Killing Pretty: A Sandman Slim Novel

i never tire of the sandman slim world. 'killing pretty' is yet another a entertaining window onto stark's dark and edgy world. i recommend hunkering down and reading the entire series. you'll never be the same and you'll be glad of that.

What do you do when your protagonist successfully nullifies a raging evil that concludes a long running plot line? Make him a P.I.

I won't deny that I was concerned that Stark as a regular citizen would lose his oomph and his charm but that didn't happen. I am liking the new direction and the set up for future books. Stark is still the raw, rampaging, force of nature he always is but he when tries to modify his impulsive behavior it doesn't work and forces him back out there in all his destructive mania.

This is a favorite series and this book doesn't disappoint. 5 stars but please read series in order or it won't make much sense.

Richard Kadrey dose it again, we where all wondering after he left our hero in a whole new world of boredome.... No hell, no room of thirteen doors... we wondered if the series would still hold are attention.

We'll yes it did! Richard F'en Kadrey did it again this book grabs you by the $^!!^$ and pulls you down whole new rabbit hole!

If you dug the earlier Sandman Slim novels what do you care what I say you know you are going to read it, so do. If you new pick up the first book and see if you can put it down after the first 4 pages!!!!

Have just started the book, but I'm terrible about circling back to add reviews after I finish - so this is more a review of the series to date than the 7th book. Borrowed the first few from the library and was hooked. Dark, witty, action packed, great twists, couldn't put the series down. Other reviewers have included this in their favorites along with the Dresden series - couldn't agree more. Picked up a couple more from the store at modest prices. With so much great reading out there at low prices, it's rare for me to spend full new release prices - but I didn't hesitate to invest the $12.99 to get the 7th book Right Now!

So here is interstellar bad ass Stark being tamed by his monster girlfriend. He in turn settles the question of who really takes souls. The pretender? Or the original. Now Samuel, slick as always, slides in and defines the battle and the aftermath. Leaving the bleeding to Stark as usual. Kinda funny to see Stark in the process of being civilized

A welcome respite from the apocalypse upon apocalypse events of the past few books. Characters are given time to deal with those recent events and the changes in their relationships and lives while engaging in more of a "who-dun-it" where the stakes are as ultimately high as usual, but more indirect at first.

Yea so it's not quite as fast paced as the others but it still a great installment in the series. If you get this character, then seeing our hero a little out of his element and struggling is awesome. Dialog still sharp, story still solid, I loved it and look forward to more. Thanks Richard!

I am a big fan of the series and this book doesn't disappoint as the plot moved well and the dialogue was terrific with great banter through the book, this is the kind of book that inspires you to want to write and read more stuff by the author

This is the seventh installment in the 'Sandman Slim' series. It's a little slower and has less action than the previous books in the series, but I won't hold it against R.K. I'm looking forward to the next story in the series.

I adore all of the Sandman Slim books and each one is just as engaging as the rest. Just when I think 'what else can Kadrey do?' he goes and does something unexpected (but completely believable and in-character). I love it!

Pure high grade entertainment with all the clever banter and pop culture references you'd expect, yet this book is not nearly as dark as its predecessors. Which is ironic given the subject matter: Kadrey skates close to gothic lit in his treatment of death, from Candy's loss of self as Chihiro to the ways the rich and famous deal with mortality -- not to mention Stark's relationship with Death (as in the Angel of) and his own identity crisis. I was as impressed as I was entertained. Fans will not be disappointed.

Killing Pretty represents a sort of reboot most fantasy series can't survive...but Stark has been forced to roll with so many punches, this is just par for the course. Pared down to the core essentials of the series so far, this book is one of the best so far, with Richard Kadrey at top form!

When I started this series I thought there is no way it can get better, but it does with every book. Sandman Slim is the dark, antihero that saves the world when he is just trying to save his own ass. It's witty, gritty, and a hugely fun ride.

I really loved the previous novels but this one was somewhat lacking. Seemed very disjointed and the story, well the story sucked to be honest. As much as I love Sandman Slim, I think this will be the last book I buy in the series. At this price it's just not worth it.

