Aloha from Hell (Sandman Slim, #3)

Jan 19, 2012 Nosocialize rated it 3 of 5 stars

To read this at my website with pictures and in the dueling review format versus another book about hell navigate here: http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/...

Aloha from Hell is the third book in the Sandman Slim series, but above all accounts it can be read stand alone. There are many references to the previous books, but important details are explained so you won’t be lost. The book follows Sandman Slim, a man built with a bad attitude stuck between heaven and hell,who acts as a sort of detec...more To read this at my website with pictures and in the dueling review format versus another book about hell navigate here: http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/...

Aloha from Hell is the third book in the Sandman Slim series, but above all accounts it can be read stand alone. There are many references to the previous books, but important details are explained so you won’t be lost. The book follows Sandman Slim, a man built with a bad attitude stuck between heaven and hell,who acts as a sort of detective between those worlds and our own. Slim doesn’t necessarily want the job of detective, but since he’s half angel he can survive a fight with demon or angel, so he’s the only guy fit for the job.

Los Angeles is his home, and Kadrey adds a lot of flair to the already hellish place that is LA. Expect many explanations of why LA is already Hell, and why Sandman Slim belongs there. This connection makes LA a character onto itself and further defines Kadrey’s take on Hell. The central story revolves around an old enemy of Slim’s trying to take over Hell and Slim must leave the hell that is LA and go to Hell proper to make things right again.

To get there, just outside LA is Eden, ironically the only Earthly doorway to Hell, and it requires the help from a highway goddess who survives on gas stop junk food. It may sound silly, but Kadrey does a great job creating American myth to go along with what we know about Heaven and Hell. It’s a great way to rewrite what we know about America, and it helps make Slim’s already mythical world that much more grounded in a reality. Slim trudges through miles of desert to locate Eden. Nearly there, Slim comments,

“If I ever get out of here, I’m going to find whichever angel invented sand and make it eat this fucking desert while getting a Tabasco enema.”

It’s nonsense writing to some extent, but part of the joy this books bring is the slurry of anger and attitude Slim brings to the adventure. Kadrey does a good job writing in a pulpy way but also slings so many wtf moments it feels like anything can happen. That’s a good and bad thing when reading the book as it makes everything very fan fiction esque, and things seem to just happen perfectly at the right time to keep the plot going. The fast action pace of the book is also a bit of a problem as it doesn’t allow the character to be fleshed out beyond his archetypal detective character. But that's why this book is good and different from most. You know you're getting an adventure that's cheap, easy to read and enjoyable enough.

That said, Hell is an interesting place. Once past the door inside the tree of knowledge a set of rusty stairs leads down into Hell. Everything about Kadrey’s Hell is grounded in reality. Once down the stairs, Hell looks just like Los Angeles, only on fire, with piles of trash burning and hellions running around chasing the damned. Things have changed since Slim first encountered it though,

“The sky Downtown used to be all bruised purples and bloody reds. A mean perpetual twilight. Now it’s a solid mass of roiling black smoke. Lit from below, it looks like the belly of a black snake the size of the sky crawling over us.”

Hell it seems has gone to shit, because Lucifer isn’t the man in charge anymore, and Hell has become even more Hellish. In Kadrey’s hell, instead of a land that has been created to show the worst case scenario as in Damned, Hell is what we know on Earth but burning and ruined.

“Sunset Boulevard looks like it was blow torched from below...The only thing still standing are the palm trees. They burn like votive candles in a dark nave, throwing more shadows than light. Smoldering fronds fall like burning snow.”

Kadrey paints a very vivid place that’s at once scary and beautiful. The description of hell is something akin to a video game. Things are described quickly and there’s a sense of atmosphere, but Kadrey’s focus is never about the surroundings. Instead, this book is about Slim breaking necks and taking names. It’s an action book first and a descriptive meaningful read a far, far second. (less)

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Dec 07, 2011 Stinkerbelle Stormborn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series, angels, urban-fantasy, supernatural, boo, e-books, demons

*Warning: May contain spoilers!*
This one was by far the best in the series. Unlike the other two books, there was not a single moment where I questioned my picking up the book.
So here we go again with James Stark and a new chapter of his story. There isn't much 'stage' time for his sort-of sidekicks Kasabian, Vidocq and Candy, though. They are present predominantly till mid-novel and then they are only mentioned here and there, while the plot mainly focuses on Stark, who, by the way, gets sent t...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Frank Errington rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I'm reading a Richard Kadrey novel I'm in another world. A world where anything is posible.

