Book Review: The Kill Society by Richard Kadrey

This review was first published by Booklist on June 7, 2017.

Sandman Slim is dead (for real this time) and abandoned in a desolate part of the Tenebrae, the land of the dead. He’s discovered by a motorized roving gang trailing destruction and death in its wake, led by a religious fanatic looking for an ultimate weapon to kill God. Slim runs into some old friends along the way. It culminates in a fight between angels at the gates of Heaven itself. And Wormwood is up to something, as always. All because Sandman Slim tried to break open Heaven. This is Kadrey’s version of a Mad Max movie laid out as a cautionary tale about religious fanaticism. It’s a fast-paced story and an ideal setting to show off more of his richly imagined hereafter. The ending puts Sandman Slim right where he most wants to be, but in the last position he ever wanted. This entry in the series is plenty entertaining, but there are a few too many coincidences to be believable. Kadrey’s social criticism is much more obvious than usual, and it hits closer to home.