3.5 stars
This is one of my favorite fiction series. After Dresden and 20 Palaces this is some of the best hard boiled dark fantasy out there. But this time the story was disappointing. The case was just boring from the outset. I thought finding deaths killer would be fun but it turned out not so much. From the investigating, to the perpetrators to the culminating battle and solutions it just never worked for me. It felt somewhat phoned in. Some parts I had to read over because I thought I missed something, but nope the transitions were just that abrupt. This all would have still been ok if it weren't for the miserable supporting characters. They are usually cool, but in this outing they were literally miserable. Complaining, whining, etc the whole time. I get that these feelings have to exist, especially under the circumstances in this book, but as a reader, it make a real slog to get through. All that and sandman slim didn't seem quite like himself. This guy killed a piece of god not to mention all sorts of other nasties, yet the whole book he seems ineffectual, and when it came to confront the culprit he was downright useless. I wish Kadrey, who's a great author could spend a few more months re-writing this one.

I got a copy of this book through Edelweiss to review. This is the 7th book in the Sandman Slim series. I enjoyed this continuation of the Sandman Slim series but didn't like this book quite as much as the previous book in the series.

Stark is back at his video store trying to make his life work. He’s adjusting to not being able to shadow travel anymore and trying to deal with the fact that Candy (now called Chihiro) looks completely different and is pretending to be a completely different person (to evade arrest). Then of course there is the fact that Death showed up in a completely dead human body and is languishing in his video store. Stark needs to figure out what the deal is with Death and how to get Death back where he belongs. When people all over the world stop dying the matter becomes incredibly urgent.

This book is a bit of a transition novel as Stark tries to figure out what to do with his life. It is a bit plagued by Stark's whining; he is either whining about how sick he is about getting forced into world-changing events or whining about how he hates having a normal "white-picket fence" type of life. I got kind of sick of those parts since you know...you can't have it both ways.

There is also less action in this book than in others. Which is not to say there aren't some high-octane scenes and gruesome violence...it's just a bit less in this book. There is a lot more of Stark trying to work as a team (which is not his strong suit) and investigate Death’s appearance.

I did enjoy the idea of Death being forced into a human body. It was a fun and interesting mystery for Stark and crew to solve. The side plot of Candy taking a new identity as Chihiro was also intriguing. I am curious to see where Chihiro’s story goes from here.

However the story wanders...a lot and it made the book quite a bit longer than it had to be. We spend a lot of time reading about Stark as he wanders about his somewhat disorganized and non-sensical life. Some of these parts were a bit boring and I kept hoping we would get to the point sooner than later.

Overall, while not my favorite Sandman Slim novel, this was still an entertaining read. The Sandman Slim series is full of witty dialogue and attitude and definitely has a unique style all its own. I recommend it to those who enjoy gritty urban fantasy. If you like gritty and slightly disturbing urban fantasy I would also recommend the Jessie Shimmer series by Lucy Snyder.

I love Sandman Slim. The entire series is a breath of fresh (albeit blood-scented) air in the swamp of urban fantasy. Finally we have a `hero' who isn't afraid to kick butt and kill things that need it. James Stark is a Good Guy, but far from a nice one...and with the troubles he's faced in previous outings, we realize `nice' is a euphemism for `ineffectual victim'.

Then we get...this. Interesting premise, wonderful idea, the cover blurb and the store plot outline make this seem like yet another murder-&-mayhem Sandman Slim adventure. Instead, we get a well-written episode of `Murder, She Wrote' without Angela Lansbury starring as Sandman Slim. Actually, not even that good. More like `Zoolander' starring as Sandman Slim.

Kadrey is great at putting the words together, but the character and plot fall far short of his usually excellent work. Perhaps it was a contract thing and he had to get *something* out there to make the payment on his Porsche.

You'd think hunting Death's killer would be exciting. You'd be wrong. You'd think the `Girl With The Graveyard Eyes' would be interesting and important to the plot. She isn't. You'd think a lot of things, knowing this is a Sandman Slim novel...and for most of them, you'd be wrong. This is *not* a Sandman Slim novel...Sandman Slim is competent in a few specialized areas, and whoever was pretending to be him in this book is far from it in *any* area.

And a note about former-Marshal Julie Solas...good God, Mr Kadrey, will you kill this goody-two-shoes sanctimonious <rhymes with witch> off in an extremely painful and graphic fashion? After all she's seen...after all she should have learned from her Vigil outings and interaction with Sandman Slim...she thinks *she's* competent to boss Sandman Slim around like he's Gilligan to her Skipper? Has she been to Hell? Was she ever a temporary Lucifer? Did she kill Kissi, angels, demons, archdemons, and Elder Gods? No, she was as helpless as the rest of humanity...except Sandman Slim, who *did* all those things. I want Sandman to nail her hands to the biggest heaviest book of regulations he can find (she probably has them all in her office) with his black blade and tell her, "Look at my wallet! It's the one with `Bad M*therf*cker' seared into it! You don't tell me what to do to fit in with your little whitebread world, you point me at the crap *you* can't handle and back me up when I do what you aren't capable of facing! Until then, don't friggen call me, and your check *better* clear, get me?"

