goes from here.

However the story wanders...a lot and it made the book quite a bit longer than it had to be. We spend a lot of time reading about Stark as he wanders about his somewhat disorganized and non-sensical life. Some of these parts were a bit boring and I kept hoping we would get to the point sooner than later.

Overall, while not my favorite Sandman Slim novel, this was still an entertaining read. The Sandman Slim series is full of witty dialogue and attitude and definitely has a unique style all its own. I recommend it to those who enjoy gritty urban fantasy. If you like gritty and slightly disturbing urban fantasy I would also recommend the Jessie Shimmer series by Lucy Snyder.
Profile Image for Albert.
1,435 reviews34 followers
October 6, 2015
Killing Pretty is the seventh book in the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey and while it is not the best or darkest in the series, it is a terrific addition to the unfolding and confusing life/death/rebirth of the half human, half angel James Stark. Also known as Sandman Slim.

So you are a dark magician, and then you were sent to hell where you had to fight demons and other damned in the devil's own extreme fighting tournaments. Then you were sent back to Earth to exact revenge on those who sent you to hell in the first place. Of course there's a girl involved too but you happen to screw that up as well. Then you're back in hell and take it over. Being half human and half angel, well that doesn't go that well either for you. So you try to return to Earth and get the real Lucifer back in hell and somewhere along the way, you sort of kill God. Well at least a piece of him and its a very old piece so that's not exactly good for you either. So now you're back on Earth and your abilities have been lessened and you can't really journey between heaven and hell like you use to and though you have saved the world, no one really likes you much.

You're Sandman Slim and right now, Gods and demons and hell aside, you really want to pay your bills and keep your run down video store from being closed. And maybe keep your girlfriend in hiding alive and out of prison. Until the guy shows up with the hole in his chest where his heart should have been. And oh yeah, he says he's Death. Or at least he use to be the Angel of Death, right now he's not sure who he is. He just knows that the only one that can help him right now is you, Sandman Slim.

James Stark, with his girlfriend Candy who is a Jade ( a type of violent demon) and in hiding as Chihiro, must unravel the mystery that is the missing Angel of Death. Because the man with the hole in his chest seems to be missing all the power of the Angel of Death and is unable to perform his duties. That means that no one is dying. People who should be dead are just sort of slipping into comas. Without the Angel of Death to transport their souls to their final destinations, the business of the afterlife has ground to a halt. Only there seems to be another Death out there and this one has some pretty nefarious motives. Stark must uncover who this new Death, find out why the old Death had his heart stolen out, keep the afterlife going, keep the supernatural balance of power on an even keel and deal with the tumultuous relationship with Candy from imploding. He also has a new job and has to work within the rules as he does all this. Something Sandman Slim is definitely not known for. All the while he can expect no help from God or the current Lucifer who prefer to stand on the sidelines and let the bloodbath happen.

Sandman Slim books are unique, there really isn't anything like them out in the literary field. Part of their charm is that Kadrey doesn't take his character too seriously and doesn't let them take themselves too seriously either. There is plenty of dark and bloody tragedy in the Sandman Slim mythos and there is plenty of dark humor as well. The mixture of legend and noir to create the world where demons and humans and angels must struggle with the day to day concerns of life is the backdrop to these novels even more than the planes of existence they cross. Kadrey handles them all well. As Sandman Slim holds conversations with government authorities, fallen angels, neo-nazis, vampires and demons, you begin to believe that this is how the real world is. Somehow when you go by your day to day, you're just missing all of this happening around you.

Kadrey paints a Los Angeles that is darker, deadlier and more mysterious than the one that exists in our world and quite honestly, is far more interesting.

Killing Pretty is another winner in the Sandman series and not to be missed!



