In true hardboiled style, the story is one tough guy’s first person account, replete with catchy commentary and colorful similes. It’s the book’s strongest suit – the mischievous, cynical voice of the titular Sandman Slim (a.k.a. Jimmy Stark) riddled with language that’s been dipped in razor blades and gasoline, and set alight with black candles for kicks. Kadrey mostly avoids tiresome social commentary, and his anti-hero is thankfully more chuckle-worthy than annoying.
As Stark’s tale begins, he finds himself escaped from hell – literally. He spent 11 years as Azazel’s gladiator, entertaining and ultimately terrifying the minions of Lucifer. He’s special. He has a few special tricks, including a creepy knife, a diabolical token that would make Batman’s Two Face blush, and a special key in his heart that lets him walk through shadows anywhere in the universe. He still prefers to steal luxury cars, though.
Stark has a single-minded goal – kill his old magician pals who sent him to hell and then killed Alice, the love of his life. As he stumbles around toward that goal like a minotaur in a China shop, Stark is absurdly tough. He battles wily magicians, pissed off angels, and ethereal demons posing as Neo Nazis. And, he emerges with a few scars and a headache, which he then dowses in Jack Daniels and a little sip of his best friend’s alchemical solutions. He goes through more clothes than he does antiseptic, though. It’s a running gag that Stark has a harder time keeping himself dressed than he does getting shot.
The alchemical best friend is a delightful character, the best of a cast of supporting characters that Kadrey breathes just enough color into. Vidocq’s a kind of father figure to Stark. He’s a 200-year-old Frenchman who cursed himself with alchemical immortality, which gives him plenty of experience as Stark’s wise advisor.
Stark’s flaw is that he doesn’t know what’s really going on. Kadrey tosses Stark from one set piece to another, then back again, as Stark keeps getting banged up by supernatural mysteries he doesn’t comprehend. Or care about. The problem isn’t that the story unfolds for the readers as it does for Stark. The problem is that Stark doesn’t give a damn about it all even when he does slowly realize the apocalyptic nature of it all. The story becomes a bit of expository ping pong as Stark bounces from one celestial conspirator to the next.
Still, Kadrey pulls off the anti-hero trick in the end with a violent build and a chase through hell. It’s the denouement where Kadrey stumbles slightly. After the dust (and hellfire) settles, Stark visits his doctor friend, who then explains to him the whole romp, with all the celestial hierarchy laid bare. It’s a bit unsatisfying after the fact.
Then, the book pulls off a trick that’s so bad it’s good. It’s the only book I’ve ever read that has a diabolus ex machina! Again, a bit unsatisfying, but I will say Kadrey writes the scene deliciously, a sort of Milton meets Chandler moment.
Sandman Slim: B+
[...] my recent review of Sandman Slim, I was unaware of the historical figure of Vidocq. Eugène François Vidocq is the father of [...]
ReplyDeleteAnother great review. You do a good job of providing enough information for me to determine if it's my type of book. In this case it is, I like hard-boiled stuff.
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