Sure, it's only been a book-time week since the events of Getaway God, so maybe Sandman is a little off-balance. But if Solas can be back business-as-usual without the events affecting her...

I'd say give this one a miss, but there are some over-arching plot details that will resonate throughout future books in the series...but I will say you should expect this to read more like assigned homework rather than a novel you'd devour like you did the rest of the series.

Death knocks on Stark's door. Literally. A man with no memory and a whole in his chest where his heart used to be comes carrying the sword that killed him. He wants answers and he's positive Stark can get them for him.

Stark wants to blow the guy off. He's got a new job as a P.I. After six months of lonely hell, Candy is back in his life. She's disguised, since she's supposed to be dead, but she's back. A part of James is starting to realize how much everyone in his life gets hurt because of the stupid, half-cocked stuff he does, and he wants to correct that.

But death will not be put off. Actually, it will. Nobody has died since the guy turned up. Like, nobody. It's up to Stark, Candy, and their boss Julie to return the world to its natural order.

I have to say, this was my least favorite book in the series so far. You would think that death needing to be returned to life would be a great story kickoff, but it wasn't. This book dragged. I don't know if it was Stark trying to go legit (which he failed at), or that the white light society that they tagged as the bad guys weren't all that bad and didn't play much of a part in the book. We got a bunch of research instead. The ending wasn't satisfying either, although it made sense, except for the part about Wormwood. Profiteers of chaos, as in, a totally capitalistic illuminati thing? Nothing spooky to see there.

“I break his wrists so I don’t have to break his neck.

He falls to his knees, but I don’t think it’s the pain, though I make sure there’s plenty of that. It’s the sound. The crack of bones as they shatter. A sound that lets you know they’re never going to heal quite right and you’re going to spend the rest of eternity drinking your ambrosia slushies with two hands.”

Killing Pretty is the seventh of Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim novels. It is also being billed as something of a reboot, or at least the perfect jumping in point for a new reader who doesn’t want to go all the way back to the first novel. And I suppose it is, speaking as someone reading their first entry in the series, although that’s the sort of answer that you can never give more than half an answer to. That opening line and paragraph sure as hell set a tone, though.

Sandman Slim aka James Stark is distinctly of the nasty, badass sort of anti-hero. His first, second, and third option is to crack skulls and he does it oh so well, crippling an angel right on the first page. He is a Nephilim, half an angel, and as the new reader quickly learns, he did a long stint in Hell and most recently sealed away some Old Ones.

There’s a lot of that, internal as-you-know-Bobs recounting events (presumably) from the earlier novels. There is almost too much of it (I prefer to start a book with a bit of flailing around before I can truly get my head above water), but it gives a nice context for the events of the book and fleshes out Stark and his friends.

Killing Pretty is urban fantasy, and there are superficial similarities to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Stark is a snark-dealing, magic-wielder in a big American city populated by a variety of sub rosa fae types. But the hard-drinking (Aqua Regia), hard smoking (Maledictions) Stark makes Harry Dresden look like a boy scout. There are necromancers and vampires, but no elves or werewolves (at least in this book). Butcher pulls freely from Christian sources, but it’s most of the game in Killing Pretty, whether angels in Heaven or from “Downtown” (between that and the heavy noir feel, it’s as much Ian Tregillis’ Something More Than Night as Butcher’s Dresden Files).

The other difference between Sandman Slim and the Dresden Files is that the former can be categorized as regional fiction, at least by my definition. I will take a minute to say what I mean by that. I don’t think it’s useful to use regional fiction as a means of genre ghettoization, segregating genre fiction from literary fiction (a misnomer itself I will let pass without comment for now). Rather, the simple test is: could the story be picked up and taken elsewhere without indelibly changing the story? Are the atmosphere, the milieu, the personality of a place as important to the story as the magic, as the plot, as the characters? It’s not enough for a story to be set in, say, the Appalachian Mountains. Elmore Leonard’s Fire in the Hole and Raylan are not regional fiction; Ron Rash’s stories are. Leonard’s works, for all their merits, are written by someone who never visited Harlan, Kentucky and it shows (Justified did better on this metric, especially after the first season). Rash’s work can’t take place anywhere but western North Carolina and be the same stories. The City of Angels (oh hey, I see what Kadrey did there) is inextricably a part of Killing Pretty.