Profile Image for Stephanie Medeiros.
26 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2015
Harper Voyager granted me an e-ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

CSI with a dark, devilish twist, and quite a bit of historical tie in, the latest installment in the Sandman Slim series pits Stark against someone who has murdered Death. Seriously. And Death unable to do his job not only screws with the universe, but it's screwing with Stark's sense of self, as well. This book shows us the more human side of Stark's life, interpersonal relations, and consequences of his actions. Sure he still gets away with, and survives, a hell of a lot, like only Sandman Slim could, but I'm sensing some tension within the Slimmites. They're helping to remind him of his humanity, and he's slowly, and reluctantly accepting it, while still trying to balance his overwhelming sense of responsibility as the superhero Abomination. Maybe he's not so bulletproof, physically or otherwise. I can't wait for what comes next. Kadrey's imagery and metaphors always remind me of bar stories with your buds over billiards, and his glorious flair for the morbidly dramatic keeps me frothing for more. I always appreciate that Slims are written in first person present tense, and there's minimal description. It flows better and keeps tensions high feeling like you're strapped into the front seat of Stark's out of control rocket tank. I laughed out loud more than once with how perfect Kadrey's descriptions of things cements and expands upon the gritty world in which my favorite characters live. The world building, the characters, the increasingly inventive ways to keep chucking Stark back into (and out of) literal and figurative Hell will forever keep me guessing. There's a reason I count down the days to each release, and beg and plead for early access. When this releases, buy it, read it, love it. :D
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
4,715 reviews2,304 followers
January 27, 2016
Killing Pretty is another strange but wonderful novel of Sandman Slim. This time he has to find out who put Death in a human body and trapped him there, killed him and left. Fortunately, the magic dagger was pulled out and Death came to Stark for help. Where else? Of course there are monsters, angels, wizards, his humorous dialogue that is worth the price of the book alone, and all the action and trouble he and his friends get into. Love every one of his books! How can you not love a guy that has been a substitute for the Devil in Hell, has helped God out, saved the world a few times, has a friend that is only a head with mechanical parts, and his girlfriend isn't even human? Oh, and he is only half human and the other half is angel. Kadrey can't write books fast enough for his fans. Thanks for another great book!
Profile Image for Skip.
3,367 reviews527 followers
January 25, 2016
Sandman Slim (a/k/a James Stark) is back at his video store, having sacrificed his ability to shadow travel to save the world in Book #6, and trying to cope with his Jade girlfriend Candy (Chihiro) nows looks Asian to evade her arrest. Death shows up in a dead body and is stashed in Stark's store with Kasabian. Unlike the prior novels, when Stark battles cosmic forces bent on destroying Heaven, Hell, and Earth, in this novel, he needs to figure out who tried to kill Death and how to get Death him back to work, especially when people all over the world stop dying making the resolution urgent. Stark effectively transitions to a detective, and much of the mayhem upon which he built his fame is suppressed. Hopefully, Mr. Kadrey will let him loose next time. Hint, hint...
Profile Image for Kdawg91.
258 reviews14 followers
August 1, 2015
I will put down a Dresden Files book to read a Sandman Slim book,

yup I said that...
Profile Image for Soo.
2,741 reviews334 followers
August 23, 2018
Mini-Review:

Solid! This is what I want in every Sandman Slim book! Ha! The last few books have been disheartening for me. It's not that I didn't like them. I did. But I was also either frustrated, annoyed or mix of the two by what happened in the past few books.

Killing Pretty had a great balance between the characters adjustments, taking care of business, Stark was settled within himself, nuances of information about the world was added and setup for the next part was cleanly implemented. Great humor from various sources, hidden details were revealed, that caustic Kadrey slant in perspective & events happened and there was moderate character growth! YAY! Fun pop culture references, some really great dabs of history and a case that had me engaged from the beginning to the end.

The parts I loved in the first book of the series were all present and counted for in this one. I am totally psyched up to read the next book and excited to get my hands on the newest addition next week.
Profile Image for Charles.
539 reviews94 followers
June 22, 2018
The Sandman Slim series is one of the few urban fantasy series that I continue to follow. Kadrey's hip, hardboiled, noir narrative is constantly amusing. I picked this up shortly after finishing The Getaway God (Sandman Slim, #6) (my review). That was after a long hiatus, where I found it hard to come back to the story. This book was an easier read having re-familiarized myself with the characters and long-term plot lines. This story harks back to early books in terms of its greater LA edu-tainment value. However, the story is nowhere near as fresh as the first book: Sandman Slim.

