388 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 2009 by Eos.
Working as a sideshow gladiator in Hell after being snatched by demons at the age of nineteen, James Stark escapes and returns to Los Angeles, where he plots to destroy the magic circle that stole his life.
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!
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.