The very strong noir element goes along with that, of course. L.A. is quintessentially noir. And along with the long discourses on L.A., all the movie references, all the bit players who show up as bit players, Laurel Canyon and its history, all the tourists, all the high-end shopping, all the traffic, and along with the stylized movie poster cover, complete with a billing block, Stark’s new reduced state even sees him working part-time as a private detective, the quintessential noir anti-hero.

Reveling in the milieu, Kadrey keeps Killing Pretty at a slow burn—don’t expect the pagely fireworks of Skin game—letting the story bloom like a desert cactus, but for a guy like Stark, it is always going to come to a place where “[t]here are things that can only be settled a certain way.”

The publisher sent me a(n unsolicited) copy of Killing Pretty.

Oh, I hate to do this, but..... This one was OK. Not great. Not good. OK. Rather low-end OK at that.

It's a transition book, and it rather channeled Jim Butcher way too much for me. Now, I don't have anything against Jim Butcher, but he doesn't write Sandman Slim books. This was a neutered, watered-down, James Stark. He's gonna be a supernatural dectective. Sorry, but, ***YAWN*** There are way too many of those out there and based on this book, well, let's just say he's somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Nothing really stood out. The action was on the been-there, done-that, side. In addition, it seems the author forgot some specifics about his own characters, including Stark. That was really disappointing.

Yeah. It was more or less OK. (less)

The 8th outing for Sandman Slim (7th if you don’t count the short Devil in the Dollhouse), Killing Pretty, by Richard Kadrey has picked up some undeservedly mixed reviews. Killing Pretty isn’t the strongest entry in the series but it is far from the weakest. If readers wish to give it a ranking the best place for the book would be the middle of the pack.

What has gone wrong in this entry is quite simple:

1.The Sandman/Candy dyad didn’t work out. Both characters are on the one-dimensional side, therefore complex human interaction escapes them and the love affair falls flat.
2. Some readers appear to have confused the Sandman series with the facile YA genre. Sandman is hard-boiled fantasy/horror with a definitely dark and violent take on the universe. There is no transcendence here, just more of the grubby, violent same-ol’-same-ol’ and most readers of Kadrey are thankful to escape the pathetic and PC/Social Justice Warrior womb of YA.
3. Killing Pretty drags in the middle of the second act. There wasn’t enough story to keep the book going for 405 pages. Killing could have been edited down 75-100 pages and been a better book for it.
4. The characters are getting stale and need a good shake up. There were some changes near the end but for the most part Sandman was in a holding pattern and that is often dangerous for a series.

All in all, however, this was a solid entry with lots, but maybe not enough, violence, witty dialogue, and solid plotting.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommended to readers who have read the other books in the series otherwise the reader will be lost. Some background information is supplied but not enough to keep the reader from feeling confused.

Killing Pretty
Richard Kadrey
Harper Voyager, Jul 28 2015, $25.99
ISBN 9780062373106

At the video store where he works Nephilim James “Sandman Slim” Stark ironically prays for a purebred human case like following a cheating spouse after some of his more recent encounters with Old Gods and a fragment of a God, and a gig as Lucifer. Many of the survivors of his inquiries want him dead after partaking in the immense pleasure of an eternity of torturing him. Slim also struggles with the physically changed Candy who insists she is Chihiro.

His P.I. boss Julie Sola prefers using the Los Angeles-based private investigator’s special talent as a hybrid human-angel on special inquiries. Someone with extraordinary skills dumps Death inside the body of a mortal before removing the human host’s heart; leaving the man and Death dead. Now no one dies; so Sola assigns Stark to find and capture Death’s killer with a prayer that this culprit can return order (meaning death to the human masses) to the universe.

The seventh Sandman Slim irreverent amusing urban fantasy (see The Getaway God, Kill City Blues and Devil Said Bang) is a much less perilous affair (for Slim) than usual as this time the existence of the universe is not at stake though order on a Malthus level is. Fast-paced as always, Stark and his allies (once again very loose definition as he believes the word team contains the letter I since he does not play well with others) hunt for a predator in this low-key entry.

