Sandman Slim

“If I learned anything Downtown, it's this: the only real difference between an enemy and a friend is the day of the week.”

I wasn't sure going into this book if I'd enjoy it or not, if we're being honest from the beginning. This book was featured in the book club I'm a part in, and I very nearly passed it up. I'm glad I stuck with it though!

Stark spent 11 years in Hell, escapes, and is now looking for revenge against the guy who put him there. Starting out from nothing he builds up a small mixed bag of friends, and together with stolen cars, guns, and a basically immortal body (mostly the immortal body part), he starts working towards an end goal that seems more complicated by the day.

This is very much a dark humor book. Lots of sarcasm, lots of violence, some low brow humor, and some moments where it feels like the main character has paused to mug for the camera and wait for canned laughter. If you can get past all that, there's surprising scenes of philosophy mixed in, where Stark contemplates good vs. evil, what makes monsters different than men, and the cost of vengeance. The characters, side and main alike, are all written convincingly, I think, and the settings all managed to be varied and interesting despite the book taking place (basically) in LA.

I'm glad I took the time to read this!