Sandman Slim

Sandman Slim / Richard Kadrey. Originally published 2007.

If one were to create a spectrum of contemporary horror/fantasy/whatever, with John dies at the end on one end and the Dresden files at the other end, Sandman Slim would end up somehwere in the middle. It’s the first novel of a series that now includes five novels and at least one short story.

Brief plot description

(Spoiler free)

Stark is a punk rock magician/car thief who has just escaped from Hell ten years after being betrayed by his circle of magical collaborators. Stalking the streets of L.A., Stark attempts to hunt down his former allies one by one, seeking revenge for his long imprisonment and the murder of his girlfriend.

John dies at the end

John dies at the end / David Wong. Originally published 2007.

John dies at the end is one of those books I randomly picked up because the Kindle version was on sale and I was looking for something new. It’s an irreverent horror novel and was adapted into a moderately well received film.

Brief plot description

(Spoiler free)

David Wong is a 20-something slacker living in an anonymous midwestern college town (implied by the film version to be Champaign-Urbana, but more ambiguous in the book). After a bizarre experience at a party involving a mysterious drug called “Soy Sauce”, he and his friends end up on a wild adventure involving talking meat products, celebrity exorcists, and a demon-like creature known as “Shitload”.