Harriet Klausner

Someone has trapped Death in a human body so he can't collect the dead. As a result, no one is dying but the hospitals are full of coma patients. He has come to James Stark AKA Sandman Slim to help him and is now residing in Maximum Overdrive, Stark's video store while Stark tries to find who is responsible. Problem is, Stark can no longer shadow walk which makes his investigation a whole lot harder as he must confront some very dangerous adversaries both old and new.

Killing Pretty is the 7th in the Sandman Slim urban fantasy series by author Richard Kadrey and, although it is a bit slower than some of the others, it is just a whole lot of fun. The story is told in the first person by Stark who is, at least for now, earth-bound but he is at his wittiest best as he roams the streets of San Francisco from nightclubs populated by vampires to a very unusual fight club and as he tries without a whole lot of success to act as a responsible member of a team.

For fans of urban fantasies, it doesn't get any better than Sandman Slim and Killing Pretty is no exception to this rule. It is dark and gritty, occasionally violent, often humorous, and always entertaining.

I, like others, was really looking forward to this. In fact, I re-read the entire series leading up to this, looking to see if i had missed or forgotten anything since The Getaway God last year. On the one hand, I'm not sure where Kadrey could've gone after the hi-octane climax of GG. He had previously stated that this was a quasi-reboot and that's sort of how it plays out. On the other hand, we have grown accustomed to how these characters behave and really have certain expectations. While the other books were crazy, this seemed to try to domesticate the characters a bit. honestly, it came off a bit, dare i say, boring? I have been looking forward to reading about Stark and Candy discussing Doc as its been teased for the last few books. With Kadrey looking to change it up a bit, this may have been the book to do it in, especially winding down after the first six books. I may go back and re-read later, but for now, my least favorite book in the series.

Killing Pretty is another strange but wonderful novel of Sandman Slim. This time he has to find out who put Death in a human body and trapped him there, killed him and left. Fortunately, the magic dagger was pulled out and Death came to Stark for help. Where else? Of course there are monsters, angels, wizards, his humorous dialogue that is worth the price of the book alone, and all the action and trouble he and his friends get into. Love every one of his books! How can you not love a guy that has been a substitute for the Devil in Hell, has helped God out, saved the world a few times, has a friend that is only a head with mechanical parts, and his girlfriend isn't even human? Oh, and he is only half human and the other half is angel. Kadrey can't write books fast enough for his fans. Thanks for another great book!

Summary: (3.5 Stars) Sandman Slim's pithy comments never disappoint, and Kadrey faithfully and colorfully paints LA dirty, rotten and soulless as well as ever. However, this installment suffers from a weaker than usual (for Kadrey) ending and while it is an improvement over the weakest of the books in this series, it doesn't quite match 'grab you by the crotch and heart' like the best of them ("Sandman Slim", Book #1, and "Kill The Dead", Book #2).

Detail, no spoilers from Book #6 but discussion from Book #5 and previous):
I have read all of Kadrey's Sandman Slim novels - I was truly drawn in by the way he drew his characters. I really, really wanted to be excited by this book. I have a love/hate affair with LA, having lived there for 6 years, give or take. I really enjoy how Kadrey describes the Angelo archetypes, from LEO to the wannabe stars to the homeless that roam the city in good weather.

The cliff hanger from "The Getaway God" was really well done - in the classic style. I elected to pay full price for the ebook and not wait for a sale on the strength of that ending. Sandman is dealing with a proper murder mystery with the usual high stakes. He is also managing his relationship with his Jade g/f, and failing at it. Since he can no longer shadow walk we get to hear about his love affair with the I405/I10 traffic - and you can be as pissed off about it as he is. However, his relationship with his new boss, the former rookie Fed, is not written believably. She is only a secondary character so that isn't a deal breaker. The action scenes are solid, even the very last one - though his solution to the dilemma at the end of the book re-uses the formula from at least 2, perhaps three, of the earlier novels in this series.

I like the series so much that I have been considering buying the hardcovers and displaying them in my collection - if this installment had been a knockout. This novel, while solid, was a line drive single that advanced a runner to second. I will likely buy the next one and wait for it to wow me.

