Despite the dark themes in the book, the humour stood out for me. It was dry and sarcastic; J. L. Howard had me grinning from ear to ear more times th...moreDespite the dark themes in the book, the humour stood out for me. It was dry and sarcastic; J. L. Howard had me grinning from ear to ear more times than I can count.
To cut to the chase, Johannes Cabal is someone who, if you met him in real life, you'd most likely end up punching him in the face.
Johannes Cabal is a brilliant scientist and... an enormous snob who's pretty frustrated when he realises that not having his soul completely screws with his experiments. So he walks into Hell determined to get it back. As you do.
As an anti-hero, any good deeds on Cabal's part are accidental. He's not looking to be anyone's hero, he's looking to get his 100 souls, hand them over to Satan and get his soul back and that's all there is to it. But to do this he ends up enlisting the help of his brother and they both go off on the carnival (courtesy of Satan) and try to cover as much ground as possible before Cabal's deadline comes due.
The story features a return to old classic themes, signing your soul away and making a deal with Satan, the biggest trickster of all. Satan isn't the only trickster in the story though and morality is a reoccurring theme in the book as Cabal's actions start to cross a major line.
Cabal is both intense and disturbing in his single-mindedness. It’s as if there is no line he won’t cross. This didn't put me off of his character. It's a very ugly side, yes, but he redeems himself to the reader through his wit and small acts of kindness and fairness that surprise even Cabal. It's touching to see how the simplest emotions leave him completely stumped and as a result, you find yourself softening towards him.
This actually leads to one of my favourite things about this: Cabal's relationship with his brother Horst. At first Cabal's attitude with Horst is the same as his attitude towards everyone else, but eventually we come to see that this isn't the case at all. His reactions and emotions are different around Horst, he becomes more human and because of Horst, we see a very real and very jarring emotional side to Cabal's character. Horst, in a way, seems to be the only thing connecting Cabal to normal life—which is ridiculous in itself because Horst happens to be a vampire...
Another thing I loved was the humour! Despite the dark themes in the book, the humour stood out for me. It was dry and sarcastic; J. L. Howard had me grinning from ear to ear more times than I can count.
“Not entirely fair?" His voice became that of the inferno: a rushing, booming howl of icy evil that flew around the great cavern, as swift and cold as the Wendigo on skates. "I am Satan, also called Lucifer the Light Bearer..."
Cabal winced. What was it about devils that they always had to give you their whole family history?
"I was cast down from the presence of God himself into this dark, sulfurous pit and condemned to spend eternity here-"
"Have you tried saying sorry?" interrupted Cabal.
"No, I haven't! I was sent down for a sin of pride. It rather undermines my position if I say 'sorry'!”
And that's pretty much it. I'd definitely recommend this book if you're into adult fantasy with a touch of quests. I'm already half-way through the sequel and very much looking forward to the third instalment in the series!(less)
Ahhh, this one hit me just right. I read this a couple of months back soon after joining Goodreads and basically going crazy with tracking down book r...moreAhhh, this one hit me just right. I read this a couple of months back soon after joining Goodreads and basically going crazy with tracking down book recs in the urban fantasy groups (and several others). I found Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. This was just after I got back from my holiday and it made me wish I still had some time off so I could just sit myself down and read it without interruptions.
Now, I've got my weak spot in books, and that's protagonists who are all badass on the inside but seriously screwed in the head and probably broken six ways to Sunday on the inside. And I don't mean just normal broken, like you don't know how they're not locked up or they haven't just put themselves out of their misery, broken, because they're just that screwed over.
That's James Stark for you.
This is a revenge story, you'll likely think 'Oh, well but I've heard this before', and that's fine really. But this really worked for me.
Stark has been in hell for a really long time. And yeah, that's going to mess you up big time (watchers of the show Supernatural know this better than anyone, am I right?). Then you come back to the world because the people who put you there, have now taken the one thing you thought was safe and untouched and that's it. The love of your life gone bye, bye. Yup. Not cool. So Stark is pretty much ready to kick some serious ass.
Stark, is also a magician. I loved how Kadrey worked the whole magician and secret society here, it just hit all the right spots. The LA setting was just perfect and oh my god the side characters! I absolutely loved all of them, including the antagonists and characters that showed up only a handful of times (why, hello there Lucifer).
Kadrey also did a great job in the way he showed Stark's past relationship, soft little happy moments at odds with his life now. Even Stark's own personality, such a complete contrast to the Stark that now stands in his place. Any book that comes with a character that's spent a decade in Hell will come with stronger dark themes and they're all there—especially in the quick references to what was done to Stark while he was in Hell. Not a pretty time. Needless to say there's a lot of violence in the book but I loved it all. I loved that there was no shying away from these action scenes and they were excellently paced and Stark was so. Completely. BADASS. (And overly stubborn at times... which didn't always work out so well for him.)
Can you tell I have a soft spot for this character? He completely one me over the minute I opened the book and he's waking up on fire in the same clothes he wore when he was dragged out of his realm into hell.
The side characters. Oh, the side characters ♥
Excellent supporting cast of characters. You have body-less Kasabian (and I'm completely in love with that name, don't even ask me why), there's an old friend Alchemist who accidentally made himself immortal, his punk apprentice and of course the mysterious quiet Doctor and his little helper who happens to be a Jade (read to find out what Jade they are, I liked this different angle on a very well known supernatural favourite).
I'm so sorry, I'm not sure this review is even coherent. I'm just babbling aren't I?