For the uninitiated, Sandman Slim is a Nephilim. In his own words, "I'm part angel, half, if you want to get picky about it. It's great. A halo and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee in L.A. Maybe."

Aloha from Hell, is more of the same non-stop action with a world of characters you're not likely to find anywhere else. This is the third book in Kadry's Sandman Slim series and if you've read Sandm...more When I'm reading a Richard Kadrey novel I'm in another world. A world where anything is posible.

For the uninitiated, Sandman Slim is a Nephilim. In his own words, "I'm part angel, half, if you want to get picky about it. It's great. A halo and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee in L.A. Maybe."

Aloha from Hell, is more of the same non-stop action with a world of characters you're not likely to find anywhere else. This is the third book in Kadry's Sandman Slim series and if you've read Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

The usual suspects are back in Aloha from Hell. Including Kasabian, described by Slim thusly, 'Like me, he's a monster; only he wasn't born that way. I made him one when I cut off his head with the black bone knife I brought back from Hell. The blade didn't let him die. Now he's a chain-smoking, beer-stealing pain in my ass. To get specific, Kasabian is a head without a body. And he won't shut up about it."

In Aloha from Hell, we find Sandman Slim trying to rescue his dead girlfrind, Alice, who was stolen from Heaven and taken to Hell by his arch enemy, Mason Faim. To do so, he'll have to sneak back into Hell and survive an epic battle involving Angels, Hellions, Kissi and numerous other supernatuaral beings.

Of course being able to suspend your disbelieve is a requirement to enjoy these books, but once you do, this is a wonderful way to escape the everyday. All of Richard Kadrey's works are available, both in print and for the the Kindle, at Amazon.com.

The previous works in the series, Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead are not required reading, but are definitely recommended for maximum enjoyment. There is more on the way, too. The short Devil in the Dollhouse and the novel Devil Said Bang are already available and a new Sandman Slim novel is on the way later this year. Richard Kadrey is also the author of the wildly imaginative "Butcher Bird: A Novel Of The Dominion" from 2007. One of all time favorite reads.
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Mar 28, 2013 Rafe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books

I loved Sandman Slim enormously, and the second book in the series nearly as much, so it is possible that my expectations were too high for Aloha from Hell. Not that it's not good - it is quite good, and it sends with an awesome set-up for whatever the hell is coming next (literally hell, by the way, not a figure of speech). However, where the first book was pretty much perfect, and the second was almost as good, this one drifted every now and again. Sometimes it was not as coherent as I wanted...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Jimmy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 29, deployment-12-13

This series is great. There was something a little off for me about this book and I can't quite put my finger on it. The humor and violence were there and it went super big picture plot, which I LOVE, but it felt a little tedious at times. I don't know if it was the shock of such a dark, gritty series is wearing off or what. I think that the characterization developed quite well. I really don't know what or why I didn't love it as much as I thought. Maybe my expectations were set too high. In an...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Tyler Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pseudo-noir popcorn urban fantasy that goes so far over the top you're pretty sure it's an airplane. If you don't want spoilers, skip to the final paragraph.

We meet James Stark when he first crawls back out of Hell after being banished there, still alive, by the gang of black magicians he called friends. Stark is a survivor of Hell's gladiatorial arenas, with a head full of magic and a body hopped up on magical performance-enhancers courtesy of Hell's crooked bookies, ready to go on a bloody rev...more Pseudo-noir popcorn urban fantasy that goes so far over the top you're pretty sure it's an airplane. If you don't want spoilers, skip to the final paragraph.

