Honestly, I think if Richard Kadrey was my Sunday School teacher, church would have been a heck of a lot more fun. I love his depictions of Lucifer, whether it be the original suave Fallen angel who held the role, the newest incarnation who was at one time, at least in part God, and even Stark’s poor attempt to hold the role. I have read lots and lots of fictional explorations of hell, the devil, angels and demons, and by far my favorite depiction of the underworld and its leader is in Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series. Voltz and the boys of Petra singing 'Angle of Light, I see your glow in the night, but you only bring darkness to my soul' or those wonderful guys who make up The Lost Dogs asking the important theological questions, 'Why is the Devil Red? Why ain’t the Devil Blue?' Yet, all this anti-diabolical propaganda instead fostered a fascination with Lucifer and his hordes of fallen angels.

You see, where I grew up, it was never Mick Jagger declaring his sympathy for the devil, but Greg X. Yet, if I had revealed this side of me back in the days where I sat happily in the church basement singly 'The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me' as a precursor to another felt board telling of Joseph and his coat of many colors, that secretly I would have loved to seen Joseph’s coat among the looted wastelands of a post nuclear America full of dragons and unicorns and robot zombies, then I probably would have been rushed to the local exorcist who I think was named Pete. I mean, hell, I’m an adult, if I want to ride the highway to hell, I guess that’s my call. Nowadays, mom has resigned herself to the fact that I’m a Stephen Kind loving, hard rock playing fan of all that is dark and spooky, and just shakes her head and deals. I’m not sure how my God-fearing, drag me kicking and screaming to church three days a week mother of my childhood would have reacted if I told her that one day, one of my favorite literary characters would not be a single Lucifer, but a trio of characters who held the title of the Prince of Darkness. It’s a chance to hang out with a group of some of the most intriguing characters in Urban Fantasy today, before they quite possibly need to end all of existence. While mostly a set up novel to the coming epic confrontation, Kill City Blues is in no way a let down. Quick Thoughts: Kill City Blues is a Dantesque ride through a true retail hell.

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