Writing is good and on a par with the rest of the series. It’s a mashup of California hipster, hardboiled, and noir. Kadrey makes a real effort to mimic the likes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. I always see a little a little Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson in the mix myself. Action scenes are well handled. I find the dialog to be better than the descriptive prose. In particular, Stark’s inner narrative and the deadpan badinage he has with women. For example:

[Julia Sola] “I thought you could do magic, “ she says. “Can’t you just wave a wand and make it disappear?”

[Sandman Slim] “First off, only hillbillies and Harry Potter use wands anymore. Second, I mostly know Hellion magic. Melting faces and killing things. I try hoodoo at home I’m afraid I’ll just blow out the windows.”


There is a lot of gore and violence, although I’ve lost all sense of it being gratuitous. Body count is low for a Slim story. I found the violence to be more graphic than the sex. There are less naughty bits in this story than usual. However, there is some sex. All of Stark’s is heteronormative, but deviant practices do appear in the book. All the sex is handled abstractly, maybe even tastefully?

Character development is almost nil. James "Sandman Slim" Stark remains the protagonist. The series continues with a single POV. Candy (renamed Chihiro), Stark’s demon GF, and Julia Sola continue to get some work in this book in an extended plot line carried over from Getaway God . Many old standby characters appear, although except for Chihiro and Julia they don't play a large part in the story. In this particular story, The Angel of Death plays a big part.

A fave element of the series are the: LA geography, music and film references in each book. Sometimes they’re very obscure. This book was par for the series in terms of all the reference types. Next time I'm in LA, I'll visit Pinks . In this story, there was a surfeit of Japanese hipsterism. Babymetal and an ode to The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) appear. I was driven to re-listen to The Velvet Underground & Nico due to a reference to the song I'm Waiting for the Man in the narration. Although, I failed to see its usage in the context of the story.

This book might be considered a reboot of the series. Stark is trying to go straight working as an unlicensed, Private Investigator for Julia Sola’s supernatural detective agency. (He's unsuccessful of staying on the straight and narrow.) Stark is also less super-powered in this story. Making it hard for him makes the story more interesting. In summary, someone kills The Angel of Death in LA. People stop dying. Stark investigates. A troll through the LA supernatural demimonde ensues. There is a lot of LA murder, mob and Nazism edu-tainment/exposition involved.

Killing Pretty was better than the previous Getaway God. It was a compact, one book story, progressing long-term plot lines and not creating too many new ones. Longtime fans of the series will want to read it because it’s more like the earlier books in the series. However, I found the story longer on exposition than it needed to be. Unfortunately Stark’s career as a paranormal PI appears to start and end here. In summary, Killing Pretty is readable and one of the better late series additions. It has all the expected elements of a "Sandman Slim" story. If I have a criticism, it’s that the Sandman Slim series like the much loved, constantly played, vinyl records in the Bamboo House of Dolls jukebox is showing signs of wear.

I’ll likely be reading the next book in the series: The Perdition Score. Readers interested in a somewhat similar, shorter series might try: John Dies at the End.
Profile Image for Richard Guion.
514 reviews50 followers
December 26, 2015
This is the 7th novel in the Sandman Slim series and it may be my favorite after Kill the Dead. I think the previous trilogy suffered too much from the "end of heaven and hell" plot lines. There is still plenty at stake here - Death is out of a job and stuck in a human body while people around the world have stopped dying. It's up to Stark and Candy, now working for Julie's private investigation company, to figure out what happened. There is a lot of humor as usual and plenty of pop culture references (“I sit down on a box of old Mannix VHS tapes. How the hell do we still have these?”) from his side business, Max Overdrive.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator MacLeod Andrews is absolutely terrific! His voice is exactly what Stark should sound like, but he does such a great job with the various loony characters. I was enthralled. I had such a great time with both the story and the narrator that I decided to give this one 5 stars.
Profile Image for Strega.
797 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2015
Oh, I hate to do this, but..... This one was OK. Not great. Not good. OK.

It's a transition book, and it rather channeled Jim Butcher way too much for me. Now, I don't have anything against Jim Butcher, but he doesn't write Sandman Slim books. This was a neutered, watered-down, James Stark. He's gonna be a supernatural dectective. Sorry, but, ***YAWN*** There are way too many of those out there and based on this book, well, let's just say he's somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Nothing really stood out. The action was on the been-there, done-that, side.