We meet James Stark when he first crawls back out of Hell after being banished there, still alive, by the gang of black magicians he called friends. Stark is a survivor of Hell's gladiatorial arenas, with a head full of magic and a body hopped up on magical performance-enhancers courtesy of Hell's crooked bookies, ready to go on a bloody revenge spree against his former buddies. He rapidly figures out he's earned the moniker Sandman Slim, the monster who kills monsters, and that the leader of that old gang of his, Mason, is up to something far worse and more world-spanning than Stark suspected.

If it sounds like there's not any reason presented for Stark being called Sandman Slim, then you're sort of getting the level of thought involved in these books. Stark's Mary Sue tendencies become overblown fast - he's hard to kill, he can teleport wherever he wants via a room at the center of the universe, and he has a knife that can open any lock and start any car and lets him decide if he wants to keep you alive or not whenever he stabs or cuts you. And that's just the beginning; within the course of the first book we find out he's a nephilim, which makes him a rare-as-hen's-teeth magical creature that is super-great at magic and has all kinds of cool superpowers and exemptions from the rules of the magic governing the world of the books, and also conveniently gives him something to angst about and be treated like an outcast for. He gets a small depowering after the first book, but frankly that seems to have only happened because Kadrey realized he'd written a character who couldn't be beaten. The rest of the story suffers from the same power-level issue. The characters Stark interacts with are at the top of the supernatural food chain - black magicians multiple centuries old, or one of a rare breed of intelligent zombies, or archangels, or the first creations of God, or something. The plot of the first book has Stark foil a plan to end the world halfway through and then foil an even bigger plan to end the world at the end. The second book has him fighting a zombie outbreak that takes over all of Los Angeles, but thanks to conveniently finding a magical artifact that conveniently falls off a vampire he fights in the very first scene of the book, Stark can ignore it; and when his zombie-hunting gypsy porn star Bond girl for Book 2 gets bitten by a zombie, he's told there's no cure until conveniently one character says there is, contradicting every other character in the book, and oh by the way he'll give Stark that cure right now, for free, no strings attached. In every book, Stark's narration reminds us what a lonely lone loner he is and how he can't stop thinking about his time in Hell, but it's mostly to inject some amount of conflict into a character who has no real struggles in relation to the plot of the book because he's just so ungodly powerful (no pun intended).

All that said, Kadrey's writing is legitimately witty in its Chandler-the-morning-after way, and the books are fast-paced and fun. He's put some amount of thought into the world, even if he's only showing us the most ridiculously overpowered levels of it, and you can see the interesting, cynical, teen-angst version of Stark that could have been peeking out in his interactions with Kasabian and some of the other relatively normal supporting cast. I had fun reading these books, but I also wanted to tear my hair out at the world full of Mary Sues and the clumsy plotting. It's great as a little dessert after the meatier texts of better noir writers and better fantasy writers, but do not come to these expecting them to live up to any expectation other than mindless entertainment.

Recommended for fans of Nanci Collins' Sonja Blue novels or anyone who uses Tarantino movies as a break between more serious cinema. Not recommended if you are in the mood for depth or logic.(less)

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Dec 10, 2012 L.M. David rated it 3 of 5 stars

Of the three books in this series, this is my least favorite only because the character Stark is not growing, but continuing his rant from book one and two. Overall, the end of the book had the most movement, the getting back to Hell and beating up the bad guys in search of Mason, Stark's nemesis. In the beginning, Stark gets talked into looking for a teen who has gone missing and, according to his parents, is possessed. Stark eventually goes back to where he started, Hell. Here, Lucifer's army...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Marc Weidenbaum added it

This is the third in Richard Kadrey's ongoing Sandman Slim series. Kadrey may have named his anti-hero after the pseudonym that Donald E. Westlake employed in his Parker novels (i.e., Stark), and he may have used the name Parker itself for the murderer of the anti-hero's girlfriend. But for all his allegiance to his hardboiled antecedents, Kadrey with Aloha from Hell does one thing solidly, singularly, and essentially different: he doesn't repeat himself.

