The Getaway God

Starred review from August 25, 2014
Kadrey delivers another slamming urban fantasy adventure in James "Sandman Slim" Stark's sixth foray. Stark reluctantly associates with the Golden Vigil to investigate a series of murders. As Los Angeles is enveloped in a portentous rainstorm, Stark and his part-time sidekick Candy come face-to-face with the oldest faction in the battle for control of the universe. A patron at the Bamboo House of Dolls bar is killed in magical crossfire, Candy is targeted from all directions, and Stark navigates myriad perils in a concerto of violence and improvisation. The novel is wall-to-wall action, and Stark careens from mayhem to chaos, doing battle with the recently deceased and those who can never die. His choices are anchored in the salvation of a video store, a donut shop, and a woman he can't be sure he knows. Under all the shock and gore, the heart of Sandman Slim still beats to its own delightfully unpredictable pace.