Yeah. It was OK.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
381 reviews37 followers
September 1, 2015
I am not sure what to say. I mean this is like the 7th book. Much of it is the same. I mean, I KNOW the characters. No surprises there. We KNOW strange, bizarre things will happen. And they do. But I just love them. The characters, the bizarre happenings. And I just am not saying anything about the story, I mean it is the 7th book. Read the first one and then we can talk.
Profile Image for Alex.
4 reviews
August 24, 2015
When the main character of the book constantly talks about being bored, it's a big tell that the book is boring.
Profile Image for Cherry Mischievous.
529 reviews269 followers
July 8, 2020
My Thoughts:
The thing I like so much about this series is, other than the bad-ass-ness that is, is the real-ness of the world building. I can so totally believe that god is broken into little pieces of himself. Like he gave birth to himselves by breaking up into smaller parts of him. He can't grow anymore bigger so he broke up. Totally believable. I mean at some point in his life, he can't get any bigger than he already is. So maybe the next logical step in his evolution is to give birth to himselves. And so appealing to me because that would explain so many shit in the world. This is one of the many reasons why I am such a fan of this series. I also kinda really like the idea of an anti-hero who kicks ass! :)

This book also have the most solid plot in the entire series that I could remember. Investigating a murder with a twist, nice plot! Ok, so there never was much of a plot in any of the books in this series, but this one got more than the others. But, for some reason, I find this book really slow... and I could not find the reason why because the story telling quality is as good as it always has been... maybe it's me being slow. I think another factor contributing to this book being slow is the fact that the introduction to the main plot is very long. As in, half-the-book-worth long, of introduction. That gets tiring...

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 2.5
Pace = 2
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries
Profile Image for Roger.
1,068 reviews11 followers
January 21, 2017
Killing Pretty is pure entertainment. After the events of the previous book in this series, The Getaway God, things have changed for James Stark. He is somewhat "depowered" and forced to live what, for him, is a pedestrian existence. If you've read the previous six novels in this series you know how well that goes. As with previous entries there is a lot of action and dark humor in just the right combination in Killing Pretty. Plus someone kills Death, and Stark and company have to solve his murder-fascinating! Even though the choice of villains is in my opinion a little weak overall this was a rollicking adventure. Looking forward to more.
Profile Image for diane.
479 reviews33 followers
July 26, 2019
A good Sandman Slim book. I appreciated that he left enough breadcrumbs for me to remember the important bits about the world without having to slog through a million miles of exposition to get reoriented. I liked the story. It was a little muddled at the beginning, but the threads came together and also point to interesting things on the horizon. I admit I kinda want my rampaging devil back, but I can go back and read previous books for that. Stark is actually changing as a character, which I honestly didn't expect, but it is a pleasure to see.
Profile Image for Will R.
277 reviews19 followers
February 3, 2021
Sandman Slim is always fun to read. James Stark is a hell of a narrator, and I enjoyed his stint as gumshoe about as much as his stint as Devil. The metaplot has slowed down a little but that's probably a relief—it was a bit exhausting at the end of The Getaway God, which was why I took a break after jumping into this one.

Kadrey's writing is often engaging, sometimes merely serviceable, but you're here for the character of Stark himself, his wisecracks, and the smoke-soaked Hell-adjacent L.A. The personification of Death leads to some funny moments, and there's a real hum of energy and camraderie between Stark, Kasabian, Candy, Vidocq, Allegra and, of course, Carlos and the Bamboo Dolls House tiki bar.
Profile Image for Erin Ronald.
53 reviews1 follower
May 2, 2021
Not my favorite of the series so far. Lots of frustrating "busy work". Stark feels not unlike a kicked puppy passed around and leashed by the people around him. The ending was hopefully a launch to more powerful satisfying action. But mostly. I just want to burn everyone around h to the ground. He feels bored.
There were excellent moments, for sure. But I really was frustrated and aggravated most of the time. Maybe that was the intention.
Author 5 books21 followers
July 19, 2022
3.5, rounding up because of all the weeb references.
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