The Parker novels, like so many solid cr...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Older souls and little Hellions

Recommended to Alan by: Previous installments

By now you should know the drill—and if you don't, for Hell's sake don't start here; you'll be missing two-thirds of the fun. Aloha from Hell is the third installment in Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series. While it's by no means a standalone work, Kadrey keeps up the momentum and raises the stakes in this one, resolving some hanging threads and providing a satisfying ending that—without going into too much detail—is a beginning as well. For once, that doesn't bug me; quite the contrary, in fac...more By now you should know the drill—and if you don't, for Hell's sake don't start here; you'll be missing two-thirds of the fun. Aloha from Hell is the third installment in Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series. While it's by no means a standalone work, Kadrey keeps up the momentum and raises the stakes in this one, resolving some hanging threads and providing a satisfying ending that—without going into too much detail—is a beginning as well. For once, that doesn't bug me; quite the contrary, in fact.

After the tumult and dislocation of Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell opens on a much quieter Los Angeles. The supernatural side of Sandman Slim's life actually seems to be taking a breather. He's gotten the upper hand on his inner angel, and along with his business partner Kasabian he's rebuilding Max Overdrive, the video store that got demolished during the recently-averted zombie apocalypse. Slim has mellowed somewhat from his rather... charred and abrasive earlier appearances—he still prefers to be called James Stark, but seems to have come to terms with his nickname, and he even, once in awhile, says "please"—something a lot of much purer good guys never seem to get around to doing. Of course, this sort of relatively peaceful activity does not sit well with Stark, who actually has to go out looking for trouble, breaking-and-entering with his immortal French friend Vidocq.

"All the rebuilding going on after the zombie riots—the saws and hammers and especially the stink of new paint—was making me feel kind of stabby." (p.24)

As you might have guessed, though, these innocent hijinks are but the calm before the storm... The supernatural detective business that's been something of a productive sideline for Stark in the past starts heating up too, when he's pressured into investigating the disappearance of teenager Hunter Sentenza, body and soul, after an exorcism goes horribly wrong.

"Is there anything worse than an excommunicated priest?"
"Yes. One who's not excommunicated."
(p.44)

Pretty soon, Stark's back to old habits and old haunts. At least Stark finally gets the girl—well, a female, anyway. For awhile...

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you're dead." (p.172)

You can probably guess where the trail to Hunter leads, given Stark's sardonic twist on the old phrase.

Too eventful to be quite as full of the snappy patter that distinguished Kadrey's first two entries in the series, Aloha from Hell nevertheless manages to be, if anything, more entertaining than its predecessors. For a series that's been pretty damned good so far, that's pretty damned good.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-reader

What can I say, I was on a Kadrey kick.

I did not enjoy Aloha from Hell as much as I hoped I would. Part of this comes from my own expectations. I was looking forward to more interaction with the earthly (read: alive) characters, especially the relationship between Stark and Candy. While there is a little of this, a good deal of the book takes place after Stark return Downtown to once again exact revenge upon Mason, the current ruler of Hell.

All right, I get that Stark is still pissed that Maso...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

Aloha From Hell is Richard Kadrey’s (@Richard_Kadrey) latest book in the Sandman Slim series (the first two being Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead). Kadrey’s mix of urban fantasy, hard boiled crime, and supernatural elements make for a fun read, but it’s Stark (or Sandman Slim, as he is known to the monsters of this world and the underworld), that really shines. How could a smart-ass, ass-kicking, “monster who kills monsters” not be fun to read about?

Attention: SPOILERS ahead. If they bother you,...more Aloha From Hell is Richard Kadrey’s (@Richard_Kadrey) latest book in the Sandman Slim series (the first two being Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead). Kadrey’s mix of urban fantasy, hard boiled crime, and supernatural elements make for a fun read, but it’s Stark (or Sandman Slim, as he is known to the monsters of this world and the underworld), that really shines. How could a smart-ass, ass-kicking, “monster who kills monsters” not be fun to read about?

