Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan, visits L.A. for his own purposes. He's getting a movie made about his life, and he insists that Slim work as his bodyguard. Slim is already infamous among the supernatural types for all of his work and carnage in the previous book. Lucifer tells Slim that being seen together is good for both of their images.
As the book goes on, a number of magical creatures disappear or are found horrifically slaughtered. Slim is caught in the middle of L.A.'s zombie mayhem. To learn how he fares in this bloody mess, I suggest you pick up Kadrey's new book.
Sandman Slim's supporting cast is eccentric and fascinating. There's not only the Devil Himself, but Slim has a 'pet' severed head (Slim did the severing in the previous book) named Kasabian, a Czech porn star zombie killer has the hots for him, and Allegra and Vidocq return from the previous book.
I'm careful to call Kill the Dead a book, but not a novel. Aren't novels supposed to be divided into chapters? My father is a popular novelist, and he tells me novels must have chapters. Kill the Dead either has no chapters, or is one huge 434 page chapter. Either way, when the reader wants to take a break, Kadrey gives them no hints as to where to leave their bookmark. That didn't bother me at all, but it's something for some readers to keep in mind before they purchase Kadrey's book.
Kill the Dead is the kind of fiction that will always provoke strong reactions. Readers will either love it or hate it. I love it, because Kadrey's prose is deeply engaging, and he makes me feel that my dark side isn't quite so dark, after all.
Article comments