Thing is, there are imperfections here and I'm probably just being extremely biased in this review. Like I said, this book is right up my alley and hit all my right spots.
I loved this book for exactly what it was, I'd say. And despite it sounding like maybe just another action type urban fantasy, I'd urge you to give it a go, there are some lovely descriptions slipped in which just leave the most crystal clear images in your head and you're momentarily lost in the picture that has just been painted for you.
Oh. And Stark owned an Impala.
Done deal. I love you.
I can't wait to read the sequel, it's already awaiting it's turn in the reading queue, ready to read and I can't wait to enter the world of a very different LA. Not convinced yet? There's also psychotic angels, alternate worlds, a key, a lot of criminal activity (this is a morally ambiguous character—although, really, if I were in his position...)
Well. I don't think I can even sell this to you properly.
To sum up: this is a great action packed fantasy thriller, with a great protagonist and a plot that has you reading as fast as you can and huffing and puffing at anyone who attempts to interrupt your reading time.
Actually scratch that. This sums the book up perfectly:
“Did I hurt your feelings again? Sorry. When this is all over I'll send some flowers to your inner child.” Sandman Slim
I finally managed to carve out the time I needed to just sit down, finish this book and not have to worry about missing my bus stop!
Oh! But I liked this *_*
The world. The world was just so brilliantly done, the portrayal of the dual nature of the Fae so perfect, oh my goodness, I was completely taken in by it all!
I think I may have mentioned it before, but sometimes I have trouble connecting to female protagonists, with Meghan this wasn't the case. Things just got tougher and tougher for her and she pushed through and she was not super woman, she wasn't saved from ridicule or loved by all and that's what I liked about her and I'm so looking forward to seeing how she adapts to the changes that will be taking place as a result of what she does and does not achieve in this book.
On supporting characters and love interests. My favourite character was absolutely the cait sith, Grimalkin. Yes. There are no words to express how much I love this character and that he can answer the majority of questions about his abilities, merely by answering that he is a cat. Yes Grimalkin, yes you are. You are an EPIC cat lol.
Ash and Puck. I love them both. I really did, I have to say, I have a soft spot for Puck, but more because of his banter and his trickster nature than anything else, also yes, his loyalty to Meghan. I don't however; feel disappointed that he doesn't look to stand much of a chance in gaining Meghan's feelings outside of friendship. I don't actually feel much of a love triangle going on here and I'm okay with this, it's merely unrequited love.
Ash. Oh Ash *maidenly sigh*. I like you. A lot. And I'm betting he'll be having a major tough time ahead too. In regards to his and Puck's relationship, I did feel that the reason for their fallout was a little predictable. It didn't ruin anything for me or take anything away from the characters so it didn't become an issue for me.
I have to say though, that what won my love for this story was just how well Kagawa showed us the world of the Nevernever, it's layers and how it worked and how even this place, was subject to laws that could render it helpless. The creatures and just its fantastical existence was so charming, even at its worst, and I couldn't look away from it and stayed eager to learn more.
The plot was a simple one, dealing with the quest trope and for me, it worked quite well. I didn't feel unsatisfied with it and I was behind Meghan all the way, egging her on to reach her goals and come out on top!
The romance was there and it was given more attention than I've gotten used to, mainly because I just haven't been reading books where the romance is central. It wasn't central here, but it was more present and addressed. Can't say I'm complaining, I liked it and I have to say when that kiss finally happened I was doing mental fist pumps.
So. Overall, really, really enjoyable read! I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel and find out what happens next, also a very warm applause for Julie Kagawa because she did her job and did it well and I'm in love with her world.
Hope you guys are having a great weekend (remember! It's storytelling week!) and enjoying your own books ♥
A lot of readers have been mentioning that they were disappointed by the lack of new stories, that the stories published in this anthology have alread...moreA lot of readers have been mentioning that they were disappointed by the lack of new stories, that the stories published in this anthology have already been published elsewhere. I'm a reader who hasn't been fortunate to have found these stories earlier on and elsewhere, I found them in this anthology and I have to say that I was very pleased with the diversity of the stories found.
Not all of the shorts were to my taste, surprisingly some of these from writers I know and like. Others that I did enjoy were from authors I wasn't aware of or ones that I had previously read before and not found to my taste.
It just goes to show that you should probably give authors more of a chance to impress by reading one or more pieces of their work.
The short stories vary from outright paranormal cities to contemporary. As promised by the title of the anthology, even the contemporary stories aren't clear cut, always that sense of the weird about them. I found that one of the short stories that worked as a great definition for the title of the anthology was The Adakian Eagle by Bradley Denton. It was one I was unsure of at the start but ended up changing my mind about, completely, by the end of it. Definitely a sense of the weird, but gripping just the same.
Ilsa J. Blick's The Key was the short story which had my favourite main character of the lot, and where I felt that the character was most complimented by the narrative style. Very enjoyable too and I loved the mythology. It ticked all the right boxes for me. Another that stood out was Cryptic Coloration by Elizabeth Bear that was right up my alley.
Those weren't, by any means, the only good stories in this anthology, merely the ones that ended up being my favourites. I'll be looking in on new authors found here and trying out their novel length works too because there's some really good and intriguing writing here.
Whether you've read them or not, these make a neat little collection, nice to settle down with now and then, or for an afternoon, with some nice snacks and huddled under your duvet on a snowy day (it actually was snowing when I was reading them and it did feel quite nice lol).
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