Attention: SPOILERS ahead. If they bother you, skip this paragraph. In the earlier novels, Stark’s magical rival, Mason, killed Stark’s girlfriend Alice and dragged Stark down to Hell. Stark, already a magical badass, discovered even greater powers when he fought and killed in Hell for years before escaping to L.A. to seek revenge on Mason. Sandman Slim was that revenge story, and it was probably the best of the series. In Kill the Dead, the cast of characters expanded, and Stark saved L.A. from hordes of zombies while also serving as Lucifer’s bodyguard (who visits L.A. to supervise a film based on his life). FYI, Kill the Dead is a little disorganized and not quite the page-turner that Sandman Slim was (it’s probably the weakest of the series, but still worth reading). The series leaves off with Lucifer abandoning Hell and returning to Heaven. Mason, now trapped in Hell, takes advantage of the power vacuum, gathering the hellion forces in an attempt to destroy both Heaven and Hell. /SPOILERS

Aloha finds Stark settling into a relatively comfortable and normal existence, if that’s what you’d call stealing magical relics with an immortal friend. Whatever he’s become though, Stark is no longer the killer he once was. When Stark is asked to look into a botched exorcism performed by a defrocked priest, he begins to see signs of his old nemesis Mason. Stark must return to Hell to fight Mason, save the universe, and rescue his long-lost love Alice. Along the way, there are angels, demons, God, older gods, monsters, and serial killers. Par for the course in the Sandman Slim books.

Like the other books in the series, Aloha is gritty, violent, and snarky. In other words, it’s exactly the book you want to read during the holiday season. Ultimately, Aloha is probably the second best of the trilogy. At this point, readers can see where the story is headed from a fairly early point (which isn’t to say it’s completely predictable, just that I found myself sometimes thinking “get on with it, already”), and there is a bit of a deus ex machina solution at the end that I found a bit unsatisfying. However, don’t let that stop you from reading the series. I think you’ll definitely enjoy the ride. Kadrey is a clever writer who ably mixes mystery, magic, and myth. And Stark is an engaging character, at times funny, loving, and terrifying. I have definitely enjoyed watching him grow over the course of the three books.(less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Mason Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

I might have to read this again, because it went by so quickly. Which isn't to say it's too short (though perhaps it is), but more that it's a whirlwind, and a fun one at that. The third in the Sandman Slim series, by this point Kadrey is so comfortable with his characters that it all flows very smoothly. The story, that is -- things aren't smooth for the characters at all. I mean, when your main character kills himself (sort of) in order to get to Hell -- on purpose -- to get involved in the la...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 2 of 5 stars

After reading Kill the Dead, I was really hoping that Aloha from Hell would redeem the story of Sandman Slim for me. It was certainly a better book than the second book in the series; however, that doesn't make this an exciting read at all. At best all I can say about this book is that it didn't bore me, but it certainly didn't excite me, or encourage me to read any other books in the series. I almost feel as though he is bored with his own series.

This entire story has been leading up to Stark's...more After reading Kill the Dead, I was really hoping that Aloha from Hell would redeem the story of Sandman Slim for me. It was certainly a better book than the second book in the series; however, that doesn't make this an exciting read at all. At best all I can say about this book is that it didn't bore me, but it certainly didn't excite me, or encourage me to read any other books in the series. I almost feel as though he is bored with his own series.

This entire story has been leading up to Stark's confrontation with Mason, his arch enemy. The real war between the two began when Mason killed, Stark's girlfriend Alice, and then sent Stark to live in hell for over a decade. Mason however is motivated to destroy the universe because he was tortured as a child. Apparently, it was not enough for him to achieve his vengeance on those who wronged him, but the entire world has to pay for his hurt. For all of the havoc that the two have caused across the universe, it seems that the relationship between Stark and Mason comes down to a pissing contest. Really? I know that we have a male protagonist, but would it have been so hard to come up with a more substantial foundation than a juvenile pissing contest? I also think it is worth mentioning that it took three books to get to the point where Mason and Stark finally resolved their issues and quite frankly, it was anti-climactic and felt more like a set up for a fourth book in this series.

