Don’t Call it a Reboot: Killing Pretty and Sandman Slim
In any long-lived book series, authors face the challenge of living up to their readers’ expectations (and their own past success). But how to keep things fresh without losing the elements that made the series stand out in the first place? Over the course of six novels, Richard Kadrey has taken his character Sandman Slim (a.k.a. James Stark) from the gladiator pits of Hell to dizzying heights of power. As the backstory grew in complexity, Sandman Slim grew more and more powerful—almost godlike, even serving as the devil for a while, ruling Hell.
Killing Pretty (Sandman Slim Series #7)
Hardcover $25.99
Killing Pretty (Sandman Slim Series #7)
Hardcover $25.99
When a character gets that powerful, it’s dangerous—how can you take any threat seriously when you’re nearly a god? And how do you avoid making your mythology so complex, you’ll have trouble snagging new readers? In Killing Pretty, a.k.a. Sandman Slim #7, Richard Kadrey pulls off something remarkable: he’s written a late-series book that manages three things simultaneously—it dials back Sandman’s power, provides an easy access point to new readers, and it retains all the good stuff—the hilarious one-liners, the effusive allusions to history, pop culture, and the arcane, the ultraviolent fights and lush, bloody imagery—that made the series what it is today. Don’t think of it as a reboot—it’s a very cool recalibration.
An (initially) smaller scale
As Killing Pretty opens, James Stark has come down in the world a bit. After literally saving the universe from the Old Gods in The Getaway God, he can no longer access the Room of 13 Doors and Shadow Walk. Half of the angels in Heaven despise him for killing (part of) God himself. His lover Candy has given herself a new form and a new name in order to evade arrest. And he has a new job that, at least at first, is a lot less involved than saving the entire universe: he’s working as a sort-of private detective for an old friend. This adjustment gives newcomers an easy way into the universe while honoring all that’s gone before.
The same old Sandman
This is 100 percent a Sandman Slim story. The same rapid-fire banter. The same crackling references to history, movies, TV shows, and everything else under the sun. Los Angeles, recovering from apocalyptic floods and the near end of the universe, is the same seedy, vampire-and-necromancer infested place it’s always been, and angels and other entities drop in on Stark on a regular basis. Old-school fans will find it all nicely familiar, while new readers will be hooked immediately by the incredible imagination on display.
A super hook
No matter how much affection you have for a character, the book has to tell a great story, and this one nails it. The premise is, well, killer: someone has murdered Death—as in, literally, the Angel of Death. Murdered isn’t quite the right word: someone has trapped Death in a human body and “pinned” him there, unable to access his powers. Meanwhile, someone else has usurped the role, but clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing—so no one is dying anywhere in the world. This central mystery is Stark’s first case in his new job, and, as usual, it leads him on a crazy ride that ends with a classic battle with forces beyond understanding.
The familiar cast
New readers are gifted with enough background information to ensure they’ll be able to follow the story, but not at the expense of the old fans. The whole gang is present and accounted for: Candy (now named Chihiro), Kasabian, Allegra, Brigitte Bardo, Vidocq, the angel Samael, and many others, benefiting book via the rich history of what has gone before. For newcomers, the relationships are quickly sketched out, providing a nice sense of that history without requiring an advanced degree in Sandman Slimology.
What other series changed things up?
When a character gets that powerful, it’s dangerous—how can you take any threat seriously when you’re nearly a god? And how do you avoid making your mythology so complex, you’ll have trouble snagging new readers? In Killing Pretty, a.k.a. Sandman Slim #7, Richard Kadrey pulls off something remarkable: he’s written a late-series book that manages three things simultaneously—it dials back Sandman’s power, provides an easy access point to new readers, and it retains all the good stuff—the hilarious one-liners, the effusive allusions to history, pop culture, and the arcane, the ultraviolent fights and lush, bloody imagery—that made the series what it is today. Don’t think of it as a reboot—it’s a very cool recalibration.
An (initially) smaller scale
As Killing Pretty opens, James Stark has come down in the world a bit. After literally saving the universe from the Old Gods in The Getaway God, he can no longer access the Room of 13 Doors and Shadow Walk. Half of the angels in Heaven despise him for killing (part of) God himself. His lover Candy has given herself a new form and a new name in order to evade arrest. And he has a new job that, at least at first, is a lot less involved than saving the entire universe: he’s working as a sort-of private detective for an old friend. This adjustment gives newcomers an easy way into the universe while honoring all that’s gone before.
The same old Sandman
This is 100 percent a Sandman Slim story. The same rapid-fire banter. The same crackling references to history, movies, TV shows, and everything else under the sun. Los Angeles, recovering from apocalyptic floods and the near end of the universe, is the same seedy, vampire-and-necromancer infested place it’s always been, and angels and other entities drop in on Stark on a regular basis. Old-school fans will find it all nicely familiar, while new readers will be hooked immediately by the incredible imagination on display.
A super hook
No matter how much affection you have for a character, the book has to tell a great story, and this one nails it. The premise is, well, killer: someone has murdered Death—as in, literally, the Angel of Death. Murdered isn’t quite the right word: someone has trapped Death in a human body and “pinned” him there, unable to access his powers. Meanwhile, someone else has usurped the role, but clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing—so no one is dying anywhere in the world. This central mystery is Stark’s first case in his new job, and, as usual, it leads him on a crazy ride that ends with a classic battle with forces beyond understanding.
The familiar cast
New readers are gifted with enough background information to ensure they’ll be able to follow the story, but not at the expense of the old fans. The whole gang is present and accounted for: Candy (now named Chihiro), Kasabian, Allegra, Brigitte Bardo, Vidocq, the angel Samael, and many others, benefiting book via the rich history of what has gone before. For newcomers, the relationships are quickly sketched out, providing a nice sense of that history without requiring an advanced degree in Sandman Slimology.
What other series changed things up?