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heathergstl's review against another edition
5.0
This book was FABULOUS!! If sarcasm and dry humor are your thing you will love this book! With fantasy and supernatural elements combined with that sarcasm and humor, I could not put this book down!
timinbc's review against another edition
2.0
I suspect my biggest problem with this book is that I kept feeling I've already read it.
It's Good Omens and Tom Holt and Christopher Moore and a bit of American Gods and at least ten other authors and books.
The criminal, the angels (always powerful but bungling), the bad-guy bosses (very clever, but always easy to fool), the ex-squeeze who won't get out if the plot, the smarter female cop, the stiff-assed male cop-bureaucrat, the incredibly inept cults ... yawn. I've read ALL this before.
Yes, I have read ALL the Sandman Slim books, so I am not a Kadrey-hater or a Kadrey novice.
Some of the characters are fairly transparent mashups of Sandman Slim characters.
Everyone kidnaps everyone else.
The suspense? Lookit, you can't build around a box that can destroy everything, because we know from the get-go that it can't, it didn't, or we wouldn't be reading it. Why can't we have a book where such a device DOES blow everything up, and a few characters are left, somewhat singed and saying "Oops," then carrying on in a new setting? Another planet, a giant spaceship, the Heart of Gold, ...
In the end, this book commits the only unforgivable sin in a book: it gets boring.
This book breaks NO new ground and adds nothing to the canon.
Read it only if you've never read anything with a similar plot.
Better still, find one of the other similar ones and read it.
It's Good Omens and Tom Holt and Christopher Moore and a bit of American Gods and at least ten other authors and books.
The criminal, the angels (always powerful but bungling), the bad-guy bosses (very clever, but always easy to fool), the ex-squeeze who won't get out if the plot, the smarter female cop, the stiff-assed male cop-bureaucrat, the incredibly inept cults ... yawn. I've read ALL this before.
Yes, I have read ALL the Sandman Slim books, so I am not a Kadrey-hater or a Kadrey novice.
Some of the characters are fairly transparent mashups of Sandman Slim characters.
Everyone kidnaps everyone else.
The suspense? Lookit, you can't build around a box that can destroy everything, because we know from the get-go that it can't, it didn't, or we wouldn't be reading it. Why can't we have a book where such a device DOES blow everything up, and a few characters are left, somewhat singed and saying "Oops," then carrying on in a new setting? Another planet, a giant spaceship, the Heart of Gold, ...
In the end, this book commits the only unforgivable sin in a book: it gets boring.
This book breaks NO new ground and adds nothing to the canon.
Read it only if you've never read anything with a similar plot.
Better still, find one of the other similar ones and read it.
deidregraham's review against another edition
I found the audiobook format hard to follow. Will read a physical copy of this one!
softasapanda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
snoonio's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
abbie_reads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0