The one thing that Aloha from Hell has going for it, is that unlike Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead, it is not as littered with as many problematic failures. The word lame several times which is of course an ableist slur, and women are referred to with reductive language; however, that is still an improvement. The cast still remains White and straight however. It seems that diversity is just one leap Kadrey is as of yet unwilling to make. I suppose what I don't understand how a writer can create a world with all manner of angels, demons and Lucifer himself, but cannot imagine a single marginalized body in his narrative. The closet this series comes to a disabled character is Kasabian - a man without a body. I suppose I should just be thankful that he has at least stopped using gay slurs to attack straight men.

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Nov 05, 2011 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I read the first two and enjoyed them, despite some editing issues.
But in this novel, there are construction issues, world building conflicts as well as editing problems.
Editing was the usual loose style that needs to be tightened. For example, reference is made in a conversation to something that was not actually part of the conversation. It probably probably referring to a line of dialog that was edited out, but it needed to be corrected in the entirety.

But those are issues that can be ignored...more

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Oct 16, 2011 J Edward Tremlett rated it 4 of 5 stars

After the hellish events of Kill the Dead, it’s understandable that Stark — also known as Sandman Slim — just wants to take it easy.

The Devil’s back in Heaven, his inner Angel’s behaving (mostly), and things are finally coming around with Candy the bloodthirsty monster (on the wagon, we hope). He’s not having to bust his ass as much anymore. It’s been so long since he killed someone he can’t even remember when it was, or why. Heck, even his dead girlfriend’s ghost is telling him to quit mooning...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Tracy Rowan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Tracy by: Amazon Vine

I love the Sandman Slim books, I purely do. Richard Kadrey knows how to tell a story; his prose is as smooth as a 35 year old single malt, full of violence, cheerful vulgarity and extreme smart-assery. "Aloha from Hell" is no exception. It's a rough, funny novel with an awesome body count just like the first two.

In this third book of the series which picks up fairly soon after the end of the second book, Stark figures that killing all the zombies on earth should earn him a little bit of a rest....more

I love the Sandman Slim books, I purely do. Richard Kadrey knows how to tell a story; his prose is as smooth as a 35 year old single malt, full of violence, cheerful vulgarity and extreme smart-assery. "Aloha from Hell" is no exception. It's a rough, funny novel with an awesome body count just like the first two.

In this third book of the series which picks up fairly soon after the end of the second book, Stark figures that killing all the zombies on earth should earn him a little bit of a rest. The universe begs to differ. There are a lot of loose ends -- Mason, Alice, Alita, the Kissi, the Golden Vigil -- all of whom have some kind of agenda which runs roughshod over Stark's serenity. In spite of himself, Stark agrees to look into a demonic possession which turns out to be far more than it seems, and convinces him that he has to go back to Hell to finish Mason once and for all.

The problem with any series is that its author always has to walk a fine line between more-of-the-same and WHOA-where-did-that-come-from? In that respect I think Kadrey has done pretty well, though some of the unfinished business in this book did show signs of strain. That Stark still can't seem to let go of Alice is probably perfectly reasonable in terms of how human beings deal with loss within a relatively short time frame. But over the course of three books,the audience can find it fatiguing. Ditto Stark's vendetta against Mason. Nevertheless, these plot lines had to be wrapped up so that the series can end or the characters can move on. And in this case it seems pretty clear that Kadrey intends the latter. He leaves Stark in a highly unusual position, to say the least, and one that needs to be resolved.

As usual, the secondary characters shine. Vidoq and Muninn are back as are Candy and Allegra. And Kasabian is back, thank goodness. He's well on his way to becoming my favorite character. There's also an excommunicated priest who is relatively interesting. I hope Kadrey does more with him in later books. And then there's the usual cast of monsters and Hellions who are the redshirts of the series, and a cameo by an infamous criminal which is amusing and disturbing by turns.