Good book, but what brought us to love the sandman slim character? He was powerful. His no holds barred attitude, wit, determination to get s*** done, and most of all his incredible badass power. Remember when any damage he took in the real world hardened his body against similar future damage? Remember when he could travel anywhere he wanted in the blink of an eye? Remember when he walked into a room and you knew he was the baddest dude there? Those were the good old days. Now you're lucky to see him refrain from whining about skinning his knee when he trips over his own two feet. Bring back the old character we loved for Munan's sake!

Sandman Slim is one of my favorite series these days, and Killing Pretty may be my favorite book out of the whole series. The setup, characters, tone, and dialogue are amazing. If you're not familiar with this series, it's a hard-boiled supernatural noir thriller with a tough-ass wise-cracking lead character. It's got great descriptions of gritty LA and tons of fun pop (and not-pop) culture references.

You can get more details by reading the official reviews or summaries, so I'm just going to say I love this series and if you think you might too, you owe it to yourself to read these.

Sandman Slim, the man who ruled Hell, who came back from death twice, who defeated the ancient gods, and killed a piece of killed God himself... comes back as a whinny has been at the orders of a bitchy former US Marshal. Oh boy ...

Great (former) series, but this is a dull, annoying and uninspired installment.
A series quickly running out of steam.

So disappointed and a tad irritated with the author for turning out such sub-par work.
Am a dedicated fan of his and have all of his books, but this one was almost miserable to read.
Didn't even finish the last 50 pages.
It's almost as if he didn't even TRY.

What the heck happened, Richard?

There was just so much talking. By the middle of the book I was struggling to keep reading, it's just one conversation after another with a couple short fights thrown in. Most of the books in this series were great, although the last one was only ok but this one was painfully slow and boring.

If I were asked to sum this book up in one sentence, it would require the use of multiple expletives and a metric buttload of exclamation points. What can I say about Killing Pretty by Richard Kadrey? It is another gem in the crown of his formidable Sandman Slim series. This story picks up after Armageddon is (barely) avoided, and things are getting back to what suffices for normal in the City of the Angels. Stark, aka Sandman Slim is trying to change his violent ways, and embrace a life of tolerance and understanding. Unfortunately, some lack-wit Nazi group of magic users are out to replace death and steal souls, so Stark is forced to dust off his Na'at and his Vorpal black blade, and kick Nazi hind-ends.
Great characters, lots of action, and enough thrills to choke Jonah's whale.

I've enjoyed the series as much as any in this genre. But for me, Killing Pretty was a little too ordinary compared to the other Sandman Slim novels. The book is worth reading if for no other reason than to stay abreast with Sandman Slim's exploits. But it was not as imaginative as the previous books. Hopefully, the next in the series will dazzle once again.

A great series - at the beginning I didn't like it at all, but after having read half of the first book it started becoming interesting and then I just could not stop reading until the last book of the series.

Honest this isn't sandman slim, its just some guy that occasional does something cool once in a while but then goes back to being completely boring. There isn't anything I can write that others haven't covered already I just wanted to add my voice to there's. Hopefully the next one won't be such a disappointment.

Another strong entry in the most consistent urban fantasy series on the shelf. Packed with amazing action and even better wordplay, KILLING PRETTY moves the Sandman Slim series into brand new territory.

This read like a summary novel while the author decides where he wants to go with his character. While stark continues to kick Ass he has to decide how he's going forward. Looking forward to the next one.

Urban fantasy noir at its best. Can't recommend this series highly enough. Though they can be a standalone read, it is better to read them in order. Humour, action, a temporary Lucifer, a split up God, and not forgetting the killer spider-woman.

How can you set a price for the digital kindle book, that is more expensive than the paperback plus shipping, and expect to sell it in this digital day and age??? Are you (the publisher who set the price) out of your mind?

Why such a high price??? As with the last book, Im boycotting this author and publisher for ripping us off. Its a ripoff to charge as much for an e-book as the freaking HARDCOVER!!!! where are the savings? Very disappointed.

HOW MUCH? Yeah, I may look stupid but I ain't. If Poe himself rose from the grave and wrote another novel, I wouldn't pay this ransom for it. I am offended and all I can say is the Publisher is very lucky to be outside of my reach, because I would have to have an up close and personal "talk" with the price setters in that company. And Kadrey, what's your problem that you would agree with this? I've lost a lot of regard for you. Hope you make a boatload of money to make up for what you lose in fans and respect. You and your publisher suck. And I'm a grown man and will be happy to back that up to each and any of you greedy, gutless, spineless, heartless, brainless and worst of all, soulless excuses for honorable men.