Listening Length 10 hours and 28 minutes
Published 2009 by Brilliance Audio.
When he was 19, James Stark was considered to be one of the greatest natural magicians, a reputation that got him demon-snatched and sent downtown - to Hell - where he survived as a gladiator, a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's fallen angels. That was 11 years ago. Now, the hitman who goes only by Stark has escaped and is back in L.A. Armed with a fortune-telling coin, a black bone knife, and an infernal key, Stark is determined to destroy the magic circle - led by the conniving and powerful Mason Faim - that stole his life.
Though nearly everything has changed, one constant remains: his friend Vidocq, a 200-year-old Frenchman who has been keeping vigil for the young magician's return. But when Stark's first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head that belongs to the first of the circle, a sleazy video store owner named Kasabian, Stark …
When he was 19, James Stark was considered to be one of the greatest natural magicians, a reputation that got him demon-snatched and sent downtown - to Hell - where he survived as a gladiator, a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's fallen angels. That was 11 years ago. Now, the hitman who goes only by Stark has escaped and is back in L.A. Armed with a fortune-telling coin, a black bone knife, and an infernal key, Stark is determined to destroy the magic circle - led by the conniving and powerful Mason Faim - that stole his life.
Though nearly everything has changed, one constant remains: his friend Vidocq, a 200-year-old Frenchman who has been keeping vigil for the young magician's return. But when Stark's first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head that belongs to the first of the circle, a sleazy video store owner named Kasabian, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than he counted on, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.
©2009 Richard Kadrey (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
No spoilers here. Just gonna say. Holy crap I enjoyed the hell out of this book! Definitely going to pick up the rest of the series. Damn this was a good read!
No spoilers here. Just gonna say. Holy crap I enjoyed the hell out of this book! Definitely going to pick up the rest of the series. Damn this was a good read!
This was the first book in awhile I stayed up late to finish. It's far from perfect, as some other reviews point out, but I really appreciated its magic tricks with noir sensibilities. Read it!
This was the first book in awhile I stayed up late to finish. It's far from perfect, as some other reviews point out, but I really appreciated its magic tricks with noir sensibilities. Read it!
A friend recommended the second book in this series, but it's my inclination to start at the beginning, so...
A departure for me, this novel is a detective noir-fantasy hybrid (or that's what I'm calling it). There are lots of interesting ideas here, though parts of the story seem silly and illogical. There were some circumstances that were eye-roll convenient.
Still, I found myself drawn into this chaotic, wild story. I enjoyed the author's sense of humor and some of his similes are hilarious. It was over-the-top violent, but ended on a funny note. I appreciated that. And, by the way, this novel hardly takes itself seriously.
It was fun.
A friend recommended the second book in this series, but it's my inclination to start at the beginning, so...
A departure for me, this novel is a detective noir-fantasy hybrid (or that's what I'm calling it). There are lots of interesting ideas here, though parts of the story seem silly and illogical. There were some circumstances that were eye-roll convenient.
Still, I found myself drawn into this chaotic, wild story. I enjoyed the author's sense of humor and some of his similes are hilarious. It was over-the-top violent, but ended on a funny note. I appreciated that. And, by the way, this novel hardly takes itself seriously.
It was fun.
This is an excellent Modern Fantasy novel, and an excellent depiction of modern Noir. The Main Character functions like a foul-mouthed Noir detective, blundering his way through his problems with force and base cunning.
The setting is interesting. The characters are dark at face value, but complex when examined. The plot of this first book is a classic revenge story with several twists.
Simon R Green and Chuck Wendig Fans pay attention, read this series.