In all, I think this may be the weakest of the three novels, but it's far from being a disappointment. On the contrary, I'm really anxious to find out what's going to happen next. That's the mark of a good story as far as I'm concerned.
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Jul 05, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, best-of-the-genre, urban-fantasy, noir

Sandman Slim is the man Mike Hammer wishes he could be. Slim is so hard-boiled he's practically stone at this point, and the baddest shut-your-mouth since Shaft graced the screen.

"Aloha From Hell" is the book you go to when you want a non-stop ride of snappy dialogue, gruesome characters, and L.A. the way we always knew it was deep down. Fresh from saving the Earth from High Plains Drifters (that's zombies to you uninitiated folks - and if you ARE uninitiated, go pick up the first book in this...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Sandman Slim novels are always great fun - violent, dark, cynical fun. Aloha From Hell, the third novel in the series, ramps up the violence a bit, but also brings Sandman Slim into a slightly better place emotionally. Slim has discovered his true nature and is struggling not only with the ramifications of that discovery but also his growing attraction for Candy, a not-quite-human female who can not only handle Sandman Slim's violence, but even revel in it to a great degree. Slim feels a bit...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Tommy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this third book in the "Sandman Slim" series, even though parts of it are pretty over-the-top, and almost goofy. Hard-boiled street-tough noir can only get so wise-crackin' and ball-breakin' before it becomes a parody of itself. Despite that, I still like Sandman Slim and his foul-mouthed dealings with demons, ghosts, zombies, angels, and even God. Things get pretty metaphysical in this one, with specially-tailored "convergence" realities. Sandman Slim gets the shit kicked out of him a...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Cynfully Sweet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, favorites, read-in-2012

"Traven’s keys are for a Geo Metro, a glass-enclosed gum wad of fiberglass that’s like a car the same way movie-theater nachos are like food….. it’s blue, and looks like something that should come free with a kids meal."

"But I can stomp this accelerator from now until the suns burns out, and there still won’t be any dust. This 3 speed rowboat would lose a drag race to a crippled monkey on a big wheel"

Now. Once upon a time in the early 90's, when I was just a wee thing, my Dad owned above said an...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the third in Kadrey's ongoing series about an undead demonic hitman with a heart of tarnished gold and a catchy nickname. It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer for grownups with expensive drug habits. Kadrey won't win any awards for his prose style; in particular, all his characters talk in the same voice, like postmillenial Americans. There isn't much character development, and his sometimes strained plot devices can move the story along like jumps between videogame cutscenes. But his combinati...more

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Jan 03, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved Sandman Slim and was a little disappointed in Kill the Dead because it lacked that je nais se quoi that made the first book so very much fun to read. The good news is that Kadrey reclaimed that certain something in this book, the third in the trilogy.

Aloha from Hell starts off with Stark still in LA, sharing a hotel room with Kasabian while the video store is rebuilt. When he's goaded into taking a job against his will, it starts him down the path to finally kill the man who sent him to...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, angels, demons

Well, the writing's not exactly Pulitzer quality, and the story has all the subtlety of a grenade launcher, but things get blown up, burned, shot, stabbed, filleted, and otherwise destroyed. Reading these books is just fun. It's sort of like watching an action movie; sure, there's some plot there, and it's probably exciting (I like the way Kadrey paints Heaven and Hell), but the real point is the explosions. (And actually, this series would make great movies. Start producing, Hollywood.)

Stark is...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Viccy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

James Stark went downtown for eleven years. He was mortal, so he was able to leave Hell and walk this plane again, but retained the ability to move between planes. His father was Uriel, so Stark is also a nephilim, an abomindation to many. He is looking for Mason Faim, the man who killed Alice, his girlfriend. Mason is now back in Hell, leading an army against Heaven's gates so he can rule in both Heaven and Hell. Stark, better known as Sandman Slim, has other plans. Lucifer has gone back to Hea...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Vincent Wood rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book 3 of the Sandman Slim series and the anti-hero we know and love, or at least know if we have read the previous two books is at it again, being a reluctant hero while being a complete jerk about it. I suspect the author of this series is a fan of the Grand Theft Auto video game series considering how Sandman Slim tends to act around town in all the books so far.

