Sandman Slim

Supernatural action thriller with a noir-inspired main character who's been to hell and back and now wants revenge on those who sent him, as he puts it, Downtown. To add injury to insult, they also killed his woman.

The mythology and types of monsters suggest the Preacher graphic novels and Supernatural television show influence. As for Stark himself, I can imagine Jensen Ackles of Supernatural saying all of Stark's dialogue with all the tough-guy talk, the sarcasm, and so on. I also see a lot of the Preacher's Saint of Killers in Stark's characterization.

It's a cool genre and in some ways Sandman Slim is a lot of fun. An easy read that moves along at a fast pace; quite a page turner. It's just exciting enough to keep me wanting to know what's around the corner for Stark.

The execution doesn't thrill me quite as much as the concept. It's teleplay-ready, based on action sequences and expository dialogue (with occasional moments of smarty ass-ery from Stark and others). One plot point smashes into the next, often without rhyme or reason, just because the author needs it that way.

Oh, I know it's just for fun and not meant to be serious or life-changing, but I've seen writers balance thrills and spills with depth and development. (Felix Castor series excels at this.) I'm not getting much to think about with Sandman Slim.

All the supporting characters are NPC's that revolve around Stark. They only exist to 1) Hurt Stark, 2) Help Stark, or 3) Give Stark information while hurting or helping him (or sometimes flirting or exchanging insults with him).

The is a bit similar to how Harry Dresden began, including the noir style and immaturity of the character. I didn't love the Dresden Files at first either and but ended up getting attached and finding several gems in that series. This was an easy read so I may this series another try and see if the writing improved as it went along.