Early Review – King Bullet (Sandman Slim, Book 12) by Richard Kadrey (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: August 17, 2021
ASIN : B08NPYGPYY
Stand Alone or Series: 12th (and final) book in the Sandman Slim series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars
“It’s been three months since Stark stopped a death cult and a potential ghost apocalypse, and he’s at loose ends. His personal life is a mess. His professional life isn’t much better. And the world…well, the world is going to shit. L.A. is gripped by a viral epidemic that has everyone wearing masks and keeping their distance from each other. But what’s even more frightening is the Shoggot gang and their leader, King Bullet, who revels in the city’s collapse.
Who is King Bullet? No one knows. He seemingly came from nowhere with nothing but a taste for mayhem and an army of crazed killers who follow his every command. What king wants seems simple on it face: Chaos. Destruction. A city in flames. But there’s more to the king and his plans for L.A. and what Stark discovers will change Heaven, Earth, and Stark himself forever.”
Series Info/Source: This is the 12th and final book in the Sandman Slim series. I got an eGalley of this book from NetGalley for review.
Story (4/5): It’s been three months since the last book and LA has plunged into a sort of apocalyptic chaos as a viral epidemic takes hold on the city. Stark gets involved when the Shoggot gang gets out of hand; they are being led by a new baddie named King Bullet who is trying to tear apart reality.
This story was exciting and fast-paced just like most of the Sandman Slim novels have been. The whole viral pandemic may hit a bit too close to home for some; it’s basically a lot like if COVID hit but if half the people it made sick went insane…lots of mask wearing, violence, etc. I personally enjoyed it as a Sandman Slim novel, but thought it kind of missed the mark as a series finale. Things feel pretty unfinished here. King Bullet wasn’t really any worse than any other of the villains Stark’s gone up against and the way things end for Stark felt very lackluster to me. Although I enjoyed the story I was just left feeling a bit let down by how it all wrapped up.
Characters (5/5): I love the crazy characters in this series and all of our favorites are here. At this point the cast is fairly extensive. There were some additions with King Bullet and F*** Hollywood. I really enjoyed F*** Hollywood a lot, she was a great addition to the cast. Janet continues to feature in the story and I continue to not really enjoy them much as a character. They are just very hohum and a bit boring compared to the rest of the cast…but I guess maybe that is the point. I did love that we get big fight scenes with both Brigette and Candy; love those two! Stark is still a bit whiny throughout but is trying to claw his way out of his depression and PTSD.
Setting (4/5): The book is set in LA and the description is well done. We are shown how LA has descended into madness and chaos and it was scarily realistic at points and at other times super over-the-top crazy. Again, those who’ve recently gone through cities rioting (and of course we’re all still living through a pandemic) might find it a bit too realistic at times.
Writing Style (4/5): This was easy enough to read and written in Kadrey’s chapter-free-style. I never got bored with the book and enjoyed the action scenes and figuring out the mystery behind King Bullet. Stark seems tired throughout much of the book and the other characters are more supporting characters than they were in the previous books. We got some good cameo fight scenes with Stark/Candy and Stark/Bridgette, but the other characters don’t really feature and are regulated more to side-kick mode. I was strangely disappointed in how unfinished this felt and was pretty unhappy at where everything was left. It just felt very anticlimactic to me; it ends like any other Sandman Slim book.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed the story and am glad I read it. Does this feel like the grand finale to this series? Not really, it pretty much feels like any other crazy, gritty, over-the-top Sandman Slim book. It was a fun romp but unsatisfying as a series ender. Would I still recommend this series? For sure! This is a unique, dark urban fantasy series that I enjoyed every book in. I love the characters and the writing style here and look forward to going back to re-read it at some point. I am curious to see what Kadrey will work on next.