If you enjoy fantasy in an urban setting, and by that I do not mean the erotic urban fantasy that seems all too common these days, t...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Contrarius rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Stark isn't a nice guy. He isn't polite, he isn't considerate, he doesn't play by the rules. He is continually pissed off, he goes through a LOT of destroyed clothing, he hates almost everyone, and he loves to steal cars.

What's not to like?

The Sandman Slim books aren't perfect, but author Richard Kadrey has managed to create a great character in James Stark. Stark repeatedly refers to himself as a monster, and he is an efficient killing machine -- yet he is also intensely loyal to folks like hi...more Stark isn't a nice guy. He isn't polite, he isn't considerate, he doesn't play by the rules. He is continually pissed off, he goes through a LOT of destroyed clothing, he hates almost everyone, and he loves to steal cars.

What's not to like?

The Sandman Slim books aren't perfect, but author Richard Kadrey has managed to create a great character in James Stark. Stark repeatedly refers to himself as a monster, and he is an efficient killing machine -- yet he is also intensely loyal to folks like his murdered lover and the few living people he trusts, and somehow he ends up saving the general populace from various true monsters whether he really wants to or not. Kadrey can write surprisingly poetic prose -- a rough hewn sort of poetry, but still effective -- and that in combination with Stark's obnoxious attitude and frequently outrageous violence make for an engaging, humorous, and sometimes breath-taking good time.

Now, these books are not perfect. A lot of the fantasy elements are pretty off the wall to start with, and sometimes Kadrey really strains my ability to suspend disbelief. In particular in this book, at the climax he did something with the angel half of Stark that really had me waving the BS penalty flag (I won't spoil it here). Even so, the way he set up the climax and its aftermath promises to provide a lot of interesting conflict for the next book, so some good reading may come of it. And even given that this sort of believability problem does occur occasionally throughout the Sandman Slim books, they are still a lot of fun to read.

As to the narrator for the audio version -- I was not all that fond of MacLeod Andrews when I listened to the first Sandman Slim book, but he has grown on me as the series progressed (and, probably, as he got more used to the role). In Aloha From Hell I think he does a fine job of voicing both the rough-edged Stark and most of the secondary characters. Occasionally some of the side characters sound too much alike, but that's a minor complaint. (less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Jonny Amalgamated rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the third book in the Sandman Slim series and was by far my favorite (and I really enjoyed the others)!

This was also by far the longest book in the series as well, almost to the point where it felt like two stories rolled into one book (that's not to say the story doesn't roll together well, because it does).

Stark (Sandman Slim) throws in with the Kissi (a type of chaos angels who fell between the cracks when the universe was created) to take down Mason, who is trying to usurp control of...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Sandman Slim is back, acting remarkably civilized. Its been weeks since he has killed anyone, much less in a really bloody manner.

Then he finds out that his long-lost love has been taken hostage from Heaven and pulled into Hell as a hostage of the war to take over Hell and all bets all off. The war of his ex-comrade to take over both Heaven and Hell has gotten to very very personal. And Slim will do anything - even go back to Hell - to stop it and save his lost love.

Kadery manages to raise the...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Lea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, horror, mystery, fantasy, too-clever-by-far

So. Fucking. Good. I love the glittering anti-hero, James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, aka the nephilim abomination. The ending wasn't as satisfying as the first two in the series, but it did leave lots of room for future adventures (!). I wish I had bought this series instead of borrowing it from the library, as I can easily see myself reading each novel several times. I wish the powers-that-be would make these into movies- and hey, they take place in hell and L.A, so they could save the money from...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Frankj rated it 3 of 5 stars

Taken as a quasi-mythological pulp fiction story, it's a good way to pass a few days. Some repetition of words and phrases kind of stuck out as I came across them, and some of the pop culture references are kind of blunt - we know from the first two books who Stark/Sandman is - but then, maybe it's more than the author hitting his limits, and just furthers a depiction of the limits of the character.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS*

As the main story arc has seemingly reached the end, it's somewhat encou...more

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Aloha from Hell (Sandman Slim #3)

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