For the next 3 Wednesdays I'll be posting about some of my favorite books of 2010... and giving them away.
First up are the Sandman Slim novels by
Richard Kadrey. The first novel, Sandman Slim, was published in Hardcover in July 2009 and as a Mass Market Paperback in April 2010, which was when I noticed it. The second Sandman Slim novel, Kill the Dead, was published in Hardcover in October 2010.
I really enjoyed reading both novels. They are dark and funny. James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, is not your typical hero by any stretch of the imagination. His motives are certainly not altruistic. He's hard-boiled, sarcastic, and violent. And yet, I root for him to come out on top. He calls it like he sees it, but remember his view is more than a bit twisted. These are wonderfully fun noir supernatural thrillers that poke fun at pop culture and just about everything else. Of all the characters I've read about this year, James Stark is the character that I'd most like to have a drink with.
Sandman Slim
Supernatural fantasy has a new antihero
Life sucks, and then you die. Or, if you're James Stark, you spend eleven years in Hell as a hitman before finally escaping, only to land back in the hell-on-earth that is Los Angeles.
Now Stark's back, and ready for revenge. And absolution, and maybe even love. But when his first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than you'd expect, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.
Resurrection sucks. Saving the world is worse.
Darkly twisted, irreverent, and completely hilarious, Sandman Slim is the breakthrough novel by an acclaimed author.
Kill The Dead
Supernatural fantasy's best antihero returns, in the high-octane follow-up to Richard Kadrey's acclaimed Sandman Slim
James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, crawled out of Hell, took bloody revenge for his girlfriend's murder, and saved the world along the way. After that, what do you do for an encore? You take a lousy job tracking down monsters for money. It's a depressing gig, but it pays for your beer and cigarettes. But in L.A., things can always get worse.
Like when Lucifer comes to town to supervise his movie biography and drafts Stark as his bodyguard. Sandman Slim has to swim with the human and inhuman sharks of L.A.'s underground power elite. That's before the murders start. And before he runs into the Czech porn star who isn't quite what she seems. Even before all those murdered people start coming back from the dead and join a zombie army that will change our world and Stark's forever.
Death bites. Life is worse. All things considered, Hell's not looking so bad.
The Giveaway
THE RULES
What: One commenter will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Sandman Slim and a Hardcover copy of Kill The Dead by Richard Kadrey.
How: Leave a comment telling The Qwillery which character from a book you read in 2010 that you would like to have a drink with. The drink does not necessarily have to contain alcohol. If you don't answer the question, your entry will not be counted.
You may receive additional entries by:
1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.
2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.
3) Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.
There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.
Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.
Who & When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, December 22, 2010. Void where prohibited by law.
*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*
